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"Preservation of our Zoroastrian faith is not their sole domain...we too revere and respect the religion into which we have been born and would never ever make any compromises on its basic tenets,” noted a communiqué dated September 22, 2004 from Dastur Khurshed Dastoor, chairman of the Foundation For Develop­ment of Udvada (FDU). The missive was primarily directed at The Parsee Voice (PV) and meant to "assuage the concerns expressed (by)...a few individuals (who) have persisted in creating an unhealthy and acrimonious situation which can only be detrimental to the cause of Udvada.” The FDU was miffed with the PV for "promoting an unnecessary controversy over the projects that we plan to undertake, more so on the heritage front at Udvada.” Almost every fortnight (August 23, September 7, September 22) Parsiana was sent clarifications from Dastoor after two consecu­tive issues of the PV (July 1-15 as also July 16-31, 2004) at­tacked the motives and machinations of the FDU.

Using the FDU to lash out at the World Zoroastrian Organ­isation (WZO) which the PV describes variously as "this wolf in sheep’s clothing... the biggest enemy of the Parsi community and the Zoroastrian religion is that rank hypocritical body... usurp­ing or hijacking is WZO’s stock-in-trade...” the four-page bilin­gual datelined July 1-15, 2004 is devoted exclusively to exposing the "clandestine goings-on at Udvada!” According to the PV, "This invasion of Udvada by pseudo-Zarathushtis which is exactly what some of the WZO  members of the Foundation have in mind for the future, will be infinitely worse than any invasion of the past by pindharis and the Muslim hordes!” Rather than see Udvada be made into a tourist or a cultural center, the PV insists "it should remain a heritage precinct for Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians only, from all over the world!” Urging "all faithful Parsis (to) pro­test in the strongest terms possible” the conversion of Udvada into a tourist-cum-cultural town, the fortnightly wrote, "Is it a ‘Foundation’ for disaster?”

Since there are numerous hotels and dharamshalas already existing in Udvada there will be no need to establish any tourist lodge or information center, ceded the FDU. However the "appre­hension that establishing a museum will result in Udvada becoming a bustling tourist center is totally unfounded... It is envisaged that Udvada will in fact be frequented by more Zoroastrian pil­grims with the resultant improved infrastructure...” 

"A very important issue to be noted is that today there are, in several parts of the world, non-Zoroastrians who are unauthorizedly converting to Zoroastria­nism. These so-called converts don the sacred sudreh and kusti and masquerade as neo-Zoroastrians. Turning Udvada into a cultural-heritage-tourist center will attract all these  so-called converts,” noted a letter addressed to the chief secretary, government of Gujarat by six High Priests, Dasturs (Dr) Kaikhusroo JamaspAsa, (Dr) Firoze Kotwal, Cyrus Dastur, Meherji Meherjirana, (Dr) Peshotan Mirza and Nadirshah Unvalla. Appealing to him "to call an immediate halt to the cultural-heritage-tourism agenda proposed for Udvada” they wrote, "In spite of the quiet and tranquil conditions prevailing at present in Udvada it is still difficult for (the attendant priests) to safeguard their purity levels. An influx of tourists will make it virtually impossible...”

"The fear that neo-Zoroastrians or those converted to Zoroastrianism would visit Udvada and enter our revered Iranshah as a result of developed infrastructure is not only unfounded but ridiculous... It is clarified once (and) for all that the term ‘Zoroastrian’ is used to identify those belonging to the Parsi/Irani race as is the common practice. There is no question of creating any situation whereby a neo-Zoroastrian or a converted Zoroastrian would ever be allowed to enter our revered Iranshah,” asserts Dastoor.

As noted columnist Berjis Desai in The Bombay Samachar of October 10, "The current heated debate... hides the real issue. The crux is the battle between paranoid Parsis and the global Zoroastrian movement. This central truth is sinking into the consciousness everywhere: that the Parsis are dying but Zoroastrianism is flourishing... The Parsis simply cannot believe that Zoroastrianism is slipping away from their hands...”

