The Parsis: The Last of the Zoroastrians

A small, smart, ever-changing, well-centered, thriving, and influential community, the Parsis have risen from their refugee status to become a well-established community that works in harmony with the other peoples in India today. Descended from Zoroastrians who sought to escape invading Muslims in the sixth century from Iran, the Parsi people have become an ethno-religious community. With the passage of time, the Parsis have become a completely separate community from the rest of the Zoroastrian community at large in Iran and elsewhere. With their arrival in Gujarat, India, over a thousand years ago, the Parsis have for over a millennium maintained their thousands years old traditions and religion that is only dying now because of a dwindling population and childlessness.

Over a thousand years ago, back during the eighth century A.D. when the first Arab Muslim invaders began conquering large areas of the falling Sassanid and Byzantine empires, the Zoroastrians of the region began panicking, willing to take refuge anywhere they could to retain their beliefs. While it is certain that many Zoroastrians prior to the Muslim invasion of the region had moved outside the Zoroastrian Sassanid empire, it was only during these conquests did they began moving in large numbers eastwards towards Gujarat, present day Northwestern India. King Jadi Rana of Gujarat in 936 A.D. allowed thousands of Zoroastrian refugees into his lands, provided that they did not take up arms against him. They farmed the lands of Gujarat for the next 700 years and continued to practice their religion freely but were able to integrate themselves into Indian society.

Zoroastrianism is an ancient based on the teachings of Zoroaster, a man considered a prophet by followers of the religion. The official religion of the Sassanid empire, Zoroastrianism was one of the world's first monotheistic religions alongside Judaism. In Zoroastrianism, followers worship Ahura Mazda, a universal God. In the temples devoted to Ahura Mazda, fire is the centerpiece and where prayers are often directed to. It is often mistaken that Zoroastrians are fire-worshippers because of this, though fire is used because it is believed to be nothing more than a medium to receive spiritual insight and wisdom. Believed to have a lot of influence upon later Abrahamic religions, Zoroastrianism was before the advent of Islam one of the two most powerful religions of the Middle Eastern world, the other being Byzantine Christianity.

Zoroastrianism as practiced by these refugees, who became known as Parsis, differed significantly from the form of Zoroastrianism practiced by those who remained unconverted to Islam in the former Sassanid empire (greater Iran). With the passage of time and isolation, contact between the different Zoroastrian groups across nations became less and less. It was during these 700 years that these Parsis began to also rise in social status and work both white and blue collar jobs. Unlike the Zoroastrian communities in greater Iran, the Parsis did away with all social stratification with the important exception of the priest caste. Unlike the Zoroastrians of the former Sassanid empire, the Parsis also kept the tradition of using 'the Towers of Silence'. In these Towers of Silence, Parsi dead would be left to be eaten by vultures, in keeping with tradition of not burying nor cremating their dead. Also, unlike the Hindus, the Parsis had almost completely eliminated their caste system, and thus were allowed to intermarry outside of caste.

By 1668, the British East India Company obtained rights to seven islands of Mumbai. When factories were being built by the British in India, Parsis began moving from Gujarat to Mumbai in search of better work. They became some of the most, if not the most educated ethno-religious group in India as teachers from the United Kingdom taught them to read and write, a privilege usually reserved only for the priest caste. The Parsis were regarded as almost equals to British and very respected, mostly because they didn't quarrel amongst themselves because of being of differing castes and were thus more trustful. Once again, the Parsis were able to thrive and retain their cultural and religious values even though a very small minority in a land they had lived in for a millennium.

Today still, the Parsis, though very few in number (they make up less than 0.01 percent of the population of India), continue to thrive and are among the most educated South-East Indian communities with the literacy of Parsis overall thought to hover around 97.5%. Perhaps the most pressing issue for the Parsis today is what it has always been, that being retaining their culture in a land constantly changing. There is an estimated >100,000 Parsis worldwide, most of whom only have a child or two in their lifetime, thus not repopulating the population of Parsis. Another contributing issue to the already complex problem of the decline in numbers for the Parsis is the mixing of Parsis with Hindus and intermarriage.

Despite the fact that Parsis represent only a very small fraction of the population of India at large, Parsis are one of the most visible minorities and their history is among the most vibrant and successful of all peoples in India. Despite being originally a community of refugees, the Parsis have become, with time, the best educated and most successful communities in South-East Asia of all time.

Sources

Birodkar, Sudheer. "Zoroastrianism." Hindu Books Universe. 24 Mar 2009 .

Jamshedji, Jivanji. "The Funeral Ceremonies of the Parsees." Avesta.org Fourth24 Mar 2009 .

"Parsi." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 24 Mar. 2009 .

Srivastava, Sanjeev. "Parsis turn to solar power." BBC News 18 Jul 2001 24 Mar 2009 .

Srivastava, Sanjeev. "India's Parsis ponder future." BBC News 11 Jan 2001 24 Mar 2009 .