Who is a Parsi?

It is not only possible, but the story of mankind is how ideas and identity outrun their genetic carriers. Today, most Buddhists in the world do not look like Nepalis or Biharis (which was Gautama Buddha’s physical appearance). Most English speakers in the world do not look English. Most Christians do not look like Jesus (who was a Sephardic Jew). Many of us (humans) have adopted a language, religion or culture from far away, in geographical terms.

The confusion results from the mistaken idea that there is such a thing as racial identity defined by genes. The genetic difference between even far removed groups like say between a Peruvian Inca and a South African is no more than 0.01 percent of the human genome. One look at a group of Parsis at a navjote or wedding quickly reveals considerable admixture with Indian genes.

So who is a Parsi? It is someone who espouses and expresses a certain set of cultural, ethical and perhaps religious views. Whether such a person is physically/genetically closer to — or looks like — a Tajik (according to current scholarship Zarathushtra was born in the Trans-Oxus region of Tajikistan), or an Arab (despite Iranians trying to distance themselves from Arabs, some of the Iranian population is Arab), or an Indian (with "Seth-na” antecedents), being a Parsi means he/she will espouse certain values, beliefs, habits and cuisine, etc. The Parsi identity is defined not by genes, or by appearance, or a muslin undershirt, or a surname, but by a distinctive set of habits, culture and world view.

Of course it would be a great loss to lose this distinctive set of values and culture. It would be even more sad if the noble religion of Zarathushtra were to be found only in museums and libraries. What is the best way of preserving and perpetuating these values, culture and religion?

In a way, the question you ask: "You can become British, but how can you become ‘English?’” is more or less irrelevant in the long run. (Even the "English” in racial terms are an admixture of Celts, Saxons, Vikings and French, etc.) The real question is how to pass on to future generations of humanity what is best in our current value systems, behavior and practices.

Prof FAROK J. CONTRACTOR

New Jersey, USA

fjcontractor@embarqmail.com