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Karaka, Dosabhai F.
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THE
ZOROASTRIANS
IN
PERSIA
CHAPTER
2
The Zoroastrians in
Persia - The misfortunes of that state - Majority of people adopt
Mahomedanism - The Zoroastrian colonies - The Ghilji Afghans - Their
invasion of Persia - The part taken by the Zoroastrians – Their treatment
by Nadir Shah and his successors - They gradually lose their ancient books
- The wretched condition of Parsis in Persia - The poll-tax or "jazia" -
Cruel exactions in order to raise it - The appeal to the Bombay Parsis -
Called the Guebres - Made the victims of harsh laws - Cases of tyranny -
Mahomedan slaying a Parsi - The reverse - Other offences - The Persian
Zoroastrians retain their characteristics - Their love of truth and
morality - Efforts of the Bombay Parsis in their behalf - Views of the
author - “The Persian Zoroastrian Amelioration Fund” - Statement of its
objects - Abolition of the "jazia" - Pressure brought t o bear on the Shah
- Deputations and letters-Ultimate success – Those who obtained it - Other
objects of the fund - A picturesque legend - The slaughtering of cows - A
beneficent reform - The present condition of Persia.
An inquiry into the
present state of those who profess the religion of Zoroaster would
manifestly be incomplete if it did not embrace those members of the race
who have held fast to their faith in the mother-country even after its
conquest by the Moslem. The effect of Mahomedan rule, wherever
established, is too well known to need any lengthened description. Within
a hundred years of the time when the followers of the Arabian Prophet
first set foot on Persian soil, the condition of the country had entirely
changed. Lands once fertile had become dreary wastes, and fields where the
golden corn had waved, now deserted by the husband for wild animals; while
the ploughshares were beaten into swords, and the pruning-hooks exchanged
for spears. Hence the country which had been the home of peace and
prosperity was thrown into the greatest confusion, and hordes of robbers,
driven to crime by the distress of the times, traversed every part of the
land, perpetrating the most cruel atrocities.
Persia once fallen
never revived, but sank gradually into its present insignificance. Perhaps
no country in the world has witnessed so many revolutions as that unhappy
land. “The tyrants who have filled the throne owed their” elevation to
treachery and bloodshed. The followers of every religion, with the
exception of that of Islam, have endured constant persecution, while those
of the inhabitants who adhered to the ancient faith of Zoroaster have
experienced the greatest barbarities. Constant oppression and tyranny have
naturally reduced their numbers. In less than two centuries after the
invasion the greater part of embraced Islamism. In the tenth century of
the Christian era remnants of the Zoroastrian population were only to be
found in the provinces of Fars and Kerman; and the reader may form an idea
of the rate at which that remnant has declined even in recent times when
it is stated that, while about a hundred and fifty years ago it numbered
one hundred thousand souls, it does not at present exceed seven or eight
thousand.
The Zoroastrians of
Persia are now almost exclusively confined to Yezd and the twenty-four
surrounding villages. From accounts furnished to the Persian Amelioration
Society of Bombay by its Persia, it appears that in the year 1854 in the
first mentioned city and the villages one thousand houses or families,
representing a population of 6,658 souls, of whom 3,310 were males and
3,348 females. Of these about twenty or twenty-five were merchants, but by
far the larger number gained a scanty subsistence as tillers of the soil.
A few of the poorer class worked as artisans, bricklayers, carpenters, and
weavers, or followed other mechanical occupations. At Kerman the number of
Parsis does not exceed four hundred and fifty while in the capital of
Persia (Teheran) there are only about fifty merchants of this race. A
small number of the humbler class are, however, employed as gardeners in
the palace of the Shah, and at Shiraz some families are found occupying
the grade of shopkeepers.
At no time after the
overthrow of their ancient monarchy were the Zoroastrian residents of
Persia happy under the succeeding rulers. In a letter received in the year
1511 from them by their brethren at Navsari, they stated the rule of
Kaiomars had they suffered what they were then undergoing. In sooth, they
declared that they were more oppressed than their race had ever been at
the hands of the tyrants Zohak, Afrasiab, Tur, and Alexander.
Within the last two
hundred years four revolutions conduced to the destruction of Kerman,
which is now reduced to the insignificant number we have mentioned. The
Ghilji Afghans, who had long groaned under the misrule of Persia,
determined at last to emancipate themselves, and raised the standard of
rebellion able chief named Mir Vais, who in a short time made himself
master of Kandahar. The Persian monarch Sultan Husen, unable to reduce
them by force of arms, sent emissaries to persuade them into submission,
but the messengers were treated with contempt. The next Afghan chief who
succeeded to the authority of Mir Vais determined to invade Persia, and a
favorable opportunity soon presented itself. At the moment eastern
frontier of the kingdom was threatened by the Abdali Afghans of Herat, and
while the Arabian ruler of Muscat was seizing the country bordering on the
Gulf, Mahamud (who had succeeded his father, Mir Vais, in the government
of Kandahar) carried out what had been his father’s desire, and invaded
the empire whose rulers had so long oppressed his nation.
