“Talibanization of the BPP”

By praying at Doongerwadi on the Fravardin parav, September 6, 2009, Ervad Khushroo Madon defied the ban imposed on him by the trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP).

The outraged trustees summoned him to a meeting on September 8 at the BPP office when they categorically told him that if he continued to pray at Doonger­wadi he would be physically thrown out. The trustees’ stand on barring Madon and Ervad Framroze Mirza from praying at Doongerwadi and at the two agiaries controlled by the BPP, namely the Godavra Agiary in the Fort area and the S. F. Jokhi Agiary at Godrej Baug was endorsed by five high priests who in a letter dated August 27, 2009 addressed to the BPP termed Madon and Mirza "renegade priests whose actions are impacting our religion and community negatively.”

"I asked them (the BPP trustees) to hear me out,” Madon told Parsiana. "I went with my white pugree and priestly robes thinking they would treat me with respect... I told them I am encouraging people to go to Doongerwadi by praying for them there. One person wrote in his will that he wanted me to perform funeral ceremonies for him there.

"Let me pray a few times. Why go to court and fight when we can settle the matter over a cup of tea?” he reasoned.

The trustees said they would not permit him to pray at Doonger­wadi. "If you don’t stop we will physically throw you out,” Madon quoted BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta as threatening him. BPP trustee Jimmy Mistry said that he was a trustee at the Rustom Faramna Agiary at Dadar and would extend the ban there also. Of the six trustees present for the meeting Arnavaz Mistry, Noshir Dadra­wala and Armaity Tirandaz remained silent, observed Madon.

As regards the allegations of converting non-Parsi Zoroastrians to the religion Madon said the navjotes he performed in Tajikistan and elsewhere were of people whose forefathers originally were Zoroastrians and had the requisite prayer books, etc. Zoroastrianism was born in these regions. He saw ruins of fire temples in Tajikistan.

He cited the teachings of priests such as Dastur (Dr) Maneck Kanga, Dastur (Dr) Jamaspi JamaspAsa (the present high priest’s grandfather who performed the navjote of Suzanne Tata) and Dastur (Dr) Maneckji Dhalla to bolster his arguments. But BPP trustee Khojeste Mistree told him they followed the dictats of the present Dasturs. When Madon asked the trustees to serve him a letter regarding the ban, they refused to do so, he noted. "If this is all you have to say, you could have told me over the phone. Why did you call me?” queried Madon.

On the parav day he was reciting prayers at the behest of Ervad Pallonji Dastur, the panthaky of the Jeejeebhoy Dadabhoy Agiary at Colaba, Madon told Parsiana. Just as he was finishing the prayers, the Doongerwadi estate manager Jimmy Poonawalla asked him to accompany him to the estate office as he wished to serve him a letter. The letter however was not ready. The next day the trustees served him a letter summoning him to the meeting.

"Strictly implemented”

The letter by the five high priests addressed to the chairman and trustees was printed on the letterhead of Dastur (Dr) Kaikhusroo JamaspAsa, the High Priest of the Anjuman Atash Behram. The missive, sent to the Parsi Press under a covering letter by the BPP’s chief executive officer Mehli Colah, states:

"We are pleased to learn, that the new BPP board has recently issued a directive in conformity with our earlier guidelines, whereby we have repeatedly said, that our good and upright mobed sahebs should not become hamsharik with renegade priests who encourage wrong religious practices such as cremation, and/or do the conversions of non-Zoroastrians. The imposition of a ban therefore, on Ervads Khushroo Madan (sic) and Faramroze (sic) Mirza (who continue to offer their services for performing after-death ceremonies for those who opt for cremation, in Mumbai, and who facilitate the conversion of non-Zoroastrians by performing navjotes of juddins), should be strictly implemented by the BPP board. The BPP trustees have taken the right step in preventing them from performing any priestly rituals/prayers at our sacred Doongerwadi complex, including any ceremonies at the sagdi.

"The apex body of our community, in our opinion, should under no circumstances be seen to be giving any form of legitimacy or acceptance to these renegade priests, whose actions are impacting our religion and community, negatively. This timely action taken by the BPP board will strengthen the religion as it will also serve as a deterrent to other priests who may also seek to break away from our time-tested traditions.

"The rank and file of the clergy knows that they must follow the ancient customs and traditions of our faith which they are obliged to abide by once they are initiated into the priesthood. Such misguided priests, who lack scholarship and who for reasons of money and/or convenience, have sought to perform ceremonies for those who have wrongly chosen the cremation route where dokhmenishini is available, are by their very actions and by their open defiance of the long standing directives of the High Priests, weakening our religious traditions.

"We are pleased that as trustees of the apex body of the Parsi Zoroastrian community, you have fulfilled your duty and set the right example, by not permitting the above named priests and any others like them, to perform any ceremonies at Doongerwadi and/or at any other religious institutions under your care...

Yours in His Service

Dastur (Dr) Kaikhusroo M. JamaspAsa Dastur (Dr) Firoze M. Kotwal

Dastur Meherji K. Meherjirana

Dastur (Dr) Peshotan H. Mirza

Dastur Cyrus N. Dastur