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#ALIH [[Bahasa Jawa Malang]]
{{Short description|Komunitas penganut Zoroastrianisme di anakbenua India, merupakan keturunan bangsa Persia}}
{{About|komunitas penganut Zoroastrianisme di anakbenua India|orang Persia|bangsa Persia}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2013}}
<!-- because of what's already here -->
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Orang Parsi
| native_name = <!-- Do not fill -->
| native_name_lang = fa
| image = Parsi lady.jpg
| caption = {{nowrap|seorang perempuan Parsi}}<br/>{{nowrap|[[M. V. Dhurandhar|Mahadev V. Dhurandhar]] ({{circa|1928}})}}
| poptime =
| langs = [[Bahasa Inggris|Inggris]] ([[Bahasa Inggris India|India]], [[Bahasa Gujarat|Gujarati]] dan [[Bahasa Hindustani|Hindi–Urdu]]
| rels = [[Zoroastrianisme]]
| related_groups =
| popplace =
| region1 = {{flag|India}}
| region2 = {{flag|Pakistan}}
| pop1 = 69,000 (2014)<ref>(26 November 2014). "[http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201411261418-0024380 India's declining Parsi population]". ''Al Jazeera''.</ref>
| pop2 = 1,092<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/464419-two-decades-from-now-pakistan-will-have-no-parsis|title = Two decades from now, Pakistan will have no Parsis}}</ref>
| ref1 = <ref>Dean Nelson. "[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9612009/Indias-dwindling-Parsi-population-to-be-boosted-with-fertility-clinics.html India's dwindling Parsi population to be boosted with fertility clinics]". ''The Telegraph''.</ref>
| ref2 = <ref>Desmukh, Fahad (28 November 2012). [http://www.pri.org/stories/2012-11-28/parsi-community-karachi-pakistan "The Parsi Community in Karachi, Pakistan"]. [[Public Radio International]].</ref>
}}
{{Zoroastrianism sidebar}}
'''Parsis''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɑr|s|iː}}) or '''Parsees''' ({{Literal translation|[[Persians|Persian]]}} in the [[Persian language]]) are an [[ethnoreligious group]] of the [[Indian subcontinent]] whose religion is [[Zoroastrianism]]. Their ancestors migrated to the region from [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanid Iran]] following [[Muslim conquest of Persia|its conquest by Arab Muslims]] under the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] in the 7th century CE. They are the first of two such groups to have done so, with the other being [[Irani (India)|Iranis]], who migrated to the subcontinent many centuries later following the rise to power of the [[Qajar dynasty]] in [[Qajar Iran|18th-century Iran]]. According to a Zoroastrian epic, ''[[Qissa-i Sanjan]]'', Parsis continued to migrate from [[History of Iran|Iran]] (also known as [[Name of Iran|Persia]]) to [[Gujarat]] in between the 8th and 10th centuries CE, where they were given refuge to escape [[Persecution of Zoroastrians|religious persecution]] by [[Muslims]] during and after the [[early Muslim conquests]].{{sfn|Hodivala|1920|p=88}}{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=148}}{{sfn|Lambton|1981|p=205}}{{sfn|Nigosian|1993|p=42}}{{sfn|Khanbaghi|2006|p=17}}<ref name=jack>{{harvnb|Jackson|1906|p=27}}</ref><ref name=bleek212>{{harvnb|Bleeker|Widengren|1971|p=212}}</ref>
At the time of the Muslim conquest of Persia, the dominant religion of the region was Zoroastrianism, an [[Iranian religions|Iranian religion]] that also served as the [[State religion|official state religion]] of the Sassanid Empire. Many notable Iranian figures such as [[Babak Khorramdin]] actively rebelled against the [[Rashidun army]] and the later [[caliphate|Islamic caliphate]]s for almost 200 years,<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Muslim Conquest of Persia|last1=Akram|first1=A. I.|last2=al-Mehri|first2=A. B.|date=2009-09-01|publisher=Maktabah Publications|isbn=9780954866532}}</ref> while others chose to preserve their religious identities by fleeing from Iran to [[History of India|India]] during this time.<ref>[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/parsi-communities-i-early-history PARSI COMMUNITIES i. EARLY HISTORY – Encyclopaedia Iranica]. Iranicaonline.org (2008-07-20). Retrieved on 2013-07-28.</ref>