The following account,
by Sir John Malcolm, of the Afghan leader’s first entry into Persia gives
a terrible picture of the misery to which the inhabitants of Kerman were
subjected by both the invaders and their own rulers: --
“He (Mahmud) resolved to penetrate that country by the man, preferring a
march over the desert of Seistan to the obstacles which presented
themselves in every other direction. Though he took every precaution to
surmount the difficulties of the march, he lost many men and horses; but
his appearance was so unexpected, and his force so considerable, that the
city and province of Kerman immediately submitted to his arms. This ready
acknowledgement of his authority did not save the inhabitants from
suffering the most intolerable oppression, and it was with joy they
learned that Lutf Ali Khan had left the sea coast and was hastening to
their relief. That chief who had collected a considerable force, attacked
and defeated the Afghan prince, and compelled to fly to Kandahar. Kerman
however, was only exposed, by his victory to a repetition of what it had
before suffered this victory, to a repetition of what it had before
suffered; and when Lutf Ali Khan marched from that province, it was
difficult to say whether the invasion of the Afghans of the advance of the
Persian army to their relief had been most ruinous to its habitants.
During this invasion
by the Ghilji Afghans the Zoroastrians of Kerman drank their full share of
the cup of suffering. Indeed it would almost seem as if they were made the
special objects of the vengeance of the Persian troops, at whose hands
they suffered heavy losses both by massacre and compulsory conversion.
In the second invasion
of Persia by Mahamud he raised levies among the Zoroastrians of both the
provinces of Kerman and Yezd, persuading them to join his banner by
appealing to their miseries. They, remembering their ancestors and the
wrongs which they endured at the hands of the Persians, eagerly seized
what seemed the opportunity to obtain revenge at the same time that they
might gain some honour and renown. The proposal seems to have been readily
accepted, probably in the hope that the success of the Afghan chief would
tend to alleviate the oppression to which they had been constantly
subjected by the Persians. It is unnecessary to follow Mahamud in his
various successes, or to describe his final victory at Isfahan and the
capture of that city. How the Zoroastrians, who formed a portion of the
army of Mahamud, fared at the hands of the chief in the hour of victory we
are altogether ignorant. We are not even told what became of them
afterwards, but we can imagine that, however valuable their services, they
received little substantial reward from the Mahomedan leader. We might
even infer, from the condition of their descendants, that they obtained
very much the reverse of what they had expected or deserved.
It is stated that in
the reigns of Nadir Shah and his successor the remnants of this persecuted
race were again offered the alternative of death or conversion. Moreover,
about a hundred years ago, when Aga Mahomed Khan Kujur conquered Kerman in
a war with Lutf Ali Khan Zand, many of the Zoroastrian race were put to
the sword by that merciless ruler. When these various circumstances are
taken into consideration it ceases to be a matter of wonder that a
population very recently numbering many thousands of people should have
been nearly exterminated by the cruelties of successive tyrants. The
numerous ruins of fire temples in the city of Kerman, at this day, prove
that it must have been, at no very remote period, the abode of the
Zoroastrian persuasion.
We could not expect,
after the revolutions, persecutions, and oppressions to which the small
body who may claim to be the descendants of the ancient Persians have been
subjected, that they should to day possess any of their religious books or
be well informed respecting the tenets of their religion. Among all the
vicissitudes of their race they have, however, adhered most devotedly to
the form of faith which descended to them from their ancestors, and they
could give no stronger proof of their staunchness. At one time the Parsis
in India believed that copies of their ancient books, which they did not
possess, could be furnished to them by their co-religionists in Persia;
but this was soon shown to be a delusion. The accounts of their conditions
given by European travelers, by the Parsis who had gone to Persia to
obtain information connected with their religion, and also by the Iranis
who have visited India in our time, set all expectations at rest on that
point. They showed that, instead of being in a position to impart
knowledge, the Zoroastrians of the fatherland needed advice and
instruction from those in India.
They have still, it is
true, their fire temples (thirty-four of them, both great and small, are
situated in Yezd and its vicinity), but they possess no ancient liturgical
books except those in the possession of their brethren in India. Professor
Westergaard of Copenhagen, who visited Persia in the year 1843, wrote t o
his friend, the late Dr. Wilson of Bombay, as follows on this subject: --
I stopped at Yezd eleven days, and though I often went out among them, I
did not see more than sixteen or seventeen books in all ;two or three
copies of the Vendidad Sade and the Izeshine (which they call Yacna), and
six or seven of the Khorde Avesta,of which I got two and part of a third.
These, besides part of the Bundesh and part of another Pehlevi book, were
all I could get, though I tried hard to obtain more, especially part of
the Izeshine with a Pehlevi, or as they say, Pazand translation, of which
there is only one copy in Europe at Copenhagen.”
The same learned
traveler, speaking of the Zoroastrians now residing in Kerman, says: --
The Guebres here are more brutalised than their brethren at Yezd. They had
only two copies of the Vendidad and Yacna but a great many of the Khorde
Avesta, which, however, they would not part with. No one here can read
Eehlevi. They complain that when Aga Mahomed Khan gave the town up to
indiscriminate plunder and slaughter, most of their books mere destroyed,
and great numbers of the race were killed."
We have thus seen how
wretched is the general condition of the Zoroastrians remaining in Persia.
The few who can be called rich belong to the merchant class; and besides
these there are perhaps none who can be said to be even in good
circumstances, while the great majority are in a state of extreme poverty.
One of the severest
hardships under which these people suffered, until quite recently, was the
levy of the poll-tax, called jazia." The Moslem population alone was
exempt from this tax, all unbelievers residing in the kingdom, such as
Armenians, Jews, and Parsis, being compelled to pay it. The Armenians at
Tabriz and in other places of Persia contiguous to the Russian frontier
had been exempted from the payment of it, a favour which they owed to the
influence of the Russian Government. The straits to which these races were
driven in order to meet this tax were often deplorable. We have no means
of knowing the exact amount of the impost which the Armenians and Jews
were required t o pay, but it has been ascertained that the annual tax
leviable on the Parsis, according to the imperial order, was six hundred
and sixty-seven tomans. As is the case, however, in all Oriental kingdoms,
the governors or collectors and magistrates enhanced the amount by their
own commissions, and consequently the sum required t o be paid by these
poor people often amounted to as much as two thousand tomans.[1]
According t o statistics supplied to the author from authentic sources, it
appears that about a thousand grown up Parsis were required t o pay the
tax. Of these, two hundred were able to bear the burden without
difficulty; four hundred paid it with great inconvenience, while the rest
were unable to do so at all, even at the point of the sword.
