A poor Parsi: One who doesn't earn Rs 50,000 per month

[livingdead]

Rosy Sequeira TNN

Mumbai: The Bombay Parsi Punchayet on Friday told the Bombay High Court that it considers a Parsi who earns under Rs 50,000 a month to be “poor” and hence eligible for allotment of a flat at subsidised rent.
A division bench of Justices P B Majmudar and Ramesh Dhanuka was hearing a petition filed by Rohinton Taraporewala against BPP’s president Dinshaw Mehta and other trustees.
Taraporewala, who is in his 60s, lives in Tarapur. He has contended in his petition that he is “poor and eligible’’ for housing, but BPP has allotted flats at Panthaky Baug in Andheri to people who are “richer” than him. He has also said that he and his wife are ailing and require to live in Mumbai to avail of medical treatment. Claimant not poor, so no flat: BPP
Mumbai: A senior Parsi citizen, Rohinton Taraporewala, has dragged the Bombay Parsi Punchayet to court for denying him a flat at subsidized rent. When the matter came up for hearing in the HC on Friday, Taraporewala’s lawyer was not present. BPP advocate Percy Gandhi said a copy of the petition had not been served to his client. “He is not poor and has moved court because he was not allotted a flat at Panthaky Baug. He is very rich and has acres and acres of land. These flats are for the poor and needy,’’ said Gandhi.
To a query from the judges as to who is defined as poor by the BPP, Gandhi replied, “A person earning income below Rs 50,000 a month is regarded as poor.’’ Justice Majmudar remarked, “We have not come across any poor Parsi.”
On October 15, 2009 the HC allowed BPP to sell 108 flats at Panthaky Baug at rates approved by the Charity Commissioner to cross-subsidise housing for needy Parsis. Some 300 flats are to be constructed and given on a merit-rating scheme.
Gandhi submitted that the108 flats “are also to be also sold to poor and needy Parsis’’ and as Taraporewala is “not poor”, he was not allotted a flat. Directing that a copy of the petition be served on BPP, the judges have adjourned the matter for two weeks.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...n-Rs-50000-per-month/articleshow/12117252.cms

 

[BelligerentPacifist]

True too in Pakistan. Haven't seen one family except that the kids (high-school, college-going) too had their own cars.

 

[ace of spade]

we have one parsi in Pakistan...he goes by the name of cowassjee......a senior journalist and a rich man.

 

[Battle Axe]

I had a classmate once & yeah, they rake well in riches!

 

[haviZsultan]

The Parsis are perhaps the most sucessful community in the sub-continent. They are doing well in Iran, Pakistan and India.

Though currently they are worried about the future of their religion and its survival I am surprised they survived this long. With years of conversions and 1000+ years under Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic rule. No one promoted their religion all these years, no one gave them attention. State patronage is a great way which increases or decreases the number of followers for a religion. Parsis almost never had state patronage.

Yet their religion lives, not only lives but I personally believe it even thrives. Of course if you are at the top the chances of suffering bias even in our country are greatly reduced.

---------- Post added at 09:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:09 PM ----------

we have one parsi in Pakistan...he goes by the name of cowassjee......a senior journalist and a rich man.

Are you kidding me. They number around 50,000. There are many Parsis, the Avari hotels are owned by the Awari's namely Dinshaw Awari, Minocher Bhandara was minorities minister. Bapsi Sidhwa is a bookwriter. Muree Brewery is owned by Parsis.

Their literacy rate is about twice as high as us Muslims. Very successful community

 

[livingdead]

The Parsis are perhaps the most sucessful community in the sub-continent. They are doing well in Iran, Pakistan and India.

Though currently they are worried about the future of their religion and its survival I am surprised they survived this long. With years of conversions and 1000+ years under Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic rule. No one promoted their religion all these years, no one gave them attention. State patronage is a great way which increases or decreases the number of followers for a religion. Parsis almost never had state patronage.

Yet their religion lives, not only lives but I personally believe it even thrives. Of course if you are at the top the chances of suffering bias even in our country are greatly reduced.

Well their success is due to investment in education and being savvy about money. They are good in business. They never needed political empowerment so hindu rule / muslim rule does not matter to them.
They dont like to marry other community though.

Today the main risk to parsi community is their low birth rate, unless they do something they will go extinct like panda.

