The Parsis, Zoroastrians of India

Among the smallest of India’s communities, yet among the most remarkable, are the Parsis, the descendants of Zoroastrians who fled Persia after the coming of Islam and found refuge in India more than a thousand years ago. Concentrated in Mumbai and Gujarat and numbering only some tens of thousands, they have preserved the ancient faith of Zoroaster while contributing to their adopted land far out of all proportion to their numbers.

Guardians of the sacred fire, builders of great industries, famous for their philanthropy, their cuisine, and their cultured way of life, the Parsis are a community whose story stretches from ancient Persia to the counting-houses and institutions of modern Bombay. This article traces their origins, faith, language, homeland, society, and traditions, and the extraordinary history of the Zoroastrians of India.