“Countering interfaith…”

In her letter "Countering interfaith…” (Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, May 21, 2016), Armin Dutia Motashaw has once again harped on her favorite subject — the preservation of ‘Parsi-ism’ by advocating marriages only within the community. While that is not a bad concept, the statistics speak a different language. She has also mentioned that after marrying within the community, a third child would be most welcome. I believe that the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) has a scheme to help such cases.
I recently heard that twin Parsi children, a few months old, were admitted to a hospital where they were diagnosed as having kidney problems. The cost of treatment would obviously be high. Messages went out to some Parsi colonies for financial help stating that the father of the twins had, in addition to his wife and older daughter, a dependent mother and sister. His income was around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 a month.
While one’s sympathy goes out to the twins, one wonders how a man with such an inadequate income and large number of dependents could have decided to go in for more children. One also wonders whether the BPP has extended a helping hand in this case.
With changing times and attitudes and the present generation moving ahead, should one keep harping on religion as a basis of marriage? Religion, as we all know, is a very personal matter and has nothing to do with anything outside one’s own faith and beliefs. JAMSHED S. IRANI
iranijams@yahoo.in