 

[haviZsultan]

Well their success is due to investment in education and being savvy about money. They are good in business. They never needed political empowerment so hindu rule / muslim rule does not matter to them.
They dont like to marry other community though.

Today the main risk to parsi community is their low birth rate, unless they do something they will go extinct like panda.

Yes that was what Parsis are worried about currently. They are also worried about Inter-faith marriages. If a parsi marries with a person of different faith he or she is not a Parsi anymore. Their governing body was thinking of changing that for quite some time.

As far as I am concerned I'd like to see them thrive. Religious diversity is to be prided over in Pakistan. Our country was meant to be one where minorities were treated equally. Parsi community trusted in Pakistan, some even moved from India because Quaid E Azam had a Parsi wife. They thought highly of Pakistan.

Take a look at this, about Indian Parsis:

38% Parsi marriages in city were interfaith in 2010
March 2, 2011
By arzan sam wadia

One of the biggest worries of the Parsi community has now been spelt out in numbers. In 2010, 38% of Parsi marriages registered in the city were interfaith marriages, a figure that has shot up by seven percentage points in just one year.

By Aarefa Johari, Hindustan Times

According to a report by community magazine Parsiana, this is the second highest number of interfaith marriages recorded in Mumbai in the past 21 years. In 2008, which was a leap year, 44% Parsi marriages were with spouses outside the community.

Parsiana has been publishing records of Parsi marriages obtained from the Bombay high court and the Registrar of Marriages at Bandra and Fort since 1989. In 2010, 81 out of 213 marriages were interfaith.

“Despite efforts made through matrimonial websites, speed dating, youth picnics and get-togethers, the trend of interfaith marriages in getting stronger, as Parsis have limited options within a diminishing community,” said Jehangir Patel, editor of Parsiana.

Patel explained that 2008 saw a fall in Parsis marrying within the community because several Parsis consider it inauspicious to wed in a leap year.

The 2001 census counted 69,600 Parsis in India, of which Mumbai had around 40,000. "Today the youth is surrounded by non-Parsis, so they are likely to choose partners from outside," said Mehli Colah, chief executive officer, Bombay Parsi Punchayet, the community’s apex body. "We have to impress upon young children the importance of marrying within the community."

Arnawaz Sanjana, 27, who married a Parsi two weeks ago, agrees. "I was imbibed with religious values from the beginning and never wanted to marry outside the community."

While most Parsis are concerned about the dilution of racial purity caused by interfaith marriages, Patel believes it is time for the community to grow more accepting towards non-Parsi spouses. “We should look beyond race and accept new members socially, in our fire temples and funeral services.”

 

[Capt.Popeye]

The Parsis are perhaps the most sucessful community in the sub-continent. They are doing well in Iran, Pakistan and India.

Though currently they are worried about the future of their religion and its survival I am surprised they survived this long. With years of conversions and 1000+ years under Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic rule. No one promoted their religion all these years, no one gave them attention. State patronage is a great way which increases or decreases the number of followers for a religion. Parsis almost never had state patronage.

Yet their religion lives, not only lives but I personally believe it even thrives. Of course if you are at the top the chances of suffering bias even in our country are greatly reduced.

---------- Post added at 09:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:09 PM ----------



Are you kidding me. They number around 50,000. There are many Parsis, the Avari hotels are owned by the Awari's namely Dinshaw Awari, Minocher Bhandara was minorities minister. Bapsi Sidhwa is a bookwriter. Muree Brewery is owned by Parsis.

Their literacy rate is about twice as high as us Muslims. Very successful community

Pretty correct in your assessment there. Except that they are rapidly shrinking community, but that has nothing to with State Patronage. The fact of the matter is that one has to be born a Parsi, one does not become one; they don't recognise conversions. Then again if a Parsi marries outside the faith then the children of that marriage don't count as Parsis. This rule is especially stringent in the case of a Parsi girl/woman who marries outside the faith. So patronage of any kind cannot increase the numbers.

Then co-sanguinary marriages within the community have certainly not helped in creating a strong gene pool. But all said, the Parsis have been a progressive and dynamic community everywhere and that is reflected in their socio-economic status.

 

[Karachiite]

Parsis are packing some big moola. But even though most of them are ****** rich, they choose to give back to their community. Parsis and Memons (another successful business community) are probably the biggest philanthropists in Karachi. Great respect to these communities.