The lows and highs
Even by the World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis’ (WAPIZ) abysmal standards of propriety displayed at the Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anujmans of India (FPZAI) meets, this was a new low. A trustee of the Khergam anjuman, Pervez Khergamwalla slunk out of a general body meeting of the FPZAI so as to enable the anjuman’s appointed WAPIZ proxy, Tannaz Parakh to speak in his stead. This shameful display of subservience and brazenness took place at the all-India body’s meet on January 27, 2013 at the West End Hotel.
Adding insult to injury, the representative of the Rajkot anjuman, Khushman Tamboli, a relative of WAPIZ chairman Areez Khambatta ranted and raved in defiance of orders to shut up, grabbing another mike when the power in the one he was bellowing into was turned off. He functioned more as a member of the Indian parliament than a representative of a once respected anjuman. In the end the FPZAI president and Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) chairman Dinshaw Mehta had to call the two-day meet on January 26 and 27 to an end in order to cut off Tamboli’s bluster.
Mehta had alleged that Khambatta, a former president of the Ahmedabad Parsi Panchayat who will re-occupy the West Zone B vice presidency this February, had threatened to have his minions disrupt the meeting. Parakh accused Mehta of "lying" but BPP chief executive officer Mehli Colah corroborated Mehta’s allegation.
Except for those disgraceful incidents, the FPZAI meet went off well. There were the occasional clashes, especially between Mehta and BPP and WAPIZ trustees Khojeste Mistree and Yazdi Desai but these were all elected officials who observed the decorum of the forum.
A sub committee was formed to look into the FPZAI "Memorandum and rules and regulations" and suggest changes especially to the rule pertaining to proxies.
Rule 6 states, any member anjuman may "authorize from time to time any one or more persons, being preferably members of such anjuman, as it thinks fit and in such order as it specifies to act as its representative at any meeting of the Federation." Normally when the duly authorized member of an association is present, the proxy takes a back seat. The FPZAI rules are silent on the rights of the appointed representative.
The rule was incorporated in the FPZAI constitution to permit small anjumans of restricted economic means and limited numbers who could not afford or were unable to attend the meets to have their interests represented before the community’s apex body by a proxy. The idea was that someone else who was familiar with the workings and problems of the anjuman, and in a position to attend, could voice their concerns.
WAPIZ exploited the rule to corner the seats in the executive council, four of the five vice presidency seats and a substantial majority in the general body. Delhi was ousted from the North Zone vice presidency, Surat from West Zone B and Poona from West Zone A. Baroda lost its seat on the executive council while small anjumans with minuscule numbers and paltry assets found a place.
Normally committees are formed when organizations want to put off decision making or avoid controversies. But this time there is much at stake. If WAPIZ’s influence is not curtailed, Mehta and his supporters in the FPZAI will be reduced to a minority. In 2009 Mehta had facilitated the WAPIZ stranglehold on the FPZAI, turning a blind eye to their power play. It was only when his majority base in the BPP was threatened with WAPIZ announcing the candidature of Desai’s wife, Anahita in the 2011 BPP trusteeship election that Mehta successfully supported his one-time rival, Muncherji Cama, for the seat.
Of course, if Mehta patches up with WAPIZ, the committee recommendations will gather dust. If, however, Mehta persists he will have made his first major and lasting imprint on community history.
Mehta was at his forceful best throughout the meet, giving little quarter and asserting his powers as chairman. He rode roughshod over the proceedings justifying his actions by citing rule 10 of the memorandum which states "the President shall preside at, conduct and regulate all meetings" of the FPZAI. In support of his action he quoted former BPP trustee and WAPIZ founder trustee Homi Ranina’s legal opinion endorsing his stand on the president’s duties during a meeting. WAPIZ had obtained the opinion and cited it earlier in the meet to support their contention that Mehta was dictatorial. At that time Mehta had dismissed the opinion as it originated from a person with "vested interests."
A meeting of vice presidents is also to be called every quarter after the WAPIZ nominated West Zone A vice president Mancher Mubarakai said he had no idea what a vice president was supposed to do. He has not held any zonal meets; he spoke about community property in Diu but knew nothing about the matter or that it had been discussed at great length in the past at FPZAI meetings and that the property was being well used and looked after by a Christian missionary and that the dakhma was under the aegis of the Archaelogical Survey of India. He even got the name of the association he represents wrong, terming it the Dahanu Zoroastrian Anjuman Trust Fund; Pervez Irani of the Iranian Zoroastrian Anjuman corrected him noting the name was the Dahanu Road Agiary Trust Fund.
The level of ignorance voiced by delegates to the FPZAI is legendary and a less hardened observer may hold his head in his hands and weep at the cluelessness of elected and nominated delegates. On a discussion on charity, no one was aware of S. F. Markham’s report on community poverty prepared in 1932 at the behest of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the substantial benefits that accrued from monies poured in to help the disadvantaged. Indeed Markham did not fault the recipients of charity as much as the trustees that gave blindly without verification or cross checking to see if other trusts had already assisted the person. This, he moaned, created a community of "professional beggars… Of all the evils that the community suffers from this indiscriminate, unscientific, beggar-producing ‘charity’ is the worst." Neither did the gathering seem to know that the new president of the Madras anjuman is Darius Bahadurji.
But there is hope. At one time proxies came to the meeting unaware of the assets, problems or even population of the anjumans they purported to represent. Now at least they are somewhat primed.
People often bemoan the dissent in the community and especially its institutions. "Why can’t we speak with one voice?" is the oft repeated refrain. But an articulation of differing views is necessary and constructive. The last thing the community needs is a group of yes men and women who unquestioningly carry out the diktats of a "high command" or "supreme leader" or "president for life."
The FPZAI meet also gives the community an insight into the thinking and behavior of their leaders as a section of the Parsi Press are permitted to cover the meets. Whatever its faults, the FPZAI is the largest democratically elected organization in the community with a substantial measure of transparency.