Interfaith marriages - 44% in 2008

The year 2008, as has been the trend in other leap years too, saw a 43 percent drop in marriages among the Zoroastrian community in Bombay when compared to the preceding year. The number of community marriages declined by 54 percent in 2008, supposedly an inauspicious time to enter into matrimony. For interfaith marriages, the decline was only by 17 percent. Thus of the 185 marriages registered in Bombay in 2008, 103 were Parsi marriages, and 82 were interfaith unions, indicating that the percentage of interfaith marriages to the total number of marriages had risen to 44 as compared to 31 last year. In 2007 the total number of marriages was 323 of which 224 were Parsi and 99 were interfaith.

Observing the data over a period of time, it has emerged that in the year preceding and the one following the leap year the number of marriages (whether community or interfaith) are always higher. Hence while the leap year 2004 showed 226 marriages of which 156 were community and 70, interfaith, the previous year, 2003, recorded 303 marriages (193 community and 110 interfaith) and the subsequent year 2005 recorded 328 marriages (225 Parsi and 104 interfaith). The second year after the leap year seems to be on level ground, devoid of spurts and troughs.

As compared to 66 males who had married out of the community the previous year, there were 52 males in 2008. For the females the figure was 33 in 2007 as versus 30 in 2008. Thus whilst 66 percent of the males had married out as versus 34 percent females in 2007, the following year the figure was marginally lower for males at 64 percent as compared to 36 percent females. Parsiana obtains the data on community marriages from the Bombay High Court while the statistics for intermarriages are sourced from the offices of the Registrar of Marriages at Fort and Bandra.

The largest number of marriages in 2008, 32, were in the month of December (15, same faith and 17 outside the faith). February was next with 18 Parsi/Irani marriages and eight interfaith.

The average age of brides was 30 in 2008 as compared to 27 in 2007. Likewise the average age of bridegrooms rose from 30 in 2007 to 33 years in 2008.

The number of births in the community reduced by 11 from 158 in 2007 to 147 in 2008. As compared to the 75 girls and 83 boys born in 2007, 2008 saw the birth of 73 girls and 74 boys. These figures, obtained from the Bombay Municipal Corporation through the efforts of Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) senior executive (welfare) Cawas Pan-thaky, do not include births in Thana or New Bombay.

The life expectancy in the community which stood at 78 years in 2006 and 2007 remained the same in 2008.

The death count increased by 53 (50 of them being females and three males) from 789 in 2007 to 842 in 2008. Of these 842, 411 were males and 431 were females. Altogether 803 were consigned to the dakhmas (396 males and 407 females) and 39 were cremated (15 males and 24 females) in 2008. The year prior there were 397 males and 366 females consigned to the dakhmas, with 11 males and 15 females being cremated. While the data for those consigned at Doongerwadi is sent by the BPP, the cremation data is obtained from the Chandanwadi crematorium, the only one in south Bombay, the remaining five being in central Bombay and the suburbs.

Presented below are the 2008 figures pertaining to the Zoroastrian community in Bombay based on records available to Parsiana.

Births: 147

Boys 74, Girls 73

Marriages: 185

Parsi 103, Interfaith 82

Males married out 52

Females married out 30

Deaths: 842

Consigned: 803

Males 396, Females 407

Cremated: 39

Males 15, Females 24