• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Journal of Political Studies, Special Conference Issue, 2019, 133:154 Political Culture and Voting Behavior; A Case Study of Parsi Community in Pakistan Zainab Asif Dar and Asma Awan Abstract Parsi community of Pakistan is known for great contribution in the public welfare works, literature, industry and philanthropy. Moreover Parsis are considered one of the most hardworking and peaceful communities of Pakistan. However, the population of Parsi community in Pakistan is declining rapidly due to the migration of Parsis from Pakistan to Western countries. The following paper investigates how Parsi community perceives the political and security scenario of Pakistan. This research paper will also investigate whether Parsi community has adequate political rights or not and how are they contributing and participating in the political process in Pakistan. This research paper will also inquire if Parsi community has any political grievances in Pakistan. All these questions will be answered by studying the political culture and voting behavior of Parsi community in Pakistan. Survey method of research was used to conduct the research and data was collected through a structured questionnaire. The results show that the Parsis are patriot Pakistani people but have reservations regarding the constitutional provisions on minority rights and seek a reform in the system and better law and order situation. Keywords: Parsi community, Political culture, voting bevaiour Introduction Parsi community is a religious community that follows Zoroastrianism and whose ancestors have migrated to Gujrat and Sindh in 8th to 10th century from Iran. Zoroastrianism was founded in Iran by Prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathushtra) in 6th century BC. It is one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions. It remained one of the most powerful religions for around one thousand year. Zoroastrians believe that world was created by one God, Ahura Mazda, who revealed the truth through Prophet Zoroaster. They consider fire as the representation of God’s wisdom. According to Zoroastrianism, there is conflict between Spenta-Maynu, the good principle, and Angra-Maynu, the evil principle in the world but good will eventually prevails. Zoroastrianism ordains its followers to fight against evil and keep themselves on righteous path without being influenced by the negative aspects of evil. The representation of God in temples, altars or images is prohibited. The religious book of Zoroastrian is Avesta that contains sacred hymns called Gathas, which were supposedly composed by Zoroaster himself (Moore, 1912). They worship by orally reciting Sacred Words. The Zoroastrians keep the fire ablaze as fire is considered a divine symbol and representation of God’s wisdom and has to be respected, but it does __________________________________ *Author is M. Phil Scholar, Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore Zainab Asif Dar and Asma Awan not imply that they are fire worshippers. The total population of Zoroastrians in the world is around 124,000 (Goodstein, 2006). Parsi Community in Pakistan The story of early settlement of Parsi community in Indian sub-continent is called story the Story of Sanjan or Qissa-i-Sanjan which explains that Zoroastrians migrated to Indian sub-continent in 716 A.D due to persecution after Muslims’ armies’ invaded Iran and Sassanid Empire collapsed. The exact number of Zoroastrian migrants is not known. They sought refuge in present day Pakistan and India and the descendants of those Zoroastrians are called Parsis. The Parsis settled in the Sanjan (a town in Gujrat state of present day India). According to a legend, when the Zoroastrians came to sub-continent, king Jadhav Rana of Gujrat sent a glass of milk that was filled till the brim in order to indicate that the addition of Zoroastrians would disturb the society when was quite stable. The leader of the Zoroastrians mixed sugar in the milk to imply that the Zoroastrians would be a sweet addition in the society rather than a disturbance. Thus the ruler let them stay in the region and also allowed them to build the temple of sacred fire. The Parsis faced some hardships when Muslims conquered sub-continent and destroyed the temple of fire however they accustomed to Muslim rule with time and faced little hardship thereafter. The Parsis started out as agriculturists but flourished as traders and land owners during the Mughal rule (Menant, 1901). During the British rule in sub-continent, Parsis were the major agents of reform, enlightenment, and progress and acquired a conspicuous position due to acquisition of Western education and social work. They quickly assimilated with British and acted as mediators between the locals and British, which can be attributed to their open mindedness and broad-minded intellect (Menant, 1901). The Parsis worked hard to acquaint themselves with Western education. A Parsi was the first oriental to have the prestige of being member of British House of Commons. Proselytism and conversion are considered repugnant