The word ''Parsi'' is derived from the Persian language, and [[Literal translation|literally translates]] to ''Persian'' ({{Lang-fa|پارسیان|translit='Pārsiān'{{noitalics| – i.e. }}'Pārsi'|label=[[Persian language#New Persian|Modern Standard Persian]]}}), effectively identifying the Parsi people as pre-[[Islam]]ic Zoroastrian [[Persians|ethnic Persians]] in India and Pakistan.<ref>[http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/138161 Parsee, n. and adj. - Oxford English Dictionary]. oed.com. Retrieved on 2015-03-03.</ref> ''Farsi'', a modern word that is used locally in Persian-speaking regions as an [[Endonym and exonym|endonym]] for the Persian language, is the [[Arabization|Arabized]] form of the word ''Parsi''; the Persian language sees widespread use in Iran, [[Afghanistan]], [[Tajikistan]] and other regions of the [[List of monarchs of Persia|former Persian empires]].
The long presence of the Parsis in the Indian subcontinent distinguishes them from the much more recently-arrived and smaller Zoroastrian Indian community of Iranis, who are mostly descendants of Iranians who fled the repression of the Qajar dynasty and the general socio-political tumult of late 19th- and early 20th-century Iran.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ganesh|first=Kamala|date=2008|title=Intra-community Dissent and Dialogue: The Bombay Parsis and the Zoroastrian Diaspora|journal=Sociological Bulletin|volume=57|issue=3 |pages=315–336|doi=10.1177/0038022920080301|jstor=23620804|s2cid=148248437}}</ref> D. L. Sheth, the former director of the [[Centre for the Study of Developing Societies]] (CSDS), lists Indian communities that constituted the [[middle class]] and were traditionally "urban and professional" (following professions such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, etc.) immediately after [[Partition of India|Indian independence in 1947]]. This list included the [[Kashmiri Pandits]], the [[Nagar Brahmin]]s from Gujarat, the [[Brahmin]]s from [[South India|Southern India]], the [[Khatri|Punjabi Khatris]] and [[Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha|Kayastha]] from [[North India|northern India]], the [[Chitpavan|Chitpavans]] and [[Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu|CKPs]] from [[Maharashtra]]; [[Bengalis|Bengali Probasis]] and [[Bhadralok]]s, the Parsis, as well as the upper echelons of the [[Islam in India|Indian Muslim]] and [[Christianity in India|Indian Christian]] communities throughout the country. According to [[Pavan Varma|Pavan K. Varma]], "Education was a common thread that bound together this pan-Indian elite"; almost all of the members of these communities could read and write in [[English language|English]] and were educated beyond regular schooling institutions.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Great Indian Middle class|page=28 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pbgMy8KfD74C&pg=PA28|author=Pavan K. Varma|publisher=Penguin Books|quote=...its main adherents came from those in government service, qualified professionals such as doctors, engineers and lawyers, business entrepreneurs, teachers in schools in the bigger cities and in the institutes of higher education, journalists [etc]...The upper castes dominated the Indian middle class. Prominent among its members were Punjabi Khatris, Kashmiri Pandits and South Indian brahmins. Then there were the 'traditional urban-oriented professional castes such as the Nagars of Gujarat, the Chitpawans and the Ckps (Chandrasenya Kayastha Prabhus)s of Maharashtra and the Kayasthas of North India. Also included were the old elite groups that emerged during the colonial rule: the Probasi and the Bhadralok Bengalis, the Parsis and the upper crusts of Muslim and Christian communities. Education was a common thread that bound together this pan Indian elite... But almost all its members spoke and wrote English and had had some education beyond school|isbn=9780143103257|year=2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=none |journal=Social Action |volume=50|publisher=Indian Social Institute|year=2000|page=72}}{{fcn|date=January 2022}}</ref>
== Definition and identity ==
