The Parsis of India

Book excerpt: "The Parsis of India" examines a much-neglected area of Asian Studies. In tracing keypoints in the development of the Parsi community, it depicts the Parsis' history, and accounts for their ability to preserve, maintain and construct a distinct identity. For a great part the story is told in the colonial setting of Bombay city. Ample attention is given to the Parsis' evolution from an insular minority group to a modern community of pluralistic outlook. Filling the obvious lacunae in the literature on British "colonialism," Indian society and history, and, last but not least, "Zoroastrianism," this book broadens our knowledge of the interaction of colonialism and colonial groups, and elucidates the significant role of the Parsis in the commercial, educational, and civic milieu of Bombay colonial society.