A long-time subscriber to Parsiana emailed to inquire why the usual option to renew the subscription for two and three years was not mentioned in the form. We drafted a reply which may perhaps one day be applicable to most, if not all institutions run for and by the community: we were unsure how much longer we could continue.
A combination of age, illness, ailing dependents, was taking its toll. The younger people are either not drawn to the profession or seek greener pastures elsewhere. The print era is in decline. Social media, short videos are the convenient, economic and effective modes of communication. A mobile phone is all one needs to make one’s presence felt, one’s voice heard and one’s grievances aired. Why wait to compose your thoughts into a carefully worded letter to the editor which may or may not be printed, or be drastically edited, or make an appearance two or three weeks later? Simpler instead to dash off a few hastily put together thoughts and reactions on social media voicing dissent or agreement. The retorts are equally instantaneous; the "likes” and comments cascading in proportion to the emotions, ire or glee aroused.
Those few interested in more in-depth news and analysis can always sift through the endless forwards/newsfeeds/emails that inundate the inbox. Why bother with information that is not pertinent? Why would someone born and brought up, say in North America, or the UK or Australia be concerned about the issue of community housing in Bombay, or nonfunctional solar panels at Doongerwadi, or where to dispose ashes from consecrated fires in an environmentally friendly manner or how to tackle institutional discrimination against women? Aren’t there enough issues closer at home?
In addition, at a personal level one has to cope with mortgage payments, repaying educational loans, establishing community centers, hosting congresses, inculcating and adapting religious beliefs and traditions in an alien but democratic, questioning and open society. And as the community abroad ages and participation in local Zoroastrian association activities by the first wave of settlers from India, Pakistan, Iran, Africa and elsewhere lessens, the ties to the homelands are further eroded. How acquainted are we today with Zoroastrian settlements and developments in Tehran or Yazd? Languages which once kept communities together now serve as barriers. How many Zoroastrians can converse in Dari/Farsi? How many Parsis in the west or even Pakistan or even India can chat in Gujarati? The lingua franca of the community today is English. Even our dress code is changing. Daglis and saris are becoming rarer at functions. Pantsuits, dresses and jackets predominate. Our ability to adapt is key to our survival.
One major drawback of relying on social media and word of mouth for news and information is credibility. Does one have to verify each forward? This is not to imply that people blindly believe the established news media. Reputable media institutions have to strive for credibility if they are to garner subscribers and advertisers and avoid costly lawsuits. Or they can opt to pander to the party in power.
During Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s infamous Emergency from 1975 to 1977 there was strict censorship. Apart from a handful of holdouts, the television and radio, both government monopolies, and much of the print media only published government propaganda, half-truths and lies. But Gandhi still lost the election. Voters went by what they saw, experienced and, most of all, believed. In the 2016 US presidential elections, 240 newspapers, including prestigious publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton while only around 20 newspapers backed Republican candidate Donald Trump. Yet Trump won. In the 2024 elections, despite being convicted of felonies, Trump triumphed again.
So publications and judicial pronouncements have a limited influence on how citizens cast their ballots. Many vote according to their prejudices and fears, not on editorials. Witness the rise of the populist, nationalistic, communal, authoritarian, far right parties in recent elections in India and abroad.
While social media is no substitute for trained professional journalists overseeing and analyzing the functioning of major community institutions, the very nature of the medium restricts its reach and viability. Why should aspiring or established journalists forsake a promising and financially rewarding career elsewhere with considerable public exposure to toil on minuscule community media enterprises?
Parsis were once the pioneers of Gujarati print journalism. In his PhD thesis on the subject written over 100 years ago, Dr Ratan Marshall of Surat stated, "The Parsis owned all the five Gujarati newspapers that were published from Bombay in 1850. (But the) publications toed the orthodox line. There was no scope for reformist ideas.” Undaunted, one Rustam Wacha Gandhi, with the financial assistance of K. R. Cama and the editorial skills of Dadabhai Naoroji, started Rast Goftar (truth speaking) in November 15, 1851. "Naoroji championed social reform and his successors followed in his footsteps,” noted Marshall. "In the beginning the voice of Parsi journalists roared… Social welfare was their main concern. (But now) there is hardly any Parsi journalist deserving the first rank in the galaxy of Gujarati journalists.”
Even today the community is largely orthodox. Though every second marriage in Bombay is outside the community, the non-Parsi spouse and the children are often unwelcome. Over 80% of Bombay Parsis still favor dakhmenashini despite the absence of vultures, the non-functioning of the solar panels and the scriptural ban on corpses coming in contact with water during the monsoons (the Vendidad explicitly prohibits contact noting the pollution of the water by the decaying corpse).
Religion and faith make adjustments for the sake of convenience, prejudice, bigotry, superstition, fear of the known and unknown. For many the trilogy of good thoughts, words and deeds are not the essence of the religion. They are viewed as marketing catch phrases uttered to assuage one’s existence is purposeful. If publications played even a small role in nudging people to care for the common weal they will not have toiled in vain.