They fled to India back in the eighth century after more than 100 years of religious persecution following the Arab invasion of Iran and assimilated completely into India With Iran so much in the news, I find even my peripheral connection to the country evokes interest. Iran is the land of my distant ancestry, Parsis… Continue reading Despite shared roots, for Parsis, India — not Iran — is home
Category: Opinion
Leo Varadkar Former Ireland Prime Minister: If you want to be an Irish citizen, you must be the sugar in the milk
If you want to be an Irish citizen, you must be the sugar in the milk
The Parsis are a small but successful minority group who emigrated to India centuries ago. Today, they are associated with success in business and culture — for example, the Tata family and Farrokh Bulsara, aka Freddie Mercury.
They left their home in Persia as they were unwilling to give up their Zoroastrian faith for their nation’s new one, Islam. When they arrived in India, King Jadhav Rana, who welcomed guests, did not want them to stay. He explained that his kingdom was full and sent them a glass of milk full to the brim to demonstrate his dilemma.
Article by Leo Varadkar | The Times Ireland
The Magi’s Reminder: The Work of Light Continues
Our friend Dr. Sousan Abadian, Executive Director, Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington shares her thoughts on the Magi’s Reminder The days following Christmas invite a deeper remembering. Long after the Winter Solstice, after the Hanukkah lights, and after the Christmas star, the work of light continues—not as celebration alone, but as choice, practice, and shared… Continue reading The Magi’s Reminder: The Work of Light Continues
Dinshaw Avari: Karachi Was the Dubai of the 1970s
Karachi’s history does not reside merely in its buildings, its roads, or the long curve of its shoreline. It lives in the memories of those who saw the city up close, who breathed with its rhythm and understood its pulse. Dinshaw Avari is one such witness — a custodian of eras, a keeper of generations,… Continue reading Dinshaw Avari: Karachi Was the Dubai of the 1970s
Why the Parsi community is fading away| From the India Today archives
This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated September 27, 2004 The wooden steps leading to the maternity hospital are dusty and rickety. A century-old stone building that once reverberated with the cries of newborn babies is now deserted. The only sign of life is an old nurse who hobbles across the… Continue reading Why the Parsi community is fading away| From the India Today archives
Sacred fire still burns as many Zoroastrians quit Iran for America
A small fire is lit at dawn and quenched at dusk at the Zoroastrian center in Orange County, California in imitation of sacred fires in worshippers’ home temples of Yazd and Tehran which have burned uninterrupted for centuries. In recent years, Iran’s Zoroastrian community has been leaving in greater numbers, with the United States becoming… Continue reading Sacred fire still burns as many Zoroastrians quit Iran for America
A Parsi ceremony in Hong Kong delivers a universal message
I don’t think I’m alone in having an ambivalent attitude toward religion. My ambivalence is captured perfectly in an International Baccalaureate examination question titled: “Is organized religion a force for good or evil in the world?” The answer, of course, is both, although your essay would need to be a little more expansive in order… Continue reading A Parsi ceremony in Hong Kong delivers a universal message
