Honourable Members and Voters of my Pars! Zoroastrian Community, I would like to introduce myself to my dear community members.
1. My name is ERVARD TEHMASP RUSTOMJI MOGUL, professing and preaching Zoroastrian religion and performing ceremonies as per Zoroastrian religion and tenets and also practicing as an Advocate at the Bombay High Court and other Courts in India. My name TEHMASP’ denotes “TEHM” means ‘Bright’ and “ASP” means ‘horse’ i.e. Bright Horse. I am aged 74 years born on 02.09.1935 at Udvada, Gujarat. I have taken my education ‘at Dadair Athornan Boarding Madressa where I had my education on the Zoroastrian religion, Iranian culture and Parsi customs, practices and usages. I had gone through all the Zoroastrian ceremonies as required by Udvada Athornan Anjuman and performed BOI ceremonies of our Great Shreeji Iranshaw Attashbehram. I am practicing as a Parsi Priest for the last more than 60 years and also practicing as an Advocate in the Bombay High Court for the last 45 years.
2. I am a member and was Committee member of the Udvada Athornan Anjuman and during that period I had served the Udvada Athornan Anjuman on all the aspects of religious, administrative and legal works. I am also Trustee of several Charitable Trusts/Institutions which are giving help to needy poor persons by way of medical, educational and housing. I work for benefit of the said Trusts/Institutions in co-operation with the other Trustees and those Trusts are functioning smoothly.
3. Why I intend to contest as a Trustee of the Funds and Properties of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet is that today the Parsi community has spoiled their name in fighting amongst one other, having bickering and making slandering statements against one other, which I would like to first put an end to it. If we count Trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet as Akabars, then they should have feelings for their community in their heart. So, in the present scenario, the Bombay Parsi Punchayet needs and requires an able and strong administrator to look after the affairs of the Trust properly and honestly in the interest and benefit of the Parsi Zoroastrian Community, without which to become a Trustee is useless.
4. The ancient Parsis have created big charities by way of properties, trust funds (movable and immovable) only for Zoroastrian community believing in Zoroastrian religion, customs, usages, practices and tenets and the tarikats are very important for the Zoroastrian ceremonies. I am known in the Parsi Zoroastrian Community since long and therefore it is my utmost desire to bring my Parsi community up and to safeguard the properties as well as the funds of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet and to look after the same with the co-operation of the other Trustees. I am deadly against the grouping of some institutions like A.F.P., W.A.P.I.Z and other those who are spending money by giving drinks and foods and spending monies, as they want to become Trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, but my dear Voters will not be benefited by such tactics.
5. My views on some of the controversial issues now coming up in our community, 1 do not desire to criticize at this stage and I do not want to publish my ideas on the same as it is my utmost desire to settle the whole issues and bring the whole community in one nutshell in such a way that all will be happy in life and make others happy in their life which is the motto of the Zoroastrian religion.
6. As regards the controversial questions erupted in our community today regarding (i) Navjot of children of the mixed marriages, (ii) Mixed marriages in Parsi community living in Baugs and their fate in future which nobody has realized at this stage.
7. As regards the 4 days ceremonies to be performed after the death of a person, either consigned to the Tower of Silence or Crematorium, these questions are to be decided not by the Trustees of the Parsi Punchayet, but it should be decided by the whole Zoroastrian community (including Parsis and Iranis) in consultation with the Head Dastoorjis, Scholars and Zoroastrian community and find out the facts on this point and decide the same later on.
8. Regarding the residential houses/flats belonging to Bombay Parsi Punchayet, Mumbai, which is a very important issue as names of the present Trustees have been spoiled on allotments of the flats/houses against deposits which is not proper because the properties were not built by the Trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, but the same were built by the Philanthropists like Wadias, Tatas, Jeejeebhoys, Petits, etc. which families have put their names, which the present Parsi community is not able to do because the Trustees are not properly selected or elected and they are not able to administer the whole estate and the situation has gone down worst and legal battles are going on which is a shame to the Parsi community.
9. As regards Doongarwadi problem which is a remarkable property in the middle of Mumbai having acres of land and because of the fighting we are keeping the eyes of blind persons on the said property which must be stopped immediately.
10. lam putting this Manifesto in front of my dear Parsi community members to consider the same and if you think fit, please vote for me i.e. “Tehmasp Rustomji Mogul” for which act i shall highly remember my community and will be obliged to them. 1 will be able to solve most of the problems amicably in consultation not only with the present Trustees but also with the members of the community and mostly with priestly class, scholars of our community and then put whatever they said in the matter before the whole community as I am aware that the Trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet cannot do anything without the help and applying mind by the Zoroastrian community as a whole. So, if you think that I will be able to do better and/or best for my community than other persons who have filed their nominations to become the Trustees, then you all first make a preferential vote in my name.
11. There are so many contesting candidates for the trusteeship who are inviting the community members by giving them lectures (not beneficial to .he Parsi community) and giving them drinks and snacks, supplying cars, buses, etc. to bring them either at the function or in the election booth, which is highly objectionable, because these persons are aware that without giving anything as stated herein above, nobody will give them vote and therefore they are making fuss or show on this point.
12. You are cordially requested and invited to attend the said election and exercise your voting powers to bring a strong man who has got the desire to bring the Parsi and Irani Zoroastrian community up with their religion and humble and cordial relations with the entire Zoroastrian
community.
13. I have therefore to request you to consider this to be my humble request and vote for me. I assure my dear members that there won’t be any sort of displeasure or hurt feelings of the Parsi community on customs, usages, traditions and tenets.
14. I am prepared to come forward and put my say in the whole Parsi community at any place and time in the presence of all the contesting candidates if the Parsi community desires so and I take it as an open challenge.
15. Dear voters are requested to exercise your valuable votes and elect your favorite candidate on the dates fixed by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet.