The United States will be voting in a couple of days to elect its next President. Two Zoroastrian youth discuss...
Issues Articles
Parsis breathe easy on mixed-marriage ban
Parizad Cama is breathing a lot easier nowadays. If all goes well, she can again call herself a Parsi. Even a few days...
Why are so many Parsis unmarried?
Minoo Shroff, chairman of Bombay Parsi Panchayat, feels most Parsis are very fussy about their choice of life partner One third of Parsis do not marry, according to a yet-to-be published study...
Shrinking flocks of vultures spoil ancient culture’s funeral rituals
Destruction of birds by a cattle drug presents the Parsis of India with a dilemma MUMBAI — Smack in the middle of the thicket of ultramodern high-rises that make up Malabar Hill, one of...
Drug ban could save vultures
Vultures in danger of being wiped out by a drug used to treat livestock in India have been given a reprieve after the Government called on companies to phase out the medicine. While perhaps not the...
Parsi debate: panchayat vs federation
Don’t force radical changes on us: Ahmedabad panchayat to governing body Express News Service Ahmedabad, April 30: Accusing it of forcing its radical propaganda upon Parsis, the Ahmedabad...
The Dilemma of Iran and US relations
Historically, a mass exodus of Iranians from the greater Persian plateau has occurred presumably for fear of religious persecution, by people of the Zoroastrian faith emigrating to Gujarat and...
Endangered vultures put Parsis in a fix
Hundreds of vultures once circled above a sacred area in one of India’s poshest suburbs, waiting to feed on the remains of followers of an ancient religion that does not allow its dead to be...
Vultures That Vanish
Spare a thought for the scrawny vultures — those once-familiar birds of prey that used to circle lazily high in the air, scanning for anything to scavenge. In my youth, they even perched on...
Parsi triplets offer hope to the community
Khorshed Bulsara (38) is a symbol of hope for the Parsi community. Khorshed stands apart in the dwindling community as she gave birth to triplets on September 2005, after receiving IVF treatment....
Mumbai Mirror: Protest In Peace
Recently Parsi Khabar wrote about the controversey that erupted from the naming of a sculpture after Prophet Zarathustra. Today the comments are published in the Mumbai Mirror. The article is...
DOKHMENASHINI CONTROVERSY
by Mr. Noshir H. Dadrawala Thanks for provoking me to respond on the latest controversy surrounding ‘Dokhmenashini. I believe this controversy has a time cycle of its own for the past century...
Why Is The Truth About Conversion Not Told?
by Jamsheed Kanga in The Jam-e-Jamshed In a recent book, “Breaking the spell: Religion as a national phenomenon” the author Daniel C Dennett explains by an interesting analogy how...
Indian Cattle Drug Is Killing Vultures
Wednesday, March 29, 2006; 6:20 PM BOMBAY, India — Conservationists said Wednesday that they expect Indian authorities soon to ban a cattle drug blamed for killing more than 90 percent of the...
Prophet in the park
THE Elisabeth Murdoch Sculpture Foundation commissioned a 4m-high nude bronze from sculptor Peter Schipperheyn, to be exhibited in the McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park in Melbourne. It is the...
Thank You Peter
This is a letter from Shirin J. Mistry, circulated on a newsgroup which sums up the end to the controversey of the sculpture. These are the views of the author, and not Parsi Khabar Dear Mr...
Sculpture Controversey put to end
Peter Schipperheyn, the sculptor shot into the Zoroastrian spotlight all of a sudden a few days ago because of his upcoming work Amidst all the controversey and the mud-slinging, Peter was gracious...
“Zarathustra” the Sculpture
Post UPDATED since original posting. Read ahead. Today morning I received a forwarded email from Adil Nariman, from Sydney Australia. It brought to my attention, the events that will lead to the...
Plans to woo Parsi Students
CONCERNED over the number of Parsi students leaving the country to pursue higher studies abroad, the Ministry of Social Justice and … Read on here technorati tags: parsi, study
Agiaries will go high-tech
‘Parsi Resource Group’ (PRG) aims to strengthen pillars of Parsi community – its Agiaries, priests and youth.. Jimmy Mistry, an architect by profession and owner of Della Tecnica,...
Kurshetji murder puts spotlight on Parsis
The Adi Kurshetji murder case of May 2003, which culminated in the conviction of the accused on Friday, has exposed the soft underbelly of the Parsi community. With an increasing number of aging...
“Farsi” or “Persian” ?
“Farsi” or “Persian”?: Persian (Iranian) people in the English-speaking countries are the only community who use two different terms to refer to their language,...