According to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]],<blockquote>Parsi, also spelled Parsee, member of a group of followers in India of the Persian prophet [[Zoroaster]]. The Parsis, whose name means "Persians", are descended from Persian Zoroastrians who emigrated to India to avoid religious persecution by the Muslims. They live chiefly in Mumbai and in a few towns and villages mostly to the south of Mumbai, but also a few minorities nearby in Karachi (Pakistan) and Chennai. There is a sizeable Parsee population in Pune as well in Bangalore. A few Parsee families also reside in Kolkata and Hyderabad. Although they are not, strictly speaking, a caste, since they are not Hindus, they form a well-defined community. The exact date of the Parsi migration is unknown. According to tradition, the Parsis initially settled at Hormuz on the [[Persian Gulf]] but finding themselves still persecuted they set sail for India, arriving in the 8th century. The migration may, in fact, have taken place as late as the 10th century, or in both. They settled first at [[Diu, India|Diu]] in [[Kathiawar]] but soon moved to South Gujarāt, where they remained for about 800 years as a small agricultural community.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/444672/Parsi |title=Parsi (people) |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=2013-07-28}}</ref></blockquote>
The term ''Pārsi'', which in the Persian language is a [[demonym]] meaning "inhabitant of [[Fars Province|Pārs]]" and hence "ethnic Persian", is not attested in Indian Zoroastrian texts until the 17th century. Until that time, such texts consistently use the Persian-origin terms ''Zartoshti'' "Zoroastrian" or ''Vehdin'' "[of] the good religion". The 12th-century ''Sixteen [[Shloka]]s'', a [[Sanskrit]] text in praise of the Parsis,<ref>Parsi legend attributes it to a Hindu author; [[cf.]] {{Harvard citation no brackets|Paymaster|1954|p=8}} incorrectly attributes the text to a Zoroastrian priest</ref> is the earliest attested use of the term as an identifier for Indian Zoroastrians.
[[File:Indian - Leaf from Bound Collection of 20 Miniatures Depicting Village Life - Walters 35176H.jpg|thumb|Parsis from India, c. 1870]]
The first reference to the Parsis in a European language is from 1322, when a French monk, [[Jordanus]], briefly refers to their presence in [[Thane]] and [[Bharuch]]. Subsequently, the term appears in the journals of many European travelers, first French and Portuguese, later English, all of whom used a Europeanized version of an apparently local language term. For example, Portuguese physician [[Garcia de Orta]] observed in 1563 that "there are merchants ... in the kingdom of [[Khambhat|Cambaia]] ... known as Esparcis. We Portuguese call them Jews, but they are not so. They are [[Gentile|Gentios]]." In an early 20th-century legal ruling (see [[#Self-perceptions|self-perceptions]], below), Justices Davar and Beaman asserted (1909:540) that "Parsi" was also a term used in Iran to refer to Zoroastrians.{{sfn|Stausberg|2002|p=I.373}}{{sfn|Boyce|2002|p=105}} notes that in much the same way as the word "Hindu" was used by Iranians to refer to anyone from the Indian subcontinent, "Parsi" was used by the Indians to refer to anyone from Greater Iran, irrespective of whether they were actually ethnic Persian people. In any case, the term "Parsi" itself is "not necessarily an indication of their Iranian or 'Persian' origin, but rather as indicator – manifest as several properties – of ethnic identity".{{sfn|Stausberg|2002|p=I. 373}} Moreover, if heredity were the only factor in a determination of ethnicity, the Parsis would count as [[Parthia]]ns according to the ''Qissa-i Sanjan''.{{sfn|Boyce|2002|p=105}}
The term "Parseeism" or "Parsiism", is attributed to [[Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron]], who in the 1750s, when the word "Zoroastrianism" had yet to be coined, made the first detailed report of the Parsis and of Zoroastrianism, therein mistakenly assuming that the Parsis were the only remaining followers of the religion.
In addition to above, the term "Parsi" existed even before they moved to India:
* The earliest reference to the Parsis is found in the Assyrian inscription of [[Shalmaneser III]] (circa 854-824 BC).
