ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to provide a historical overview of the contribution of Parsis to Gujarati literature. Parsi writing in Gujarati, their adopted mother tongue, was mostly in the form of translations of Zoroastrian religious texts until the end of the sixteenth century. The poetic works of Rustom Peshotan in the seventeenth century mark the beginning of Parsi Gujarati literary compositions. By the eighteenth century, narratives describing inter-religious conflicts were composed. During the nineteenth century, there was a literary effervescence aided by the invention of the Gujarati printing press and the spread of modern education among the Parsis. Newspapers and books became a medium for the Parsis who debated over the Kabiseh controversy. Through them, they also countered the criticism of the Zoroastrian religion by missionaries. The mid-nineteenth century saw newspapers emerging to advocate socio-religious reform or oppose it. Many books too were brought out by Parsis dealing with history, travel, health, social issues, politics, etc. The nineteenth-century Parsi authors also experimented with new genres like novels, plays, monajats (devotional songs), and garbas. Parsi women too made a huge contribution to various genres of Gujarati literature. Parsi contribution to Gujarati literature decreased gradually when there was a move to standardise Gujarati language grammar and spellings around the middle of the nineteenth century. Parsi Gujarati, with a preponderance of Persian words, was derided as corrupt and inaccurate. By the early twentieth century, Parsis started becoming more proficient in English, and gradually it replaced Gujarati as their main language of expression.
