India’s vanishing Parsis

[blackops]

They adopted Gujarati language and their women started wearing Indian dress. I think they really mingled well in India, sweeten India with their contributions. They came to India to save their religion and their uniqueness is for that purpose only.

and they are good and cute people

 

[Black Widow]

Every minority will soon become vanished in rising shining democratic india!

8000 posts under belt and such a one liner, What do I say, Masha-Allah or subhan allah??? I will be happy if a particular minority revert to there original faith. If one can convert once, why can't he revert to his original religion???

 

[vsdoc]

i miss the old parsi family in my city they owned a cafe not as big or lavish as coffee culture or ccd or barista but it had such a warm atmosphere when aunty passed away they closed the cafe and moved to bombay now only 2 more parsi families are left

Which town or city is this bro?

 

[vsdoc]

and they are good and cute people

Pertinent corollary to this. Pointed out to me by an Iranian, Abi, when we were crossing swords on a similar issue some time back.

Are the Parsis "cute and cuddly" because they are so small in number and are thus non-threatening to the big number majorities (Hindus and Muslims)in India?

Would the world react differently to 120 million Shia Iranians versus 120 million Zoroastrian Iranians?

Can there be a living link between the now Indian Zoroastrian faith to the present day Iranians?

Are the two of us (Indians and Iranians) very different people culturally (besides the obvious points of race and language and script and clothing and food).

Are the souls of the two people still closely linked?

On all these questions will depend the success of eventual reversion of Islamic Iran to Zoroastrian Persia once again - or shades of grey in between initially as Abii suggests.

 

[KS]

Would the world react differently to 120 million Shia Iranians versus 120 million Zoroastrian Iranians?.

The world at large doesn't feel threatened (except by few countries) by nearly 1 billion Hindus. SO if the present 'behaviour' of Parsis is anything to go by, why would they feel threatened by the 120 million Zorastrians ?

 

[Developereo]

There are enough threads on Arab and Islam bashing. I suggest you guys stick to the topic (Parsis in India) and refrain from your favorite past-time.

For those of you dreaming about Iran "reverting", it is not going to happen. Since this topic is not about Iran, I will be brief. Suffice it to say that Shias are secure enough in their faith to embrace their other heritages without consternation. Iranians are fanatical about celebrating Nauroz, regardless of their being Shia, Jewish, Bahai or otherwise. That does not mean they are going to abandon their Shia/Jewish/Bahai faith any time soon.

If the Parsis of India want to save their community, they will have to do it themselves. It may involve abandoning racial purity and accepting children of mixed marriage into the faith -- this is an ongoing battle between the hardliners and reformists within the community.

 

[vsdoc]

The world at large doesn't feel threatened (except by few countries) by nearly 1 billion Hindus. SO if the present 'behaviour' of Parsis is anything to go by, why would they feel threatened by the 120 million Zorastrians ?

That's exactly it. The point Abii was making.

The Hindus are chilled out and for the large part docile in spite of their huge numbers.

What you see of Zoroastrians today is a defeated race and faith. On their last gasp existentially so to speak.

Not conditions prime for being all aggro and PIA in general.

What Abii says (and knowing the fundamentals of my faith I strongly disagree - but he has a point) is that when Zoroastrianism fell to Islam, the Persians at that time were as much psychotic despots as the mullas and ayotollahs of modern day Iran.

That was the point I was making. Or trying to.

Something that would benefit greatly from Iranian contribution - but Abii seems to be on a ban yet again.

 

[INDIC]

That's exactly it. The point Abii was making.

The Hindus are chilled out and for the large part docile in spite of their huge numbers.

What you see of Zoroastrians today is a defeated race and faith. On their last gasp existentially so to speak.

Not conditions prime for being all aggro and PIA in general.

What Abii says (and knowing the fundamentals of my faith I strongly disagree - but he has a point) is that when Zoroastrianism fell to Islam, the Persians at that time were as much psychotic despots as the mullas and ayotollahs of modern day Iran.

That was the point I was making. Or trying to.

Something that would benefit greatly from Iranian contribution - but Abii seems to be on a ban yet again.

Doc! Iranians too deserve respect for saving the Persian culture. Look what happened to Egyptian and Tamazhight people, they lost their language and identity but Iranians made others like Turks and Mongols to adopt Persian culture.

 

[vsdoc]

For those of you dreaming about Iran "reverting", it is not going to happen. Since this topic is not about Iran, I will be brief. Suffice it to say that Shias are secure enough in their faith to embrace their other heritages without consternation. Iranians are fanatical about celebrating Nauroz, regardless of their being Shia, Jewish, Bahai or otherwise. That does not mean they are going to abandon their Shia/Jewish/Bahai faith any time soon.

