Parsis have contributed to India richly over centuries: Envoy

Parsis have contributed to India richly over centuries, said High Commissioner Navtej Sarna.

Taking part in an event held under the aegis of the Zoroastrian All Party Parliamentary Group, in association with the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE), in the Committee Hall of the British Parliament, Sarna lauded the Parsi community for its role in India's freedom struggle as well as in post-independence nation building.

He was the special guest speaker along with two others, Dr David Landsman OBE, Head of TATA in the UK and Sir Mominic Cadbury, Former Chairman of Cadbury and Schweppes on the topic 'Faith based ethics in Business: The Cadbury and The Tata Way@.

Sarna recalled that a handful of people from Iran had landed on Indian shores seeking a place where they could freely profess and pursue their religion more than a thousand years ago. The Zoarastrians, or Parsis, as they came to be known had been absorbed into India's patchwork quilt of religions and ethnicities.

The high commissioner recalled personalities like Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Dr Homi Bhaba, Field Marshall Sam Maneckshaw and Maestro Zubin Mehta who had all played a great role in various fields in modern Indian history.

The event was chaired by Lord Karan Bilimoria.