In a daring move the trustees of the Poona Parsee Panchayat (PPP) are exploring the possibility of using their Doongerwadi lands for burial in addition to dakhmenashini (see, "Dual disposal," pg 21). Aside from a few voices of protest from the traditionalists, the opposition appears tepid. This reform was long in the making so people probably anticipated it was only a matter of time. The Deccan Plateau city already has a private aramgah, Mazdean Memorial Park. So, another aramgah would not be a novelty. Bangalore has both a burial ground and a dakhma, with the latter being a later addition. Calcutta has both and now the Pardi anjuman is allocating a plot adjacent to its defunct Doongerwadi for an aramgah for Covid afflicted Parsi corpses from Pardi, Udvada, Daman and Bulsar.
Dastur Khurshed Dastoor has recommended "demarcating a portion of the Bombay Doongerwadi property…for burying bodies of those unfortunate victims" of Covid (see "Desperate times call for desperate measures," Parsiana, May 7-20, 2021).
Four years ago the Navsari anjuman also passed a resolution sanctioning burial on land adajacent to their Doongerwadi but due to some legal technicalities and subsequent differences of opinion the matter was shelved.
The five High Priests have opposed any alternative form of disposal where a dakhma exists within the municipal limits of a town/city. Responding to a Parsiana questionnaire (see "Dasturs against dilution," Parsiana August 7-20, 2021) they stated, "Both cremation and burial in places where a dakhma exists are against the precepts of the Zoroastrian faith." Dastoor, however, felt that Covid afflicted corpses could be buried on doongerwadi grounds "to help us tide over these trying (Covid) times. Whatever change is adopted will be brought to an end as soon as we are through with this pandemic." While the Pardi option is along these lines, the Navsari and Poona proposals are contrary to the priestly diktats. So, who is out of line here?
Perhaps neither. The High Priests profess, "Every religion in the world has a defined structure that is sacred to them. It does not serve to mix two different systems as it only results in diluting the religiously covenanted system… perhaps unintentionally, weakening our age-old, time-tested system of dakhmenashini." But "age-old, time-tested" practices have to adjust to the present circumstances. The Vendidad makes no mention of relying on the sun to dehydrate corpses. The text talks only of scavengers devouring the human remains. The skeletal structure and hair that remain are anyway removed and buried on the doongerwadi grounds. The justification for this custom is that the flesh, or naso (impure matter), is absent once the corpse is dehydrated and so does not pollute the earth.
The Vendidad strongly prohibits carrying corpses to the dakhmas during the rains. Even so, bodies are consigned to the towers during the monsoons. Otherwise where could we store 200-plus corpses? In any case, at present the bodies are in a sense being "stored" in the dakhmas as during the monsoons the solar concentrators are unable to dehydrate the body. We have made adjustments to accommodate the absence of scavengers and the rains, so why claim we are following "time-tested" customs when for convenience’s sake we have already modified them?
The Roman Catholic Church strongly opposes the use of contraceptives and resorting to divorce. But how many Catholics observe these commandments? The human population has to be controlled, both for economic and environmental reasons. Divorce is the only way out of a bad marriage, other than ending one’s life. Should one deny them these options? Same sex marriages are still disapproved of, but some countries and states permit gay and lesbian marriages. In our Zoroastrians Abroad column (see "The Pride project," pg 18) the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America has given voice to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) Zoroastrians stating, "Our intention is always to do the right thing for the organization, its members and the community at large."
As the Chief Justice of India, N. V. Ramana, stated on the occasion of the 22nd foundation day of the Vivekananda Institute of Human Excellence in Hyderabad on September 12, 2021, "The true essence of religion (is) the common good and tolerance; religion should be above superstitions and rigidities."
Where one can adjust, one should. If Poona or Pardi or Navsari go ahead with their proposals to use doongerwadi grounds for burial, we should not stand in judgment on them. Traditionalists spoke disparagingly of The Prayer Hall in Worli where the last rites of Parsis who opt for cremation are performed. The high ceilinged, white walled hall situated on a portion of a nine-acre plot with an abundance of open, green space is a soothing environment for funerary prayers. The entire estate is undergoing a Rs 40 crore revamp to make it more eco-friendly and pleasant (see, "Dignity to the ultimate journey," Parsiana, March 21-April 6, 2021). During the current pandemic the Hall proves a boon to the families of the Covid afflicted deceased to whom dakhmenashini is being denied by law. Only cremation and burial are permitted. A Surat Parsi Panchayat appeal to the Gujarat High Court to include dakhmenashini for the disposal of the Covid dead came to naught. As a compromise the clergy and the various agiary trustees agreed that prayers subsequent to the paidust could be performed in the fire temples for such persons.
A proposal for priests at Bombay’s Doongerwadi to pray for cremated Covid victims by facing the dakhmas was rejected by the majority three Bombay Parsi Punchayet trustees though the High Priests have sanctioned the gesture. One of the two Poona agiaries already permits funerary ceremonies to be performed for those Parsis opting for alternative means of disposal to dakhmenashini.
What is surprising is not that the PPP trustees are opting for the burial option but why other anjumans are dithering on doing the same. The doongerwadi lands are gifted for the disposal of the dead and people have a right to select the mode by which to consign their bodies, more so if one mode is not functioning. If there is any doubt, a court can be approached.
The Poona trustees are to be congratulated on their courageous proposal. Hopefully it should go through. The trustees fortunately have the backing of billionaire vaccine manufacturers Dr Cyrus and Adar Poonawalla. When the Poona Doongerwadi lands were in danger of encroachment the Poonawallas had spent a considerable amount of money to construct a three or so kilometer wall encompassing the estate.
In the email interview with Parsiana, the five High Priests opposed blessing interfaith marriages and performing the navjotes of the children of such unions. But these marriages are being solemnized and the navjotes are being performed. It shows that the priests are out of sync with the times. Now the clergy’s stand on doongerwadis only widens the existing chasm between estrangement and empathy.