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Empire of Sport: The Early British Impact on Recreation

Ronojoy Sen

in Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India

The arrival of the British and the introduction of English sport in India.

The Case of the Constable’s Nose: Policing Prohibition in Bombay

Rohit De

in A People's Constitution

This chapter discusses the litigation over the imposition of a draconian Prohibition regime on Bombay. The Prohibition laws in Bombay and other provinces, brought in to enforce Article 47 of the ... More

This chapter discusses the litigation over the imposition of a draconian Prohibition regime on Bombay. The Prohibition laws in Bombay and other provinces, brought in to enforce Article 47 of the Constitution, were among the earliest attempts by the postcolonial state to regulate the everyday life of its citizens. The Prohibition policy was a critical aspect of the attempt of the state to fashion a postcolonial identity for itself by freeing its citizens from what it called the foreign practice of drinking. However, it relied on the mechanisms of the colonial state for its implementation, opening up questions about state involvement in private life and the role of the police in a democracy. Given that the majority of litigants were Parsis (Indian Zoroastrians), a community with strong links to the liquor trade, the chapter also considers the emerging idea of public interest and the relationship between liberty, property, and community identity.Less

Parsis in Post-Independence Bombay

John R. Hinnells

in The Zoroastrian Diaspora: Religion and Migration

This chapter examines the situation for Parsis in post-independence Bombay in India. It suggests that prior to independence, Parsis were divided over the political future: many expressed concern ... More

This chapter examines the situation for Parsis in post-independence Bombay in India. It suggests that prior to independence, Parsis were divided over the political future: many expressed concern about their fate in a land that had been divided over religion and feared the removal of the British rule under which they had flourished. In the early years of independence, Parsis were involved in India's political life and the growing communalism at the end of the 20th century has not resulted in any persecution of Paris.Less

The Parsis in Hong Kong and the China Seas

John R. Hinnells

in The Zoroastrian Diaspora: Religion and Migration

This chapter examines the conditions of Parsis in Hong Kong and the China Seas. It suggests that the Paris settling in the China Seas were acutely conscious of the huge cultural differences between ... More

This chapter examines the conditions of Parsis in Hong Kong and the China Seas. It suggests that the Paris settling in the China Seas were acutely conscious of the huge cultural differences between them and the wider population in the same way that the Parsis in Indian were conscious of the ancestry they share with aspects of Hinduism. This chapter traces the history of the Parsis in Hong Kong and China Seas from the days of the earliest Parsi businessman in the region, Hirji Jivanji Readymoney in 1756, and situates the Parsis in the wider setting of British and Indian trade in the region.Less

The Parsis of Karachi

John R. Hinnells

in The Zoroastrian Diaspora: Religion and Migration

This chapter examines the situation of the Parsis in Karachi, Pakistan. The situation of the Parsis is different here compared to in India and Pakistan in general because they live in an Islamic ... More

This chapter examines the situation of the Parsis in Karachi, Pakistan. The situation of the Parsis is different here compared to in India and Pakistan in general because they live in an Islamic state. When the Parsis first migrated to Karachi in the 19th century they were moving within the sphere of British rule, for it is only since the arrival of the British in the Province of Sind that there has been a recorded Parsi presence in the region. The Karachi situation is of particular interest given the history of Zoroastrian persecution under Muslim rule.Less

Zoroastrians in East Africa

John R. Hinnells

in The Zoroastrian Diaspora: Religion and Migration

This chapter examines the situation and history of Parsis in East Africa, particularly in Zanzibar and Kenya. It suggests that Parsis came to East Africa, first to Zanzibar and then across to the ... More

This chapter examines the situation and history of Parsis in East Africa, particularly in Zanzibar and Kenya. It suggests that Parsis came to East Africa, first to Zanzibar and then across to the mainland, as part of the network first developed by Sultan Barghash and this was continued by the British between Bombay and the East Coast of Africa. The earliest arrivals were professionals who for a decade grew into a business community.Less

Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good (Trust) Deeds: Parsis, Risk, and Real Estate in Mumbai

Leilah Vevaina

in Handbook of Religion and the Asian City: Aspiration and Urbanization in the Twenty-First Century

This chapter examines the impact of the introduction and use of specific legal and municipal instruments on communal and urban spatial transformations by focusing on the communal real estate of the ... More

This chapter examines the impact of the introduction and use of specific legal and municipal instruments on communal and urban spatial transformations by focusing on the communal real estate of the Parsis (Indian Zoroastrians), one of Mumbai's microcommunities. It begins by presenting a historical background on the Parsis' migration from Gujarat to Bombay and how they became the largest private landowners in Mumbai. It then considers the Parsis' incorporation in a governing charitable trust, the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), and describes Parsi trust housing as a unique scape of housing in the city. By analyzing the case of the movement of the Parsis from Bombay to Mumbai, this chapter highlights the consequences for the Parsi community of the shifting structure and ethics of the communal trust.Less

Pre-Islamic Iran and Archaistic Frenzy

Reza Zia-Ebrahimi

in The Emergence of Iranian Nationalism: Race and the Politics of Dislocation

Chapter 3 analyses dislocative nationalism's infatuation with Iran's pre-Islamic past (or 'archaistic frenzy'). The nationalist claim that such frenzy is a timeless feature of Iranian identity is ... More

Chapter 3 analyses dislocative nationalism's infatuation with Iran's pre-Islamic past (or 'archaistic frenzy'). The nationalist claim that such frenzy is a timeless feature of Iranian identity is challenged and the European Orientalist sources of this discourse highlighted.Less

