ABSTRACT
As Bombay Parsis became wealthy and powerful so they began to engage in international trade and diaspora groups grew in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. There have been virtually no studies of them, which from a Parsi perspective is regrettable since it was in large measure this trade which earned the funds from which charitable benefactions, temples etc. were donated. Inevitably one must have a major specialism, but the study of different groups in one location, or of one religion in different locations, seems to me a promising way of pursuing Comparative Religion. There is an element of overlap between three of the articles for the reason given in the General Introduction, but there are significant differences of focus between them. Professor John Mcleod of the University of Louisville is engaged on a book-length study of Bhownagree which promises to become the definitive work on the subject.
