ABSTRACT
Baha¯ ı¯ is an Arabic word which means follower of Baha¯ . Baha¯ in turn refers to Baha¯ u lla¯h (the Glory of God), the title taken by the Iranian nobleman, Mirza¯ Husayn Alı¯ Nu¯rı¯, who in 1863 declared himself to be the latest messenger of God in a long line of such divine spokesmen. A Baha¯ ı¯, therefore, is a person who has accepted Baha¯ u lla¯h’s claims and, in so doing, becomes a member of the international Baha¯ ı¯ community. According to Baha¯ ı¯ authorities, as of the year 2000, the international Baha¯ ı¯ community was composed of approximately 5 million people coming from 2,100 different ethnic, racial, and tribal groups and living in over 235 countries and territories. Among these, close to 2 million are claimed to reside in the Republic of India, making the Indian community the largest Baha¯ ı¯ community in the world.1