Right to Family Environment: Adoption and Other Non-Institutional Services

Asha Bajpai

in Child Rights in India: Law, Policy, and Practice

This chapter describes child rights vis-à-vis family environment, focusing on adoption. There is no legislation for the adoption of children by Parsis in India. Today, some Muslims do adopt children ... More

This chapter describes child rights vis-à-vis family environment, focusing on adoption. There is no legislation for the adoption of children by Parsis in India. Today, some Muslims do adopt children in India but since there is no law to make their adoption legal, such adoptions remain informal. The canon law does not bar or prohibit Christians from adopting a child. The issue of ‘gender injustice’ is evident in the practice of adoption. A number of documents are needed to adopt a child. This chapter also discusses different interventions and initiatives by non-governmental organizations and the government. It is noted that the Hague Convention is important to India. The proposed common secular law on adoption would possibly be acceptable to all communities if its main focus is on the welfare of the destitute and orphan child and it does not intervene with the inheritance laws.Less

Role of Parsis in Modern India

Ramin Jahanbegloo

in India Revisited: Conversations on Continuity and Change

The Parsis or the Zoroastrians compose a minority community that has enriched India economically, culturally, industrially, and educationally. In the course of this interview, T.R. Andhyarujina looks ... More

The Parsis or the Zoroastrians compose a minority community that has enriched India economically, culturally, industrially, and educationally. In the course of this interview, T.R. Andhyarujina looks at the reasons why the Parsis were able to achieve many successes within and outside India. Andhyarujina also discusses the threat of extinction of Parsis posed by their diminishing birth rate. He also looks at the new Parsi orthodoxy and at the issue of Parsis emigrating from India.Less

Parsis and Bombay City: Community and Identity in the Nineteenth Century

Jesse S. Palsetia

in Bombay Before Mumbai: Essays in Honour of Jim Masselos

This chapter examines the important role of the Parsis in Bombay city. It notes the rise of Parsi influence and leadership in Bombay, the role of the Parsis in shaping Bombay's socio-political ... More

This chapter examines the important role of the Parsis in Bombay city. It notes the rise of Parsi influence and leadership in Bombay, the role of the Parsis in shaping Bombay's socio-political culture under colonialism, the role of the Parsis in Bombay's economy, and the important contributions of the Parsis to Bombay's physical space and culture through philanthropy and educational efforts. This chapter underscores how the Parsis contributions shaped a progressive and cosmopolitan culture in Bombay, and how the city fostered the aspirations of one of India's smallest communities.Less

Worthy Objects of Charity: Government, Communities, and Charitable Institutions in Colonial Bombay

Preeti Chopra

in Bombay Before Mumbai: Essays in Honour of Jim Masselos

The British colonial government received requests for assistance in the establishment of charitable institutions in Bombay in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This chapter underscores ... More

The British colonial government received requests for assistance in the establishment of charitable institutions in Bombay in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This chapter underscores the role of the colonial government as protector of the European community in Bombay, in contrast with similar efforts towards native communities (ethnic and religious) in the city. In particular, it demonstrates how a study of Bombay’s charitable institutions provides a deeper understanding of what British colonials deemed as “worthy objects of charity” in western India. It is not simply the dichotomy between colonial engagements with charitable institutions for Europeans and native communities that is of interest. What is unexpected and enlightening is that the government's relationship with the charitable institutions of native religious communities---Parsi, Hindu, Muslim, and Jewish--was not always the same. Based on these varied engagements, this chapter reveals the colonial government’s complex and diverging ideas of “worth.”Less

The Parsi Leader

Jesse S. Palsetia

in Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy of Bombay: Partnership and Public Culture in Empire

This chapter examines Jejeebhoy’s role and reputation among the Parsis of Bombay and India. The corollary of Jejeebhoy’s public role was that he was also a leader of the Parsis and a representative ... More

This chapter examines Jejeebhoy’s role and reputation among the Parsis of Bombay and India. The corollary of Jejeebhoy’s public role was that he was also a leader of the Parsis and a representative of Indians to the British in Bombay. It examines how Jejeebhoy, despite being a traditionalist Parsi, was progressive in his outlook. It reveals how he sought to ‘modernize’ aspects of Parsi leadership and tradition, in large measure by utilizing the British connection. It details how he utilized modernizing trends in colonial society, including British support for Indian institutions, in the interests of the Parsi community and identity. The chapter examines Jejeebhoy’s attempts to reform the Parsi Panchayat—the internal leadership institution of the Parsis—and devise an alternative institution. Jejeebhoy perfectly reflects the duality of the mutually supportive role of Indians as both public and community leaders.Less

Reaching Across Land and Sea: The Transregional Networks of a Local Man

Samira Sheikh

in Transregional Trade and Traders: Situating Gujarat in the Indian Ocean from Early Times to 1900

Although the last nawab of Bharuch was ousted by the East India Company’s forces in 1772, his trusted minister Lallubhai flourished under Company rule. Lallubhai’s influence and income derived from ... More

Although the last nawab of Bharuch was ousted by the East India Company’s forces in 1772, his trusted minister Lallubhai flourished under Company rule. Lallubhai’s influence and income derived from his deep understanding and control of late-Mughal revenue systems and their role in the flourishing cotton supply chain of south Gujarat. As Mughal control waned in Gujarat, revenue entrepreneurs such as Lallubhai virtually ran the military–fiscal apparatus of successor states and then the Company. Equally, and unlike most commodity traders and bankers, Lallubhai and his kind were deeply involved in politics. This chapter locates Lallubhai’s career within overlapping circles of influence—some deeply local, others radiating out into the trade networks of the Arabian Sea—and argues that Gujarat’s celebrated transregional trade cannot be understood without its agrarian backdrop. Lallubhai, like Gujarat itself, faced both land and sea.Less