The shame at Sanjan

Around 11.30 a.m. on February 19, 2010 half a dozen cars pulled up in front of the Mazdayasnie Monasterie (MM) Zoroastrian College in Sanjan. Confronted with closed gates the crowd of around 45 managed to enter through a side wicket door and barged into the premises.

A shocked president of the MM Meher Master-Moos challenged the intruders led by Bombay Parsi Pun-chayet (BPP) chairman Dinshaw Mehta and former Surat Parsi Panchayat chief accountant Sohrab Katpitia. But her objections were brushed aside as the mob ran into building searching for Herbad Mikhail Chistyakov, a Russian Zoroastrian who was undergoing the bareshnum nahn ceremony as part of the liturgical rituals to ordain a priest. "Mikhail was inside his room,” noted Moos. "They forced open the door and started hitting and beating him.”

The soft spoken Chistyakov stated he was hit in the groin and his shirt and sudreh torn. The mob attempted to remove his trousers to ascertain whether he was circumcised.

"I rushed into the room to try and protect him,” said Moos. "Three men hit me and twisted my arm and threw me out of the room,” she alleged. They also "stole his Russian text book and photographs of his first nahn.” These were subsequently returned to Chistyakov.

After causing the disruption, "they all left as suddenly as they came,” stated Moos. "I immediately telephoned Inspector Pawar at the Talasari police station, called my rickshaw driver as I don’t have a car and went to the police station.”

The foraging party was already at the police station to file a first information report (FIR) under section 295A of the Indian Penal Code which penalizes "deliberate and malicious acts intending to outrage feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs,” noted Mehta in a written statement.

On her part Moos alleged a criminal conspiracy to commit breach of peace, trespass, physical breaking and entry, damage to property, theft of a mobile phone and other charges.

"After a lot of discussion and help from the police to keep the religious dispute within the community, a settlement was reached whereby she agreed that further initiation ceremony of Chistyakov as a priest would be forthwith stopped and he will go back to Russia at the earliest,” noted Mehta.

Stated Moos in a written statement: "Since the navar ceremony was already ruined and could not be proceeded with and in the interests of the safety of our Russian guest under coercion/pressure I agreed reluctantly to sign some papers which were hurriedly handwritten by Mehta to withdraw allegations and not proceed with filing of an FIR.” She was concerned that Chistyakov a resident of St Petersburg would have to keep appearing in court over the next four to five years and also face the possibility of his passport being impounded. He left for Moscow on February 25, 2010.

The day before

The first hints of discord manifested the day before when around 1 p.m. while Moos was preparing lunch. The watchmen at the College informed Moos that four or five people had arrived and wanted to visit the premises.

"Katpitia, accompanied by Noshir Dordi and a tall man whom I am informed was named Rohinton Patrawala (all from Surat) and some local Sanjan area Muslims came,” stated Moos in a written statement. "Katpitia demanded to inspect the Zoroastrian College building. I politely informed him that this was not the time for him to visit and he could come on March 6 for lunch and bring any friends from Surat.”

Katpitia and Dordi returned at around 3.15 accompanied by Inspector Pawar. The two alleged that the institute housed Pakistani terrorists and that a Muslim gentleman was being converted to Zoroastrianism, said Moos. She showed Pawar the premises which were empty except for Chistyakov and her. "I took him to the College library and took out books and magazines with photographs showing that there were Zoroastrian groups in former USSR countries and the navjote ceremonies of these Zoroastrians were being performed in Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, etc and also photographs showing Chistyakov doing the work of a Zoroastrian priest in Russia.”

At the Inspector’s request Moos stated she handed over the Russian’s passport to him and let Katpitia and Dordi inspect the premises and speak to Chistyakov. Shortly thereafter they left.

"At about 6 p.m. I received a phone call from Pawar requesting me to come to the Talasari Police Station,” stated Moos’ written report”. He informed me that the two men had threatened that they would create a disturbance by calling a large number of people from Bombay and elsewhere the next day. Their new complaint was that a person who was not an Indian and not a Parsi was being converted to Zoroastrianism so they planned to stop this ceremony forcibly. He requested me to persuade them not to do such things as they refused to listen to him.”

Katpitia told Parsiana he made calls to Bombay and Ahmedabad to rally supporters to Sanjan.

