A groundbreaking initiative to preserve the migration stories of Zoroastrians in Britain has received national recognition through features on BBC television, radio, and online platforms.
The Zoroastrian Stories of Migration Project, led by the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE), is currently being showcased as part of the Stories of Harrow exhibition at Headstone Manor & Museum in London. The exhibition, which runs through August 31, 2026, celebrates the diverse communities whose stories have shaped the history of the London Borough of Harrow.
The project recently reached a wider audience through coverage on BBC London News, the BBC website, and a twenty-minute interview on BBC Radio London’s Bobby Friction Show, bringing the story of the Zoroastrian community in Britain to listeners and viewers across the United Kingdom.
At the heart of the initiative is an ambitious effort to record and preserve the personal stories of Zoroastrians who migrated to Britain from India, East Africa, Iran, Pakistan, and other parts of the world. Over the past eighteen months, the project’s core team—Shiraz Sethna, Shazneen Munshi, and Ruby Sethna—has conducted twenty-eight oral history interviews, documenting journeys that span continents, generations, and dramatically different historical circumstances.
While the Zoroastrian community is often known for its achievements in business, education, medicine, public service, and philanthropy, the personal stories behind those successes are rarely recorded. The interviews capture memories of leaving familiar homes, navigating new cultures, building careers from scratch, and creating institutions that would eventually become the foundation of Zoroastrian life in Britain.
Shiraz Sethna, Bobby Friction (BBC London Radio) and Malcolm Deboo (President of ZTFE) – 1st June 2026
For Project Lead Shiraz Sethna, the inspiration was deeply personal.
“When someone dies in the community, one of the first things that comes to mind is that their story is gone forever – you’ll never truly know what that story was about. This project is about ensuring that these stories, experiences and memories are not lost but preserved for future generations.”
The idea emerged from a long-standing desire to document the migration experiences of Zoroastrians living in and around Harrow, home to the ZTFE’s historic Zoroastrian Centre and one of the most significant concentrations of Zoroastrians in Europe. Although migration has played a defining role in the community’s history for centuries—from ancient Persia to India and later to East Africa, Britain, North America, and beyond—many individual stories have never been formally recorded.
Supported through the National Lottery Heritage Fund and delivered in partnership with Harrow Giving and Voluntary Action Harrow, the project was selected in 2024 alongside fifteen other community heritage initiatives designed to preserve and celebrate local histories.
The importance of the work has become increasingly apparent. Many of the interviewees belong to the generation that migrated to Britain during the post-war decades and the period following decolonization. Since recording began, two participants have sadly passed away, underscoring the urgency of preserving these memories while they can still be shared in the voices of those who experienced them firsthand.
What began as a heritage project has evolved into something broader. Through intergenerational workshops, creative arts programmes, filmmaking, poetry, and music, the initiative has encouraged younger Zoroastrians to engage with the experiences of earlier generations. The project has also fostered new partnerships with neighboring communities, including the Oshwal Jain community, creating opportunities to explore shared experiences of migration, settlement, and identity.
Visitors to the exhibition encounter not only recorded stories but also a rich collection of artifacts that help illustrate the Zoroastrian migration experience. Traditional clothing, jewelry, devotional objects, Khordeh Avesta prayer books in multiple scripts, and personal documents carried by migrants to Britain all help tell the story of a community that maintained its traditions while adapting to new surroundings.
The exhibition opening was attended by the Mayor of Harrow, local Members of Parliament, community leaders, and members of the public, reflecting growing recognition of the contribution that migrant communities have made to modern British society.
Reflecting on the interviews, Ruby Sethna noted that many participants initially felt they had little to contribute.
“Some people initially felt they didn’t really have a story to tell. Yet every single story has been extraordinary. Each one has been a gift. There have been moments of laughter, moments of tears and moments of profound reflection. Most importantly, this project has brought us closer together as a community and ensured that these remarkable journeys will not be forgotten.”
Perhaps the most lasting legacy of the project will be the archive itself. The oral histories will be preserved by both Headstone Manor & Museum and the ZTFE, ensuring that future generations can hear these stories directly from those who lived them. Additional interviews are currently being edited and prepared for publication, expanding what is already one of the most significant collections of oral histories documenting the Zoroastrian experience in Britain.
For a community whose history has been shaped by migration, adaptation, and resilience, the Zoroastrian Stories of Migration Project is more than an archive. It is a living record of the journeys, sacrifices, and achievements that helped build the modern Zoroastrian diaspora—and a reminder that every family’s story is part of a much larger story still being written.
Ruby Sethna, Shazneen Munshi, Shiraz Sethna – ZTFE Zoroastrian Stories of Migration Core Project Team at an intergenerational event at Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe as part of the Stories of Harrow project.
Credit: Niaz McCarthy
Dorab Mistry (ZTFE Trustee) Shiraz Sethna (Project Lead) Shazneen Munshi (Core Project Team), Ruby Sethna (Core Project Team), Ervad Yazad Bhadha (ZTFE Resident Priest), Jasmin Sorab (ZTFE Managing Committee) Credit: ZTFE
Shiraz Sethna, Shazneen Munshi and Ruby Sethna (Zoroastrian Stories of Migration Core Project Team) Credit: Niaz McCarthy