Dastur calls it a day

The news that Behram T. Dastur, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) has resigned and will soon be leaving the organization was broken by Jam-e-Jamshed Weekly on October 7, 2007. Being the CEO of BPP is not easy, the report says, noting that the burnout rate in this high voltage job is very high. All things considered, Dastur did a decent job standing up for the "deeds and misdeeds of his masters and survived for a reasonably long spell,” the Weekly admits. "His departure… will make some sad and some happy.”

Behram Dastur: upright and outspoken

That he is "an out and out liberal in his views was to the community’s fundamentalists and Tali­bans what a red rag is to a bull. He was man enough not to mince words, either spoken or written. The com­munity’s Taliban will be relieved to see his back.” However, should he "get bored sitting at home, he can always make a comeback, not as a CEO, but as a trustee,” the Jamé suggests.

After the Doongerwadi hoardings controversy the CEO was under pressure to explain the convoluted situation. "Dastur’s upright nature prevented him from succumbing to such pressures and he recorded this in writing, much to the dismay of some individuals,” the Weekly notes.

Dastur decided to call it a day, but "the resignation could not have come at a worse time,” with election dates not finalized. "Who will now protect the interests of the Trust against the self-serving interest of those trustees who may want to contest the elections? And who will protect the records from being altered/destroyed by those who have something to hide?” Jamé fears.

The BPP has, on its part, termed Dastur’s departure as a "premature retirement” since the CEO’s contract extends for one more year.