Decisive Dastur

The high priests are in a quandary. If they toe the traditionalist line, they are criticized as being pedantic and out of touch with reality. If they side with the progressive forces, they stand to lose their orthodox following.

Their flip-flops in the past over controversial issues, even going to the extent of issuing contradictory letters, has lessened their luster.

But change is occurring. In the case of the underground Metro rail network, for once, one high priest refused to toe the line of the others. Dastur Khurshed Dastoor of Udvada sensibly visited the Metro officials, saw the plans for himself and said he was satisfied with the safeguards being implemented. Dastoor then went a step further. He took Dastur (Dr) Firoze Kotwal, who along with three others wrote a letter opposing the Metro alignment, with him to meet the chief minister of Maharashtra and top Metro officials to convince Kotwal of the bona fides of the authorities. He may even have taken the other dasturs but one is in Surat, another in Navsari and not in a condition to travel, and the third in Bombay is infirm. The other four dasturs who signed letters opposing the Metro alignment did so without ascertaining the facts for themselves but on the urging of lobbyists.

The fact that the two trustees of the Hormasji Bomanji Wadia Atash Behram on Princess Street have not issued a statement for or against the tunnels that pass under a portion of the fire temple, but not the kebla where the fire is stationed, helped. The trustees are awaiting a report from structural engineers as to the possible dangers to the ancient structure, if any, and precautions to be taken. The duo refused to be bullied. The WAPIZ (World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis) Page in The Free Press Journal of November 10, 2017 referred to the "Deafening silence from the trustees" and went on to state, incorrectly, the two "have not bothered to have any studies conducted by independent agencies to assess the potential structural damage...and potential hydrological damage to its all important wells."

The WAPIZ Page however did not attack Dastoor but instead questioned why he objected to a housing development one kilometer away from the Iranshah in Udvada while being "fully satisfied" with the Metro tunnels under a portion of the Wadia Atash Behram.

For long, Dastoor has adopted in private a pragmatic and liberal approach on controversial community issues. Parsis who have gone to him and other high priests for advice have been told to do what they think best. But on public platforms, Dastoor and the other high priests have adopted a traditionalist stance.

At a West Zone B meeting of The Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India in Valsad, Dastoor had urged the gathering to continue with the dakhmenashini system for disposal of the dead rather than opt for burial, which some Gujarat anjumans favored in the absence of vultures. The other high priests also strongly supported the traditional method of disposal. But the dasturs lost face and credibility when the Navsari Samast Parsi Zarthoshti General Fund opted for an aramgah adjacent to the Doongerwadi lands by a vote of 156 to six. There is a limit as to how far the clergy can be out of sync with the sentiments of the laity.

Two major court cases are coming up for hearing. Dastoor has wisely refrained from intervening in either. Dasturs (Drs) Kaikhusroo JamaspAsa, Kotwal and the late Peshotan Mirza had intervened in Goolrookh Gupta’s case. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Gupta, will the high priests accept the decision as being the right one or will they trot out the usual rhetoric that the courts should not interfere in religious matters? Many traditionalists will rush to the high priests with ready drafts of letters to which, according to some observers, the priests append their signature without reading the contents.

In Calcutta, Prochy Mehta and her daughter Sanaya Mehta Vyas have filed an Originating Summons in the Calcutta High Court inquiring who has the right to enter the local fire temple. The head priest there has opposed the admission of Mehta Vyas’ two children on the grounds the father is a non Parsi while the earlier head priest raised no such objection. Delhi, Jamshedpur, Karachi, Iran and the Zoroastrian centers abroad permit the children entry but the other fire temples in India bar them. Hence from mobed to mobed, dastur to dastur, agiary to agiary, city to city and country to country the policies and practices vary.

The high priests also quote scripture selectively. When submitting an affidavit supporting the Valsad anjuman ban on Parsi women married to non Parsis entering the local fire temple and Doongerwadi, Kotwal cited passages from the Gathas and the Vendidad which castigates those who marry non-Zoroastrians. But he failed to mention in ancient times the non-Zoroastrian spouse could convert to Zoroastrianism. As Bombay High Court justices Dinshaw Davar and Frank Beaman noted in 1908, Zoroastrianism not only permits but enjoins conversion.

Also, when citing the Vendidad to exhort Parsis to consign their bodies to the towers of silence, the high priests fail to mention that nowhere in the text is there talk of the sun dehydrating the corpse. The high priests are also silent on the Vendidad proscribing the burying of bones and consigning corpses to the dakhmas when there is rain. The high priests’ beliefs are not based on scripture. Instead they quote those portions that bolster their fatwas.

A younger, energetic, politically savvy , English speaking Dastoor who is also the Parsi representative on the National Commission for Minorities could slowly take over the leadership of the clergy. He has his critics but no other dastur is in a position to offer leadership. Dastoor could help open doors closed to many in the community. By doing so he would also augment the dwindling Parsi population. Acceptance is the key to keeping everyone in the fold. The priests may have lost some of their shine but they can reclaim that and more through a compassionate and reasoned approach.