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"Don’t you think it would be great/ if globally we cooperate?

The action can be by local teams/ But a global overarch, it seems

Will help to fund and energize/ Such an initiative would be wise.”

As chief guest at the annual general meeting of the Global Working Group (GWG) and the Global Council of Zoroastrians Trust (GCZT) on February 2, 2025, Nadir Godrej, chairman of the Godrej Industries Group, imparted this message in his poetic style to the leaders of the international community. As he further reiterated, 

"GCZT is the way to go/Many benefits are bound to flow.

Five verticals have been selected/ If we support them all we’ll be protected…

Our youth are our future treasures/ We should take the essential measures

To teach them how to succeed/ And also to learn how to lead.

More solutions need to be tried/ To put an end to the demographic slide.

Housing has always been an issue. Do we need to try something new?...

The slogan ‘Unite hearts, transform lives’/Can help to see the community survives…”

The "five verticals” he referred to are relief of poverty, health and wellness, youth, mobeds, demography. In addition to Godrej, three well-known personalities from the legal, business and medical field were also invited to share their observations and recommendations to strengthen the fabric of the Zoroastrian community. Senior counsel Darius Khambata, chairman of the Rasna Group, Piruz Khambatta and neurosurgeon Dr Keki Turel enthused those present with their candid reflections and comments.

"Small size to our advantage”

The increase in community numbers in India from 85,000 in 1881 to 1,14,890 in 1941 corresponded with a rise in cosmopolitan philanthropy over the same period, pointed out Khambata, former advocate general of Maharashtra and additional solicitor general of India. Whether those business tycoons made their money from the opium trade or cotton boom, it was Parsi charity that largely endowed Bombay. That "philanthropic zeal tapered off after 1941.” 

Associated with the house of Tatas, Khambata referred to the munificence of Jamsetji Tata, as also his sons Dorab and Ratan who we "tend to undervalue.” Although Khambata’s resignation from the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust in 2015 indicated differences with then chairman emeritus Ratan Tata over his handling of the dispute with his hand-picked successor Cyrus Mistry, Khambata told the GCZT gathering, "Ratan Tata had a profound impact on me… He had an impeccable memory. Years later when I told him I have no regrets (for taking that stance), he said, ‘I totally understand and respect you for it.’” Khambata admired Ratan’s "vision for the Tata Trusts to become catalysts for change.” Even while he eschewed rituals "he embodied the values of a true Zoroastrian — keeping one’s promise, relative simplicity.” 

The community should turn to "the core tenets of Zoroastrianism for our credo of conduct. Our USP (unique selling proposition) is honoring those who live by truth; not measuring success in material terms.” He recalled the remark by the Greek historian Herodotus who although inimical to the Persians observed that every Persian boy between the age of five and 25 was taught three things: to ride a horse; use a bow and arrow; to speak the truth.

Khambata cited the Yasna 30.2 that requires each one to hear the great truths, reflect and make a choice according to one’s free will. He was convinced that Srosh or our inner voice would keep us on the right path and reignite the zeal to do charity. He reminded the gathering that according to the venerated saint Aderbad Mahrespand the three salient features of charity are: giving without being asked; as soon as possible and as promised.

When there are large amounts lying with community trusts, there is need for transparency, honesty and consolidation of funds for a common purpose like creation of an institute for skills training or a medical/engineering educational institute, he stated. He also advocated the need for mentors who can contribute their time and expertise to guide and shape our youth, the importance of thinking innovatively, reigniting entrepreneurship, protecting properties in far-flung places, supporting the priesthood financially and emotionally. 

Estimating the rapidly falling community numbers to currently number below 50,000 in India, he asserted, "Our small size is to our advantage” because we are not perceived as a threat. "The community being at a significant cusp in history, we must remain neutral; not converting actively,” he declared.  Further, he advocated "an open, liberal environment where we must not fear free speech or run away from controversial subjects. Instead of viewing intermarrieds as pariahs, and the subject as unspeakable, we should be inclusive and accepting of others. Let us live and let live. Those that survive are not the strongest but the most adaptable. We owe it to Ahura Mazda, to Zarathushtra, to our forefathers. We are the trustees for future Parsis.”

