"This is a joke of 25 years,” commented Meher Amersey, president of the Association of Inter-Married Zoroastrians (AIMZ) at the 25th annual general meeting of AIMZ on October 11, 2017 when members had to be elected to the managing committee for the year 2017-18. With no fresh nominations coming in, the same crew that has been steering the AIMZ ship for over two decades — president Amersey, vice president Smita Godrej Crishna, honorary secretary Vera Mahajan and honorary treasurer Khursheed Narang — was reelected. "Carry on AIMZ,” urged Ervad Khushroo Madon. "Carry On, as in the movies?” enquired committee member Meher Rafaat rhetorically.
Of the 380 members on the AIMZ rolls, 14 were in attendance, six of whom were managing committee members. The current 10-member committee is looking for "new blood” to carry forward the torch. When one of the committee members asked Ervad Framroze Mirza whether he would like to shoulder the AIMZ responsibility he responded, "For the last 26 months I have not gone on holiday. If you dance on too many stones you will fall down.” Being the coordinator for the Worli Prayer Hall that serves the needs of Zoroastrians who are cremated, he observed that families of interfaith married couples prefer this facility as members of all communities are permitted to sit in at the ceremonies. They had bodies brought from Dubai, Goa and Poona. Barring the Seth Nusserwanji Hirji Karani Agiary in Cusrow Baug and the Seth Pirojsha Ardeshir Patel Dar-e-meher in Andheri, all other fire temples permit obsequies after the first four days for those who are cremated, he informed those present.
With the Supreme Court recently appointing a five-member multifaith bench to decide on the merits of the Goolrookh Gupta case, Amersey considered the development "really good news for us.” The Valsad Parsi Anjuman resolution barring women who have married out of the faith entry to their fire temple and Towers of Silence is being opposed by Gupta. Since the present case before the judiciary is to determine whether Gupta has the right to enter the fire temple and attend prayers, Rafaat pointed out that even if the ruling is in Gupta’s favor, the courts may not rule on the rights of children of outmarried women.
When barred by their anjuman from taking an initiated child of a Parsi mother and non-Parsi father into the local fire temple, some families take the child to the Iranshah, stated Mirza. "There are many things that can be done surreptitiously. But why should there be subterfuge?” countered Rafaat.
"Can we support the Calcutta case?” enquired member Aban Mukherji. Prochy Mehta, and her daughter Sanaya Mehta Vyas who is married to a non-Parsi have moved an Originating Summons in the Calcutta High Court (CHC) asking the judiciary to voice an opinion on who has the right of entry to the fire temple in Calcutta. Vyas’ navjoted children have been barred entry by the present priest. Amersey responded that AIMZ "barely has four lakh rupees after 25 years.” The token amount of Rs 15,000 given twice for the Goolrookh Gupta case is because they had received a donation explicitly for this purpose. Appreciating the honorary service of auditors Burzy Maneksha and Company who were reelected for the year 2017-18, Amersey noted, "Burzy doesn’t charge a penny.”
"I strongly feel that we need to fight to get the legal definition of Parsi Zoroastrian changed to grant equality to Parsi women,” remarked Mukherji. Mirza questioned the practice to prefix the religious denomination ‘Zoroastrian’ with ‘Parsi/Irani.’ "What is the need to further qualify?” He believed that the wordings "Zoroastrian can enter a fire temple” should suffice. Patrilineality, where a Parsi is defined as one born of a Parsi father, is given weightage among Parsis as per the prevalent laws in India, pointed out one member. However, for divorce, Parsis follow their personal law pointed out Godrej Crishna.
"In 1968 there were 300 priests praying at the H. B. Wadia Atash Behram salgirah.” This September there were 30 mobeds who had joined in the salgirah jashan, mentioned Mirza who was of the opinion that unless Zoroastrians are willing to change, "pehlé mobed sooi jasé né pachhi community sooi jasé (first the priests will die out and then the community).” Parinaz M. Gandhi