Editorial bias

I have received a letter requesting renewal of subscription to Parsiana of which I have been a regular reader for over 20 years. I do realize and feel your demand for an increase in the rates of subscription is fully justified and would gladly agree to it as all around costs have been escalating making it extremely difficult for you to run the publication.

However, I regret my inability to continue subscribing due to the biased and reformist attitude of your publication which if you would recollect the last time you promised you would try to change. As I said earlier, if a fair, neutral and unbiased approach is adopted by your magazine, then this would be most welcome and acceptable to the community. What we see is a clear tilt towards reformists in most of the matters pertaining to our religion and the interests of the community.

The community at large has given a clear verdict that they prefer an orthodox system and way of life by rejecting outright the progressive and reformist group. They have voted and brought in six candidates with an orthodox way of life out of the seven trustees on the board, throwing out all the so-called progressive and reformist candidates.

The community felt that after this almost 100 percent rout you would realize the factual situation and amend your ways by publishing articles in a more unbiased and fair manner. Unfortunately this has not happened and you continue with a clear bent towards the reformists which goes against the tenets of our sacred religion and the scholarly vada dasturs who I consider supreme in matters of religion. Unfortunately I feel, you consider some other authorities more qualified and capable than these scholars.

I also subscribed for my sister Silloo N. Wadia, for quite some years. But with the continuous onslaught of anti-religious articles she also got fed up and finally asked me to stop subscribing.

Yours is the only magazine with a worldwide circulation and I realize that the stopping of one or two subscriptions will not make any dent in the circulation figures. But I feel sad as the magazine could do wonders for the community with a slightly different, fair and unbiased approach. I do hope the day will dawn when your magazine will play a more constructive and progressive role of uniting the community and help keep the flame of our religion burning brighter by apportioning more importance to quality over quantity.

BURJOR BHARUCHA

burjore@gmail.com

I have been a supporter of Parsiana as a Parsi Zoroastrian magazine for over 10 years. However, in the last two or three years the editorial team has become negative in respect of anything good being done for the community.

The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustees are being harassed at every step by the Alert Zoroastrians Association (AZA), the reformist supporters of Noshir Dadrawala, and the previous disgraced trustees by means of law suits and legal obstacles, even through the Charity Commissioner’s office, and hence are unable to get any constructive work done.

Have Dadrawala and the AZA gone mad, and with them the usually sane and level headed editors of Parsiana, to swing the axe at their own feet? The magazine seems to support these efforts on the pseudo ground of "right to dissent,” as long as it can publish everything negative about the new board of trustees. Cannot the ousted trustees, Dadrawala and the AZA, with their irreligious reformist agenda put aside their egos and political tit-for-tat in the greater interest of the community?

The liberal opposition which was kicked out just cannot accept the fact that a majority of the Parsi community voted them out. They are determined to obstruct the new board in any way they can and Dadrawala (who is a conservative Zoroastrian in his writings) has unfortunately made himself an accomplice.

In fairness to this magazine, it must be said that it has in the past published my articles projecting the traditional view. But I am becoming disenchanted with it and wonder if it is any good for any Parsi to support it with the present editorial bias.

MEHLLI BHAGALIA

mehlli@roadrunner.com

The editors reply

We wouldn’t mind our necks being squeezed if that were to get more financial donors. Our donors give with no strings attached.