Electing custodians to a legacy

Over the next few days, Parsis across the city will be voting to elect their representatives to the Bombay Parsi Punchayet. From housing to the inter-community marriages, what are the issues that agitate voters? Speak Up finds out

It’s a privilege to pick  community leaders
This is for the first time that any Zoroastrian in any part of the world, who is registered with the BPP, can vote to elect a trustee. It will of course be a city-centric election.

Also, anybody over 18 is now entitled to vote so that puts a lot of power in the hands of the youth.

Earlier, seat for each Trusteeship was contested as it fell vacant. Now, as per the changed system, seven seats are being contested simultaneously. Earlier, only an Anujman Committee, comprising about 1800 voters (most of them donor members), and not the Parsi community at large, got to elect the BPP trustees. Even today, the donor members have double the voting power of the ordinary voter.

Earlier, because of the small voter base, the campaigning was low key. However, now candidates have to reach out community members scattered all over the city, and the action gets more hectic.This is a unique opportunity, perhaps a first for any community, to elect the leaders of its apex governing body. This has happened due to a court order sanctioning universal adult franchise for the Parsi community. Now that the trustees of the BPP are elected members, they will be accountable for its activities.

The BPP manages the community housing and estates, educational institutions, hospitals and other facilities, as well as social and charitable trusts. They also are also expected to give positive feedback on community-related issues. The elections will merely enable the new Trustees to be installed. However, whether the problems of the community get resolved or not would depend on their success in functioning as a team and addressing the various issues with the dynamism that the community expects from them. Aggressive election promises will have to be followed up with equally affirmative performance. It will now be payback time.
 —Shernaz Engineer. Community commentator

Zoroastrianism propagates good thoughts, good deeds and good words. The
elections have been anything but that. Mud-slinging has tarnished our community’s image. We need candidates who are not just social workers but have a deep understanding of management, law and property. 
—Mickey Mehta, Holistic health guru

I respect the trustees of BPP and what they have done for the community. But many of those standing for the elections are fighting for vested interests. The way candidates have been washing dirty linen in public has put me off. Many candidates are not known to the people and even less is known about their agenda. One issue which saddens me is that non-Parsis aren’t allowed to pray in the fire temple. My daughter is married outside the community. No one can decide who is fit for the religion and who is not.  
—Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal. Theatre personality

I’m not interested in the BPP election because I’m busy with my work. I have not even voted in the general elections to choose our Prime Minister. So then how does the BPP affect me or my life? I have not even registered myself.  
 —Bakhtiyar Irani. TV actor

Housing is going to be the priority issue
I  am a Parsi and consider it my duty to vote. The campaigning leading up to this BPP election has been very brisk. In fact I first came to know of the election through banners in our colony. I am not blindly voting for candidates, I’ve done a lot of research on the nominees. Of course housing takes precedence over other issues. As a youngster, I’d like to see houses being allotted to young Parsis. Why should it be a prerogative of only the rich? If someone can’t pay a handsome amount then he is denied an apartment and this restricts his progress in other spheres of life such as matrimony.
 —Jehan Charna

Preserve traditional death rites
For the first time all the trustees will be fresh faces and this augurs well for the community. Conversion is a controversial issue. This election, it is one of the key issues, because Parsis are concerned about the preservation of their traditional culture and value systems. Our community is very close-knit and we dislike interference from outside. The Tower of Silence is an integral part of every Parsi's life cycle. The dwindling numbers of vultures is a cause of great concern. Steps have to be taken immediately to bring back this bird of prey. More housing facilities will allow our young to marry sooner. 
 —Havovi Gandhi

Why not reservations for the community?
Being a proud Parsi, I consider it to be my duty and responsibility to cast my vote to elect the seven core members of the BPP.  The top priority for me during this election is reservations for Parsi Zoroastrians in schools, colleges and even jobs. It is high time that the BPP takes a positive stance on this issue. My father is a priest, and present trustees have done nothing to improve the lives of the priestly community. The priest does not even have a fixed salary. He earns about a meagre Rs10,000 a month in these inflationary times. Why not put this issue on the election agenda too?
 —Hoshedar Bamji

Parsis are slowly diminishing
The BPP has got much greater response than expected. The main concern for all voters is the well being of the Parsi community. We are a diminishing community and I think it will die out much sooner than predicted. The BPP needs to definitely address this issue. Currently they are organising youth meets and campaigns to ensure that youngsters find suitable partners. The community has changed a lot over the last two decades, so we need to keep in mind the traditions and at the same time look at development of the community. The issue of the property is also an area of concern. 
 —Hutoshi Kotwal

Fund education for youth
The campaign for this election is very aggressive. Youth issues like education always hog the limelight. There are many young Parsis who live in hostels and do not have the funds to study further. The BPP should help them. Another disturbing issue is the near extinction of vultures. We should do something to get these birds back to the Tower of Silence. The entire cycle of life and death is disturbed because of the inadequate numbers of vultures. I’m not in favour of conversion and but there are more important issues that need attention. It is easy for Parsi youngsters to find brides and grooms these days thanks to the internet so that is not an issue the community needs to worry about. 
—Meher Sidhwa

Housing is the mother issue
Since this is the first time all the seven members of the BPP trust are to be elected, it’s a big responsibility for the Parsi community to find and vote for those who will represent them the best. We will have to select seven members from among 32 candidates. According to me, housing is a major problem faced by the community. This is one issue that gives rise to many other problems and it needs to be worked on quickly. The same applies to education because I feel that we have no been given the benefits that we deserve. I just hope that the election goes on smoothly because right now we seem to be facing the problem of arriving at a consensus on electing two people from the same team. 
—Dinaz Manekshaw

Our culture needs saving
One of the issues that I am particularly looking at is preserving the Parsi culture. The Tower of Silence needs to be preserved. The housing policy needs to be stricter; the current system is tiresome and completely unorganised. There needs to be more transparency on what land actually people are getting, I believe that the land is not being used properly. Parsis residing in South Mumbai would not like to shift to anywhere in the suburbs such as Jogeshwari. The issue of conversion is also a serious one but I think that people have varying views on the subject. People have their own individuality and nobody can enforce views on anybody else in certain matters. 
 —Mehernosh Bharucha