What do present day Iranians think about Indian Parsis who took refuge in India many centuries ago?

Kewan Shirazi, Proud Iranian

Updated Sep 8

I think it’s a sad and a tragical story.

For those who don’t know, the Parsi’s are an Indian ethnic group of Persian origin, and they practice the Zoroastrian faith.

Currently, there are more than 70, 000 Parsis in India, which are of Iranian origin.

Parsi means Persian.

The Parsis that are Zoroastrian in faith, emigrated from Iran to India in the 7th century, following the Islamic conquest of Iran. They did so because Zoroastrianism was prohibited in Iran so they were persecuted.

The discrimination against Zoroastrians started with violence and forced conversions.

The Arabs then started to destroy the Zoroastrian places of worship and sacred places.

The Muslims also burned many Persian libraries to the ground, as they at that timewere an anti-intellectual society, that didn’t want to read any books that weren’t related to Islam.

This is what Omar, a Caliph, said about burning down the grand libraries of Persia and destroying all the books

If the books contradict the Qur'an, they are blasphemous. On the other hand, if they are in agreement, they are not needed, as for us Qur'an is sufficient.

Omar, an Islamic Caliph

As a result, much of the Persian cultural heritage was lost.

Many laws were also passed in order to humiliate the Zoroastrians and make them second-class citizens.

They weren’t allowed to have certain jobs and they were humiliated by paying extra taxes, called Jizya.

They were discriminated by being labeled as najis meaning impure, and by being excluded from the fields of society, education and work

As a result the Persians started to revolt and protest. Piruz Nahavandi, an enslaved Persian assassinated Umar, one of the Islamic Caliphs. When the city of Estakhr in the south, a Zoroastrian religious center, put up resistance against the
inhumane, murderous and bloodsucking Arab invaders, 40,000 residents were slaughtered or hanged.

40,000 people.

The Arab invaders were literally bloodsucking. A caliph of the Islamic Empire said this.
“Milk the Persians and once their milk dries, suck their blood"

When the barbaric Arabs reached Gorgan, they slaughtered and beheaded so many people, that for three days the rivers were red by all the bloodshed.

A Persian scholar commented, "Why so many had to die or suffer? Because one side was determined to impose his religion upon the other who could not understand.

So it’s more than understandable that some Zoroastrians escaped to India, to finally being able to practice their religion in peace.

(A Faravahar, ancient Zoroastrian/Persian symbol)

I actually read a story about the Parsis a while ago, here on Quora, and it goes like this

When the Parsis arrived in ancient India, the ruler summoned them and demanded to know what they were doing here.

The Parsis then requested if they were allowed to stay and practice their religion here in peace.

The ruler then showed them a glass full of milk and told them that India like it was full.

One member of the Parsis then took the glass and added sugar, because that like it, they would sweeten the lands of India (it was that ruler of the place in Gujarat conveyed the message that state was full and hence can't accommodate
any more- with the bowl full of milk. A member of refuge group put sugar into it conveying we will mix with the population like sugar mixed with the milk)

The Zoroastrians or Parsis as they are known here in India are not just the sweetest people around but have an awesome sense of entrepreneurship. Some of the biggest corporate houses in India were founded and are owned by Parsis. Their contribution to
education, healthcare and society at large is commendable. Of the total Parsis in India, most parsis reside in Mumbai. Virtually, all Parsis in India trace their origin to Gujarat which also expains why a vast majority of them speak Gujarati. Also the town
of Udvada in Gujarat, is renowned for its Zoroastrian Atash Behram. This place of worship is the oldest still-functioning example of its kind, and has established Udvada as a pilgrimage center for Zoroastrians the world over.

Another Trivia,Freddie Mercury(Iconic Queen's Band fame) was also a Parsi, born to Indian Parsi parents.