Parsis in India and the Diaspora

The Parsis are India's smallest minority community, yet they have exercised a huge influence on the country. As pioneers in education in 19th century India, and as leading figures in banking and commerce, medicine, law and journalism, they were at the forefront of India's industrial revolution. They were also prominent social reformers and were very influential in politics: Parsis were at the heart of the creation of the Indian National Congress in the 19th century and contributed some of the great leaders through into the 20th century. Parsis now have a global network, with significant diaspora communities across the world, including Pakistan, Hong Kong, Britain and in North America. This book, written by notable experts in the field, explores various key aspects of the Parsis. It spans the time from their arrival in India to the 21st century. All contributions are based on original research and most of them use hitherto unexplored primary sources. The first part of the book analyses the topic of Parsi migration from very different points of view; the second part presents leading Parsi personalities of the 19th and 20th centuries; and the final part is a set of studies of the Parsi traditional community in Bombay and an examination of three different diasporas. The concluding chapter, by John R Hinnells, shows the range of contributions of Parsis to modern India and also in the diasporas, where the Zoroastrian religion is practiced in more countries around the globe than at any time in its history of more than 3,000 years.Hinnells is the author of 'Parsis in India and the Diaspora', published 2007 under ISBN 9780415443661 and ISBN 0415443660.