ABSTRACT
The origins of the Parsi community can be traced to the migration of Zoroastrians from Iran to India, a movement that laid the foundation for a lasting and influential Zoroastrian diaspora along the west coast of the Indian subcontinent. Dating back to the early Islamic period and the gradual Islamisation of Iran, this migration transformed India into both a new home for the Zoroastrian community and an emerging new centre of Zoroastrianism. Over time, what began as a modest group of craftsmen and farmers evolved into a powerful force in global trade, establishing extensive networks that spanned from China, Malaysia, and Hong Kong to Aden, East Africa, and Europe. This migration also gave rise to an exclusivist identity for the community, now known as the Parsis. The New Persian/Gujarati term Parsi means ‘Persian,’ or simply ‘Iranian,’ signifying the Iranian origin of the migrants. This emerging ethnoreligious identity not only strengthened their connection to Zoroastrianism but, even more so than their counterparts in Iran, underscored the importance of being born into the faith and immersed in a uniquely blended tradition of Iranian, Zoroastrian, and West Indian elements.
