“A new beginning...” - II

Membership to the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India (FPZAI) is open, declared president Dinshaw Mehta at the executive council meet of the Federation convened after three years (see the first instalment of the report, "A new beginning…” Parsiana, September 21, 2009). "Feel free to apply to us,” he urged. At the earlier executive council meeting held in 2006, there was a move to introduce some amendments in the membership admission clause because of which applications from Nanpura, Olpad, Shri Abu Road and Mount Abu had been kept in abeyance. Sanjan sought knowhow to constitute an anjuman, and was asked to contact the new Federation secretariat.

Almost a powerhouse who propelled the movements of this all-India body during the nearly three decades he served the Federation as joint honorary secretary, Keki Gandhi of Delhi opted to retire. In his letter to Mehta he mentioned that "all good things have to come to an end” and thanking all the office bearers, anjumans and institutions like his Machine Tools (India) office staff, in particular Sadhana Sharma, whose cooperation enabled him to perform his tasks, he hoped "the Federation will continue to grow from strength to strength.” In appreciation of Gandhi discharging his duties "as far as he could dispassionately,” Mehta felt the Federation should send him a letter of thanks. Areez Khambatta, vice president of West Zone B, seized the opportunity to remark that Gandhi had forgotten to thank the Press. Tongue in cheek he proposed to undertake the responsibility Gandhi unfailingly performed at each meeting. Firoza Punthakey-Mistree, representing Ank-leshwar, voiced her "request to ask Delhi to send all the papers.” Spoke up Delhi Parsi Anjuman (DPA) representative Adil Nargolwala, "Keki Gandhi deserves respect for all the hard work he has put in…(for managing) single-handedly when the Federation was in limbo.” He added that the papers would be sent.

(L to R): Dr Mehroo Bengalee, Dinshaw Mehta and Khojeste Mistree

For the ensuing World Zoroastrian Congress in Dubai from December 28, 2009 to January 1, 2010, Mehta conveyed that the costs for the four days would work out to Rs 60,000 + $ 500 being registration for the Congress. A special 50 percent sponsorship package was being offered by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) for the youths (in the age group of 18-35 years) of different anju-mans. Those interested had to contact the secretariat within a fortnight.

(From left): Eruch Desai, Sorab Katpitia, Shernaaz Engineer, Kersi Limathwalla, Cyrus Bagwadia and Yazdi Tantra

Mind on minorities

"What is important is representation and bargaining power. Today there is not a person to speak for you,” summed up former BPP trustee Dr Mehroo Bengalee, presently the Parsi representative on the National Commission for Minorities, urging Federation members to "get yourself represented at the local punchayet level and then push for state and central bodies.” Her special study (currently in print) on the socioeconomic level of Parsis covering 800 families in Surat district and Thane district revealed that "some of these homes run on only Rs 300 per month. These people need help, community support. Many of these are single member families. That’s our demographic problem.”

Alarmed by the low births in the community, Bengalee noted, "Anjumans have not taken up these issues as they should.” To account for the late or limited marriages Bengalee explained, "The professional level of our girls is much higher than the boys’…A match is not possible. Girls look outside for marriages. Boys look to going abroad.” No marriages, very low fertility rate and divorces and separation on the higher side, lead to fewer births. Couples should plan for four children to begin with, she stressed. "I am not joking. Economically we can afford but we want luxuries…Our Parsi boys have become very soft. The community must be given a push again…

"Why can’t Parsis start off as trainees/apprentices so that by 22 they are well established in their profession?” asked Bengalee, the former vice chancellor of the Bombay University, who referred to the opportunities for distance education now available. She was critical of the students and the parents who are willing to go into debt to get their children educated abroad. "When they do not make the mark to get into professional colleges here, the easiest way is to go to a foreign university… the amount spent is nearly a crore. They will work like dogs there but they won’t come back to India, leaving the poor parents in India to repay the loan,” she regretted.

