If there was ever a year in living memory that we could term ‘annus horribilis’, it would inarguably be 2020. No astrologer even remotely predicted this! In fact, most predictions were au contraire, on how wonderful this year would be. Sadly, there’s been immense loss of life and livelihood. But despite the gloom, what has…
What Is Good Governance? In my opinion, ‘Good Governance’ is a transparent decision-making process, in which the leadership of a public charitable trust, in an effective and accountable way, directs resources (human and financial capital) and exercises power and position (as trustee) on the basis of shared value. All public charitable trusts, especially those with…
Trustees of our Parsi Charitable Trusts are saddled with enormous legal, financial and moral responsibilities. Largely viewed as a thankless job, those on the seat of power often call it a ‘crown of thorns’. Yet, there are many who will spend vast sums of money and ‘move mountains’, so to say, to either attain or…
“Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.” – Seneca, Greek philosopher Never is strong leadership more needed than in a crisis. To say that the more than three and a half centuries old Bombay Parsi Punchayet is presently in a crisis would be an understatement. It is riddled with needless controversies and…
“All great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.” – John Kenneth Galbraith Politics today is a dirty word. Almost six and a half centuries ago Plato philosophized, “Mankind…
I watched Disney’s animated classic – The Lion King, almost a quarter of a century ago with my son. It is the story of Simba, a lion cub, who goes through a lot of challenges in search of his place in the Great Circle of Life. Little did I realize then how much I would…
There are several problems facing the Parsi community today – religious, social, political and economic. One could say the community is faced with first-class problems and second-class leadership. The question is, are we condemned to it or can we upgrade it? Let’s face some home truths first… As a community, we have many generals and…
“Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.” – Voltaire The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) has been in the news once again for the wrong reasons. A Chargesheet has recently been filed against former BPP Chairman, Dinshaw Mehta, for alleged misappropriation of BPP funds. An important point to note is the…
The year 2020 has been a challenging one. There has been loss of life and there has also been loss of livelihood. There has been anxiety, anguish and even a degree of anger which stems from helplessness or our inability to be in control of the situation. However, the best and probably the only antidote…
The most powerful aspect of Bertrand Russell’s critique of religious belief is his claim, ‘Religion is based on fear’, and that ‘fear breeds cruelty’. Fortunately, the religion of Zarathushtra is not based on fear of the Divine, but on love and friendship with Ahura Mazda, through Asha (truth, purity and righteous conduct). The Zoroastrian religion…
Roj Govad of Mah Dae, which falls on 3rd June this year, is observed as Homaji ni Baj. The story of Homaji is about the power of truth and the sacrifice made by a pious and innocent man who was falsely accused. It is a tragic tale revolving around mindless acrimony that prevailed among Parsis of Gujarat, in the…