India’s respectable Parsi community – a community to which our country owes so many stalwarts from so many fields – is on the verge of extinction.
So why is the community on verge of extinction? Well, I suppose we all know the reason. The reason is an alarmingly low fertility rate that has been plaguing the community for quite some time now.
But why does the community suffer from such a disturbing fertility rate? I suppose that is also known to more-or-less all of us.
There are mainly two reasons.
The first reason is a general trend of late marriage in the Parsi community. This practice of late marriage naturally impacts the fertility potential of Parsi women, eventually resulting in a steady decline in the Parsi population.
However, the second factor that has contributed to the current status of Parsi population is more significant. It is actually an archaic practice that is, in a blunt language, very unhealthy. It is a practice of strictly precluding a Parsi man or women from marrying outside his or her community. And what will happen if a Parsi person marries somebody from outside his/her community? Well, in that case he/she will face Excommunication. In plain speak, he/she will be banished from the Parsi community.
For several generations the Parsi community has been following this practice of intra-community marriage, and today probably every Parsi man has some sort of blood relation with every Parsi woman. And so the marriage between them will obviously bear the risk of adversely affecting the health of their child.
It is high time that our Parsi friends shed off their flawed idea of ethnic purity, and look beyond their own community for matrimonial relationships. They must remember that no matter how old a custom or practice is, it cannot be more important than the survival of their community. After all, what is the meaning of adhering to a custom when it poses a threat of extinction to the very community that is practicing it?
I earnestly appeal to the elders of the Parsi community to “banish” this archaic custom of excommunicating Parsis who marry people from outside their own community.
The Parsi community has been a very resourceful community for India, and our motherland cannot afford to lose it.
(Note: I sincerely apologise in advance if anything in this write up hurts the religious or ethnic sentiment/emotion of any Parsi friend).
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3 comments:
I agree with you in most of the points you have mentioned. But does the custom of the Parsis marrying only from their own community reduce their reproduction rate?
There is a Christian community in Kerala known as "Knaya". They believe that they are the direct descendants of about 400 Syrians who reached Kerala in the 4c CE under the leadership of Thomas Kana. They marry only from their community. They do not seem to face any problem similar to that of the Parsis.
Probably late marriage and remaining unmarried lead to the reducing number of Parsis. Lack of suitable matches because of the limited population could be leading to this situation.
The Parsi community has contributed a great deal to the progress of India and we are proud of them.
This struck a nostalgic cord with me. Having studied all my school years in a Parsi School, I had a lot of friends in the Parsi community. In a way, I am indebted to my Parsi school for learning my own language Bengali. As Gujrati was compulsory in our school I had to learn ka kha ga (and the intractable ana) ... which later helped me learn my own ko kho go gho etc in Bengali. I can still vividly visualise my Parsi Gujrati teacher berating a friend for not pronouncing correctly "Gujrati mitthun jaban chhey, a Bangali nathi chhey". Most of the Parsis I have known were very endearing chaps. Sadly, I have lost contact with most of them. I hope they have not become a victim of the writer's prophecy.
thnks for sharing you thoughts..........
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