Generation X - The New Leaders
Every
generation believes that it is going to live differently from the previous one[1]. Zarathushtis started coming here from India and Pakistan in the
1960s for post-graduate studies because they wanted better opportunities than
were available there at that time. After graduation, they found good jobs, got
married, and settled down to raise families.
Immersed in a predominantly Judeo-Christian environment, but isolated
from their parents and relatives, the immigrant Zarathushtis needed contact
with others of their own culture and religion.
The first Zarathushti association was founded in Montreal in 1967,
followed by Vancouver (1968), Toronto (1971), New York (1973), Los Angeles
(1974), Chicago (1975), and so on.
The children of this founding generation, born in the 1970s and 1980s, went to the same
schools, and experienced many of the same historical events as all the other American
kids of their generation, popularly called Generation-X. But unlike most of their friends in school, the
Gen-X Zarathushti kids straddled two
cultures, Parsi-Indian at home, and Judeo-Christian at school. And if their parents were intermarried, they experienced
two cultures at home too. But they had
one advantage over their schoolmates: they excelled in their schools and
extra-curricular activities because their parents valued education and set an
example of honesty, hard work and perseverance.
The founder
generation started studying translations of the prayers and the
Gathas. Children’s religious education
classes were held at peoples’ homes. Arbab
Rustam Guiv foresaw the need for building dare-mehrs
and provided seed money to several associations to purchase properties. There was a lot of optimism in those
days.
Starting in 1975, symposia (which became North American
congresses after 1982) were held to discuss pressing issues like religious
education, calendar reform, and community infrastructure. But consensus was difficult because of the
passion of many attendees who wanted their beliefs to prevail over others. The youth were watching. They started addressing their own issues.
After 1979, more Zarathushti families arrived from Iran. They enthusiastically joined the associations
and introduced a refreshing outlook on religion and religious celebrations that
the Parsis had forgotten. But cultural
and ideological differences soon made communication difficult. Iranian-Zarathushti associations were formed
in Los Angeles in 1980, San Jose in 1981, and New York in 1986. Disputes arose for the control of properties
built from Arbab Guiv’s donations.
By 1987, there were 17 associations in North
America. FEZANA was formed as an
umbrella organization to address overarching issues in a collaborative spirit,
with a mandate to perpetuate the Zarathushti religion in North America. FEZANA is enjoined to maintain a liaison with
the mobeds of North America, who have formed an independent organization called
the North American Mobeds Council (NAMC).
Another independent organization, The Zarathushtrian
Assembly, was founded in 1990 with the aim of spreading the idea of the
universality of Zarathushtra’s Gathic message.
The Assembly accepts all who study and accept the message of Zarathushtra
as members. Many ethnic groups in Asia
also claim Zarathushti heritage, and are eager to learn and even revert back to
their ancestral religion. These developments
have raised some concerns among Parsis in many parts of the world.
Thanks to the efforts of the founding generation, the Gen-X
Zarathushtis understand and love, and are able to articulate our religion
to the society in which they live. They
are well integrated in the North American culture, but are also proud of their
roots and appreciate the trials and achievements of their ancestors. They eagerly volunteer to serve the larger
communities in which they live and work, and are active in their local Zarathushti
Associations and FEZANA committees.
This is the atmosphere in which Gen-X Zarathushtis, now in their 30s and
40s, have grown up; very different from the conditions in which the founding generation had grown up in
India, Pakistan and Iran. So it should
not be surprising that they may view many issues and their potential solutions very
differently from the preceding generations.
There is a real need to listen attentively to their
ideas and viewpoints. The new leaders must have the authority and
the freedom to decide and choose the best course of action for their own
futures without fear of censure.
The
founders have set the stage for establishing
our presence in the New World. Now they
must recognize the capabilities and zeal of the next generations, who will
build the edifices and structures to sustain our religion and bring it into the
mainstream of American experience.
God bless our lands, our religion, our mobeds,
FEZANA, and all of us!
Rustom
Kevala
FEZANA President
