India’s rank at 142 out of 180 in the global law index has been ascribed to the "draconian and colonial laws that still exist,” by Justice Rohinton Nariman ("Out with draconian laws,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, November 7-20, 2021). It is important for the court to use its power and strike down Section 124A of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) and the offensive portions of UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967). Only then will citizens be able to breathe more freely.
Parsis are a micro minority community amongst all the minority communities in India.
Being a native Parsi of Surat, once described as the Zoroastrian capital city in India, I would like to express my regret that even after 75 years of India’s independence, Surat’s Parsis do not have the right to elect or select their trustees at the community’s oldest constitutional establishment, the Surat Parsi Panchayat (SPP) and Properties Funds.
Institutes like Surat’s Parsi General Hospital, Parsi Dharamshalas, Industrial training center for Parsi Girls and women, etc, associated with the SPP have become defunct, illegally encroached upon or sold.
Burjor H. Antia, trustee of the Parsi Surat Charity Fund, responds:
Rayoman Ilavia’s letter is utterly misconceived and misguiding. Trustees of the Surat Parsi Panchayet (SPP) select eminent persons from Surat as trustees and send their recommendations to the trustees of the Parsi Surat Charity Fund (PSCF) as per the trust deed of 1841. And, as a matter of practice, trustees of the PSCF accept all the recommendations of the SPP. This is an established process which has been followed since 1841.
The trustees who are appointed on the board of the SPP are well-known figures from the community in Surat who serve the trust with selfless dedication to the best of their ability. This system has been functioning smoothly for more than 180 years and there has been no dissatisfaction amongst the members of the community. In the past, some members of the local community had tried to get the election system of the SPP trustees changed through the office of the Charity Commissioner, Surat and later on from the Gujarat High Court, but did not succeed. In fact, we do not see any reason for the appointment of trustees through general election as is being proposed.
In the past, Kavasji Vakil, a well-known lawyer, Nusserwanji Vakil, former retired vice chancellor of M. S. University and judge of the Gujarat High Court, Maneck Gheyara, Dr Sorabji Laskari, a well-known general practitioner, Kavasji Modi, etc, all now deceased, were among the illustrious personalities, lawyers, doctors and service minded individuals who were trustees of the SPP. Padma Shri awardee thespian Yazdi Karanjia and Dr Minoo Parabia, former dean, faculty of Bio-Science, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Surat are among the well-known trustees on the present board who give valuable, selfless service for the welfare of the community. They have been appointed to the board of the SPP following the same established practice.
Currently, the Panchayat runs various institutions like the Parsi General Hospital, Nariman Home and Infirmary, orphanages for boys and girls and also five cosmopolitan schools imparting education up to the higher secondary level to almost 4,000 students as of March 2020, i.e., before Covid.
The office of the Surat Parsi Panchayat
The Panchayat also provides residential accommodation to needy Parsis at subsidized rents, ranging from two rupees (USD 0.02 cents) per month to a maximum of Rs 500 (USD 6.8) to Rs 1,000 (USD 13.5) per month, in 280 flats at various buildings built by the SPP for this specific purpose. Medical help to the tune of Rs 40 lakh (USD 54,012) to Rs 50 lakh (USD 67,516) was provided in the last year to needy members of the community. Scholarships for higher education amounting to Rs 17 lakh (USD 22,955) to Rs 18 lakh (USD 24,306) are disbursed within the community each year. In the ongoing Covid period, free food worth Rs 20 lakh (USD 27,006) has been provided to those in need. In addition, an amount of around Rs 25 lakh (USD 33,758) to Rs 30 lakh (USD 40,509) has been disbursed as medical assistance for Covid patients who have been treated in private hospitals or to family members of Covid victims.
At present the SPP has a corpus of Rs 81 crores (USD 10,937,595) and vast land assets from which it earns rent. We receive donations from generous community members all across India and from all over the world through Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) channels, for which we are grateful. SPP is in the process of obtaining FCRA clearance from the Home Ministry, Government of India, for some of our other trusts which will enable us to increase our reach for foreign donations. These applications are pending at various stages in the Home Ministry for varied reasons since they now scrutinize FCRA applications from any trust very thoroughly and minutely before clearing it.
On the regulatory front, the Panchayat has been most prompt in getting its accounts audited independently and we are very particular about submitting our audited reports to the concerned authorities as per the Gujarat Public Trusts Act, within the set time limit.
In the last paragraph of his letter, Ilavia has made the unfounded and baseless allegation that some institutes mentioned by him are either defunct or illegally encroached upon which is far from the truth. It is unfortunate that due to the dwindling Parsi population, all such institutes (which are meant only for Parsis) are witnessing lower attendance and remain underutilized, which is an undeniable fact. This should be a matter of concern for us all and it is very unfortunate that Ilavia has chosen to use this to malign trustees of the SPP. I can categorically state that not one of the three institutes mentioned in his letter has been sold or illegally encroached upon.
It is also worth drawing attention to the fact that Ilavia, through his WhatsApp group, is constantly instigating members of the Parsi community into believing that the Sir J. J. Surat Charity Fund, as a group, is illegally taking away huge sums of money meant for the local community in Surat to Bombay. He has not provided an iota of proof. This is totally baseless and factually incorrect.
The world over there are several trusts having millions of dollars as corpus such as Ford Foundation, the Gates Foundation, etc, but no right is given to beneficiaries or groups of people to elect the trustees of such trusts. In a democratic state, citizens have been given the right to vote and elect their representatives because they pay various taxes to the central government, state government or local authorities to ensure smooth functioning and providing facilities like water, electricity, etc to the citizens. A charitable trust is established by settlors for its beneficiaries and the trust looks after the beneficiaries by providing educational help, medical aid, accommodation, etc. In such a scenario it is not proper and correct to give beneficiaries the right to elect the trustees as there will be conflict of interest between trustees and the beneficiaries. For instance, if a trusteeship candidate tries to lure voters to vote for him/her by assuring them that he/she will have all leave and license agreements converted into tenancy agreements, this will not be in the interest of the public charitable trust.
Without intending any disrespect to the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), as per Press reports there is division in the board of trustees which is not functioning as smoothly as it was prior to the introduction of adult franchise. It is pertinent to note that next door to the BPP is the office of the Syedna Trust which manages the affairs of the entire Bohra community. No right of adult franchise has been given to the beneficiaries and the trust has been functioning smoothly for several years. Also, it is pertinent to note that the cost of holding elections by the BPP as per adult franchise is about Rs 40 lakhs and the Punchayet does not have such large funds with which to conduct elections every time a trustee resigns or expires. As per Press reports, it is under these circumstances that the BPP trustees have reluctantly agreed to conduct elections for all seven trusteeship seats simultaneously to curtail election costs.
Man always plans his future from his experience of the past. An American statesman remarked, "I have but one lamp by which my feet should be guided and this is the lamp of my experience. I know of no way of judging the future but by the past.” I would therefore like to ask Ilavia in which way the SPP should proceed in the light of what has transpired in the BPP after adult franchise was introduced. Wise men should decide which way a charitable trust should go: by introducing adult franchise and giving voting rights to the beneficiaries, or by appointment of well-known and esteemed members of the community as trustees in the larger interest of the trust? Illavia’s contention is misguiding and contrary to the established procedure of appointment of trustees throughout the world, in our country and in our own community.