We Parsis have had a long tradition with politics at the national, state and city level.
Dadabhoy Navroji was one of the founding fathers of the Indian National Congress in the late 19th Century. He was also one of the few Indian MPs in the British Parliament. [wikipedia]
Sir Pherozshaw Mehta was involved in politics at all levels and his statue adorns the Bombay Municipal Corporation Building at VT. He is considered the father of the Bombay Municipality. [wikipedia]
This brings me to the point about Parsis in politics in present day India.
There are no sitting MP’s either in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha today. In a preliminary search, I have come up with very few names of Parsi MP’s. Piloo Mody and Minoo Masani are the two MP’s I have heard of the most when it comes to Parsis in elected offices.
Feroze Gandhi, husband of Indira and grandfather of India’s current political dynasty was an Indian MP too.
Parsis have also predominantly been followers of the Congres party. Most parsis I know vote for the Congress. However that trend may be changing in recent years.
As the next Lok Sabha elections come up in the near future, how do you see the Parsi community voting. Sadly because of our miniscule numbers we are a non-existent voting block even at a constituency level.
Also, if you know of past Parsi MP’s, MLA’s, MLC’s and corporators in your area, please let us know in the comments section. We will take that information and make it into a coherent list.