Dwindling numbers
Very recently it was reported that "getting 10 Jewish men for prayers is a big task." The Jews in India number less than 5,000. It was further reported that "from Bombay to Raigad, dwindling population and migration make regular prayers tough." Replace the word Jews with Parsis, and the situation is similar.
When I was the chief executive officer of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet for 10 years and visited all its assets periodically, it was the regular refrain of the priest at Godavara Agiary (in the Fort area) that barely three to four devotees turned up daily. The situation at the Panthaki Agiary in Bandra is only slightly better. When I visited Pakistan in 2006, as a guest of Byram Avari, the situation was dismal in Lahore and Quetta.
Parsis are the largest asset holders, per capita in Asia, as also the largest per capita charity givers in India. Today we number around 46,000 in India from a high of 1,10,000 in 1941. By 2070, how many of us will remain in India (as a result of the rigorous birth control policy we follow)? What will happen to our vast estates?
To top it all, traditionalist families oppose interfaith marriages and prevent the children of such marriages from entering our fire temples and visiting dakhmas.
Do we want to be mentioned in the pages of history books, or remain prosperous, liberal, well-educated Indians, enriching both India and ourselves?
BEHRAM DASTUR
Mr. Behram Dastur, you have summarised the situation very accurately. The community needs to be educated about the issues and be empowered to debate the pros and cons of the senseless practices that have resulted in closing the doors of our institutions and disintegrating in the self-imposed solitary confinement! Our so-called leaders whose job is to be property managers have overstepped their mandate and now rule every aspect, including spiritual behavior of the community. Parsis have been indoctrinated by a false pride in racial purity and dogged attitude of misogyny, which are at the base of all the problems of numbers you have listed. We need to keep this issue on the forefront and keep challenging the so-called traditionalists. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.