Upon the annual
collection of the tax the scenes presented at the homes of those who were
unable to pay it were most terrible to witness. Unheard-of cruelties were
practiced in the vain attempt to extort money from those who had none for
even their own wants. Some, to save themselves from torture, and as the
last resource, gave up their religion and embraced the faith of Mahomed,
when they were relieved from the payment of the tax. Others, who would not
violate their conscience, abandoned their homes to escape the exactions of
the tax-gatherer. These determined individuals, even when they escaped,
had always t o leave their wives and children behind them, Ground down by
poverty, it i s not strange that they were unable t o pay the smallest
tax. In this miserable condition the Zoroastrians of Persia looked to
their co-religionists in India for rescue. The few who from time t o time
have found their way to Bombay often asked the question, “Cannot the
influential Parsis of Bombay do something to relieve our countrymen in
Persia through the representation of the British ambassador t o the court
of Teheran? The court of St. Petersburg and other European powers, have
obtained various rights and privileges for the Christian inhabitants of
Persia, and why cannot the English do as much for the Parsis?” This appeal
did not remain unanswered, as will be seen later on, by the Parsis of
Bombay.
It is not to be
concealed that the Persian Government has very negligently observed its
promises in regard t o the Christians who inhabit its dominions. In the
capital, where these people are immediately under the protection of the
ambassadors of the Christian courts, their condition is comparatively
easy, but in the provinces they are a prey, equally with the Jews and the
Parsis, t o the tyranny of the local governors and the fanatical race
among whom they dwell.
The treatment which
the Zoroastrians endure at the hands of the Mahomedan subjects of the
Persian monarchy is harsh and oppressive. They are contemptuously styled
Guebres,” and experience from the Mussulmans much the same sort of
treatment as the low-caste Mahar in India receives at the hands of the
high-caste Hindu. A Mahomedan, who, without prejudice t o himself, holds
intercourse with every other caste, considers the touch of a "Guebre” as
pollution and the latter is consequently debarred from following such
occupations as are likely to bring him into contact with his oppressor.
Many other causes stand in the way of a Zoroastrian gaining a profitable
or even an easy livelihood in Persia. In trade, credit must often be given
to the purchaser, and the extreme difficulty which Zoroastrians find in
recovering their claims from "true believers” is a great bar to the hearty
or effective pursuit of commerce. The Mahomedan law against debtors,” says
Sir John Malcolm, "is sufficiently severe, but the law is in no point
favorable to what are termed in its language unbelievers.” We see it
mentioned on the same authority that an eminent Christian merchant, who
resided many years in Persia, and who enlightened Europe by his
observations on that country, states that nothing but the establishment of
the Urf or customary law, which is administered by the secular
magistrates, could enable a person not of the Mahomedan faith to carry on
any commercial transactions in Persia. The bigotry of the priests, and the
one-sided nature of their law, which is nothing more than that of the
Koran and its traditions, would deprive him of every hope of justice. When
an application was made to the court of Sherrah by a nonbeliever against a
Mahomedan bankrupt, the latter was so sheltered under its forms and
prescriptive laws that it was declared impossible to attach his goods for
the payment of debts.
Of other instances of
the injustice of the law against those who do not adopt the dominant
religion of Persia, one deserves prominent notice. If a rich man of some
different creed dies, any distant relative who may have embraced
Mahomedanism can claim his property in preference to the deceased‘s own
lawful children. Such injustice speaks for itself; comment on it is
unnecessary.
Not only is a Parsi
thus deprived of his civil rights, but in every respect his position is
one of constant inconvenience and sometimes of peril. If a Mahomedan,
whether from bigotry or malice, kills a Parsi, Jew, or any “unbeliever,”
there is no redress. The culprit is either slightly fined, as the value of
a kafir's life is very lightly estimated, or he is acquitted on some
trifling pretext. A few recent instances will suffice to prove our
statement. An Armenian resident of Tabriz was killed by a Moslem. The
murderer was fined seven tomans (three pounds ten shillings) and the sum
offered t o the heirs of the deceased. The latter declined t o accept it,
and demanded that a punishment should be inflicted on the offender equal
to the guilt of his crime. Their remonstrances were unheeded, and the
murderer was set at large to glory in having shed the blood of a kafir.”
At Yezd two Parsis were murdered by some Mahomedans. The criminals were
paupers and unable to pay a fine. They were then set at liberty, the judge
declaring it to be unjust to imprison the followers of Mahomed for laying
violent hands on mere kafirs.” Even so recently as 1874 an act of the most
flagrant injustice occurred. A respectable and wealthy Zoroastrian
merchant, named Rashid Meherban, was shot and killed in the public bazaar
of Yezd by one Rujub Ali, a Mahomedan. After committing the brutal deed
the murderer escaped through the assistance afforded him by the
sympathising crowd. The authorities made no effort whatever to trace the
culprit and bring him to justice. Owing, however, to the exertions of the
murdered man’s relatives who were resident in Bombay, and who spared
neither pains nor money to trace the murderer, the criminal was at last
discovered in Bushire. The authorities at Shiraz were applied to for the
purpose of executing justice, and the governor of that city ordered the
accused to be sent for trial to Yezd. There, however, nothing was done to
bring the offender before a tribunal. Meanwhile Rashid Meherban’s
relatives sent from Bombay several telegrams and memorials to the
ministers of the Shah, as well as to the Shah himself, pressing for
justice. These sustained efforts led to the authorities at Teheran giving
orders to the Governor of Shiraz to send the criminal t o the capital.
