The status of children with one Parsi parent has always been cloudy, but now it’s official: They’re outcasts. The leaders of the Parsi priesthood have banned Navjots (initiation ceremonies) for children who are products of mixed marriages with Parsis, effectively barring them from entry into the community.They’ve also prohibited marriage outside the small community and have warned priests against solemnising such unions. The resolution, published in the community’s Jam-e-Jamshed newspaper on March 23, has polarised the dwindling community and left many inflamed.‘‘One third of Parsis marry outside the community and it’s a growing trend,’’ says Jehangir Patel, editor of Parsiana, a magazine covering the global Zoroastrian community. He adds: ‘‘Instead of accepting this reality, priests are trying to turn back the clock.‘‘The decision is illegitimate and I don’t accept it,’’ says Arish Dastur, whose father is Parsi. Dastur, who has an undergraduate degree in Religion, believes the edict is dangerous. ‘‘It will fracture this already divided, tiny community. The resolution is not grounded in the religion itself. After his enlightenment, Zarathrustha spent a large part of his life aligning people to converting people to the fold. The truth is that Parsis, including those who passed this resolution and those who support it, are converts or descendants of converts and there’s nothing wrong with that.’’According to liberal priest Framroze Mirza: ‘‘The high priests are insecure and just want to display their power. There are 90-year-old Parsis who have married outside the community, so why wake up now?’’‘‘I fully endorse the edict,’’ says Ervad Jehangir Mobedji of Dadiseth Agiari, who once walked out of a wedding when he learnt one of the partners was a non-Parsi. ‘‘The main issue is that today a half-Parsi, just as long as he has had a Navjot, can become a priest. That’s unacceptable.’’But for children of mixed marriages, the resolution only leads to isolation. ‘‘When my mother passes away, I will have to sit outside when they uncover the body for relatives to see one last time, in the Tower of Silence,’’ says Siddharth Thacker, an advocate whose mother is Parsi.Some of the most progressive Indians have been Parsis. It’s ironic that the community’s future is being put at peril because of some Dasturjis (priests), he adds.
