Who is a Parsi ?

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About the Book The author takes the reader through a detailed analysis of the court cases and seeks to reveal through transcripts the true picture of the community. She unveils the history of an ancient Persian trading community, the Persees or Persians familiar with the sea route to India from before 500 BCE living tribe among the Hindus, and narrates how they rediscovered their religion and their ancient connect with Persia how in the 19th century they read their recently translated holy book, Gathas, and understood that they were the followers of Ahura Mazda, the one God, who preached a religion for all humankind. The epiphanic realization dawned upon them that the greatest 'meritorious act' performed by a follower of Ahura Mazda was to bring an alien into the faith.

The author depicts the dichotomy of the community in the 20th century, between the orthodox and the reformist groups and explains the anomaly of how the reformists who followed the original Mazdayasna or Parsi religion, constituted the real orthodoxy. It was a reform movement led by the high priests of the community and the most influential members of society, for a return to the pristine purity of the original Zoroastrian Religion. This book documents, through letters, articles in the newspapers, and transcripts from court cases, the views of those brave men, Dadabhoy Navroji, Ratan D. Tata, Ratan J. Tata, Sir Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, Sir Jehangir Cawasjee Jehangir, Rustumji Byramji Jeejeebhoy, Homi J. Bhabha, K.R. Cama, and many others who had the courage to stand up and fight for what they believed in, that Parsi and Zoroastrian meant the same thing. This book too uses the two terms Parsis and Zoroastrians synonymously. As warranted by the detailed final judgment of the Bombay High Court, in the contested case of Irani vs. Irani (1960): Chapter 24.

And finally: Lewis Carroll- author of Alice in Wonderland - tells us: 'what a comfort a dictionary is': since it is that which gives us a list of words of a language in alphabetical order and explains what they mean. The (authoritative) Shorter Oxford English Dictionary explains what the word 'Parsee' (so spelt) means: 'one of the descendants (i.e., "one who is descended from an ancestor or an issue in any degree") of those Persians who fled to India in the 7th and 8th centuries to escape Moslem persecution and who still retain their religion (ZORASTRIANISM). The Shorter Oxford, be it noted, does not confine the definition to patrilineal descent alone.

About the Author Prochy Mehta is a daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, school leader and topper, and a highly successful sportsperson. She represented West Bengal in hockey and basketball, and India in Masters Athletics. She has won 71 medals at international athletic meets including 52 gold medals. She is the Asian Record holder in the categories of 400 metres and in the Triple Jump, in the Women's 40+ age group. A recipient of the Ladies Study Group Award for contribution to the field of sport and the Federation of Parsi Anjuman of India Award for Sports, Mehta is also the president of the Athletic Coaches Association of Bengal. She is the first female president of the Calcutta Parsee Club. Her father, the late Rusi B. Gimi, an eminent social worker of Calcutta, was a pioneer in outdoor advertising in India. His company Selvel, started in 1945, is now synonymous with Out of Home (OOH) advertising. Mehta is actively involved in the business and is a director in several of the companies.

Cover image: Illustrations in the Hindu Punch magazine referring to the Petit vs Jeejeebhoy case and the compromise solution suggested by the judges.

Foreword A proud boast of Parsis is that they belong to the world's most ancient monotheistic religion. As a matter of historical fact, they do. But presently - with the steep decline in birth-rate, the entire community is in jeopardy; it is believed, by many, that Parsi personal law' is largely responsible for this plight: which is precisely the theme around which this well-researched and liberally-illustrated book has been written.

When the hero of Shakespeare's tragic play: Hamlet is told that he has to avenge his father's murder (at the hands of his own uncle) he cries out in anguish:

The time is out of joint; O cursed spite! That ever I was born to set it right In Prochy Mehta's view, - for Parsis, the times are definitely out of joint, and she has valiantly strived 'to set it right": not in a spirit of acrimony or confrontation, but by invoking the more pleasurable - art of persuasion.

Preface The writing of my first book, The Pioneering Parsis of Calcutta, took me on a journey that helped me see my own city and my own people in a new light. It acquainted me with many a hitherto unknown aspect of the lives and times of the early generations of Parsis in the City of Joy. Kolkata, I discovered in awe, was once a cultural-educational hub for Zoroastrians and the city sounded the call for return to the original Zoroastrian religion. The high priests of the two agiaries in Kolkata, Dastur Kaekobad Aderbad Dastur Noshirwan and Dastur Kaikhushru Jamaspjee, and other prominent members of the community in Calcutta led what I may rightfully call a Parsi Renaissance.

My research made me realize that the tales we have heard for generations, and what has been handed down to us as history of the Parsi community in India, have often been rather fictitious. The perception, for example, that the Parsis have always been an affluent community, is a modern-day myth devoid of any true value. The story of the arrival of the Parsis in India, the most important chapter in that history, is itself shrouded in mystery.

In the present book, I attempt to set that record straight and lift the veil from the glorious history of our people. I wish to handhold the reader in this journey through the lanes and by-lanes of our history from the time of the writing of the poem Qisaa-i-Sanjan in 1599, when Parsi recorded history actually begins, to the 20th century. Bear with me if I meander sometimes, for its no easy task. It seeks to capture 400 years' history in 300 pages.

**Contents and Sample Pages**