Parsis

This article is about a Zoroastrian community in the Indian subcontinent. For the Persian people, see Persians. For other uses, see Parsi (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Persis.
Parsis
A Parsi Lady (c. 1928)
Mahadev V. Dhurandhar
Regions with significant populations
 India57,264[1][2]
 Canada3,630[3][a]
 Pakistan2,348[4]
Languages
Gujarati, Hindi–Urdu, English (Indian dialect or Pakistani dialect), Avestan (liturgical)
Religion
Zoroastrianism
Related ethnic groups
Iranis
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The Parsis or Parsees (/ˈpɑːrsi/) are a Zoroastrian community in the Indian subcontinent.[5] They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, when Zoroastrians were persecuted by the early Muslims.[6][7] Representing the eldest of the Indian subcontinent's two Zoroastrian communities, the Parsi people are culturally, linguistically, and socially distinct from the Iranis, whose Zoroastrian ancestors migrated to British-ruled India from Qajar-era Iran. The word Parsi is derived from the Persian language, and literally translates to Persian (پارسی, Pārsi).[8]

According to the 16th-century Parsi epic Qissa-i Sanjan, the immigration of Zoroastrian Persians to the Indian subcontinent from Greater Iran continued between the 8th century and the 10th century. The earliest of these migrants settled among the Hindus of present-day Gujarat after being granted refuge by Jadi Rana, the king of Sanjan.[9][10][11][12]

Zoroastrianism had served as Iran's state religion since at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire. However, the conquest of the Sasanian Empire by the Rashidun Caliphate marked the beginning of the Islamisation of Iran, which prompted much of the Zoroastrian-majority population to either convert to Islam or flee,[13] though a number of Iranian figures stayed in active revolt against the Rashidun army and the later Islamic caliphates for almost 200 years after the collapse of the Sasanian Empire.[14] Nevertheless, Zoroastrianism continued to decline, and most Iranians had become Muslims by the 10th century, shifting the concentration of the religion's followers away from the Iranian plateau for the first time in recorded history.

The Gujarati-speaking Parsi community accounts for the oldest sustained presence of Zoroastrianism in India, and is legally differentiated from the Dari-speaking Irani community on the basis of the era of their migration to the country.[15] Despite this legal distinction, the terms "Parsi" and "Zoroastrian" are commonly utilised interchangeably to denote both communities, which make up the world's largest Zoroastrian population. Notably, no substantial differences exist between Parsi and Irani religious principles, convictions, and customs.[16][17]

  1. ^ "Parsi population dips by 22 per cent between 2001-2011: Study". The Hindu. July 25, 2016.
  2. ^ Dean Nelson. "India's dwindling Parsi population to be boosted with fertility clinics". The Telegraph.
  3. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (October 26, 2022). "Religion by visible minority and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  4. ^ https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/national/table_9.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ^ "Definition of PARSI". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  6. ^ Skutsch, Carl (November 7, 2013). Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. Routledge. p. 953. ISBN 978-1-135-19388-1.
  7. ^ Hinnells, John; Williams, Alan (October 22, 2007). Parsis in India and the Diaspora. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-06751-0.
  8. ^ Parsee, n. and adj. - Oxford English Dictionary. oed.com. Retrieved on 2015-03-03.
  9. ^ Hodivala 1920, p. 88.
  10. ^ Boyce 2001, p. 148.
  11. ^ Lambton 1981, p. 205.
  12. ^ Nigosian 1993, p. 42.
  13. ^ PARSI COMMUNITIES i. EARLY HISTORY – Encyclopaedia Iranica. Iranicaonline.org (2008-07-20). Retrieved on 2013-07-28.
  14. ^ Akram, A. I.; al-Mehri, A. B. (September 1, 2009). The Muslim Conquest of Persia. Maktabah Publications. ISBN 978-0-9548665-3-2.
  15. ^ Ganesh, Kamala (2008). "Intra-community Dissent and Dialogue: The Bombay Parsis and the Zoroastrian Diaspora". Sociological Bulletin. 57 (3): 315–336. doi:10.1177/0038022920080301. JSTOR 23620804. S2CID 148248437.
  16. ^ Dadrawala, Noshir H. (April 13, 2019). "Parsi And Irani Zoroastrians – A Historical Perspective". Parsi Times. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  17. ^ "What sets Zoroastrian Iranis apart - Persian Journal Culture Archaeological History Art Archaeology cultural history news & Iranian culture newspaper". www.iranian.ws. December 19, 2007. Archived from the original on December 19, 2007. Retrieved March 2, 2023.


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