The Parsis of India: Continuing at the Crossroads

Book info: The Parsis of India: Continuing at the Crossroads (Hardcover, 1608 pages) – SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd, 2017. Language: English.

A four-volume series, The Parsis of India is the first comprehensive analysis of the Parsi community and its demographic decline with a pan-India focus. It brings together scholarly articles and empirical work from multiple locations using the mixed method research approach and addresses key concerns impacting the demography of this ethno-religious minority. Extensive in scope and investigative in analysis, this is the only major socio-psycho-anthropological work in over a decade on the dwindling Parsi community.

The series will be useful for academicians, researchers and policy-makers interested in the Parsi community in particular, and in minority communities in general. It will also serve as a handy reference for the community and its leadership.

Vol 1: The Indian Parsis: Themes Old and New edited by Shalini Bharat and Armaity S. Desai

The first volume in the series, Volume 1 covers a wide range of historical and contemporary concerns of the Parsi community. The chapters cover the history and demography, issues of poverty and charity in the community and methodological concerns in researching minority communities.

This volume integrates the findings that emerge in the other three volumes in the series covering themes on family, youth and the elderly, and contextualises the key demographic concerns of the community with suggestions for forward action.

Vol 2: Contemporary Parsis: Marriage, Family and Community by Shalini Bharat

Volume 2 explores the socio-cultural dimensions of the Parsi demographic decline from the community’s perspective. It presents insights into how the Parsis perceive and understand its demographic challenges and opportunities for survival. This volume will be of interest to students and academicians in the fields of Sociology, Psychology, Family Studies, Human Development, Minority Studies, and Research Methodology and will also appeal to Parsis and Zoroastrians worldwide.

Vol 3: The World of Indian Parsi Youth: Status and Perceptions by Lata Narayan

Volume 3 is a national-level study conducted across 14 locations to understand the perspective and attitudes of the Parsi youth on aspects related to their life goals and the factors which contribute to their ethnic identity. This includes including socialisation patterns; questions related to their family and neighbourhood interactions; experiences related to education and work; perceptions about marriage; lifestyle expressions; practice of religion; Zoroastrian identity within the larger Indian identity; and challenges faced by the community.

Vol 4: The Parsi Elderly: To Live with Dignity by S. Siva Raju

Volume 4 is the first comprehensive national-level study focusing on the situational analysis of the elderly in the Parsi community. It addresses the knowledge gap by presenting the findings from a national sample survey and case studies based on the institutionalised elderly. The topics covered include the living conditions of the elderly, their status in the family and the community, the nature of support systems that exist for their well-being and their views and preferences for various services. Based on the empirical findings, a detailed action plan has been provided keeping in mind various stakeholders associated with the well-being of the Parsi elderly in India.

Editorial Reviews About the Author Armaity S. Desai, born in Mumbai, India, on 28 April 1934, completed BA (Hons) from Mumbai University (Sociology) (1951–55); diploma in social service administration, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) (1955–57); and MA (1958–59) and PhD (1965–69) from the University of Chicago, both in social work. She served as Chairperson, University Grants Commission, Delhi (1995–99); Director, TISS, Mumbai (1982–95) and from Lecturer to Principal, College of Social Work, affiliated to Mumbai University (1957–82).

She has been the member and office-bearer of several non-governmental and governmental organisations at international, national and local levels; the UN (in Asia); Commonwealth Secretariat committees (for Africa); committees of planning commission and social welfare ministries; Union Public Service Commission; University Grants Commission and academic institutions. Her research areas include social work and social work education and she has contributed to several keynote addresses and publications on higher education. She has several awards, national and international, along with two honorary doctorates awarded to her.

Shalini Bharat (also the author of Volume 2) is a PhD in psychology from Allahabad University and currently Deputy Director (Academic), TISS, Mumbai. She is affiliated to the Centre for Health and Social Sciences of the School of Health Systems Studies at TISS, of which she is also the former Dean. She holds additional charge as Programme Director, Saksham―a Global Fund supported programme on TB counselling. Her research interests include health equity and access, reproductive and sexual health, social drivers of HIV and HIV-related stigma, HIV prevention impact assessment and new prevention methods, family studies and demographic transition among minority communities. She teaches qualitative research methodology and public health ethics. She serves on the scientific advisory committees and ethics review committees of many national and international organisations. From 2007 to 2013, she served as member of the Mission Steering Group of National Rural Health Mission, Government of India.