Priest and politics

"The Parsi community, unfortunately, has no presence on the political stage as it does not have a single representative in Parliament or in the state… The need of the community is to at least involve itself in the electoral process by voting in large numbers. We appeal to the community to strengthen the hands of the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) by voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),” stated an appeal from Dastur Khurshed Dastoor, head priest of Udvada’s Iranshah which appeared in a section of the Parsi Press. It referred to the impending elections for the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on October 15, 2014. The other signatories to the appeal were Maneck Davar, publisher of the Spenta Group magazines and Berjis Desai, solicitor and managing partner of J. Sagar Associates. A week earlier, an appeal to Parsi voters to vote for Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the BJP candidate from Malabar Hill was signed by the above mentioned three persons along with Dinshaw Tamboly, managing trustee of the WZO Trust Funds and former Bombay Parsi Punchayet trustee, and Farrokh Kavarana, director of the Tata group.
Dastoor, who is known to have excellent rapport with Modi from the time the latter was chief minister of Gujarat and had praised the community as well as extended support to preserve Udvada’s sanctity, wrote: "Our Parsi brethren have flourished and our properties, including the Iranshah, have been made secure in Gujarat” as a result of positive interventions by Modi who has expressed "affection” for the community.

Dastur Khurshed Dastoor (left) with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

"The minister of minority affairs, Najma Heptullah, has lauded the Parsi community as a minority which had contributed the most to nation-building. Financial aid for various programs like Jiyo Parsi will not only be continued but enhanced. The government is seriously considering reserving seats for the community in professional institutions funded by Parsis. It is also working towards an amendment to ensure Parsi representation by nomination in state legislatures and the Rajya Sabha. We are also hopeful of securing grants for the restoration of the Alpaiwala Museum from the Ministry of Culture,” the appeal added.
This initiative, however, elicited discordant reactions from some members of the community. A report in The Times of India (TOI) of October 14, 2014 mentions that Cyrus Guzder, industrialist and civic activist described the appeal as "an attempt to curry favor with the Gujarat government. It is completely inappropriate for a high priest to influence the community on non-religious issues.” Shereen Ratnagar, former professor of archeology and history at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University opined: "No religious head has the right to tell members who to vote for. This is a secular society.” Nawaz Mody, former head of Bombay University’s department of civics and politics told TOI that she found Dastoor’s appeal "unusual” and "unprecedented.” But co-signatory Davar explained, "This is not a religious appeal. A high priest can hold a political view. It is vital for Parsis to be politically aware.”