Getting a negative Press

Never before has so much been talked about so few. It seems as if Pandora’s box has opened and one skeleton after another is tumbling out of the com-munity’s cupboards.

It is time Parsis realized what a wrong and even laughable image we portray to the rest of the world by so much crass news being circulated about us in the national newspapers. If this goes on much longer, all talk about Parsi honesty, goodwill, philanthropy and tolerance will vanish.

Do you really think that a divorce between two old individuals should be front page news in a national newspaper like The Times of India? This story was carried for two consecutive days. Was this so newsworthy? Dragging ageing 70-year-olds into notorious limelight makes me feel bitter and sad. It seems that Parsis are being talked about for all the wrong reasons.

Another juicy item in the same newspaper was about a senior citizen in Navsari whose son is not taking care of him any more after the old man educated him, got him married and sent him to USA. The Court has ordered the son to take care of his father. (Editors note: It is alleged that the father abandoned the family when the son was but a boy and never assisted them in any way. Doubts are also cast on his financial integrity.)

As if this was not enough, we had reports on little Farzin Batliwalla’s death. Whether what was written is fact or fiction, no one knows. Was the father of this little child so heartless that he was nowhere on the scene even after his child died? Was the mother Nisha’s cruelty to her children the cause of death and not starvation, as reported earlier? These questions will remain unanswered. But what is hurtful is the controversy over obsequies for this innocent child.

This is where the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) must step in and create a precedent that no Parsi will ever be refused prayers, despite the manner in which they wish to cross the Chinwad Pul. Prayers are not the personal property of anyone, so why shun those who are prayed for and those who pray for them? No priest who prays for those opting for cremation or burial should be ostracized.

This is a gentle nudge to the new BPP team. Let them go beyond their orthodoxy and prove that they are prepared to bring about some changes. Such gestures are a necessity, the need of the hour, and certainly not taboo.

RODA D. HAKIM

Baroda

vadhakim@yahoo.com