"Late evening on Wednesday, February 17, 2010, we were informed by the two high priests of Udvada, Dasturs Khurshed Dastoor and Dr Peshotan Mirza that irreligious initiation of a non-Zoroastrian and that too a foreigner into the Zoroastrian priesthood was being conducted at the Zoroastrian College at Sanjan,” stated Mehta’s statement. "Whilst condemning this sacrilegious act they informed us that all the High Priests would be shortly issuing a letter that this act was against our religion because a priest could be ordained only from a priestly family as priesthood was hereditary.

"On Thursday 18, a few volunteers of (BPP trustee) Jimmy Mistry’s PRG (Parsi Resource Group), (Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India vice-president) Areez Khambatta’s WAPIZ (World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis) group and a few concerned individuals from Bombay and Surat decided to go to Sanjan on a fact finding mission. Thus on Friday February 19, 2010 at about 11 a.m. all of us, including Katpitia and Dordi, Faredoon Kapadia, Mehernosh Fitter and several others met at the gates of the now almost defunct Zoroastrian College.

With Ervads Dhanjishah Karanjia(left) and Khushroo Madon: preparing for the priesthood

"Master Moos, the singular person in charge of running the show met us at the gate and confirmed that a Russian by the name Mikhail Chistyakov, was inside the College where he was learning the priests prayers. On our request to meet him and see the ceremony ourselves she initially refused but then gave in to our persistent appeals.

"Entering the premises we saw that a 48-year-old (he is 47) Russian tourist was learning some advanced priests prayers and the whole set-up was similar to what one sees in an agiary or a madressa where the navar-martab ceremony of a priest’s son is done. Instead of a pavi, coarse sand was laid out as per rituals for ordaining a child as a navar-martab. All other paraphernalia were laid out in a makeshift arrangement in a temporary corrugated sheet shed.

"We requested her to stop any further rituals of ordainment of a foreigner into a Zoroastrian priest on which she demanded rupees two crore to stop the ritual and do it in Russia, and on our refusal she threatened she would continue the ritual ceremony. Thereafter we approached the Talasari police station to file an FIR under section 295A.”

The WAPIZ Page in The Free Press Journal of February 26, 2010 glorified the incident with headlines such as "Mission accomplished,” "Surat shines” and "Kudos to BPP chairman.” Several readers of Parsiana on the other hand emailed letters terming the raiding party "rabble rousers,” "goondas” "handas” and "bigots.”

Chistyakov’s commitment

Chistyakov who describes himself as an Avestan astrologer had his navjote ceremony performed in Russia in 1994, informed Moos in her statement adding "He was amongst the early members of the Zoroastrian community of St Petersburg. He studied the Avestan books and transliterated them in Russian Cyrillic script for the benefit of his community members. His Khordeh Avesta book in Russian script is used for daily prayers. He also performs jashan ceremonies, the gahanbars and other Zoroastrian ritual ceremonies including the ceremonies for the departed souls, and functions as the Zoroastrian priest for the benefit of the community members.

"He has visited India three times to improve his own personal knowledge about the Zoroastrian religion rituals, ceremonies and practices. In 2005, during his visit, he transliterated the entire 72 Has of the Yasna in Russian Cyrillic script, and also studied the practicals of performance of ceremonies at the Zoroastrian College, for afringan, faroksi, satum, boi ceremony and jashan with the Zoroastrian priest engaged at the College. He received special training from Ervad Dhanjishah Karanjia.

"As part of the ongoing promotion of friendship and co-operation between the Zoroastrian communities in Russia and the Zoroastrian College in India, the Zoroastrian community of St Petersburg requested me to arrange for the navar ceremony to be performed properly in India for Chistyakov… In order to make this possible and have the ceremony properly performed, considerable expense (a lakh-and-a-half rupees) had to be undergone to prepare a special place in the grounds/area of the Zoroastrian College, which is situated in Maharashtra state, in village Ghimania, taluka Talasari, district Thane.

"With the co-operation of the two experienced mobeds, who already knew Chistyakov since 2005, viz Karanjia and Ervad Khushroo Madon, the performance of the ceremony was arranged for the time period between February 9 and March 5. The work of the first bareshnum nahn was completed successfully, peacefully and properly. The work of the second bareshnum nahn was commenced on Thursday, February 18 morning by both the mobeds. After completing their work, both of them had to leave for attending to their own work in Bombay and elsewhere.

"From 12.30 p.m. onwards, Chist-yakow and myself were on our own at the Zoroastrian College building with only our College security guard and garden workers near the front gate.” The next day the assault began.