* [[Darius I|Darius the Great]] (521-486 BC) establishes this fact when he records his Parsi ancestry for posterity, “parsa parsahya puthra ariya ariyachitra”, meaning, “a Parsi, the son of a Parsi, an [[Aryan]], of Aryan family (Inscription at [[Naqsh-e Rustam|Naqsh-i-Rustam]], near [[Persepolis]], [[Iran]]).
* In Outlines of Parsi History, Dasturji Hormazdyar Dastur Kayoji Mirza, Bombay 1987, pp. 3-4 writes, “According to the [[Pahlavi scripts|Pahlavi]] text of [[Karnamak-i Ardeshir-i Papakan|Karnamak i Artakhshir i Papakan]], the Indian astrologer refers to Artakhshir ([[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] king, and the founder of the Empire) as khvatay parsikan ‘the king of the Parsis’.
* [[Herodotus]] and [[Xenophon]], the two great historians who lived in the third and fourth centuries BC, referred to Iranians as Parsis.<ref name="Jamshed Irani v. Banu Irani">{{Citation |last=Jamshed Irani v. Banu Irani |year=1966 |title=68 blr 794 |publisher=Justice Mody}}</ref>
== Origins ==
In ancient Persia, Zoroaster taught that good ([[Ohrmazd]]) and evil ([[Angra Mainyu]]) were opposite forces and the battle between them is more or less evenly matched. A person should always be vigilant to align with forces of light. According to the ''[[asha]]'' or the righteousness and ''[[Asha|druj]]'' or the wickedness, the person has chosen in his life they will be judged at the [[Chinvat bridge]] to grant passage to Paradise, Hammistagan (A limbo area) or Hell by a sword. A personified form of the soul that represents the person’s deeds takes the adjudged to their destination and they will abide there until the final apocalypse. After the final battle between good and evil, every soul’s walk through a river of fire ordeal for burning of their dross and together they receive a post resurrection paradise. The Zoroastrian holy book, called the ''Avesta'', was written in the [[Avestan language]], which is closely related to [[Vedic Sanskrit]].
The ''[[Qissa-i Sanjan]]'' is a tale of the journey of the Parsis to India from Iran. It says they fled for reasons of religious freedom and they were allowed to settle in India thanks to the goodwill of a local prince. However, the Parsi community had to abide by three rules: they had to speak the local language, follow local marriage customs, and not carry any weapons. After showing the many similarities between their faith and local beliefs, the early community was granted a plot of land on which to build a [[fire temple]].
{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}
=== As an ethnic community ===
[[Image:Parsi wedding portrait with Dastur MN Dhalla.jpg|thumb|left|Wedding portrait, 1948]]
Over the centuries since the first Zoroastrians arrived in India, the Parsis have integrated themselves into Indian society while simultaneously maintaining or developing their own distinct customs and traditions (and thus ethnic identity). This in turn has given the Parsi community a rather peculiar standing: they are mostly Indians in terms of national affiliation, language and history, but not typically Indian in terms of [[consanguinity]] or ethnicity, cultural, behavioural and religious practices. <!-- religion, and [[socio-cultural anthropology]] -->
[[Genealogical DNA test]]s to determine purity of lineage have brought mixed results. One study supports the Parsi contention{{sfn|Nanavutty|1970|p=13}} that they have maintained their Persian roots by avoiding intermarriage with local populations. In that 2002 study of the [[Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup|Y-chromosome]] (patrilineal) DNA of the Parsis of [[Pakistan]], it was determined that Parsis are genetically closer to Iranians than to their neighbours.{{sfn|Qamar|Ayub|Mohyuddin|Helgason|2002| p=1119}}
A 2004 study in which Parsi [[mitochondrial DNA]] (matrilineal) was compared with that of the Iranians and [[Gujarati people|Gujaratis]] determined that Parsis are genetically closer to Gujaratis than to Iranians. Taking the 2002 study into account, the authors of the 2004 study suggested "a male-mediated migration of the ancestors of the present-day Parsi population, where they admixed with local females [...] leading ultimately to the loss of mtDNA of Iranian origin".{{sfn|Quintana-Murci|Chaix|Wells|Behar|2004|p=840}} A study was conducted in 2017 which found that Parsis are genetically closer to [[Neolithic]] Iranians than to modern Iranians who have witnessed a more recent wave of admixture from the Near East, and that there were “48% South-Asian-specific mitochondrial lineages among the ancient samples, which might have resulted from the assimilation of local females during the initial settlement.”{{sfn|Chaubey|Ayub|Rai|Prakash|2017}}
=== Self-perceptions ===
[[Image:Parsi-navjote-sitting.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Parsi ''[[Navjote]]'' ceremony (rites of admission into the Zoroastrian faith)]]
The definition of who is, and is not, a Parsi is a matter of great contention within the Zoroastrian community in India. It is generally accepted that a Parsi is a person who:
:(a) is directly descended from the original Persian refugees, and
:(b) has been formally admitted into the Zoroastrian religion, through the [[navjote]] ceremony.
