Burnishing the BPP’s image

History of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) is a very informative book written by Sapur F. Desai in which the period 1860-1960 has been recorded. The book places the actual birth of the BPP between the years 1672 and 1675, around 338 to 341 years ago.
If the history of the BPP were to be written from 1961 to the present time it would progressively project the institution and the individuals who run it in a rather uncomplimentary fashion. I would like to share a few thoughts and observations about the current standing of the BPP and the need to restore its stature.
Ever since the differences between the current BPP trustees erupted into the public domain, the community has been witness to an extremely messy situation, the like of which has never before been experienced.

The 10th World Zoroastrian Congress (10WZC) held in Bombay in December 2013 was the perfect opportunity to enhance the standing of the BPP, showcase the capabilities of present trustees as individuals who could rise to the occasion and show their competence in taking the community forward. The opportunity was, unfortunately, completely lost.
It was very sad, nay tragic, to observe all the elected trustees being relegated to the background during the four-day meet. The 10WZC was salvaged due to the intervention of other individuals. The trustees have failed to put their stamp on the Congress for posterity. My sympathies were with the trustees whenever I heard delegates making unkind comments about them. Managing the Punchayet is an extremely complex matter at the best of times.
From my experience as a trustee of both the BPP (12-and-a-half years) and the WZO (World Zoroastrian Organisation) Trusts (22 years and continuing) I know how important it is for a trust’s board to comprise sympathetic individuals whose intention is only to serve, not to push their own ideologies, in order to function effectively and efficiently.
My self-assessment is that as a trustee of the BPP my performance was mediocre because the board did not have like-minded individuals, whereas with the WZO Trusts it has been publicly acknowledged to be a different story altogether. This is simply because each one of us on the board of the WZO Trust and our band of volunteers works as a team in our desire to serve the community, despite having differing ideological viewpoints.
Three elections to the BPP board have taken place since the introduction of universal adult franchise in 2008. It is a matter of record that each of these elections has been contested acrimoniously, doing no credit to the institution or to those who offered their candidature. In the run-up to all the three elections, the focus was more on attacking opposing candidates, their track record and ideology and less on projecting plans and strategies to serve the community. The electorate was induced with lavish dining and entertainment programs. The assurances and undertakings that were given to the electorate during campaigning have been forgotten.
With this experience, does anyone seriously believe that individuals with top notch credentials and standing, who genuinely wish to offer their time and talents to the community, will come forward as candidates for trusteeship in future elections? If individuals of outstanding caliber and experience shy away there can be no hope of bringing the BPP back to the esteemed position it once held.
I genuinely believe that it is imperative that all seven trustees share a common zeal to serve without being judgmental on religious issues. I therefore appeal to all sections of the community to request seven eminent Zoroastrians of Bombay to stand for the next election or elections, expected to be held in 2015 or earlier. The seven should be acknowledged leaders in their professions, who are interested and willing to invest their energies in ensuring the welfare of the community.
A small group of individuals from various segments of the community can be entrusted with the task of bringing together such a group of candidates. This should not be very difficult to achieve. However it is very important to ensure that these selected seven women and men of standing should be elected trustees without having to go through the rigors of fighting an acrimonious election. This seems to be the only way to bring stability to the BPP board.
As a community, whilst we are indeed very well educated it is now time to establish that we are enlightened as well.