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The percentage of interfaith marriages in Bombay has declined to 40% in 2018 from 42.5% in 2017. The total number of Parsi to Parsi and interfaith marriages registered last year was 189. While the number of Parsi marriages increased by 10 from 104 to 114, the number of interfaith marriages declined by three from 78 to 75. Of the 75 interfaith marriages registered by community members in Bombay in 2018, 47 males married out and 28 females. Thus 63% males married outside the faith; last year the figure was 57%.
The average age for brides increased from 31 to 32 years and for grooms from 32 to 35. The youngest bride was 21 and the eldest, 66. Among the grooms, the youngest was 21 whilst the eldest was 55.
December recorded the maximum number of 30 community marriages while January witnessed 27 and February 21. Conversely, the months of April, July, August and September recorded only one marriage each. Among civil marriages (Parsi to Parsi and Parsi to non-Parsi), the highest count of 17 was in December, followed by 14 in February and eight in January. At the lower end, July and November recorded two civil marriages each and June, three.
The total number of deaths reduced by 33 from 753 in 2017 to 720 in 2018. Of the 720 deceased, 647 were consigned to the dakhmas and 73 were cremated. Last year 676 had opted for dakhmenashini and 77 for cremation. Hence the percentage of those preferring cremation remained at 10% like the earlier year. Whilst the count at Doongerwadi declined by 29, the Worli Prayer Hall (WPH) saw a drop of four. Among those consigned to the dakhmas in 2018, 312 were males, four more than last year. For females, the count was 335, a drop of 33. The break-up at the WPH was 39 males and 34 females in 2018 as compared to 39 males and 38 females in the preceding year.
The average age at death in the previous year, 81, reduced marginally to 80 in 2018. The eldest to die was an 108-year-old male and the youngest a 16-year-old boy. Five of the deceased had crossed the centenary milestone. As per the Doongerwadi death list sent to Parsiana by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), 124 or 19% of these who died were over 90. Among those cremated, 17 or 23% of the deceased were nonagenarians, as per the details sent by the WPH Trust.
Regarding births the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) informed the BPP that figures are submitted to the Central Government Civil Registration System (CRS) in Delhi. On July 28, 2017 an email from the Management Information System of the BMC to the BPP noted: "From January 1, births and deaths registration is stored in the CRS. At present religion wise report (cannot be generated) through CRS. Therefore the information required by you is not available in this office.” The last figures made available by the BMC in 2015 showed 191 births (85 boys and 106 girls).
Parsiana wrote to Dastur Khurshed Dastoor, Parsi-Zoroastrian representative on the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), requesting him to follow up with the CRS for the data. In reply to his query the Deputy Registrar General of CRS, Sandhya Singh directed Dastoor to approach The Chief Registrar of Births and Deaths and Director General of Health Services, Maharashtra. Parsiana will request the BPP to approach the Chief Registrar for the details.
Our efforts to obtain the figures through the offices of the NCM have so far not met with success.
As per information available with Parsiana, there were 78 births in 2018, a decline of 15 from the count of 93 in 2017. Among the newborns, there were 41 males and 37 females. For the birth information, Parsiana is primarily dependent on the Breach Candy Hospital and families who send us documentary proof to carry the birth announcement.
Given below are the 2018 demographic details on the Zoroastrian community residing in Bombay, based on information available with Parsiana.