In this sense, ''Parsi'' is an ethno-religious designator, whose definition is of contention among its members, similar to the contention over [[Who is a Jew?|who is a Jew]] in the West.
Some members of the community additionally contend that a child must have a Parsi father to be eligible for introduction into the faith, but this assertion is considered by most to be a violation of the Zoroastrian tenets of [[gender equality]] and may be a remnant of an old legal definition of the term Parsi.
An oft-quoted legal definition of Parsi is based on a 1909 ruling (since nullified) that not only stipulated that a person could not become a Parsi by converting to the Zoroastrian faith but also noted:
{{Quote|the Parsi community consists of: a) Parsis who are descended from the original Persian emigrants and who are born of both Zoroastrian parents and who profess the Zoroastrian religion; b) Iranis [here meaning [[Iranian peoples|Iranians]], not the other group of Indian Zoroastrians] professing the Zoroastrian religion; c) the children of Parsi fathers by alien mothers who have been duly and properly admitted into the religion.<ref>{{Citation |last=Sir Dinsha Manekji Petit v. Sir Jamsetji Jijibhai |year=1909 |title=33 ILR 509 and 11 BLR 85 |publisher=Justices Dinshaw Davar and Frank Beaman}}</ref>}}
This definition was overturned several times. The equality principles of the [[Constitution of India|Indian Constitution]] void the [[patrilineality|patrilineal]] restrictions expressed in the third clause. The second clause was contested and overturned in 1948.<ref>{{Citation |last=Sarwar Merwan Yezdiar v. Merwan Rashid Yezdiar |year=1948 |title=Parsi Matrimonial Court |publisher=Justice Coyaji}}</ref> On appeal in 1950, the 1948 ruling was upheld and the entire 1909 definition was deemed an [[obiter dictum]] – a collateral opinion and not legally binding (re-affirmed in 1966).<ref name="Jamshed Irani v. Banu Irani"/><ref>{{Citation |last=Merwan Rashid Yezdiar v. Sarwar Merwan Yezdiar |year=1950 |title=52 blr 876 |publisher=Justices Chagla and Gajendragadkar}}</ref>)
There is a growing voice within the community that if indeed equality must be re-established then the only acceptable solution is to allow a child to be initiated into the faith only if both parents are Parsi.
Nonetheless, the opinion that the 1909 ruling is legally binding continues to persist, even among the better-read and moderate Parsis.
