Readers' Forum
“’Status quo’ extended”
Reading the items "‘Status quo’ extended” and "Gagging Goolrookh Gupta” (Events and Personalities, Parsiana, January 21, 2014) generated a good appetite and cost me a pretty penny. I am tempted to send the bill to Parsiana.
The status quo was extended till January 16, so why did Parsiana leave me in suspense by not telling me what happened on that day in its edition of January 21? (Our pages go to press by the 1st and 14th of each month. Hence we could not further report on the development — editors). Nevertheless, the saying is most appropriate "Parsi-o Parsi-o maraya aaraas paaraas, ne Parsi-o karta to khchchur bhi saaraas (The Parsis fight so much among themselves that even mules are preferable to them).”
But what is tumbling out of the cupboard of skeletons in the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) is that wholesale favoritism prevails in the allotment of flats. That is why pugree, pheta, topi, in the guise of donations, is rampant. Beechara (unfortunate) Jerbai Wadia and Navajbai Tata, must be weeping buckets knowing that today the classification of a poor Parsi is anyone whose monthly income is Rs 90,000. Parsi, thy name is charity has been turned on its head and has now become Parsi, thy name is chicanery. The BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta is still hanging in there by the skin of his teeth. I am interested in knowing whether in the event that Mehta is dismissed will they hold an election to fill the vacancy, or will they wait till 2015, and who will be the chairperson in the interim? That person will be all powerful as s/he will possess the casting vote in case of a tie in voting on any issue. But that is a hypothetical question; we will have to wait patiently to see the outcome. Is anyone willing to accept bets on it?
I fully endorse the views of Sam Chothia, managing trustee of the Valsad Parsi Anjuman Trust Funds. How can you discuss such a sensitive issue as that of out-married Parsi women entering our agiaries and bring it in the open domain of the palaav daar bawa community? The community must be kept in the dark and ignorant. If there is a debate various views may crop up and cause embarrassment to those who caused this storm in a teacup. Living in Gujarat, Chothia is well aware of the Gujarati saying "Bolay tenaa bor vechai (those who speak out get heard/sell their wares)” So there should be no discussion at all on the subject. The argument that the matter is sub judice will not wash, for the very important and sensitive issue could have been addressed as a general topic, but cowardice and hypocrisy prevailed and got the better of wisdom and fair play. Another red herring offered was that Gupta appeared on NDTV, but that show also had other Parsis, including a Parsi padre who was harping on our tenets, customs, and what have you.
However, I feel that until the Supreme Court decides one way or the other, the Gujarat High Court judgment must be implemented in letter and spirit. The relevant judgment states that once a woman marries a man she automatically belongs to the religion of her husband. So since Gupta becomes a Hindu, by the same yardstick Maureen Wadia, Parmeshwar Godrej, Dinshaw Mehta’s sister-in-law, daughter-in-law and all non-Parsi women married to Parsis should be treated at par and their navjotes must be performed by the Parsi Popes and other orthodox, fascist padres. These women should have the right to enter all agiaries, atash behrams, Doongerwadi and if anyone of them kicks the bucket they should be consigned to the towers irrespective of whether they consumed diclofenac or any such other drugs.
Of course some of the BPP worthies are up in arms against any discussion on the subject for they are fully aware of how the land lies. And those who did not respond to Parsiana have taken writer Maurice Switzer’s advice literally when he said: "It is better to remain silent and at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk out and remove all doubt of it.”
So let’s await the outcome of the Supreme Court verdict. If the Gujarat High Court’s judgment is upheld, then all non-Parsi women will automatically become Zoroastrians. What will the Parsi Popes, padres, WAPIZ (World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis) and fascists do then?
The answer is blowing in the wind.
BEHRAM AGA
behram_r_aga@yahoo.co.in
The status quo was extended till January 16, so why did Parsiana leave me in suspense by not telling me what happened on that day in its edition of January 21? (Our pages go to press by the 1st and 14th of each month. Hence we could not further report on the development — editors). Nevertheless, the saying is most appropriate "Parsi-o Parsi-o maraya aaraas paaraas, ne Parsi-o karta to khchchur bhi saaraas (The Parsis fight so much among themselves that even mules are preferable to them).”
But what is tumbling out of the cupboard of skeletons in the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) is that wholesale favoritism prevails in the allotment of flats. That is why pugree, pheta, topi, in the guise of donations, is rampant. Beechara (unfortunate) Jerbai Wadia and Navajbai Tata, must be weeping buckets knowing that today the classification of a poor Parsi is anyone whose monthly income is Rs 90,000. Parsi, thy name is charity has been turned on its head and has now become Parsi, thy name is chicanery. The BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta is still hanging in there by the skin of his teeth. I am interested in knowing whether in the event that Mehta is dismissed will they hold an election to fill the vacancy, or will they wait till 2015, and who will be the chairperson in the interim? That person will be all powerful as s/he will possess the casting vote in case of a tie in voting on any issue. But that is a hypothetical question; we will have to wait patiently to see the outcome. Is anyone willing to accept bets on it?
I fully endorse the views of Sam Chothia, managing trustee of the Valsad Parsi Anjuman Trust Funds. How can you discuss such a sensitive issue as that of out-married Parsi women entering our agiaries and bring it in the open domain of the palaav daar bawa community? The community must be kept in the dark and ignorant. If there is a debate various views may crop up and cause embarrassment to those who caused this storm in a teacup. Living in Gujarat, Chothia is well aware of the Gujarati saying "Bolay tenaa bor vechai (those who speak out get heard/sell their wares)” So there should be no discussion at all on the subject. The argument that the matter is sub judice will not wash, for the very important and sensitive issue could have been addressed as a general topic, but cowardice and hypocrisy prevailed and got the better of wisdom and fair play. Another red herring offered was that Gupta appeared on NDTV, but that show also had other Parsis, including a Parsi padre who was harping on our tenets, customs, and what have you.
However, I feel that until the Supreme Court decides one way or the other, the Gujarat High Court judgment must be implemented in letter and spirit. The relevant judgment states that once a woman marries a man she automatically belongs to the religion of her husband. So since Gupta becomes a Hindu, by the same yardstick Maureen Wadia, Parmeshwar Godrej, Dinshaw Mehta’s sister-in-law, daughter-in-law and all non-Parsi women married to Parsis should be treated at par and their navjotes must be performed by the Parsi Popes and other orthodox, fascist padres. These women should have the right to enter all agiaries, atash behrams, Doongerwadi and if anyone of them kicks the bucket they should be consigned to the towers irrespective of whether they consumed diclofenac or any such other drugs.
Of course some of the BPP worthies are up in arms against any discussion on the subject for they are fully aware of how the land lies. And those who did not respond to Parsiana have taken writer Maurice Switzer’s advice literally when he said: "It is better to remain silent and at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk out and remove all doubt of it.”
So let’s await the outcome of the Supreme Court verdict. If the Gujarat High Court’s judgment is upheld, then all non-Parsi women will automatically become Zoroastrians. What will the Parsi Popes, padres, WAPIZ (World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis) and fascists do then?
The answer is blowing in the wind.
BEHRAM AGA
behram_r_aga@yahoo.co.in
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