The Parsi high priests have either shied away from holding secular office or not been selected for the posts. Thus the appointment of Udvada Dastur Khurshed Dastoor to the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) is a new development. Whether it’s a one-off affair or other high priests will follow suit is too early to say. The high priests themselves are an endangered species with only five remaining, though traditionally each of the eight atash behrams was supposed to be headed by a dastur.
Of the five high priests, Dasturs (Dr) Kaikhusroo JamaspAsa and Kaikhushroo Dastoor Meherjirana’s mobility is restricted due to age and infirmities. Dastur Cyrus Dastoor is ensconced in Surat and is more at ease speaking Gujarati than English. On the few occasions one has heard him speak, he says little. Only once at the Framjee Cowasjee Hall where a public meeting had been called by one of the traditionalist factions, he rhetorically inquired who was a Parsi Zoroastrian, replying those who wore a sudreh and kusti. He then repeated the query asking the audience to state the answer.
Dastur (Dr) Firoze Kotwal, like JamaspAsa is a scholar of standing and comfortable espousing the traditionalist point of view. But he is not as visible as Khurshed. Whether he declines invitations to speak or receives fewer requests is not known but his views on interfaith marriage have alienated many Zoroastrians, especially those residing overseas. They prefer the more liberal and younger Khurshed who is 53 years old. As one of Khurshed’s critics, journalist Nauzer Bharucha reportedly commented on a Facebook page, Khurshed has "become a globetrotting poster boy of the liberals, presiding over song and dance shows and more comfortable in the banquet halls of five star hotels." The entertainment reference is probably to the song and dance performances at the Iranshah Udvada Utsav (IUU) in December 2015.
At first when Khurshed’s name was disclosed some saw it as "major defeat for the reformist camp which was lobbying hard in Delhi" for the candidature of former Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustee, Worli Prayer Hall and the WZO Trust Funds managing trustee Dinshaw Tamboly (see "A minority decision," Parsiana, May 21, 2017). But then realization dawned that Tamboly and Khurshed are close friends and allies, and while Khurshed publicly enunciates the traditionalist point of view, privately he takes a more liberal approach. The next anonymous WhatsApp message therefore urged "the community to oppose Khurshed Dastoor in one voice. How was Dastur Khurshed appointed? Who nominated and supported him? Certainly the government cannot pull a name out of the blue...a RTI (right to information) application needs to be filed."
Once BPP chairman Yazdi Desai reversed his stand on supporting Tamboly’s candidature to the NCM, among the names being bandied about on the WAPIZ (World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis) Page in The Free Press Journal of May 19, 2017 for the post were former BPP trustee, WAPIZ founder trustee and tax expert Homi Ranina, noted tax lawyer Firoze Andhyarujina and Cmde Medioma Bhada (Retd), vice president, South Zone, Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India. Khurshed’s name was a surprise as up to that time no one had mentioned him as a potential appointee.
Some alleged a conspiracy to distract the community by proposing Tamboly’s name while secretly promoting Khurshed. But a more probable scenario was the government’s belief that the community would welcome a prominent clergyman on the Commission. Khurshed is known to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the politician’s days as chief minister of Gujarat and the priest is said to be close to Union textile minister Smriti Irani. She is married to a businessman, Zubin Irani of Dahanu, a two-hour drive from Udvada.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not viewed as being sympathetic to minorities though they have gone out of their way to accommodate the Parsis, as have the numerous Congress governments in the past. The Parsis make few, if any, demands; have little, if any, political clout; are relatively well off and educated; and have their own social security network. But the other Indian minorities are more in need of government assistance and protection, if and when they can get it.
The NCM, though not a constitutionally appointed body, is a statutory one. An article in The Indian Express (IE) of May 24, 2017 explained: "Constitutional bodies have greater autonomy, they can take up and inquire into many matters suo motu and have powers of a civil court." The first chairman of the NCM Minoo Masani resigned when the body was not given constitutional standing. There was a "quagmire (over) who is a minority," stated IE. The BJP also viewed the body more for "appeasing" minorities than protecting their rights. "In its manifesto for the 1998 elections, the BJP pledged to wind up the Commission...BJP governments in Rajasthan and Maharashtra (1995-96) and Uttar Pradesh (1999) wound up the state Commissions," the newspaper noted, adding, "the NCM’s recommendations are often ignored...appointing no member to the NCM for long emasculates the institution."
There is little doubt that Khurshed has the stature, the community contacts and the political connections to carry out the onerous assignment. Serving on the Commission will expose him to the problems and concerns of all religious minorities throughout the country. The experience will stand him in good stead. But how he will cope with the additional duties is to be seen. As it is he divides his time between Bombay (where his family resides), Udvada (for his clerical commitments) and overseas (where a daughter studies), besides giving talks, performing jashans and presiding at functions. Plus this December he will have his hands full with the second IUU. How he will fit in visits to Delhi to attend to his NCM duties and travel to various destinations in the country for hearings on minority concerns is to be seen.
As Keki Daruwalla, writer and former member of the Union Cabinet secretary who occupied the NCM post around four years ago noted in his letter to Desai, "The contribution of Parsi members, apart from the redoubtable Lt Gen Adi Sethna and a few others to the NCM, has been a bit of a joke. Members come once a week from Bombay, attend a meeting, go back and their PAs (personal assistants) sign their letters and manage affairs." One can only wish Khurshed well in this additional avatar, not only for the Parsis but all the minorities of India, many of whom are long suffering and deprived of basic rights and necessities.