The cover story "Counsel for the Crown” (Parsiana, January 21, 2017) filled me with a sense of pride, national — and also somewhat parochial. A New Zealander from Down Under of Indian descent has achieved a first in a foreign land in (what I still like to believe is) the noble profession of the law! Also, the Parsi Zoroastrians of the 19th and 20th centuries are now truly transformed into a global Parsi community. From what was a small — and ever dwindling — religious community of the past, the Parsis have
now revived as a community with less and less of religious affinity and more and more of racial identity.
Some of us old-timers may not like this trend but I am afraid we must recognize it — and then lump it! Like it or not, the community survives, though not as some of us had hoped it would. In the real world Parsis have a future and continue to make progress not just because of their adherence to the true Zoroastrian faith but now principally because of their ethnic origin. In this century, whilst some of us mourn the sad but inevitable passing away of the true Parsi-Zoroastrian of the past, we must now welcome a new phenomenon: the progress and promotion around the world of the ubiquitous Parsi.
So, kudos to Una Jagose, whose father was of Parsi-Zoroastrian descent converted to Christianity, but still reckoned a Parsi.
By her notable and unique achievement in the professional career of her choice, she has made all Indians truly proud.