As our country is currently in turmoil on the issue of religion, I would like to share my experience in France where I was a student from January 1958 to December 1961. Most of the French people I came across had problems in placing my nationality. With my Parsi complexion, I looked neither Asian nor European. When I said I was an Indian from India their immediate comment was: "So, you are a Hindu." In France, for the man in the street Indian meant Red Indian from North America. Only the upper classes of society were aware of Zoroastrianism and the diversity of religions in India. Otherwise, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Muslims, Jains, Parsis all came under the generic heading Hindu, which may delight some in the current scenario in India.
I may cite here a case related to the word Hindu and the confusion it created. A Parsi girl topped the list of candidates who had appeared for the Diplome Superieur examination of the Alliance Francaise of Pondicherry and was entitled to receive the prize instituted by a French lady, Jeanne Renee. But the candidate standing second (with a politician father) contested the decision of the director of the Alliance, claiming that the prize was meant for a Hindu, not a Parsi. However, the director remained firm in his decision, explaining the misconception arising out of interpreting the word Hindu as an expression of nationality rather than religion.
Dr VISPY M. MEHER-HOMJI
vispymeherhomji@gmail.com