== Population {{anchor|Demographics}} ==
{{See also|List of countries by Zoroastrian population}}
{| class="wikitable collapsable"
|+ Parsi population by census year
|-
|- align=center
!Year
!Population
!Change
|-
|1971
|91,266
|
|-
|1981
|71,630
|{{decrease}}-21.52%
|-
|1991
|
|
|-
|2001
|69,601
|
|-
|2011
|57,264
|{{decrease}}-17.73%
|}
[[File:The geographical population distribution of modern and ancient Parsi.png|thumb|upright=1.15|The geographical distribution of modern and ancient Parsis in India and Pakistan.{{sfn|Chaubey|Ayub|Rai|Prakash|2017}}]]
According to the [[2011 Census of India]], there are 57,264 Parsis in India.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/where-we-belong-the-fight-of-parsi-women-in-interfaith-marriages-4900480/ |title=Where we belong: The fight of Parsi women in interfaith marriages |date=2017-10-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/Parsi-population-dips-by-22-per-cent-between-2001-2011-study/article14508859.ece|title=Parsi population dips by 22 per cent between 2001-2011: study|newspaper=The Hindu|date=2016-07-25}}</ref> According to the [[National Commission for Minorities]], there are a "variety of causes that are responsible for this steady decline in the population of the community", the most significant of which were childlessness and migration.{{sfn|Roy|Unisa|Bhatt|2004|pp=8, 21}} Demographic trends project that by 2020 the Parsis will number only 23,000.<!-- Taraporevala|2000|p=9 --> The Parsis will then cease to be called a community and will be labeled a '[[tribe]]'.<!-- "cease to be termed a community and will be labelled {{sic}} a 'tribe'" -->{{sfn|Taraporevala|2000|p=9}}
One-fifth of the decrease in population is attributed to migration. There are sizeable Parsi communities in the [[United Kingdom]], [[Australia]], [[Canada]], and the [[United States]].{{sfn|Roy|Unisa|Bhatt|2004|p=21}} A slower birthrate than deathrate accounts for the rest<!-- infant mortality is the other possibility, but is negligible among Parsis-->: as of 2001, Parsis over the age of 60 make up for 31% of the community. Only 4.7% of the Parsi community are under 6 years of age, which translates to 7 births per year per 1000 individuals.{{sfn|Roy|Unisa|Bhatt|2004|p=14}} Concerns have been raised in recent years over the rapidly declining population of the Parsi community in India.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02wmp5q|title=Saving India's Parsis|publisher=BBC}}</ref>
=== Other demographic statistics ===
The gender ratio among Parsis is unusual: as of 2001, the ratio of males to females was 1000 males to 1050 females (up from 1024 in 1991), due primarily to the high median age of the population (elderly women are more common than elderly men). As of 2001 the national average in India was 1000 males to 933 females.
Parsis have a high [[literacy rate]]; as of 2001, the literacy rate is 97.9%, the highest of any Indian community (the national average was 64.8%). 96.1% of Parsis reside in [[urban area]]s (the national average is 27.8%). Parsis mother tongue is [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]].
In the Greater Mumbai area, where the density of Parsis is highest, about 10% of Parsi females and about 20% of Parsi males do not marry.{{sfn|Roy|Unisa|Bhatt|2004|pp=18, 19}}
== History ==
=== Arrival in the Indian sub-continent ===
According to the [[Qissa-i Sanjan]], the only existing account of the early years of Zoroastrian refugees in India composed at least six centuries after their tentative date of arrival, the first group of immigrants originated from [[Greater Khorasan]].{{sfn|Hodivala|1920|p=88}} This historical region of [[Central Asia]] is in part in northeastern Iran, where it constitutes modern [[Khorasan Province]], part of western/northern [[Afghanistan]], and in part in three Central-Asian republics namely [[Tajikistan]], [[Turkmenistan]] and [[Uzbekistan]].
