Editorial Viewpoint
The orthodox sweep
Perhaps the single most outstanding achievement of the present board of trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) is the holding of the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India (FPZAI) meeting after a span of three years. The get-together saw the World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis (WAPIZ) led orthodox coalition sweep nearly all the top posts save that of the East Zone where their clout apparently does not extend.
By cleverly directing their energies toward the small anjumans in west and north India, WAPIZ was able to bag the important seats on the executive council of the all-India body. The main anjumans in Gujarat such as Baroda and Surat lost the key posts with Baroda not even being co-opted onto the council. The Ahmedabad Parsi Panchayat (APP) withdrew from membership earlier, not wanting to be part of a body where their bête noire, businessman Areez Khambatta, was vice president of West Zone B: Ahmedabad falls in this area. Khambatta was the former president of the APP and has exchanged heated words and nasty letters with the present president lawyer Kersi Shethna.
If it was not sufficient outgunning their opponents numerically, WAPIZ inspired minions launched attacks on the Surat and Ahmedabad panchayats in violation of the FPZAI long-term policy of not interfering in the internal affairs of any individual anjuman. Leaflets attacking the Surat Panchayat were distributed with or without the FPZAI’s permission. The FPZAI and BPP head Dinshaw Mehta silenced the speakers after a few minutes pointing out the concerned anjumans were not present to give a retort. But even if they had been present the internal differences of an association are not to be discussed on the floor of the Federation without the concerned anjuman’s consent.
Thus it was quite galling to find the representative of the Khergam anjuman referring to an originating summons filed by three individuals seeking the court’s interpretation on whether the Bombay Doongerwadi bunglis could be used for funerary rites of those opting for alternative means of disposal to dakhmenashini. In fact the subject became so contentious that Mehta had to assert all his powers as president to ensure the meeting didn’t end up like the earlier ones where chaos often prevailed.
One reason why the meeting was peaceful on the whole was because the former trouble makers are all now firmly in the saddle. In the past, community activists such as Khojeste Mistree and Yazdi Desai, their wives and others would attend, representing anjumans that under the Federation’s rules and regulations permitted associations to depute any individual they deem fit to state their interests at the meetings. Now that both Mistree and Desai are BPP trustees they did not require to resort to such subterfuge but Firoza Mistree represented Ankleshwar, Anahita Desai Dumas, and Tannaz Parakh continues to represent Khergam.
But puzzlingly enough it was Mehta who committed the most brazen violation of the FPZAI code of conduct when he inquired from guest speaker Kersi Limathwalla, who came to speak on the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce, as to why he resigned from the World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO) board.
Limathwalla explained that as the WZO-UK board intended to open membership to all Zoroastrians instead of only Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians, he stepped down as he did not approve of the inclusion. Mehta said he would like to know all the details so the Federation could draft a strong resolution condemning the amendment. (To Parsiana’s recollection from the time the WZO was formed in London over 25 years ago, it was always open to all Zoroastrians as British law would not permit discrimination on grounds of race.)
Limathwalla also called on another invitee Nozer Meherji, vice president of the WZO India chapter to explain his stand on the issue (he said he chose to remain in the organization so as to oppose the change). But surprisingly on Sunday when the WAPIZ supporter from Dahanu inquired when the resolution was to be formulated, Mehta told him, ‘javaa déni controversy pachhu kai ubhoo karéch (let it be. Why again rake up a controversy)’ or words to that effect.
Contrary to allegations that the WZO is affiliated to the FPZAI (a justification presumably to attack WZO as membership to the Federation is restricted to bodies comprising Parsi Zoroastrian members) former BPP trustee and WZO office bearer Dinshaw Tamboly told Parsiana no membership form was submitted and no dues were paid.
Mehta’s motives in attacking WZO may have been to target his erstwhile adversary Tamboly with whom he fought bitterly on the BPP board. Mehta’s about turn on the resolution may also be that he realizes he has only six years left to make his mark as chairman of the BPP and the president of the Federation. He can fritter the time away as he and his co-trustees have done over the past 11 months or he can start to make a difference.
Until now the board of trustees has functioned like a bull in a china shop. The Charity Commissioner has issued them a notice asking them why they should not be suspended/removed for turning away their auditors. All housing allocations are on hold as the BPP challenged in the Bombay High Court the decision taken by the previous board on allotments of flats to 104 applicants. The BPP’s main source of income arising out of flat transfers has dried up. Two priests who have been barred from performing ceremonies at the BPP controlled institutions might contest the ban in the law courts. The BPP board is divided with attacks and counter attacks being made against each other in the Parsi and national Press (BPP trustee Noshir Dadrawala was excluded from any Federation post and can attend as an ordinary invitee delegate). Plans for an ownership building at Godrej Baug are in jeopardy with questions arising about whether one can build for the well-off on the property and so on.
