"Zooming in on ZAOM” (Zoroastrians Abroad, Parsiana, April 7, 2017) is a very well written and interesting article by Roxanne Kavarana Vakharia on the Michigan Parsis. Now it seems we have to forget India and concentrate on a strong movement arising in the West which could facilitate the resurrection of Parsis. Religion is being taught and encouraged, dar-e-mehers are being built and all our festivals are celebrated. There is no discrimination against non-Parsi spouses and their children are heartily welcomed. I am happy to see this happening because the Parsis in India will never bring in these changes, and the West will never accept the orthodoxy. If a similar stance were to be adopted by Indian Parsis, we wouldn’t be talking about the dwindling numbers or the Damocles’ sword of extinction hanging over our heads! It is frustrating to see us going down without much ado. There is little we can do but express our concern through Readers’ Forum!
What we need is clergy who could help the community to realize this fact, and take it forward from there. The usual argument is that children of interfaith marriages do not follow the Zoroastrian religion and being confused, don’t know what faith to follow. Here the blame rests with us for not taking that first step to accept them as Zoroastrians. If it is ingrained in them from birth that they are Zoroastrians, they would not be left in this limbo! In order to achieve this, one needs to take another major step by extending full support to the non-Parsi spouse. It is easier for a child to be proactive in a group where the parents are totally accepted. RODA D. HAKIM
Vadodara
vadhakim@yahoo.com