Editing Parsis (section)

== Notable Parsi people ==
{{Main|List of Parsis|l1=List of Parsi people}}D. L. Sheth, the former director of the [[Centre for the Study of Developing Societies]] (CSDS), lists Indian communities that constituted the [[middle class]] and were traditionally "urban and professional" (following professions such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, etc.) immediately after [[Partition of India|Indian partition in 1947]]. This list included the [[Kashmiri Pandits]], the [[Nagar Brahmin]]s from Gujarat, the [[Brahmin]]s from [[South India|Southern India]], the [[Khatri|Punjabi Khatris]] and [[Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha|Kayastha]] from [[North India|northern India]], the [[Chitpavan]]s and [[Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu|CKPs]] from [[Maharashtra]]; [[Bengalis|Bengali Probasis]] and [[Bhadralok]]s, the Parsis, as well as the upper echelons of the [[Islam in India|Indian Muslim]] and [[Christianity in India|Indian Christian]] communities throughout the country. According to [[Pavan Varma|Pavan K. Varma]], "Education was a common thread that bound together this pan-Indian elite"; almost all of the members of these communities could read and write in [[English language|English]] and were educated beyond regular schooling institutions.<ref>{{cite book |author=Pavan K. Varma |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pbgMy8KfD74C&pg=PA28 |title=The Great Indian Middle class |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-14-310325-7 |page=28 |quote=...its main adherents came from those in government service, qualified professionals such as doctors, engineers and lawyers, business entrepreneurs, teachers in schools in the bigger cities and in the institutes of higher education, journalists [etc]...The upper castes dominated the Indian middle class. Prominent among its members were Punjabi Khatris, Kashmiri Pandits and South Indian brahmins. Then there were the 'traditional urban-oriented professional castes such as the Nagars of Gujarat, the Chitpawans and the Ckps (Chandrasenya Kayastha Prabhus)s of Maharashtra and the Kayasthas of North India. Also included were the old elite groups that emerged during the colonial rule: the Probasi and the Bhadralok Bengalis, the Parsis and the upper crusts of Muslim and Christian communities. Education was a common thread that bound together this pan Indian elite... But almost all its members spoke and wrote English and had had some education beyond school}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |year=2000 |title=none |journal=Social Action |publisher=Indian Social Institute |volume=50 |page=72}}{{full citation needed|date=January 2022}}</ref>[[File:Freddie Mercury performing in New Haven, CT, November 1977.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Freddie Mercury]], lead singer of the [[Rock music|rock]] band [[Queen (band)|Queen]]]]
[[File:JAMSETJI N. TATA.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Jamsetji Tata]], founder of [[Tata Group]] of companies.]]
The Parsis have made considerable contributions to the history and development of India, all the more remarkable considering their small numbers. As the [[Maxim (literature)|maxim]] "Parsi, [[thy name is]] charity" [[allude]]s to, their most prominent contribution is their [[philanthropy]].

Although their people's name Parsi comes from the Persian-language word for a Persian person, in Sanskrit the term<!-- need assistance: wordplay on -parSathas or paraseva? cf: CDSL ApR- --> means "one who gives alms".<ref name="jack">{{harvnb|Jackson|1906|p=27}}</ref><ref name="bleek212">{{harvnb|Bleeker|Widengren|1971|p=212}}</ref>

[[Mahatma Gandhi]] would note in a much misquoted statement,<ref>[http://parsikhabar.net/news/can-zoroastrians-save-their-faith/2060/ Can Zoroastrians save their faith?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513113509/http://parsikhabar.net/news/can-zoroastrians-save-their-faith/2060/ |date=May 13, 2013 }}. Parsi Khabar (January 6, 2010). Retrieved on 2013-07-28.</ref> "I am proud of my country, India, for having produced the splendid [[Zoroastrian]] stock, in numbers beneath contempt, but in charity and philanthropy perhaps unequaled and certainly unsurpassed."{{sfn|Rivetna|2002}}
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Several landmarks in [[Mumbai]] are named after Parsis, including [[Nariman Point]]. The [[Malabar Hill]] in Mumbai, is a home to several prominent Parsis. Parsis prominent in the [[Indian independence movement]] include [[Pherozeshah Mehta]], [[Dadabhai Naoroji]], and [[Bhikaiji Cama]].

