This Jamshedi Navroz should be a happier one for the people of Iran. The crippling economic sanctions imposed by the West are lifted; the production and sale of oil is to resume. One can only hope that the influx of much needed funds will be used to improve the living standards of the people and are not frittered away supporting regional power conflicts. Democracy is still a far cry so the populace does not have much say as to how the wealth is spent. The theocratic state controls who can contest for public office.
According to The Economist weekly of February 20, 2016 the powers that be "disqualified 80% of potential candidates vying for the 88 seats (to the Assembly of Experts, a committee of clerics who will elect the next supreme leader), including all women who applied, (as well as) Hassan Khomeini, a reformist cleric who is the grandson of the founder of the revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini." Zoroastrians still face discrimination in Iran, says an academic who visits Iran often. Government policy favors Muslims in certain fields of education and employment. Every time he inquires about a Zoroastrian he met on his last trip, he is told the person has left the country.
Rather than suffer indignities or restrict their professional development, opting for a foreign land is more attractive. In the past, Iranian Zoroastrians chose to migrate to the west coast of India where their coreligionists resided. They found shelter and employment and, through perseverance, toil and ingenuity, made a name for themselves both in agriculture, industry and, most famously — cafés. Ironically, the restaurants they so laboriously made into a household word are today being recreated in many major Indian cities and also abroad by other communities.
When the Shah of Iran welcomed Zoroastrians back to Iran in the 1970s, many Iranis and Parsis from India ventured forth. The Iranian economy was booming thanks to oil; consumer items were freely available. India was struggling under the socialist regime of Indira Gandhi and there were fetters on all economic development, not to mention a nearly two-year Emergency. A flourishing black market for goods, services, industrial products existed and corruption was rampant. People feared conditions growing worse. Migration to the West was difficult but in Iran one was welcomed. Various organizations and individuals assisted Zoroastrians setting forth, both with finance and visa formalities. At the Third World Zoroastrian Congress in January 1978 a large delegation from Iran came to Bombay and was the cynosure of all eyes.
A year later, the Iranian dream was in shambles. A despotic Shah fled the country and an even more tyrannical individual and regime took his place. People now feared for their lives. Those who could, either returned to India or moved to other countries in the Middle East; the lucky few got to Europe and North America. The World Zoroastrian Organisation was formed in the United Kingdom with the stated objective of assisting their hapless brethren in Iran seek refuge elsewhere.
The forced diaspora had its benefits. The wealthy Iranian Zoroastrians spread their largesse where it was most needed: North America. The young community there comprised largely students and professionals. To have created dar-e-mehrs from their own resources would have been difficult, if not impossible. Arbab Rustam Guiv funded the first such center in New Rochelle, New York, on the outskirts of New York City in 1977, two years before the Iranian revolution. He assisted several more as did the Zartoshty Brothers. They remembered the services rendered by the Indian Parsis to the Iranian Zoroastrians of yore and felt the debt should be repaid. In recent years we have seen the American Iranians and Parsis come together to build more such centers. The Kamran Dar-e Mehr in Boyds, Maryland bordering Washington DC was inaugurated in September 2014. And this March 26, a spanking new Dar-e Mehr will open in New York, a joint collaboration of the Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York, the Iranian Zoroastrian Association and the Dar-e Mehr Zoroastrian Temple trust. The day selected is Khordadsal, as per the Fasli calendar which is observed by Iranians.
The coming together of these one-time rival bodies points to a maturing of ties between the Iranians and Parsis in the New World. With different languages, customs and backgrounds there were bound to be some differences in outlook. But finally religious ties and the civilizing culture of the greatest democracies in the world bound them together. Today the mid-winter Iranian festival of Jashn-e Sadeh is celebrated by both Iranians and Parsis in many places across the world.
In India, however, we have learnt of only two places celebrating Sadeh: a get-together at Bombay’s Petit Fasli Atash Kadeh organized by the Sazeman-E-Jawanan-E-Zartoshty-E-Irani, and at the Dossibai Kotwal Parsi Boys’ Orphanage in Navsari by the Parsi Cultural Division of the Sorabji Burjorji Garda College Trust.
The Iranian Zoroastrian Anjuman (IZA), the premier Bombay based welfare institution does not hold a public function at Navroz which is more a family celebration. They organize a play a few days later. Their other activities are not publicly known. Their internecine quarrels, invariably over property, are more publicized. Perhaps if the IZA made its presence felt culturally and socially, the traditions of Iran would be better known to the Parsis here. Ironically, around 75% of the recipients of their charitable doles are Parsis, the Iranis apparently being better off or refraining from seeking assistance.
The Iran League focuses on India while other such organizations foster general ties between the two countries.
While Iran still denies women rights, the Zoroastrians there welcome women priests. India has yet to initiate its first female mobedyar. There is much that both cultures can draw from each other. But sadly the ties between the Zoroastrians in Iran and India have almost evaporated. The Zoroastrians of Iran have more in common with the West where many of their brethren have settled. The economic bonds with India are nearly non-existent, more so due to the earlier sanctions. Aside from tours from India to Iran to visit the ancient and modern Zoroastrian sites, there are no meaningful exchanges. This is a far cry from the days of the Rivayets. By consciously making efforts to restart the dialog, both parties stand to gain.