Are you Iranian or Zoroastrian?

How then do you speak on behalf of either as a Pakistani Shia?

I know where you pain emanates from. And why you must comment for the record.

Please understand though that you have no direct standing in this debate - from either side.

Doc! Iranians too deserve respect for saving the Persian culture. Look what happened to Egyptian and Tamazhight people, they lost their language and identity but Iranians made others like Turks and Mongols to adopt Persian culture.

Cent percent. A lot of my lashing out was ill advised and retaliatory based on my (silent) interactions with a diametrically opposite Iranian viewpoint elsewhere.

 

[KS]

There are enough threads on Arab and Islam bashing. I suggest you guys stick to the topic (Parsis in India) and refrain from your favorite past-time.

Get out of your Islam khatray main insecurity man.

Parsis are in India precisely because of Islam and Arabs. Not that they decided to go on a picnic to Gujarat and stayed there because the dhoklas were too tasty. So any discussion about Parsis would somehow be related to Islam. Grow a skin and bear with it.

Pakistani Shia != Iranian Shia. They dont consider you as one of them though the reverse may be true.

 

[Developereo]

Are you Iranian or Zoroastrian?

How then do you speak on behalf of either as a Pakistani Shia?

Shia is Shia -- Pakistani or Iranian.

I have an excellent understanding of the Shia's psyche and your delusions about Iran reverting will remain so. I also have extensive interactions with Jewish and Shia Iranians who, like I wrote, are fanatical about Nauroz and other aspects of Iranian heritage, yet I can guarantee you that they have no intention of "reverting" to anything -- zip, zero, NADA.

Just because you found some Iranians here who share your fantasy will not change the reality.

I know where you pain emanates from. And why you must comment for the record.

You know nothing about me.

I, however, can find your posts where you argued for several pages with Surenas about how the Indian Parsis have maintained their racial purity -- from the indigenous Indians -- over the centuries.

Please understand though that you have no direct standing in this debate - from either side.

If the discussion is about Indian Parsis, I have no comment. But when you guys start making delusional projections about Shias, then I will bring a dose of reality.

Pakistani Shia != Iranian Shia. They dont consider you as one of them though the reverse may be true.

And the Indian Parsis don't consider you good enough to be inducted into their faith because you would spoil their racial purity.

Deal with it.

 

[vsdoc]

Developer, I have hardcore Shia friends. Indian muslims. You are no different.

Yes, they look up to Iran for guidance and leadership in matters of the faith.

They are under no delusions of being the same people.

Let it rest please.

 

[Developereo]

Developer, I have hardcore Shia friends. Indian muslims. You are no different.

Yes, they look up to Iran for guidance and leadership in matters of the faith.

They are under no delusions of being the same people.

Let it rest please.

For the record, we do not look up Iran for anything. The holy sites of Shia Islam are all in Iraq, and the Shia leaders of Iran hold no significance to non-Iranian Shias.

I was commenting on the Shia psyche, which is the same across Shia'ism. If you guys think that celebrating Nauroz will lead to a Zoroastrian reawakening, you are dreaming. Iranians have never abandoned their Zoroastrian customs over the centuries, yet they have not reverted. It simply is not going to happen.

 

[KS]

And the Indian Parsis don't consider you good enough to be inducted into their faith because you would spoil their racial purity.

Deal with it.

History FAIL. But considering who it is, I'm not surprised.

It was the Hindu king Jadi Rana who gave refuge to the Parsis fleeing persecution from Islam on the promise that they would not mix with the local population and would maintain their blood.

And the Parsis too were not intent on staying in India forever. India was just considered to be their rallying point to win back Persia from the Arabian hordes. Hence the need to maintain the bloodlines.

And frankly why do you care about Iranian shias..Will your personal faith suffer from a crisis if they revert ?

I was commenting on the Shia psyche, which is the same across Shia'ism. .

Dude you are talking from a Pakistani psyche. The looking-for-justification-for-47 psyche. Not the Iranian psyche.

Pakistani Shia psyche is not the same as Iranian shia psyche just like Pakistani sunni psyche is not the same as Arab psyche.

 

[vsdoc]

Developer, I am curious.

When and how did Shia Islam come to the sub-continent?

Were you guys Hindu to Shia direct inorganic converts ?

Or were you Hindu to Sunni to Shia hybrid inorganic-organic converts ?