Parsi community mulls Supreme Court order on mixed marriage

A recent interim order by the Supreme Court (SC) which allowed a Parsi woman married to a non-Parsi to enter the Tower of Silence in Valsad has got Parsi community talking about the issue.

In a letter to the newspaper Jam-e-Jamshed, some members of the community have written that Goolrookh Gupta, who is allowed to enter the Tower of Silence, on the event of her parents' death, should submit an affidavit that she has not converted.

As per Parsi community's unwritten rules, women married outside the community are allowed to enter the Tower of Silence across India only if they submit an affidavit stating that they will continue to practise their faith.

Dinshaw Mehta, former chairman of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) wrote a letetr demanding her to submit an affidavit to prove that she has not converted.

"The BPP is an apex body here and they should discuss the issue. Community rights cannot be given to her," said Nadir Mody calling Goolrookh as Neha.

"Since 1982 they allow Parsis married to non-Parsis to enter the fire temples if they give an affidavit that they practice the faith," said Viraf Kapadia