These orders were of course obeyed, and the accused was given in charge of
the mounted police to be taken to that city. The culprit again made his
escape through the connivance of the guard while at Goam, and took refuge
in a holy place called Imamzada Hazrati Masuma. According to the law of
Islam, no person, however great his offence, can be arrested in a
sanctuary, and the murderer remained there for a long period. It is stated
that he has since been pardoned on the recommendation of the Mousted," the
highest religious lawgiver, who declared that, as the Zoroastrian acted in
violation of the law of Islam, a true believer committed no offence in
slaying him!
Thus the villain, who
ought long ago to have forfeited his life, is still at large, perhaps
posing as a martyr for having been arraigned when he had performed a
meritorious action.
Let us now see how
justice is reversed in cases when the murder of a Mahomedan has been
perpetrated. A Jew had a claim against a Mahomedan for a sum of money, and
the latter refusing to pay it, both of them came to blows, in which the
Mahomedan lost his life. As the victim was a “believer,” the fine was one
thousand tomans besides imprisonment, which was promptly imposed and
carried out. The Mahomedan law is founded on the Koran, and the
administrators of it are the "mullas" or priests, whose decision is of
oppression have not destroyed the strong, hardy, and muscular appearance
of the Zoroastrian. He is greatly superior in strength to the modern
effeminate and luxurious Persian, and is ever willing to work when he can
find employment. Contact with a weak and idle race has not exercised any
perceptible influence on those habits of industry for which his early
ancestors were remarkable. The Zoroastrian is taught by his religion to
earn his bread by the sweat of his brow, whereas the Moslem is brought up
to believe that he will be the favoured of God by becoming a fakir and
living on alms. It is a fact creditable to the blood which flows in
Zoroastrian veins that the race has not degenerated by contact with those
to whom fate has made them subject.
As much may be said of
their moral conduct. Even the Mahomedans, their inveterate enemies, admit
the fact. Their women, the majority of whom belong to poor families, are
noted for their chastity; while the men are known for their morality. In
the garden adjoining the harem of the Shah none but Zoroastrians are
employed as gardeners on account of their good moral character. They are
also remarkable for their love of truth, a virtue which has been highly
extolled in their ancestors by both ancient and modern historians.
We have now to
describe the efforts which the Bombay Parsis have made for the mitigation
of the oppression and for the removal of the various disadvantages under
which their brethren in Persia have so long been suffering. The author, in
a work on the Parsis published a quarter of a century ago, after reciting
the hardships to which they were subjected, expressed himself as
follows:--" But can we ourselves do nothing for our unfortunate
coreligionists in Persia? Our community possesses considerable weight, and
includes amongst its members names known all over the world for their
exertions in the cause of humanity, and the amelioration of the condition
of their countrymen generally. A deputation, therefore, of our race to the
Persian Court, duly accredited by the English Government, and presented by
the British Ambassador at Teheran, might, we believe, remonstrate with
success against the cruelties now practised upon our Zoroastrian brethren
in Persia. The amount raised by the capitation tax now levied upon them,
and which i s attended by circumstances of so much cruelty, must be to the
imperial revenue insignificant in the extreme, and it is not improbable
that a dignified representation on the subject made by a suitable embassy
from the Parsis of India might succeed in abolishing it. Persian princes
seldom know the true state of their subjects, and we cannot but think that
our countrymen would reflect honour upon themselves by an adequate effort
to relieve the miseries of our Zoroastrian brethren in the fatherland.”
This was written
twenty-five years ago, and the means which the Parsis of Bombay adopted
for obtaining redress of the grievances from which their poor
co-religionists suffered in their parent country have been exactly those
which we then suggested, as will be seen from the following narrative.
