The weekly and the magnate

The simmering dispute between a section of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trust board and the Jam-e-Jamshed Weekly (JJ) which has resulted in the stoppage of advertisements to the venerable publication has claimed another victim: World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis (WAPIZ). In his letter, carried on the front page of JJ of July 10, 2016, WAPIZ chairman Areez Khambatta who founded and funded the 11-year-old traditional organization conveyed his resignation from the chairmanship.
The reason for his angst was the WAPIZ Page in the Free Press Journal of July 8 attacking the JJ and citing reasons for the stoppage of advertising in the weekly. "I would like to place before the community at large that our WAPIZ CEO (chief executive officer Anahita Desai) talked to me yesterday (July 7) about the WAPIZ Page, but I had strongly advised her not to print any article against JJ... I believe we should not malign JJ, a very esteemed newspaper, which has become, over the decades, a pillar of society. But still for reasons best known to her, she went against my wishes by bringing out this WAPIZ Page, leaving me with no option but to resign as WAPIZ chairman forthwith, which I am doing.”

(Khambatta’s resignation was "unanimously accepted.” BPP chairman Yazdi Desai has taken over as the new WAPIZ chairman.)
As the Parsi Times (PT) weekly owned by BPP trustee Kersi Randeria has offered to carry the advertisements free of cost, the BPP has stopped all their advertisements in the JJ which was charging for the insertions.
In the same JJ issue editor Shernaaz Engineer noted in her editorial: "To marginalize a 184-year-old newspaper and the voices of its thousands of loyal Parsi readers across the globe, under the pretext of ‘high advertising rates’ and other utterly mala fide and malicious charges, is to place a smokescreen over more serious issues such as ‘conflict of interest,’ gagging an independent paper like Jamé and victimization of all those who raise their voices.”
In another front page article in the same issue BPP trustee Viraf Mehta who had volunteered unsuccessfully to speak to Engineer regarding the BPP obtaining a further discount above and over the 15% the paper was offering for advertisements noted, "The BPP for decades never had an issue with Jamé’s rates. In fact, even in these highly inflationary times, Jamé has been courteous enough not to raise their rates to the BPP in the last three years.
"From our records, since I became a trustee in October 2015, the BPP has spent Rs 1.5 lakhs in six months on advertisements to the Jamé, that’s Rs 25,000 a month, which is roughly Rs 6,000 per week. Are you telling me this is denting the pockets of the BPP?... Unfortunately this so-called ‘ban’ has stemmed from personal vengeance more than professional regard…
"I fear Jamé is paying the price for carrying paid advertisements during the last BPP election, in which sitting trustee Armaity Tirandaz won (against former BPP trustee Arnavaz Mistry). Kersi Randeria and Yazdi Desai were canvassing hard for her rival (Mistry), after whose defeat this unfortunate targeting of Jamé has started…
"Randeria is directly conflicted in this issue, since any loss to Jamé is his gain and he will outright attempt to push his Parsi Times publication over Jamé. Randeria has the most to gain by this move, which makes his rationale for this not only personal but commercial as well.”
On the WAPIZ Page of July 8 an article titled "Jam-e-Jamshed — Losing credibility?” the write-up quoted from WAPIZ founder trustee and BPP chairman Yazdi Desai’s letter addressed to Engineer: "You have refused to offer any more discount other than the usual 15% when we actually want and need a 50% discount. For the record, the Parsi Times has not charged a single paisa for any BPP advertisement. Since the time this new board has come into office you have always been writing against the BPP and its trustees. You have published letters attacking the BPP without extending to us the basic courtesy of checking the facts. You have allowed your paper to be misused by (former BPP chairman) Dinshaw Mehta.”
Further elaborating on the alleged ban, the WAPIZ Page noted: "This ‘ban’ is with respect to BPP deciding not to give the Jam-e-Jamshed any advertisements in the form of official notices, etc. This is not a ban. What Dinshaw Mehta tried to do during his chairmanship to the Parsi Times can rightly be called a ban. He refused to invite the Parsi Times to cover any BPP function — they were barred from coming to the Federation of (the Parsi Zoroastrian) Anjumans (of India) meeting, the BPP staff was specifically instructed not to call the Parsi Times when the secretary, Minority Affairs came to the BPP and it was only because Yazdi Desai fought and insisted that all the Parsi Press be invited that the Parsi Times editor was invited to the function... This is what is really a ‘ban’….
"The BPP is literally having ad-vertisements inserted every week. The quantum of advertisements increased, therefore a cut in the rates was asked for. The Parsi Times has not charged a single paisa to the BPP for any of these allotment advertisements… During BPP elections in 2015 and also during the turbulent times in the last two years when accusations and refutations were published in the Jamé as advertisements by Dinshaw Mehta and Yazdi Desai with three other trustees, Yazdi Desai was always asked by Shernaaz to provide proof of what he was writing and that she would have to consult her lawyers before publishing any matter even though it was an advertisement. How come Shernaaz Engineer does not subject Dinshaw Mehta and his camp to these same standards of legal scrutiny and required proof? Total lies are written in the advertisements.”
In the Parsi Times of July 9, in the article "Quit The Witch-hunt! Face The Truth!!” Randeria stated, "Here I would like to state, for the record, that I am aware that Parsi Times can legally charge the BPP for its advertisements, as per the law. However I have taken a conscious decision not to charge my Trust — not because of the law of the land but simply because I Do Not Want To! It may be difficult for some individuals to understand such commitments to the community, leave aside lauding such acts. But it would only be fair and in good taste if they did not make comments and assertions without knowing the law…
"After claims made by Shernaaz Engineer and Viraf Mehta about Mun­cherji Cama and Mumbai Samachar, I inquired with the administration and was informed that the BPP has been making payments to Mumbai Samachar!” for advertisements.
Cama’s trusteeship is in limbo till the Charity Commissioner decides whether his purported resignation is valid or not.