According to the ''Qissa'', the immigrants were granted permission to stay by the local ruler, [[Jadi Rana]], on the condition that they adopt the local language ([[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]) and that their women adopt local dress (the ''[[sari]]'').{{sfn|Hodivala|1920|p={{pn|date=January 2022}}}} The refugees accepted the conditions and founded the settlement of [[Sanjan (Gujarat)|Sanjan]], which is said to have been named after the city of their origin ([[Sanjan (Khorasan)|Sanjan]], near [[Merv]], modern Turkmenistan).{{sfn|Hodivala|1920|p=88}} This first group was followed by a second group from Greater Khorasan within five years of the first, and this time having religious implements with them (the ''alat''). In addition to these ''Khorasani''s or ''Kohistani''s "mountain folk", as the two initial groups are said to have been initially called,{{sfn|Vimadalal|1979|p=2}} at least one other group is said to have come overland from [[Sari, Iran]].{{sfn|Paymaster|1954}}
[[File:IslamicConquestsIroon.png|thumb|upright=1.15|Map of the [[Sasanian Empire]] and its surrounding regions on the eve of the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]]]]
Although the Sanjan group are believed to have been the first permanent settlers, the precise date of their arrival is a matter of conjecture. All estimates are based on the ''Qissa'', which is vague or contradictory with respect to some elapsed periods. Consequently, three possible dates – 716, 765, and 936 – have been proposed as the year of landing, and the disagreement has been the cause of "many an intense battle ... amongst Parsis".{{sfn|Taraporevala|2000}} Since dates are not specifically mentioned in Parsi texts prior to the 18th century, any date of arrival is perforce a matter of speculation. The importance of the ''Qissa'' lies in any case not so much in its reconstruction of events than in its depiction of the Parsis – in the way they have come to view themselves – and in their relationship to the dominant culture. As such, the text plays a crucial role in shaping Parsi identity. But, "even if one comes to the conclusion that the chronicle based on verbal transmission is not more than a legend, it still remains without doubt an extremely informative document for Parsee historiography."{{sfn|Kulke|1978|p=25}}
The Sanjan Zoroastrians were certainly not the first Zoroastrians on the subcontinent.{{Citation needed|date=February 2016}} [[Sindh]] touching [[Balochistan]], the easternmost periphery of the Iranian world, too had once been under coastal administration of the [[Sasanian Empire]] (226-651), which consequently maintained outposts there.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} Even following the loss of [[Sindh]], the Iranians continued to play a major role in the trade links between the east and west.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} The 9th-century Arab historiographer [[Al-Masudi]] briefly notes Zoroastrians with fire temples in al-Hind and in al-Sindh.{{sfn|Stausberg|2002|p=I.374}} There is evidence of individual Parsis residing in Sindh in the tenth and twelfth centuries, but the current modern community is thought to date from British arrival in Sindh.{{sfn|Hinnells|2005|p=199}} Moreover, for the Iranians, the harbours of Gujarat lay on the maritime routes that complemented the overland [[Silk Road]] and there were extensive trade relations between the two regions. The contact between Iranians and Indians was already well established even prior to the [[Common Era]], and both the [[Puranas]] and the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' use the term ''[[Parasika]]s'' to refer to the peoples west of the [[Indus River]].{{sfn|Maneck|1997|p=15}}
"Parsi legends regarding their ancestors' migration to India depict a beleaguered band of religious refugees escaping the new rule post the Muslim conquests in order to preserve their ancient faith."{{sfn|Maneck|1997|p=15}}{{sfn|Paymaster|1954|pp=2–3}}{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=148}}{{sfn|Lambton|1981|p=205}}{{sfn|Nigosian|1993|p=42}} However, while Parsi settlements definitely arose along the western coast of the Indian subcontinent following the Arab conquest of Iran, it is not possible to state with certainty that these migrations occurred as a result of religious persecution against Zoroastrians. If the "traditional" 8th century date (as deduced from the ''Qissa'') is considered valid, it must be assumed "that the migration began while Zoroastrianism was still the predominant religion in Iran and economic factors predominated the initial decision to migrate."{{sfn|Maneck|1997|p=15}} This would have been particularly the case if – as the ''Qissa'' suggests – the first Parsis originally came from the north-east (i.e. Central Asia) and had previously been dependent on [[Silk Road]] trade.{{sfn|Stausberg|2002|p=I.373}} Even so, in the 17th century, Henry Lord, a [[chaplain]] with the [[East India Company|English East India Company]], noted that the Parsis came to India seeking "[[liberty of conscience]]" but simultaneously arrived as "merchantmen bound for the shores of India, in course of trade and merchandise."