Their unhappy condition appears to have excited the deepest sympathy in
Bombay some years before the more systematic efforts which we are about to
detail began in their behalf. These date as far back as 1854 ,when the
first Parsi emissary was sent to Persia. Prom that year the exertions of
the Parsi community in this cause have been conducted with a zeal and a
pertinacity which reflect the greatest credit on those concerned from time
to time with the management of the charity known as -- The Persian
Zoroastrian Amelioration Fund. The public appeal made by the trustees of
an earlier fund, at the beginning of 1854, led to their deputing to Persia
Mr. Manakji Limji Hataria, a gentleman well qualified by previous
experience for the duties to be performed during so important a mission. A
subscription list which was put in circulation among the Zoroastrians of
Bombay was cheerfully and liberally filled u p ,and Mr. Manakji was
despatched on the 31st of March 1854 with explicit instructions to inquire
into and report upon the social, political, and intellectual condition of
the Zoroastrians in Persia. The impetus thus given to this benevolent
under taking was quickened by the pathetic details received from Persia
regarding the deplorable state into which the victims of Mussulman misrule
had fallen, and an influential meeting was held in Bombay on the 11th
of January 1855, under the presidency of the late Mr. Manakji Nasarvanji
Petit, for the consideration of Mr. Manakji Hataria's report. It dwelt in
great detail on the impoverished condition of the Iranis, which chiefly
arose from the levying of the oppressive poll-tax, called the "jazia"; on
the varied forms of individual tyranny; and on their utterly defenseless
position in the midst of a fanatical population. These circumstances, the
recital of which aroused heartfelt sympathy at the meeting, led to the
unanimous adoption of the chairman’s proposal to establish a distinct
fund, having for its object the general amelioration of the condition of
the Persian Zoroastrians. Other resolutions were passed at the meeting
relating to the nomination of a managing committee for preparing memorials
to the various authorities concerned, and to the collection of
subscriptions for carrying out the various purposes of the fund, such as
the completion of a tower of silence at Yezd, the procuring of a partial
or total remission of the "jazia," the affording of pecuniary relief to
the aged and destitute, the creating of facilities for the education of
the young, and the repairing and preservation of dilapidated places of
worship in the parent-country. Of these resolutions none was felt to be
more important than the one emphasizing the necessity of abolishing the “jazia,"
the imposition and attendant circumstances of which caused most of the
misery to which the Persian Zoroastrians were exposed, and in t h e
levying of which manifold evils were inflicted by t h e local officers,
Involuntary apostasy to Mahomedanism and the too frequent exaction of
amounts far in excess of the actual dues were the more serious of the
evils towards the extirpation of which the managing committee of the fund,
and notably their agent in Persia, had from the first devoted their
energies. Nothing could surpass the zeal, courage, and persistency
displayed by Mr. Manakji Hataria in his endeavor to procure partial or
total relief from this cruel exaction; and it is not too much to say that,
but for his unceasing efforts in so noble a cause, the obnoxious and
extortionate jazia would still have been in existence, instead of having
become a thing of the past. The efforts for its abolition lasted from the
middle of 1857 until nearly the close of 1882. In the autumn of the latter
year the "jazia" was abolished, to the unspeakable joy of those who
suffered from it and of those who had agitated for its abolition. This
glorious result was not, however, accomplished without the greatest
discretion and the most determined and unflagging zeal being exercised on
behalf of the sufferers. Much pressure was used; but this would have
failed if it had not been backed up by a system of indefatigable
memorializing. On one occasion the Shah was personally interviewed by Mr.
Manakji Antaria, under the auspices of Major General Sir Henry Rawlinson,
British ambassador at the Court of Teheran, when the skilful agent
introduced the subject with so much tact and good sense that His Majesty’s
heart was moved to sympathy, and he ordered a reduction of one hundred
tomans from a total claim of nine hundred and twenty tomans, the joint
contribution annually wrung from the populations of Yezd and Kerman.
Another and still more memorable interview with His Persian Majesty took
place during his visit to England in 1873, when the managing committee,
ever on the alert, drew up a memorial to him, adorned with gold leaf and
inscribed in golden letters, in which were set forth in the most flowery
and choicest Persian phrases the poverty and sufferings of their unhappy
co-religionists in his country, owing to the “jazia” being still in force,
and winding up with the prayer that His Majesty would extend his mercy by
abolishing the tax “by way of a propitiatory offering designed to ward off
evil from his most royal person.” This memorial, together with one from
the Parsis then resident in England, was presented to the Shah at
Buckingham Palace, on the 24th of June 1873, by Messrs. Naorozji Fardunji,
Dadabhai Naorozji, Ardeshir Kharshedji Wadia, and Dr. Rastamji Kavasji
Bahadurji, who, being then in London, were deputed to do so by the Bombay
committee. It should be added that the exertions of the Parsis in London
were powerfully supported by the hearty cooperation of two distinguished
and generous-minded English officers, viz. Sir Henry Rawlinson and Mr. E.
B. Eastwick, M.P., who had both been at a previous period prominent
representatives of the British Embassy at the Court of Teheran.
We give the letters of Mr. Eastwick and Sir Henry Rawlinson as instances
of the great interest they evinced in the welfare of the Zoroastrians of
Persia: --
“88 HOLLAND ROAD, 27th June 1873.
“MY DEAR SIR-I am going to the Grand Vazir this morning, and will call his
particular attention to the address, and also point out how much it is for
the interests of Persia that an enterprising people like the Parsis should
be encouraged.
Yours faithfully, (Signed) "EDWARD EASTWICK.
"Dadabhai Naorozji, Esq., 15 Salisbury Street, Strand.”
"7th July 1873.
"DEAR SIR - I took an opportunity of mentioning to the Shah the very
depressed condition of the Zoroastrians in Persia, and explained to him
how highly any measures he might initiate for ameliorating their state
would be appreciated by their co-religionists in Bombay. His Majesty said
the matter should receive his best attention when he returned to Persia;
and I thus hope that some real good will result from the Bombay memorial.
-Yours truly, (Signed) “H. RAWLINSON
"To DadabhaiNaorozji, Esq.”
The efforts of
these distinguished Englishmen were not without some effect upon His
Majesty, who was pleased to send the following gracious and gratifying
reply to the gentleman who headed the Parsi deputation for the
presentation of the memorial:
--
"BUCKINGHAM PALACE, 5th July 1873.
“I am commanded by His Majesty the Shah to acknowledge the receipt of your
memorials, praying for the application of measures which are calculated to
improve the condition of the Zoroastrians in Persia.
“His Majesty will give this subject his best attention on his return to
Persia, and if he finds that your co-religionists are subject to any undue
severities, he will take care that redress is afforded them.
“His Majesty is aware of the high character which is borne by the Parsi
community both in England and India, and he is glad that he numbers
amonghis own subjects so many members of that enterprising and loyal race.
“His Majesty is gratified by the expression of your good wishes in regard
to him.
(Signed) "MALCOLM.