in modern Parsi-ism but they claim it is a universal religion and conversion to Zoroastrianism is accepted by them (Wadia, 2015). Since Parsis have no separate nation state due to their small population, they remain loyal to whichever country they reside in. Parsi Community in Pakistan During the partition of sub-continent, Parsi community was spared the violence suffered by Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus. They were in very small number and did not pose any threat to any community or state (Moza, 2015). After the creation of Pakistan, they earned respect of fellow Pakistanis by actively engaging in social work and progressing in business and various professions. The population of Parsi community in Pakistan is around 1400 (Dubash, 2014).The literacy rate in Parsi community is very high. 134 Political Culture and Voting Behavior; A Case Study of Parsi Community in Pakistan Most of the members of Parsi community are actively engaged in business and charity works. Despite their small number, the Parsi community made indelible contributions in the education sector and health sector in Pakistan which include the establishment of Mama Parsi Secondary School, BVS Parsi School, NED University, Lady Dufferin Hospital and Spencer Eye Hospital. These are some examples of their tremendous contributions particularly in Karachi (“A Sense of Belonging,” 2014). Their contributions are not limited to education and health sector as they were also dedicated to journalism, business, literature, civil service, politics and arts. The first elected Mayor of Karachi was a Parsi named Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta, who is still fondly remembered today as Maker of Modern Karachi. He was a social worker and a simple man who established a hospital for leprosy patients. During his mayor ship, Karachi was kept very clean despite mass arrival of migrants in the wake of partition. He did not belong to any political party and the sole purpose of his political life was to help poor and needy people. Ardeshir Cowasjee was a famous columnist and social activist. His wrote columns for Dawn newspaper wherein he openly criticized corrupt politicians and mafias in Karachi. He was also the founder of Cowasjee Foundation, through which he financed scholarships for students who wanted to pursue higher education but could not afford it. Justice Dorab Patel served as the Supreme Court judge from 1976 till 1981. He also campaigned for human rights. He also co-founded the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. He retired from the position of judge of Supreme Court in the wake of Provisional Constitutional Order issued by General Zia-ul-haq when all the judges of High courts and Supreme Court were urged to take oath on it. Avari family is famous for their business acumen and credentials in sports. Dinshawji Avari founded the Avari hotels in Pakistan. Byram Avari, son of Dinshawji Avari, represented Pakistan in Asian games and won gold medal in sailing in 1982. Goshpi Avari, Byram’s wife, also participated in Asian games in 1982 and won gold medal in sailing as well. She promoted sports among women in Pakistan. Bapsi Sidhwa is an internationally acclaimed author. Her famous novel “Ice candy man” narrated the aftermath of partition of India and the impact of partition on minorities. Recently, Dr Nergis Mavalvala, Pakistani born Parsee and an MIT professor, was a part of team of scientists who announced the confirmation of gravitational waves. This led to the confirmation of main prediction of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity (Rehman, 2016). Issues of Parsi Community in Pakistan The populations of Zoroastrians in the world were recorded as 140,000 at the 10th World Zoroastrian Congress in 2013. The population of Zoroastrians is dwindling globally and India has taken steps to save the dwindling populations of Parsis which 135 Zainab Asif Dar and Asma Awan was previously 114,000 in 1941 and has declined to 69,001 in 2001. In Pakistan, although the decline has not been recorded and documented but it is noticeable. The absence of Parsis from Political scenario is also evident. While India is taking initiatives to preserve the Parsi Community, Pakistan government-which has not been able to give its minorities basic rights- has entirely ignored Parsi community. The Parsi community is neither included in demographic studies nor any substantial research is undertaken to preserve their culture and religion despite Parsi community’s contribution in development (Dubash, 2014). Secondly, Parsi community in Pakistan is not given due appreciation despite the great number of the advancements they have made in scientific, economic and humanistic domains. This under appreciation is the evidence that Parsi community is being marginalized and abandoned. This situation is arising due to failure of the government to empower minorities and weakening the roles of minorities in every sphere of life. The kindness and tolerance shown by Parsi community towards others is also not acknowledged (“Our Parsi Community”, 2014).

Load more

  22

Copy Link