=== Early years ===
The ''Qissa'' has little to say about the events that followed the establishment of Sanjan, and restricts itself to a brief note on the establishment of the "Fire of Victory" (Middle Persian: ''[[Atash Bahram]]'') at [[Sanjan, Gujarat|Sanjan]] and its subsequent move to [[Navsari]]. According to Dhalla, the next several centuries were "full of hardships" (''sic'') before Zoroastrianism "gained a real foothold in India and secured for its adherents some means of livelihood in this new country of their adoption".{{sfn|Dhalla|1938|p=447}}
Two centuries after their landing, the Parsis began to settle in other parts of Gujarat, which led to "difficulties in defining the limits of priestly jurisdiction."{{sfn|Kulke|1978|p=29}} These problems were resolved by 1290 through the division of Gujarat into five ''panthak''s (districts), each under the jurisdiction of one priestly family and their descendants. (Continuing disputes regarding jurisdiction over the ''Atash Bahram'' led to the fire being moved to Udvada in 1742, where today jurisdiction is shared in rotation among the five ''panthak'' families.)
Inscriptions at the [[Kanheri Caves]] near Mumbai suggest that at least until the early 11th century, [[Middle Persian]] was still the literary language of the hereditary Zoroastrian priesthood. Nonetheless, aside from the ''Qissa'' and the Kanheri inscriptions, there is little evidence of the Parsis until the 12th and 13th century, when "masterly"{{sfn|Dhalla|1938|p=448}} Sanskrit translations and transcriptions of the [[Avesta]] and its commentaries began to be prepared. From these translations Dhalla infers that "religious studies were prosecuted with great zeal at this period" and that the command of [[Middle Persian]] and Sanskrit among the clerics "was of a superior order".{{sfn|Dhalla|1938|p=448}}
From the 13th century to the late 16th century, the Zoroastrian priests of Gujarat sent (in all) twenty-two requests for religious guidance to their co-religionists in Iran, presumably because they considered the Iranian Zoroastrians "better informed on religious matters than themselves, and must have preserved the old-time tradition more faithfully than they themselves did".{{sfn|Dhalla|1938|p=457}} These transmissions and their replies – assiduously preserved by the community as the ''[[rivayat]]''s ([[epistle]]s) – span the years 1478–1766 and deal with both religious and social subjects. From a superficial 21st century point of view, some of these ''ithoter'' ("questions") are remarkably trivial – for instance, ''Rivayat'' 376: whether ink prepared by a non-Zoroastrian is suitable for copying [[Avestan language]] texts – but they provide a discerning insight into the fears and anxieties of the early modern Zoroastrians. Thus, the question of the ink is symptomatic of the fear of assimilation and the loss of identity, a theme that dominates the questions posed and continues to be an issue into the 21st century. So also the question of conversion of ''Juddin''s (non-Zoroastrians) to Zoroastrianism, to which the reply (R237, R238) was: acceptable, even meritorious.{{sfn|Dhalla|1938|pp=474–475}}
Nonetheless, "the precarious condition in which they lived for a considerable period made it impracticable for them to keep up their former [[proselytizing]] zeal. The instinctive fear of disintegration and absorption in the vast multitudes among whom they lived created in them a spirit of exclusiveness and a strong desire to preserve the racial characteristics and distinctive features of their community. Living in an atmosphere surcharged with the Hindu caste system, they felt that their own safety lay in encircling their fold by rigid caste barriers".{{sfn|Dhalla|1938|p=474}} Even so, at some point (possibly shortly after their arrival in India), the Zoroastrians – perhaps determining that the [[social stratification]] that they had brought with them was unsustainable in the small community – did away with all but the hereditary priesthood (called the ''asronih'' in Sassanid Iran). The remaining estates – the ''(r)atheshtarih'' (nobility, soldiers, and civil servants), ''vastaryoshih'' (farmers and herdsmen), ''hutokshih'' (artisans and labourers) – were folded into an all-comprehensive class today known as the ''behdini'' ("followers of ''daena''", for which "good religion" is one translation). This change would have far reaching consequences. For one, it opened the gene pool to some extent since until that time inter-class marriages were exceedingly rare (this would continue to be a problem for the priesthood until the 20th century). For another, it did away with the boundaries along occupational lines, a factor that would endear the Parsis to
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