The trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) should be the guardians, lawmakers and execute justice for the community. Bestowed with such power, honor and dignity they should be worthy of the position they hold. Sadly, such a talented community cannot find seven performers leading the community to greater progress.
The goodwill, the respect and the admiration earlier trustees enjoyed is lost due to the contemptuous behavior of men whom we elected to be our leaders through a system of democratic adult franchise in 2008. The nasty e-mail exchanges between the current trustees ("Low-down on the BPP,” Parsiana, June 7, 2018), the shameful display of visuals on WhatsApp, the ugly scuffles, the unsavory abuses, and the most shameful acts of physical violence by the trustees have brought no honor to the community.
Ten years since that election the trustees have not found time to legalize a code of conduct for the election. The community should have boycotted the election till a legal code of conduct was framed.
Former BPP trustee Dinshaw Tamboly provides exemplary service without being a board member. When the donations to BPP have dried up for obvious reasons, he gets a steady flow of funds from the community in India and abroad as he enjoys full trust of the donors who know he respects their wishes and would not use their money to fight cases against liberal priests. There are many such workers serving the community without blowing their own trumpets. XYZ (Xtremely Young Zoroastrian) conducted by Hoshaang Gotla is diligently serving the cause of youngsters.
Like the previous election, this time too there was a contest between two major rivals: Xerxes Dastur and Anahita Desai. If the deposit is raised substantially, it would curb the menace of dummy candidates and perhaps help recover a part of the election expenditure.
There cannot be any objection to more than one member of a family being elected as a trustee. Desai has a track record of dedicated social service to her credit and she can bring grace and dignity to the BPP. But if she is contesting the election to strengthen her husband, BPP chairman Yazdi Desai’s policies, then one hesitates to support her.
In public life one has to be charitable and gracious even if we differ on principles. Is it befitting the status and dignity of a person holding the premier position of chairman refusing to attend a religious function if his opponent is attending?
All conflicts in the community will end if there is no interference from the trustees on matters of religion. The Zoroastrian religion directs us to the path of freedom, freedom of moral choice, freedom from blind obedience to meaningless practices. There is a special stigma attached to the word reform, with the reformists being considered anti-religious.
Dastur’s main concerns are about lack of transparency in the functioning of the board and the need for professionalism to run the institution. The voice of the community was gagged when the Parsi Times founder took over the management of Jam-e-Jamshed. Dastur suggests appointment of an independent chief financial officer and chief executive officer to enhance efficiency and streamline financial operations. It is recommended that the powers bestowed on the trustees be curbed and they be guided by an advisory committee of efficient, honest and dedicated people from the community.
We could have achieved and brought glory to the community if we had not been so obsessed with the issue of disposal of corpses. Our ancestors had the vision and foresight to handle difficult situations with wisdom, kindness and courage. Our holiest prayer Ahunavar or Yatha Ahu Vairyo lays importance on selecting leaders for their righteousness.
PIROJA HOMI JOKHI
piroja.jokhi@yahoo.com