“Gupta’s gumption”

I wish to express my anguish upon reading the letter "An unjust religion” by Natasha Gupta which appeared along with the article "Gupta’s gumption” (Parsiana, April 21, 2010) in which she calls our glorious religion "orthodox, unjust and backward.” The grapes of Zarathustra’s garden are, for Gupta, very sour indeed! When our ancestors came to this great land to save this religion, our leaders decided, rightly, to save the community and therefore the religion. They resolved not to allow intermarriages and conversions. They have proved themselves right. All other groups of Zara-thushtis who sought refuge in other countries mixed with the local population and have as a result vanished without a trace. This practice of not allowing dilution of our ethnicity and religious identity has nothing to do with the religion itself but was a practical consideration.

One would not blame Islam when some of its followers indulge in terrorism. Nor does one condemn that religion for allowing four wives, any of whom a man may divorce by just saying talaaq thrice. Hinduism, with all its tolerance, has a section which treats another worse than animals. These are all social evils rather than a reflection on religion. Zoroastrianism is the only religion that has the same ceremony of initiation for both the sexes.

A lady who chooses to marry out of the community does so knowing the rules laid down. By questioning them she only causes controversy. A practical way would be to adopt the faith of her husband. It is not very practical to want to "have your cake and eat it too.”

Before we point fingers at each other, the orthodox vs unorthodox, let us go 50 years into the future and we may realize that a little more orthodoxy may have saved us. At that time only a handful of us will be around. A lot of modern thinking Parsis may attack me for holding these views. Only time will tell.

CYRUS MEHERJI

Calcutta

cymeher@rediffmail.com