The board of FDU at its meeting on September 22, 2004 also decided to "drop the concept of declaring Udvada as a herit­age precinct...since a fear psychosis has already been planted in the minds of local residents of Udvada...that creating a heritage precinct will introduce unforeseen controls by outside agencies.” In fact, to show how unfounded was this opinion, on September 7, 2004 Dastoor had circulated the view obtained from Cyrus Guzder, chairman and managing director of AFL Private Limited and a government-appointed member of the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC). Referring to the experiences of the MHCC whose approval is manda­tory before repairs can be undertaken on fire-temples classified as ‘heritage,’ (see "The heart of heritage,” ) Guzder had opined, "The Parsi Zoroastrian community should feel satisfied if the heritage ‘core’ of Udvada town were to be brought under the gentle protection of a listed heritage precinct. This would have the overall impact of ensuring that the listed area continues to preserve its broad form and appearance and that it would be saved from demolition, the construction of high rise buildings and extinction of its present, beautiful built fabric...Only the enactment of heritage regulations would be able to prevent such an eventuality...The advantage of seeking UNESCO listing is that it makes available to the owners of the listed property very substantial funds and technical know-how for the long-term pres­ervation of their structures... 

"However UNESCO would require to see that there is already a track record of owners caring for their properties and some degree of existing legislative protec­tion. In the absence of any current protection for Udvada, UNESCO is not even likely to entertain such an application... It would be far better... to work together with the government of Gujarat to enact a Town Planning Regulation on the lines of the existing Urban Heritage Regulations and to ensure that there is appro­priate professional representation on the Heritage Committee. This will ensure that in future the development of the township lies squarely in the hands of competent local people rather than being handed over to builders who will come from outside and rapidly destroy the ambience, heritage and culture of Udvada.”

The genesis of the FDU lies at a meeting in January 2002 when Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi impressed on Jehangir Cama, chairman and managing director of Cama Hotels Limited, Ahmedabad the need to set up a permanent heritage site at Udvada as also organize an annual festival where Zoroastrians from all over the world could gather. Subsequent efforts resulted in the Government of India releasing a grant-in-aid amount of Rs 97.27 lakhs to the government of Gujarat, and the Gujarat government allocating a further sum of Rs 24.32 lakhs for the project, taking the total to Rs 121.59 lakhs. The FDU, registered in September 2003, has Dastoor as the chairman, Cama as co-chairman, Din-shaw Tamboly as managing trustee, and P. K. Laheri, Minoo Shroff, Burjor Antia, Homai Modi and Dr Homi Dhalla as trustees. After the formation of FDU, WZO Trust Funds have lodged with the FDU the amount of Rs 5,00,000 that was received from the govern­ment of Gujarat and the donations of Rs 17,003 that they have received. Dismissing the demands "made by certain vested inter­ests that some members of the present board of trustees should step down and make way for their nominees,” Dastoor mentioned that they would like to induct a couple of local Zoroastrian residents belonging to the Udvada Samast Anjuman Committee and have already invited Mirza. "The proposed deve­lopments will...result in Udvada progressing from being a one-day visit center to a vibrant Parsi stronghold thereby adding to the glory and eminence of our revered Iranshah,” concludes Dastoor’s note.

Issuing a clarification in his individual capacity Cama wrote, "The alarming rate at which the typical mohollahs are going to rack and ruin and falling into the hands of all and sundry, to be developed into another noisy and dirty township as any other, can only be prevented if we as a community take it upon ourselves to protect and develop it as a special place...I had always propagated the cause in regard to protection and improvement of the township so that our heritage, our lifestyle, our special ethos could be protected and projected in a far better manner not only to the world but also to the Zoroastrian diaspora all across the globe whose children are probably growing up without full knowledge of what Udvada and Iranshah stand for in the heart and mind of every Zoroastrian...If today we take the step of projecting and highlighting the importance of Udvada, tomorrow we will be able to raise the funds either from the community itself or from other international and government agencies to further protect our extremely precious and sacred project...”