“To NAOROZJI FARDUNJI, Esq.,
15 Salisbury Street, Strand.”
But in all Eastern
countries it requires a long time to eradicate abuses which have existed
for centuries. The Parsis, therefore, seeing that nothing had been gained
though much time had elapsed since the receipt of the above reply, and
encouraged by the promise of His Majesty to redress the wrongs of his
Zoroastrian subjects, persistently forwarded further representations t o
the Persian court. They also addressed an appeal to the British ambassador
at Teheran through the Political Department of the Government of Bombay
and the Calcutta Foreign Office, whose secretary, Sir Alfred Lyall, being
then on a visit to Bombay, kindly lent material aid in transmitting it to
the Embassy and thence to the Shah. The grievances complained of were
these : that the Persian Zoroastrians were liable to forcible conversion
by the Mahomedans; that property belonging to a Zoroastrian of individual
proselytes and their perverted descendants, notwithstanding the existence
and prior claims of lawful heirs ;that property newly purchased was liable
to be taxed for the benefit of the "mullas"to the extent of a fifth of its
value; that new houses were forbidden to be erected and old ones to be
repaired; that persons of the Zoroastrian persuasion were not allowed the
use of new or white clothes; that they were prevented from riding on
horseback; and that such of them as were engaged in trade were subjected
to extortionate demands under pretence of enforcing Government custom
dues. The appeal was favourably received, and the petitioners were assured
that measures for the immediate relief of the sufferers, with one
exception, that of the "jazia," would be immediately adopted and enforced.
This reply did not realise all the expectations of the Parsis, who rightly
felt that so long as the "jazia" existed it would leave the door open for
all sorts of enormities; and they therefore perseveredin their efforts to
procure its total and permanent extinction. His Majesty the Shah thanked
through the British ambassador family was confiscated wholesale for the
use and benefit for his kind and gracious reply, but the important
question still continued to be agitated, and, as it happily turned out,
not without success. The petition of May 1882, containing a prayer to His
Majesty for its abolition, met with the desired result, and the “jazia”
was declared to be finally doomed. A communication to that effect, dated
27th September 1882, was received by Mr. Dinsha Manakji Petit, president
of the Zoroastrian Amelioration Fund Committee, from Mr. Ronald Thomson of
the British Embassy. With Mr. Thomson's letter was also transmitted a copy
of the royal firman in Persian, decreeing the immediate abolition of the
impost, together with an English translation executed by the translator to
the Embassy. We give below the British ambassador’s letter conveying this
welcome announcement, and the royal firman which promulgated the same glad
tidings.
"TEHERAN, September 27th, 1882.
SIR - With reference to the letter addressed to me by the Committee of the
Persian Zoroastrian Amelioration Fund on the 8th of September 1881, I have
much pleasure in transmitting to you herewith copy and translation of a
firman which has been issued by t h e Shah wholly abolishing the “jazia”
tax, and relieving the Zoroastrian community from its payment from the
commencement of the present year the 21st of March 1882. – I am, Sir, your
most obedient humble servant,
(Signed) “RONALD F. THOMSON.
"The President of the Committee,
Persian Zoroastrian Amelioration Fund.”
ROYAL FIRMAN issued by
HISMAJESTYNASEREDIN SHAH relieving the Zoroastrians of Persia from the
payment of the tribute annually levied from them under the name of Jazia.
“In consideration of the many favours and blessings which it has pleased
the Almighty to confer upon us, and also as a thanks giving to Him who has
bestowed on us the Royal Crown of Persia, and has granted us the means of
affording relief to its inhabitants, it behoves us to provide for the ease
and comfort of all our subjects, of whatever tribe, race, community, or
creed, in order that they may be strengthened and refreshed by the waters
of our special favour.
“Amongst these are the Zoroastrians, residing at Yezd and Kerman, who are
the descendants of the ancient population and nobles of Persia, and whose
peace and comfort it is our Royal desire now to render more complete than
heretofore.
“Therefore, by the issue of this Royal firman, we order and command that
the same taxes, assessments, revenues, and all other Government imposts,
trading dues, etc., which are taken from our Mahomedan subjects residing
in the towns and villages of Yezd and Kerman, shall be taken in like
manner from the Zoroastrians who also reside there, and nothing more nor
less. And whereas in consideration of this arrangement the exaction of the
sum of eight hundred and forty-five tomans (845) which was annually levied
under another’s name from the said community will be abolished. Therefore
from beginning of the present auspicious year of the Horse we remit this
sum, and absolve the Zoroastrians from its payment henceforward and for
ever; and now we hereby order and command our Mustaufis and revenue
officers of the Royal Exchequer to strike out the said sum entirely from
the revenue returns of Yezd and Kerman.
“T h epresent and future Governors of these provinces are to consider the
claim for the payment of this tribute as now surrendered for ever ;and
during the present year, and hereafter, should this sum or a part thereof
be exacted, they will be held responsible and punislied ;and in levying
the tithes and assessments on water and landed property, all the trading
dues, etc., the Zoroastrians must be dealt with in the same manner as our
other subjects are treated.
"Given at Teheran in the month of Ramzan, 1299 (August, 1882) --
Translated by
(Signed) "J. IBRAHIM."
