I am in total agreement with Homi Irani’s views ("The answers lie here,” Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, April 21-May 6, 2019) regarding the perverse nature of the Davar-Beaman judgment of 1908. I have been told by two eminent solicitors (one a Parsi, the other a Jew) that it has no constitutional validity today. Irani wanted gender equality in the definition of who is a Parsi Zoroastrian.
If someone musters enough courage to take this issue before the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, this judgment will be scuttled. It is working to our community’s detriment, creates animosity among intermarried Zoroastrians, depletes our numbers and denies financial help to the deserving.
BEHRAM T. DASTUR
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