Regarding educational opportunities for Parsi students, Bengalee pointed out, "We have money and can build new institutions, but where are the children? Out of 100 Parsis who pass out of HSC, two or three may opt for medicine, five or six for science, and the rest commerce. We have two engineering and two medical seats reserved for Parsis in Bangalore which have lapsed. We fight for the seats and then they remain vacant. What do I do?” Similarly in Maharashtra there are two or three seats reserved for engineering but "Parsi children don’t want to move out of Bombay and eat vegetarian food!” she regretted. In Parsi founded institutions, Parsi students can apply for two seats reserved for minorities, she was emphatic. Nusli Wadia is the chairman of VJTI, J. J. College and the Wadia Colleges in Poona. But the Dahanu representative Mancher Mubarakai who had tried for the seat in Sangli questioned how Wadia and Bengalee were to be contacted. Speaking for herself Bengalee assured that anyone writing in to her could expect a reply within 48 hours by e-mail.

The defence forces have ample opportunities for Parsis. In government and semi-government bodies, 15 percent of employment is reserved for minorities. It is mandatory for Parsis to be on the state and central recruitment bodies like the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission), MPSC (Maharashtra Public Service Commission), Railway Board. Under the Primary Sector Lending Scheme, Parsis can get loans at six percent interest which they are expected to repay within 15 years as they start getting income. The Maulana Azad Foundation located at Old Custom House gives loans to any of the five minorities. A minority status certificate can be obtained from the BPP, Bengalee was ready to share her extensive background knowledge on minorities.

With the Doongerwadi system collapsing in the absence of vultures, Bengalee assured, "We will make sure that the vultures come back.” With her efforts to recover defunct anjuman properties, she hoped that the community will get back at least four of the 12 cases she is pursuing at the national level. She expected that issues involving Maharashtra would now be resolved through Mehta (the new Parsi representative on the State Minorities Commission) but he expressed his doubts having learnt that no meetings had been held since 2003. "Now it’s almost like a defunct body,” he commented but Bengalee insisted that every state will have to form a duly constituted commission with representatives of five religious minorities to qualify for funds from the center.

Since the "average Parsi is not aware” it was recommended that the Fed Newsletter (the offer to sponsor the next issue came from the DPA), anjuman representatives, and the notice boards of baugs/colonies and agiaries be used to disseminate information regarding education and job openings. On behalf of the youth Hoshaang Gotla of Bombay’s Holiday Programme for Youth urged Bengalee, "Speak to the youth directly. Let the duty of the learner be put on the learner and not the parents…When children know about these seats, they will get them.”

Considering that certain states don’t have a minorities commission how would the voice of the minorities be heard in those areas? Responded Bengalee, "Although Gujarat does not have a State Minorities Commission, because of the Human Rights Commission I have been able to do more work in Gujarat than anywhere else.”

Prominent members of the community who wish to have an audience with the minister of minority affairs, Salman Khurshid, or to serve on the Minorities Commission in their state should intimate Bengalee.

Business booster

The World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce (WZCC) has a user friendly website and offers networking facilities, reminded president Kersi Limathwalla. Yazdi Tantra elaborated on the websites he has created with the support of Ader Gandi: Zoroastrians.net that is daily visited by 500 from across the world (anjumans too could put up notices on this site, recommended Tantra); theparsidirectory.com that has more than 70,000 entries; themissingparsi.com that helps trace lost friends, with more than 50 percent of the seekers finding success; theparsimatch.com that is a matrimonial website. The purpose and objectives of the sites clearly enunciated, Tantra mentioned that although they welcome "different points of view, we don’t carry things abusive to each other.”

On the invitation of Nagpur’s Shiraz Doongaji, the WZCC team agreed to meet their members on the occasion of the Nagpur agiary’s 115th salgirah. In response to queries from Mubarakai, Limathwalla offered, "Why don’t we set up a chapter in Dahanu?”

Clarified BPP trustee Jimmy Mistry, "WZCC is wrongly represented as a money doling out organization while in actuality they give everything in and around the business module.”

