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Once upon a time the dinosaurs ruled the earth. They were very large and very powerful and thought no end of themselves. And they were very selective. Oh yes! Very, very selective! They would only eat this and not that, only walk this way and not that, and only mate with pure dinosaurs and not just anybody. They were very selective and very pure! Alas the Universe changes, and it did. But the dinosaurs would not. They grumbled and roared "Who moved my cheese?" They grumbled, very loudly at first and then they mumbled because the strain of it all was taking their breath away. And, after sometime, they could not be heard at all. They had become extinct. But one little dinosaur cousin took the change in its stride, and survived. It changed, adjusting and adapting slowly, whenever the need arose. And has after thousands of years lived to tell the story. It is the Iguana. The story should be a little frightening for the Parsis. After all, we Zoroastrians are also very, very selective! We must breed pure. Forget all the changes sweeping around the world! They are all nuts! Only we, Zoroastrians are sane. So far, so good. But statistics are getting a little alarming. The Zoroastrians are dwindling. There aren't many left and those that remain are unfortunately engaged in a game of hurling abuses at one another. Before the matter becomes serious and the orthodox and the reformists start hurling something more concrete at one another, let us put on our thinking caps and take a sane view of the situation. One of the reasons for the dwindling numbers is marriage outside the faith. Can that be stopped ? Unfortunately not. If the children of this marriage are not considered Zoroastrians then we lose not only these but all those coming after them, and that too in geometric progression ! As of now, the children may have their Navjote done if the father is a Parsi, but not if their mother is one. This is extremely improper and exceedingly illogical. The son of a Parsi father and a non-Parsi mother becomes a Parsi. If he marries outside the community again his son can also become a Parsi. And if his son does the trick again, in this the third mixed generation his son can also become a Parsi….and so on. So, by the end of a century you will have a Parsi with no more than 6.25% Parsi blood. The orthodox argue that one picks up the customs of the father rather than the mother. So do the orthodox have more interest in the customs or in the genetic makeup or in the name? What purity exactly are they talking about? Even as regards customs, in today's nuclear families I don't see how it can be a "given" that fathers will necessarily have more clout than mothers. The innocence of the orthodox in this matter is really touching. On the other hand the children of a Zoroastrian mother might marry a Zoroastrian in their time. Their children will have more Parsi blood and more likely to adopt more Parsi customs. Therefore, logic dictates that all children of mixed marriages should be allowed to have their Navjot done, but they should marry a Zoroastrian, or at least a half Zoroastrian, if they intend to carry on with the community banner. The next generation, however, may marry outside again and claim the community tag if they so desire. Thus an infusion of some Zoroastrian blood every alternate generation should ensure that genetic as well as cultural dilution is greatly slowed down. Besides, History and Science are witnesses to the fact that some amount of mixed breeding is always beneficial. It will infuse new vigor and vitality into the community. Mind you, not that I am happy with this semi-orthodox suggestion, but it is very clear that neither of the two camps will be willing to go all the way to the other side. What is the point of blooding our heads? No one is going to rest peacefully this way. Besides, natures changes slowly and we too should begin with this little changes, see how things are going, and adapt and adjust to the call of the times. The choice is before us ladies and gentlemen! Which way we want to go……the way of the dinosaur or the way of the iguana. |
