French scholar Anquetil du Perron narrates the hardships he faced in his quest to study Zoroastrianism in Surat in 1758
"It may not be unknown to the reader that Mons (Abraham Hyacinthe) Anquetil du Perron was the first European scholar to come to India with the two-fold object of learning the religion of Zoroaster from the followers of the prophet themselves, and of acquainting the learned men of Europe in general, and those of his own country in particular, with the result of his studies,” writes Kavasji Edalji Kanga, headmaster of the Moolla Feeroz Madressa in the preface to his translation from French to English of Narrative of Mons Anquetil Du Perron’s Travels in India, chiefly those concerning his researches......