Mumbai: If the present trend continues, the Parsi population in India could decline to fewer than 10,000 by the year 2101, said Dinshaw Tamboly, chairman of the WZO Trust Funds.
Tamboly delivered a presentation titled “The Parsee Community: Demographic Realities & Resultant Poverty” at an event organised under the platform of the National Commission for Minorities on Saturday in Mumbai. He said that elderly dependency, health issues, unemployment, and inadequate financial support mechanisms have deepened poverty among vulnerable sections of the community, contrary to the general perception that the entire community is affluent.
Tamboly cited Census data to underline the alarming demographic decline of the community over more than a century. He said the Parsi population in India stood at 89,490 in 1891 and reached its peak at 114,791 in 1941. However, since then, the numbers have steadily declined, falling to 69,601 in 2001 and further to 57,264 in the 2011 Census. The next national Census is expected later this year or in 2027.
Highlighting the ageing demographic profile of the community, the address noted that the proportion of elderly Parsis far exceeds those in the reproductive age group. Factors such as late marriages, inter-community marriages, declining birth rates, high rates of unmarried individuals, and infertility were identified as major contributors to the demographic crisis.
Municipal data from Mumbai between 2009 and 2013 showed deaths vastly outnumbering births within the community. In 2010 alone, 210 births were recorded against 933 deaths, resulting in an excess of 723 deaths over births.
Drawing attention to a Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) study commissioned in 2009 on the socio-economic and educational status of the Parsi community, particularly among economically weaker sections, Tamboly said the study found increasing levels of economic hardship, including some families living below the official poverty line. Tamboly also raised concerns about selective exclusion by some charitable institutions, particularly towards Parsis who married outside the community and their offspring.
Calling for reforms, the speaker urged charitable trusts and community organisations to coordinate their welfare efforts more effectively and shift from distributing small doles to providing interest-free loans and vocational support to economically disadvantaged individuals.
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Three key appeals were placed before government representatives and minority commission officials: conducting a socio-economic survey of rural Zoroastrians in Gujarat, undertaking a similar study in economically weaker Parsi housing colonies in Mumbai, and reviving the Jiyo Parsi project through a high-powered committee under the guidance of the National Commission for Minorities.
The speaker concluded by urging community leaders, trusts, and policymakers to work collectively to address the demographic and economic challenges confronting the Parsi community.
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