Parsis played an influential role in the
political and cultural life of the Indian Ocean archipelago until the late 1960s
Ajay Kamalakaran
Edited and reprinted with permission from scroll.inPhotos of Zanzibar fire temple courtesy and copyright Rusi Dalal
The Parsi Bazaar Street in Bombay’s Fort area had an unusual resident in the late 1860s. Barghash bin Said, an Omani prince who was exiled from Zanzibar, lived in the bustling neighborhood, making friends with the city’s Parsis, as he contemplated returning to Zanzibar and becoming the sultan of the archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
During his two-year stay in Bombay, Barghash thought of ways to modernize and improve life in Zanzibar. "Barghash’s time in India had given him an international perspective, which he used to......