Cursetjee’s Rs 35-cr property has no heir
Two weeks after the suicide of 73-year-old Adi Cursetjee’s adopted daughter Geeta Soni (35), no one knows who will inherit Cursetjee’s Rs 35 crore wealth. Legally, though, the property...
Intermarry Me
Like other aspects of globalization, social integration threatens cultural uniqueness. And Jews aren’t the only ones sounding the alarm. Among Parsis living in the West, intermarriage rates...
Going with the flow
“Very risque,” says our tour guide, Jasmine Kotval. She’s a Parsee, a follower of Zoroastrianism that claims to be the world’s oldest religion, having originated in Persia...
Mandirs for devotees or tourists?
Organiser – New Delhi,India … Even Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, personally a very devout Hindu, was denied entry to the Puri temple because she married a Parsi and thereby shared that...
Jagannath Temple Ponders Entrance Policy
Similarly, many sevakas of Jagannatha temple belonging to traditional sevaka families have non-Hindu or lower caste origin, such as the Parsi pujaris (still worshiping the Deity of Satya Narayana in...
Indian faith based organisations commit co-operation for development
Over twenty organizations representing different faiths – including Art of Living, Brahmakumaris, Ramakrishna Mission, Sant Nirankari Mandal, Diocese of Agra and Church of North India,...
Parsis decide to marry early
Indian Parsis decide to marry early to stem their declining population
Freeze-drying touted as new green burial
Scotsman – United Kingdom … THE Parsees of Mumbai in India leave their dead on top of Towers of Silence to be eaten by vultures, while in the Solomon Islands, the deceased are laid out...
Parsis look for new path to spiritual world…
Sydney Morning Herald … To dispose of the dead a group of Parsis, the ethnic group that practices Zoroastrianism, are using solar panels and lenses like a magnifying glass to … It is one...
Tradition dying out for lack of vultures
… The Indian Parsi diaspora includes conductor Zubin Mehta, writer Rohinton Mistry and the late Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen. Continue reading at The Guardian
Parsi tradition dying out for lack of Vultures
The Guardian It is one the most poignant images in India. Muslin-wrapped mourners carry the dead up a leafy hill to a temple, conducting an ancient ceremony in modern Mumbai. They reach the Towers...
No vultures, Parsis turn to sun
The Asian Age – Bombay,India … Basically, they harness sun rays and allow them to penetrate the body and aid decomposition,” said a source in a prominent Parsi organisation in...
MSUM bans suspected cult leader
In-Forum (subscription) – Fargo,ND,USA Feroze Golwalla, a 42-year-old man who professes to be a Christian missionary to the Parsee people of Southeast Asia, was recognized near Bridges Hall on...
Infertile laws
Hindustan Times – India This is an anomaly that arises out of the personal laws of minority communities (Muslims, Christians, Jews and Parsis) that don’t recognise adoption. …
Mann opposes RSS chief’s bid to redefine minorities…
Hindustan Times – India The attempt of RSS chief SK Sudarshan to “redefine” minorities by stating that only Parsis and Jews were minorities has stirred up a hornets nest. …
Times of India – India … Should the…
Times of India – India … Should the right to adopt a child, currently restricted to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs, be extended to Muslims, Christians, Jews and Parsis as well?...
Parsis, Jews are the only minorities, says RSS chief
Indian Express – New Delhi,India RSS chief KS Sudershan on Wednesday declared that Parsis and Jews were the only two minorities in the country, as only their ancestors had …
Mid-Day Mumbai – Bombay,India … Neither Hindoos,…
Mid-Day Mumbai – Bombay,India … Neither Hindoos, Mussulmauns, nor Parsees, would dare to partake of a morsel in the society, or even sight of each other; and so strictly is this...
Vegetarian rules in housing hunt
CNN International – USA … Gujaratis. There are buildings for non-meat eating Hindus, Muslim-only buildings and Parsi-only colonies, says Jobanputra. Vegetarian …
To count or not
HindustanTimes.com UK edition – India … In one of the most extreme cases, the Parsi’s of India will die out completely in a few decades, one of the living examples of an entire...
Pasargadae Will Never Drown
Recently we posted about The Islamic Republic of Iran having embarked on the finalizing stages of a dam construction in south of Iran that would have ultimately drowned the archeological sites of...
Communal bias in building blocks
Calcutta Telegraph – Calcutta,India … the society’s bylaws restricting membership to non-Parsis were illegal, the Supreme Court ruled: “It is open to the members of the Parsi...