While WZCC was keen to promote its Business Plan Competition, Noshir Paghdiwalla with his years of experience at the Zoroastrian Co-operative Bank noted that the community had "no dearth of talent or ideas. What the Parsis lack is (knowhow) on how to present papers (dealing with cash flow and project report). There is so much liquidity in the market. Every bank is flush with funds. An advance to a Parsi (being a member of a minority community) becomes a priority for any bank.” Cyrus Bagwadia, former managing director of Essel Propack Limited, commented that in the case of Zoroastrian Bank, "80 percent of deposits come from Parsis but only 20 percent of the Parsis use these deposits.” Instead of WZCC approaching members with a ready list of business ideas, "We want people to have fire in their belly.” When Satara representative Jamsheed Kanga suggested that individuals be guided by "escort service — professionals to give advice,” Bagwadia responded, "We call them professional mentors or hand holders.”

From left: Areez Khambatta, Ervad Aspandiyar Dadachanji, Dinshaw Mehta, Khojeste Mistree, Arnavaz Mistry and Rustom Cursetji

Role models for the youth

Guest speaker Shernaaz Engineer referred to the preceding year as being one of "tremendous change” and contrasted the American president’s three famous words "Yes we can” with the Parsi community’s three favorite words "Jamvaa chaalo ji (let’s proceed for a meal).” She believed "we have an obligation to follow the faith of our forefathers” and declared the need to "resolve stronger to live on the path of asha…It is our collective responsibility to safeguard, nurture and strengthen the glorious legacy… we are at our lowest ebb as a community.”

Decrying the "attitude of arrogance” she regretted that "Parsis take privileges for granted.” Observing that "everybody cannot be a genius,” she felt that the Parsis would do well to emulate the Amils of the Sindhi community who had come to India as refugees but foresaw the need to establish colleges for the next generation. "This does not make them communal or narrow minded. We do not have to prove our secular credentials.” Building educational institutes is "very good business,” she noted, urging community members to create establishments which are open to all but give preference to Parsis.

The Parsis may well have the "highest per capita excellence,” but it is "our responsibility to create the right role models for the youth. What impression are we setting on the minds of the youth?” she asked rhetorically.

"There is definite need for positive religious leadership,” she asserted, "not personal attacks on them…” Personal whims, she believed, had caused members to "drift too far away from the essence of Zoroastrianism. There are many priests whose guidance constitutes the bedrock of our faith.” If for medical problems we can consult doctors, and for financial matters, approach chartered accountants, for religious matters why not high priests? "Would they hurt our interest in any way?” she demanded whilst conceding that "priests too have to make an effort to connect with the new generation that questions.” She concluded with the remark, "It is meaningless to talk about converts to Zoroastrianism. It is for the existing Zoroastrians to grasp the essentials of Zoroastrianism.”

Kanga referred to the need for greater communication between the high priests and the community and alluded to Sir Rustom Masani’s efforts to create a council of high priests to tackle problems. According to him the unwillingness to answer questions is "what creates problems.”

While BPP trustee Armaity Tirandaz conveyed her husband’s dreams of building a medical college and a business management school for the community, Farrokh Rustomji, associated with the R. D. Sethna Trust opined that our numbers were too few to merit starting a new institution. He advocated instead that the BPP earmark funds to reserve certain seats in the management quota of prestigious institutes or equip students with necessary coaching so that they earn high scores at common entrance tests.

BPP trustee Khojeste Mistree recommended that the "laity learn to respect the high priests and scholars even though they may not agree with their views.” Despairing that the "high priests are maligned and attacked,” Mistree commented, "Let the Parsi Press not go into attack mode week after week.”

When Kanga complained that there is no dialog, only monolog, Tannaz Parakh, representing Khergam, reported Dastur (Dr) Firoze Kotwal’s sentiments "vees varas thee javaab aaptaa thaaki gayoch (I am tired of giving the same replies for the last 20 years).”