"Leave a legacy”

The number of trusts/foundations per capita must be higher in this community than in any other, observed Ahmedabad based Piruz Khambatta whose father Areez was a former president of the Ahmedabad Parsi Panchayat, vice president of The Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India and founder president of the World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis. People with vested interests are taking over community trusts while many others are sitting silent. Where trusts are defunct, the trustees should be changed or the management of the trust should be taken over by competent individuals. To ensure that a Parsi property is not taken over by unscrupulous elements, the collector in charge should be approached to get that zone declared as a "disturbed/special area” for which extra protection could be provided. 

When a punchayet or anjuman redevelops dilapidated community property, 50% can be reserved as assisted living facilities for the seniors and those in need, and the remaining 50% for those who can afford to pay. For those serving community institutions, be they priests, nassessalars, employees (whether Parsi or non-Parsi), mediclaim and pension schemes for three to five lakh rupees should be arranged so that mentally they are at ease knowing there is financial security. Realizing that few doctors want to work for a community charitable hospital, he has been donating medical equipment and machinery to general hospitals where patients from all communities are treated and where Parsis in need could avail of free facilities. 

Money given to orphanages and women’s groups who organize healthy, home-cooked meals supplied to seniors would benefit the supplier and the receiver, he remarked. "Educational loans should be only for education in India; not for our kids who want to go abroad to escape from family/social responsibilities. This is the time to see India rising.”

Conceding that "customs and traditions have to change,” he added, "For that we need religious blessings. Let the high priests bring out guidelines on what can be changed… We would require support from the media to create a consensus. For long we have been talking of what our forefathers did. Let us leave a legacy for our children.”

He also wondered why, for a marriage solemnized under The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act in India, you have to come to India for a divorce. He felt the Zoroastrian community needs "to support the proposed Uniform Civil Code. We should be clear on what we want.”

Sympathy for those suffering

Inbreeding results in both good genes and bad genes proliferating. "Bad genes result in inheritance of physical and mental disorders,” reminded Turel. Familiar with ailments facing the Parsi community known for both very early deaths or very late deaths with accompanying problems of epilepsy, diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis (buildup of cholesterol, fat and other substances on the artery walls), he elaborated on symptoms and conditions that one should guard against.

"Falls are the biggest nemesis for our seniors,” many of whom suffer from osteoporosis. "In case of a fracture, don’t let old people remain in bed for too long for it could result in further degeneration of the bones.” Implants to mend a fracture could help to mobilize but could also cause further difficulty in getting out of bed. A strong advocate of yoga and meditation, he considered it "a way of life,” essential to maintain flexibility.

He advised diagnosing health problems at an early stage. For example, numbness in the hand is a sign of reduced circulation, an impending cerebral stroke. The next time a person may develop speech and vision impairment. "A cerebral stroke is a very heavy price to pay” for neglecting one’s health and ignoring early symptoms.

Cancer which is not always age related is the big bugbear of the community. Early symptoms need to be picked up for breast cancer in Parsi women. Drops of blood in a stool should be taken seriously. To rule out colonic cancer, a colonoscopy should be done and polyps removed and tested for cancer. 

On the threshold of creating an Institute of Neuroscience with diagnosis, rehabilitation and research facilities on 50 acres in Navi Mumbai, he said, "It would serve as a medical tourism center with every ‘pathy’ including sympathy.” He lamented that The B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital (PGH) "is filled with old people waiting to die. We have the intelligence, money, land to make it a center of excellence but we have to modernize. If we keep waiting it will not happen. Like the PGH, the Parsi Lying-in Hospital is just… lying. Very soon it will become a bhoot bangla (haunted house) with no one inside.”

A neurosurgeon for the last 50 years, Turel recalled, "In my time there would be 10 to 20 Parsi students each year in medical college, now there is barely one.” During the 29 years he worked with the J. J. Hospital he was familiar with the condition of patients lingering at the Parsi Ward. No family member would visit them. He referred to "the Supreme Court recognizing the right to die with dignity.” Since 2018, passive euthanasia by withdrawal of life support or stopping of medical treatment is permissible for terminally ill patients in a permanent vegetative state with prior legal approval.

Recommended GCZT founder chairman Burjor Antia, senior partner of Mulla and Mulla, "I urge everyone over the age of 60 years to prepare a living will.” This document specifies whether life support treatments such as ventilators, feeding tubes or resuscitation should be used or withdrawn in critical health conditions notes ChatGPT. "I would do it free of charge for any Parsi,” said Antia.

The final report on the GWG/GCZT meeting will appear in the March 21-April 6, 2025 issue of Parsiana.