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How to dispose of the dead? This and many other controversies feature in this history of the Parsis
An excerpt from ‘The Tatas, Freddie Mercury & Other Bawas’, by Coomi Kapoor. 14 hours ago
The differences among BPP [Bombay Parsi Panchayat] trustees, between reformists and conservatives, have led to some unseemly squabbles over the last few decades. One of the major sources of contention was the functioning of the Towers of Silence at Doongerwadi.
According to the Vendidad, Zoroastrianism has a unique system of disposal of the dead – dokhmenishini – because cremation pollutes fire, which is considered sacred, and burial is unhygienic. In ancient Iran, the bodies were left on hilltops in pits so that they could be devoured by wild animals or scavenging birds. In the 1940s, the Iranian monarch, Reza Shah, banned this method of disposing of the dead, but in India, Parsis still cling to this tradition in towns that have dakhmas.
Among the pioneer female revolutionaries of early 20th century India, Rattanbai Maryam Jinnah, wife of Pakistan’s founder, is possibly one of the most understudied and underappreciated figures in modern South Asian history. Being reserved, Jinnah never publically talked about his personal life. It took the authors 12 years to collect enough material extensive research, interviews with historians, family members and lawyers to put together this unique biography of an elusive life.
Ruttie, as she was known, was a scion of one of then-Bombay’s richest Parsee families. Her father, Sir Dinshaw Petit, was a prominent industrialist and textile magnate. At the Orient Club, he became fast friends with Jinnah, who was 23 years older than Ruttie. When Jinnah asked Petit for Ruttie’s hand in marriage, the former filed a writ restraining him from meeting his daughter. This did not stop the couple from seeing each other. Reportedly, Ruttie proposed to Jinnah at the Taj Mahal Hotel ballroom