Defunct anjumans

When a "property remains unattended, it takes six years to establish the rights and the title,” explained Sorab Katpitia to impress on the smaller anjumans like Miraj, Sholapur, Rajnandgaon, Bhopal, Bhusawal, Hubli, Jamnagar, Bhuj, Jhansi, Bijipur and Gwalior to "cooperate with the Federation otherwise in the future the property of the community will be lost.” He was equally enthusiastic that the tome Parsi Dharmasthalo requires to be preserved in the BPP archives.

Tehemton Anklesaria, vice president of the North Zone and Ratlam Anjuman president, deemed it necessary for all anjumans to appoint a Federation representative when their numbers have come down to 10 or 15. Marazban Wadia of Davier mentioned that their trust deed stipulates that their assets be handed over to the BPP when there is a depletion in their numbers. But Mani Clubwala of Madras wondered what would happen if the last resident family refuses to part with the property. Thundered Katpitia, "A trust exists in perpetuity. A trust can function even without trustees.”

Since 82-year-old Katpitia tirelessly works in an honorary capacity, in the absence of adequate infrastructure, to save the defunct anjuman properties from being lost to the community, he made a plea that a senior official from the BPP, knowledgeable in the working of trust laws, familiarize himself with the properties that Katpitia is trying to salvage. Assisting Katpitia in his work is a paid employee Jimmy Bacha of Navsari and Puranjay Sharma who has been delegated work in the northern zone. Thus Ambala (in Haryana), Sharanpur (in Uttar Pradesh), Amritsar (in Punjab) that has about 2,300 sq yd of aramgah land falls within the latter’s purview.

Amroli, at a distance of five km from Surat, has barely 10 Zoroastrians although it has two separate trusts maintaining the Tower of Silence and an agiary. Bhusawal too has barely 10 Parsis residing there but their tower of silence with its vast open land is valued at four crore rupees. Bhopal has seven Parsi families with an aramgah property of 1.53 acres but they have not registered under the Public Trust Act in Madhya Pradesh. Abu has a dar-e-meher and the trust is registered under the Rajasthan Public Trust Act. Their trustees have shown a willingness to join the Federation.

Dharwar (close to Hubli in Karnataka) has not a single Parsi but has an open plot on its graveyard in a prominent locality. Likewise there is not a single Parsi in Gadag but an aramgah admeasuring 5,570 sq m which the Federation is trying to salvage while some unauthorized person has tried to lodge a bogus claim to this land. Village Pachora in Dhula district, close to Jalgaon has a Parsi cemetery admeasuring about two acres. Beena has not only a Parsi cemetery close to the railway station but also a dilapidated prayer hall, servant’s quarters and a storage room. In Deesa (which had an agiary) and Dhulia (which had a dharamshala) the last Parsis tried to encash the property. To reclaim community assets in Deesa, situated in a prime locality, the Federation initiated legal proceedings. Harda in Madhya Pradesh had 400-500 Parsis until 50 years ago with a plot of land admeasuring 21 acres on which stands their aramgah. The last death was 61 years ago after which no grave of any Parsi is seen but trespassers have tried to fudge records to acquire the property which Katpitia with the assistance of Anklesaria has challenged. In Junagadh too there is no Parsi left and whilst the Federation is trying to finalize a transaction deal there are reports that the Junagadh municipal authorities may acquire the land.

In Jamnagar, the trustees had allegedly sold off a portion of valuable land of the Mirza Agiary for Rs 72 lakhs in 2002 and their recent plans to alienate further lands have been thwarted with the Federation filing legal proceedings.

Nanded Parsi Anjuman, registered under the Society’s Registration Act, passed certain resolutions to change its objects and thus presently most of its funds are indirectly utilized for the residents of Nanded where there does not reside a single Parsi. Thus Katpita recommended that even though a trust may be registered under the Society’s Registration Act, it should also be registered under the Bombay Public Trusts Act to make it accountable to the charity commissioner.

Regarding the property in Nizamabad to retrieve which assistance had been earlier sought from Secunderabad representatives, Katpitia recalled that they had suggested that a share of the defunct anjuman proceeds be given to the anjuman that helps. Reiterated Mehta, "The Federation policy is to share.”

The final report of the Federation meeting will appear in the next issue of Parsiana.