Thus the FPZAI meet was a chance for the BPP trustees to show themselves in a different light to the community. But here also there were glitches. Though invitations to the gathering were sent five to six weeks prior to member anjumans, no invites were sent to the Press. When finally 10 days before the event a letter was written to the BPP board asking if they would be called, Mehta sent a gracious letter stating the Press was welcome (the Jam-e-Jamshed
By cleverly directing their energies toward the small anjumans in west and north India, WAPIZ was able to bag the important seats on the executive council of the all-India body. The main anjumans in Gujarat such as Baroda and Surat lost the key posts with Baroda not even being co-opted onto the council. The Ahmedabad Parsi Panchayat (APP) withdrew from membership earlier, not wanting to be part of a body where their bête noire, businessman Areez Khambatta, was vice president of West Zone B: Ahmedabad falls in this area. Khambatta was the former president of the APP and has exchanged heated words and nasty letters with the present president lawyer Kersi Shethna.
If it was not sufficient outgunning their opponents numerically, WAPIZ inspired minions launched attacks on the Surat and Ahmedabad panchayats in violation of the FPZAI long-term policy of not interfering in the internal affairs of any individual anjuman. Leaflets attacking the Surat Panchayat were distributed with or without the FPZAI’s permission. The FPZAI and BPP head Dinshaw Mehta silenced the speakers after a few minutes pointing out the concerned anjumans were not present to give a retort. But even if they had been present the internal differences of an association are not to be discussed on the floor of the Federation without the concerned anjuman’s consent.
Thus it was quite galling to find the representative of the Khergam anjuman referring to an originating summons filed by three individuals seeking the court’s interpretation on whether the Bombay Doongerwadi bunglis could be used for funerary rites of those opting for alternative means of disposal to dakhmenashini. In fact the subject became so contentious that Mehta had to assert all his powers as president to ensure the meeting didn’t end up like the earlier ones where chaos often prevailed.
One reason why the meeting was peaceful on the whole was because the former trouble makers are all now firmly in the saddle. In the past, community activists such as Khojeste Mistree and Yazdi Desai, their wives and others would attend, representing anjumans that under the Federation’s rules and regulations permitted associations to depute any individual they deem fit to state their interests at the meetings. Now that both Mistree and Desai are BPP trustees they did not require to resort to such subterfuge but Firoza Mistree represented Ankleshwar, Anahita Desai Dumas, and Tannaz Parakh continues to represent Khergam.
But puzzlingly enough it was Mehta who committed the most brazen violation of the FPZAI code of conduct when he inquired from guest speaker Kersi Limathwalla, who came to speak on the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce, as to why he resigned from the World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO) board.
Limathwalla explained that as the WZO-UK board intended to open membership to all Zoroastrians instead of only Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians, he stepped down as he did not approve of the inclusion. Mehta said he would like to know all the details so the Federation could draft a strong resolution condemning the amendment. (To Parsiana’s recollection from the time the WZO was formed in London over 25 years ago, it was always open to all Zoroastrians as British law would not permit discrimination on grounds of race.)
Limathwalla also called on another invitee Nozer Meherji, vice president of the WZO India chapter to explain his stand on the issue (he said he chose to remain in the organization so as to oppose the change). But surprisingly on Sunday when the WAPIZ supporter from Dahanu inquired when the resolution was to be formulated, Mehta told him, ‘javaa déni controversy pachhu kai ubhoo karéch (let it be. Why again rake up a controversy)’ or words to that effect.
Contrary to allegations that the WZO is affiliated to the FPZAI (a justification presumably to attack WZO as membership to the Federation is restricted to bodies comprising Parsi Zoroastrian members) former BPP trustee and WZO office bearer Dinshaw Tamboly told Parsiana no membership form was submitted and no dues were paid.
Mehta’s motives in attacking WZO may have been to target his erstwhile adversary Tamboly with whom he fought bitterly on the BPP board. Mehta’s about turn on the resolution may also be that he realizes he has only six years left to make his mark as chairman of the BPP and the president of the Federation. He can fritter the time away as he and his co-trustees have done over the past 11 months or he can start to make a difference.
Until now the board of trustees has functioned like a bull in a china shop. The Charity Commissioner has issued them a notice asking them why they should not be suspended/removed for turning away their auditors. All housing allocations are on hold as the BPP challenged in the Bombay High Court the decision taken by the previous board on allotments of flats to 104 applicants. The BPP’s main source of income arising out of flat transfers has dried up. Two priests who have been barred from performing ceremonies at the BPP controlled institutions might contest the ban in the law courts. The BPP board is divided with attacks and counter attacks being made against each other in the Parsi and national Press (BPP trustee Noshir Dadrawala was excluded from any Federation post and can attend as an ordinary invitee delegate). Plans for an ownership building at Godrej Baug are in jeopardy with questions arising about whether one can build for the well-off on the property and so on.
Thus the FPZAI meet was a chance for the BPP trustees to show themselves in a different light to the community. But here also there were glitches. Though invitations to the gathering were sent five to six weeks prior to member anjumans, no invites were sent to the Press. When finally 10 days before the event a letter was written to the BPP board asking if they would be called, Mehta sent a gracious letter stating the Press was welcome (the Jam-e-Jamshed
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