Dear Readers,
For decades now, one statistic has hovered over almost every serious conversation about our community – our dwindling numbers. We count births, we count deaths and we count marriages. We study demographic charts, debate population decline and anxiously ponder what our community will look like a few decades from now.
The concern is real. But perhaps we spend so much time counting Parsis that we need to ask an equally important question – what are we doing for the Parsis who are already here? A community’s future isn’t secured by numbers alone. It is reinforced when its people feel a sense of belonging, and supported enough to build their lives within it. That includes helping young Parsis find affordable housing, making scholarships accessible, connecting graduates with mentors and careers, backing entrepreneurs with guidance as well as finance, and creating genuine opportunities for young people to meet, connect and perhaps find companionship without making matrimony feel like a community assignment.
It also means looking after the other end of our demographic reality – we have an ageing population, and many families are quietly carrying the enormous responsibility of caring for elderly parents. Reliable eldercare, trained caregivers, companionship and practical support are increasingly becoming necessities. Somewhere between our youngsters and seniors is a generation juggling careers, ageing parents, financial pressures, loneliness and personal struggles. Mental and emotional wellbeing deserves a place in our community conversations too, without embarrassment or judgement.
Parsis have always understood the power of giving. Our extraordinary philanthropic legacy bears testimony to generations that turned prosperity into purpose, building baugs, schools, hospitals, dharamshalas and institutions because they understood a fundamental truth: communities survive when people invest in people. That same wisdom must guide us today. So, let us invest in ensuring that every Parsi lives with opportunity, dignity, security, support and a genuine sense of belonging.
Ultimately, our future cannot be measured by numbers alone, but by the strength, wellbeing and connectedness of the people behind those numbers. Thus, the question is no longer simply, “How many of us will remain?” It is, “What kind of community will remain for those who do?” Because the future of our community will not be secured by counting the remaining number of Parsis. It will be secured by making every Parsi count.
Have a good weekend!
– Anahita
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