Such was the happy
issue of a long-sustained and well fought battle by the Parsis of Bombay
against this grievous and obnoxious impost on behalf of a remote and
obscure, albeit kindred, community. No one who reflects on their complete
disinterestedness as well as their unflagging persistency can help being
impressed with the conviction that their action throughout was highly
laudable, and calculated to shed no common lustre on the records of Bombay
philanthropy. During a period of twenty-three years the managers of the
Persian Amelioration Fund had spent about Rs. 109,564in contributions
towards the payment of the “jazia.” The major portion of this sum had been
subscribed by local munificence, as the Zoroastrians of Yezd and Kerman
were never in a position to pay for themselves without such assistance, so
that when the royal firman was promulgated in 1882 loud were the praises
of the Parsis, both in India and the mother-country. The present Shah is
the first of the Persian monarchs, after a lapse of thirteen centuries, t
o show clemency and justice towards the children of the original Persians
by putting them on a footing of equality with his other subjects. The name
of Nasaredin Shah will ever be remembered with gratitude by the Parsis,
who will unceasingly pray for his long life and reign, and may this tend
to the welfare and happiness of the Persian Zoroastrians. The Parsis are
no less grateful to the Grand Vazir and other high functionaries of the
state who are understood to have supported the cause of the Zoroastrians
before their august master. To Mr. Ronald F. Thomson, the British
ambassador at the Court of Persia, the Parsis owe a deep debt of gratitude
for the admirable tact and judgment with which he pleaded for the relief
of the distressed Zoroastrians, and for having succeeded in obtaining the
redress which had been so long sought for in vain. The Parsi community is
also indebted to its old friend, Sir George Birdwood, for the services he
rendered in connection with this object, as was expressed at the time in a
letter of thanks from the committee at Bombay. "Long live Nasaredin
Shah!” was the cry of every Zoroastrian in Persia and India after the
promulgation of the firman, which might be appropriately called the Magma
Charta of the Zoroastrians of Persia, by which the rights of justice have
been secured for them in common with all the other subjects of the Persian
monarchy.
It should be
remembered that the abolition of the jazia was not the only undertaking to
which the Bombay committee and their representatives abroad had devoted
their attention and energy. Theirs was a comprehensive scheme of
philanthropy, tending to the general amelioration of the ill-used
community in Persia, and in the practical realisation of which they were
not one whit less zealous than in framing and forwarding memorials praying
for the redress of a specific grievance. It must be added that they had
found in Mr. Manakji Hataria an apt and willing agent for giving effect to
their generous aims. Schools began to be established for the education of
Zoroastrian children in 1857, from which date an annual contribution of Rs.
600 was made for maintaining scholastic institutions at eleven towns in
the districts of Yezd and Kerman. A donation of Rs. 500 per annumfrom the
trustees of the Nasarvanji Mancherji Kama fund, enhanced by further
pecuniary aid from Mr. Palanji Nasarvanji Patel, a gentleman engaged in
the China trade, induced the committee, later on, to concentrate their
efforts and apply all their resources to placing the boarding school,
opened in 1866, on a footing of greater efficiency. This boarding school
originated in the munificent gift of Rs. 25000given in 1864 by Mr.
Nasarvanji Manakji Petit on the occasion of his son Jamshedji being
invested with the ‘‘sudra-kusti." This amount was devoted from the first
to the instruction, board, and lodging of thirty-one boys. Unfortunately
the outlay required for the maintenance of this institution proved too
heavy for the committee’s resources, and the deficiency of income had for
a time to be made up by transferring the general school funds to the
boarding school account. It had, however, to be finally closed in March
1876, after an existence of ten years, and no attempt has, up to the
present time, been made for its resuscitation.
Another direction in
which the committee laboured for the welfare of their destitute and
helpless brethren in Persia was in getting the daughters of poor parents
or orphan girls of marriageable age settled in life, which their extreme
poverty would otherwise have precluded. Such children were exposed to the
serious danger of being perverted to Mahomedanism, and it is gratifying to
add that, through the kindhearted liberality of many Parsigentlemen and
ladies of Bombay, their agent in Persia was enabled, between 1856 and
1865, to obtain resources sufficient to cover the expenses of the marriage
of upwards of a hundred girls, who were thus saved from the dangers and
temptations to which poverty exposed them in the midst of a licentious and
truculent Mahomedan population. Amongst the contributors to this worthy
object, the names of Sir Jamshedji Jijibhai, Mr. Manakji Nasarvanji Petit,
Mr. Mervanji Framji Panday and his wife Bai Hirabai, Mr. Mancherji
Hormasji Kama, and Mr. Rastamji Jamshedji Jijibhai, deserve honourable
mention.
The need of a
charitable dispensary having been long felt in Persia, a subscription was
set on foot which resulted in the collection of Rs. 6946. The amount,
however, was insufficient for the purpose, and was therefore appropriated
to the erection of a poorhouse in Teheran, which, besides furnishing, in
ordinary times, the destitute poor with food and lodging, afforded relief
and shelter to the victims of starvation, who took refuge there during the
dreadful and desolating famine of 1862.
It only now remains to
briefly notice charitable works of another kind, which, if not of equal
importance, have been carried out by the benevolent efforts of the
Zoroastrians of Bombay, at two of the localities rendered sacred by
popular tradition and as enshrining memories of the last days of the old
Persian rule. One of these legends, which has obtained general credence,
relates to Khatun Banu, the daughter of Yazdezard, the last of the Persian
monarchs. After the overthrow of the Persian empire the family of
Yazdezard, unable to take shelter in Madayn escaped with their lives and
sought a safer refuge in the fortress of Haft-Ajar, the home of their
ancestors. As the victors, however, were in hot pursuit and their numbers
were overwhelming, the attempt proved futile, and the fugitives were
scattered in various directions. One daughter, Meher Banu, sought and
obtained relief in the stronghold of Gorab; another, Khatun Banu, to whom
the legend relates, directed her flight to a more distant retreat.
