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The Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India (FPZAI) president and Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) chairman Yazdi Desai’s stranglehold on the once premier all-India body is finally being challenged by six of his BPP co-trustees.
In a scathing "without prejudice,” letter addressed to the honorary joint secretary of the FPZAI Farrokh Rustomji, BPP trustees Armaity Tirandaz, Noshir Dadrawala, Kersi Randeria, Zarir Bhathena, Viraf Mehta and Xerxes Dastur alleged that a notice to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on May 5, 2019 was "with complete disregard to the provisions of the Rules and Regulations of the FPZAI and with deliberate and mala fide intention of conducting an illegal meeting against the well-defined and recorded procedures.” They called on him to "cancel this illegal and irregular EGM.”
In a reply dated April 18, Rustomji, who claimed to be responding on behalf of Desai and other FPZAI office bearers Sam Chothia, Cmde Medioma Bhada (retd), Mancher Mubarakai, Tehemtan Anklesaria and Russi Jeejeebhoy, denied the allegations and stated the EGM notice was sent as per the required procedures.
But the rules and regulations of the FPZAI are uncertain. Several amendments have been made in the recent past. When Parsiana inquired at the FPZAI registered office in the BPP for a copy of the rules we were told none was available, nor had been for quite some time.
Among the changes proposed at the EGM are several to lessen, if not obliterate, the BPP board of trustees’ role in the running of the FPZAI. One item seeks to restrict the BPP trusteeship membership in the FPZAI to only "the senior most trustee, for the time being, of the board of the Parsi Punchayet of Bombay in addition to the president.” The chairman of the BPP is ex officio president of the FPZAI. Thus only Desai and Tirandaz would serve on the FPZAI instead of him and four others. The "rationale” for the change as stated is "Since the BPP trustees have declined to cooperate and support the FPZAI, their representation is being aligned to the same number as other anjumans. Further, the BPP trustees have passed derogatory comments on the FPZAI. Differences have arisen between the trustees over a legal payment to be made as well as questions as to the role of the FPZAI and the BPP.”
Another proposed resolution is "appointing authorized signatories to the FPZAI bank accounts.” Instead of the BPP trustees signing cheques the signatories would be restricted to any two FPZAI office bearers, namely the president, a vice president, the honorary treasurer and the honorary secretary. The BPP bears most of the cost of running the FPZAI.
Item 6 on the agenda is to "reconstitute the Defunct Anjmans Committee (DAC) for effective working.” This would ensure that any BPP trustee or anjuman opposed to Desai and his group would be removed from the DAC.
Item 7 would transfer the funds of "defunct anjumans khatas (accounts) from BPP to FPZAI” giving Desai and his followers control of the monies. Around Rs 33,00,000 is in these accounts belonging to the anjumans of Khambhat, Gadag, Quetta, Banaras, Tehran (how this is termed a defunct anjuman is unknown — editors), Dharwar, Harda, Khandwa and Junagadh.
Item 8 on the agenda is to "accept the resignation of BPP trustee Noshir Dadrawala as honorary secretary which he has submitted via his email dated September 18, 2017.” If Dadrawala’s withdrawn resignation is voted through, Desai and his loyalist office bearers would have complete control of the Federation.
The last item on the agenda "To consider the draft of the trust deed in respect of the Global Working Group (Global Council of Zoroastrians Trust)” is academic in nature as the representatives of the global body during their meet in Bombay on December 21, 2018 stated they were not in favor of a Bombay based and controlled trust representing the global interest of the community.
In the letter to Rustomji the trustees drew his attention "to a surreptitious change of address of the FPZAI which in fact is the residential address of a BPP owned flat, licensed to one Anahita Yazdi Desai, as the correspondence address. The FPZAI registered office address is and continues to be c/o the BPP and your unauthorized and unsanctioned change is tantamount to abuse of your position as honorary joint secretary… (see "New Federation address,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, April 21, 2019).
"You have deliberately called this meeting at a short notice, during the holidays and at  time when the schedule clashes with other international meetings… finally and most importantly instruct Chothia (of the Valsad Parsi Anjuman) to stop and desist from functioning in any and every manner as the CEO (chief executive officer) of the DAC, as his term of three years has come to an end on April 2, 2019.”
In reply, Rustomji  noted "change was necessitated because (of) the attitude and non-cooperation encountered by the FPZAI office bearers from the BPP staff, albeit at the instructions of some of the BPP trustees…
"What really upset us was when a cheque prepared and signed and ready for dispatch to the DAC legal advisor/retainer Manek Kalyaniwalla was cancelled without informing the other members of the DAC.
"Chothia will continue... as his appointment as the CEO of DAC in the AGM (annual general meeting) of 2nd and 3rd April 2016 does not mention any end period of appointment.”
When the DAC was being reconfigured Desai wanted to appoint Chothia as the head of the DAC for life. This was questioned by a few of the delegates present, and the move was dropped.