The Parsis, people and religion
Zoaraster is the man who launched the Parsi religion. At one time the Parsis were in vast numbers and ruled the entire breadth and length of Persia.They had famous kings who have a name in History.Names like Darius and xersis are famous as kings of Iran.But at some point of time the advent of the Moslems led to a mass scale conversion.TheParsi religion is one of the oldest religions where a sacred fire burns in their temples.Non Parsis cannot enter a Parsi temple. Parsis also leave their dead in what is known as a 'tower of silence' to the mercy of nature and vultures in the open. This conflicted sharply with the the Moslem religion which treated all Parsis as heretics and 'Kafirs'-non-believers. Thus to escape conversion to the Islamic faith and to keep their religion the Parsis migrated in fairly large number to Gujarat in India.They landed in batches along the west coast and settled in India.
The Parsis soon assimilated themselves with Indian culture, at the same keeping their distinct culture alive. Presently the Parsis are concentrated mostly around Mumbai and the west coast of India.The Parsi community is one of the most agressive community as far as trade and commerce is concerned and a lot many great Parsis like the Tata family among others have carved a niche for themselves on the Indian commerce field.
But the Parsis did not change with the times. The religion refused to accept conversions and Parsi girls marrying non Parsis were treated as non Parsis. With high literacy the Parsi women were also emancipated , unlike other women in India.The result was they married late and some preferred not to marry at all.All these have had their repurcussions and the Parsi polulation has started an alrming decline in numbers.
The decline of the population is a direct result of the low birth rate. The population of Parsis as per latest estimates is not more than 60,000. This is alarming and there is a good chance that in another 100 years the Parsis may be reduced to an insignificant number. Hence there is a urgent need for some introspection in the Parsi community.