Overcome by thirst on her way thither she applied for a drink of water to
a “burzigar” or farmer, who was occupied in tilling the soil. He was
unable to give it, but offered her milk instead from his cow. This was
thankfully accepted, but, unfortunately, just as he had finished milking
the animal, it kicked the basin, which, being an earthen vessel, was
dashed to pieces. The milk was, of course, lost, and the unhappy Khatun
was deprived of the only remaining hope of being able to wet her parched
lips. Proceeding thence with her attendants to a secluded spot among the
hills, a mile or two away from the scene of her disappointment, she flung
herself down in despair, and besought the Almighty to shield her from
harm, and either to stop the pursuit of her ruthless foes or to screen her
from mortal eye. Scarcely had this prayer been breathed when a deep chasm
opened on the hillside, and into it she descended and vanished for ever
from human sight, its mouth miraculously closing over her. Meanwhile the “burzigar,”
who had gone in search of water, traced her retreat, but to his
astonishment found on his arrival the band of attendants in deep mourning
bewailing the loss of their princess. He was still further amazed when
told of the manner of her disappearance. In a fit of grief and anger he
rushed home and brought the cow which had spilt the milk he had intended
for the princess to the spot where the chasm had opened, and sacrificed
her in expiation of her offence. As the news spread, his co-religionists,
fired with the same emotion and grieved at the sad fate of Khatun Banu,
made similar sacrifices, and the practice continued for many years
afterwards. This place was named Dari-din (the door of faith), and
thousands of Parsi pilgrims periodically crowded thither from the remotest
corners of the empire to pay their homage.
The spot commemorating
this mysterious disappearance was in Akda, a town or hamlet in the
vicinity of Yezd. The annual slaughtering of cows at this place being
repugnant to the feelings of the Bombay Parsis, one of the first measures
which Mr. Manakji adopted was to put a stop to this practice. He
substituted in place of it the performance of more legitimate observances
prescribed in the Zoroastrian code of belief. His directions appear to
have been willingly obeyed, and the barbarous practice of cow-killing was
permanently abandoned. Anxious, however, that the commemoration of so
touching and interesting a tradition should be encouraged and perpetuated,
Mr. Manakji caused a dome of great size, together with cooking places, to
be erected at t h e expense of the late Mr. Mervanji Framji Panday of
Bombay, who also built extensive masonry squares for the accommodation of
the large number of pilgrims who assemble there at each celebration.
The other
legend referred to Hyat Banu, another of Yazdezard's daughters, who was
believed to have likewise vanished from mortal sight at
a
place called Koh-i-Chakmaku, not far from Yezd. Here was
a
reservoir of considerable size, which received a large supply of water
from the numerous adjoining rills. This, together with the wall that
surrounded it, having got into a dilapidated condition through long
neglect, was repaired, at the expense of Mr.
Mervanji Framji Panday, the same liberal gentleman who provided the funds
for the erection of the buildings at Akda. In
several other directions the charity and philanthropy of the Bombay
Zoroastrians have been extended, but we refrain from filling these pages
with matters of minor importance.
After the
statement of these instances it will be admitted that no more striking
illustration need be adduced of the deep-seated feeling of sympathy with
which the Zoroastrians regard their co-religionists in every clime, and
the bond of union that connects them together. Separated by distance and
the dissociation of centuries, widely differing in language, customs, and
habits, the exiles in India have, nevertheless, always cherished and
acknowledged a strong fellow feeling with their brethren in Persia, to
whom they have ever extended their sympathy and generous assistance.
It now only
remains for us to record that these happy results have been secured
through the indefatigable zeal and disinterested exertions of the late Mr. Manakji Nasarvanji Petit, Mr. Framji Nasarvanji
Patel the late Mr. Mervanji Framji Panday, Mr. Dinsha Manakji Petit, and Mr.
Kharshedji Nasarvanji Kama, the first four of whom were successively
presidents of the Persian Zoroastrian Amelioration Society, and the fifth
has been honorary treasurer from the formation of the association up to
this day.
We are
inclined to hope that the account we have attempted to give here of the
remnant of the ancient Persian race, who have remained true to the
religion of their fathers, and have continued on Persian soil, will not be
without interest to the general reader. The instability of human grandeur
receives no more strikingillustration than is afforded by the overthrow of
the great monarchies which ruled in Asia before the Christian era.
Inheritor of the old glories of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires, the
Persian power spread its dominion from the isles of Greece to the
tableland of Thibet, -- from the Caspian Sea to the
confines of India. The ruins of ancient Persepolis tell of the splendour
and the power of the Persian princes. The remains of mighty causeways, cut
step by step on the Bakhtyari mountains, which divide the valley of the
Tigris from the plains of Isfahan, and form the natural defence on that
side of the modern Moslem empire of Persia, speak of the passage of
myriads of busy feet and the march of heavy bodies of soldiery in ancient
times, where now even the caravan dare not pass, and the wild robbers of
the hills gain a precarious subsistence by plundering the plains, or by
tending cattle, which form their sole source of wealth. In short, here is
a country, once the most powerful, groaning under fanatical and despotic
rulers, while the few descendants of the ancient race that created its
glory are sunk into utter insignificance. We again say that the history of
no other race more forcibly reminds us of the instability of human
grandeur. To a Parsi,
however, the decline and fall of the Old Persian Empire are and must
always be
a subject of peculiar interest. That strong feeling of
association which binds to the present the memory of the last stages of a
man's private existence,-that same feeling recalls vividly to our minds
the memory of what our forefathers mere. Our race in India enjoys, under
the English rule, all the blessings of an enlightened and liberal
government; and our only wish is that our brethren on Persian soil may yet
be as happy and as fortunate as we are ourselves.
[1]
Equivalent
to $1000
of our money. |
