In the last several years, especially since adult franchise was introduced for electing Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustees, the functioning of the BPP has been severely affected by divisions in the ranks of trustees. This should not be the case. Intelligent people are bound to have differing views, but they should also realize that the view of the majority must count and be accepted. Unhappily, this is not the case today and the board appears to be quarreling among themselves most of the time, causing work to suffer.
Let us think of a way whereby the trustees have a common goal and work together towards it. I wish to put forward a totally revolutionary suggestion which may sound absurd at first, but could provide the basis for an altered dynamic of having trustees working unitedly for the community.
During elections, nominations should be called for only one trustee each to be elected from the two groups — the reformists and the orthodox. The qualifying conditions for nominations could remain the same. The number of nominees will automatically be restricted, since the two groups will ensure that only one from their group stands for election. If there is more than one candidate, the group will realize that they will needlessly be splitting the votes. There could, of course, be three or four other candidates standing as independents or neutrals.
The successful candidate should nominate four others of his/her choice as trustees. Some minimum qualifying requirements must be laid down, such as age, etc. There will therefore be a total of five trustees instead of seven as of now. These trustees will serve a term of three years in office, instead of the present seven years.
To ensure that a group of like-minded trustees does not misuse the absolute authority that this system provides, any group of 100 (or 300, 500, etc, to be decided) eligible voters should have the right to ask for a fresh vote at the end of one year from election. This could be a nuisance factor, but would be well worth the trouble and cost of an election if the situation should indeed so warrant.
Cmde JAL POSTWALLA (Retd)
jalpostwalla@hotmail.com
The editors reply:
Dissension among trustees has been there since the trust was formed. Due to social media the awareness has grown.