<!-- Do *not* add here if the figure is not SUPER notable. Add it to [[List of Parsis]] instead. -->Particularly notable Parsis in the fields of science and industry include physicist [[Homi J. Bhabha]], nuclear scientist [[Homi N. Sethna]], industrialists [[J. R. D. Tata]] and [[Jamsetji Tata]], regarded as the "Father of Indian Industry",<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://webindia123.com/personal/industry/tata.htm|title=Jamshedji Tata – Founder of TATA Industries|website=webindia123.com|access-date=January 8, 2022|archive-date=January 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107113507/https://www.webindia123.com/personal/industry/tata.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and construction tycoon [[Pallonji Mistry]]. The families [[Godrej family|Godrej]], Mistry family, [[Tata family|Tata]], [[Petit baronets|Petit]], [[Cowasjee family|Cowasjee]], [[Cyrus S. Poonawalla|Poonawalla]], and [[Wadia family|Wadia]] are important industrial Parsi families.
[[File:Ratan Tata 2011 (The TCS Story Launch - CII) (cropped).jpg|thumb| Ratan Tata, former Tata boss and descendant of Jamsetji Tata]] 
Other notable Parsi business persons include [[Ratan Tata]], [[Cyrus Mistry]], [[Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata]], [[Dinshaw Maneckji Petit]], [[Ness Wadia]], [[Neville Wadia]], [[Jehangir Wadia]] and [[Nusli Wadia]]{{mdash}}all of them related through marriage to [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]], the founder of [[Pakistan]]. Mohammad Ali Jinnah's wife [[Rattanbai Petit]], was born into two of the Parsi [[Petit baronets|Petit]]{{ndash}}[[Tata family|Tata]] families, and their daughter [[Dina Jinnah]] was married to Parsi industrialist [[Neville Wadia]], the scion of the [[Wadia family]]. Other notable businessmen include [[Cyrus S. Poonawalla|Cyrus Poonawalla]] and his son [[Adar Poonawalla]]. The husband of Indian Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]] and son-in-law of [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], [[Feroze Gandhi]], was a Parsi with ancestral roots in [[Bharuch]].
[[File:Nauheed Cyrusi snapped on the sets of the play The Buckingham Secret in 2014 (01).jpg|thumb|Nauheed Cyrusi Actress, model and VJ]]
The Parsi community has given India several distinguished military officers. [[Field Marshal]] [[Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw]], [[Military Cross]], the architect of India's victory in the 1971 war, was the first officer of the [[Indian Army]] to be appointed a [[Field Marshal]]. [[Admiral]] [[Jal Cursetji]] was the first Parsi to be appointed Chief of the Naval Staff of the [[Indian Navy]]. [[Air Marshal]] [[Aspy Engineer]] served as India's second [[Chief of Air Staff (India)|Chief of Air Staff]], post-independence, and [[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Fali Homi Major]] served as the 18th [[Chief of Air Staff (India)|Chief of Air Staff]]. [[Vice Admiral]] RF Contractor served as the 17th Chief of the [[Indian Coast Guard]]. [[Lieutenant Colonel]] [[Ardeshir Tarapore|Ardeshir Burjorji Tarapore]] was killed in action in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war and was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military award for gallantry in action.

<!-- Do *not* add here if the figure is not SUPER-notable. Use [[List of Parsis]] instead. -->The Parsi community has produced several notable sports figures who have made significant contributions to their respective fields. In cricket, [[Nari Contractor]], [[Rusi Modi]], [[Farokh Engineer]] and [[Polly Umrigar]] were renowned for their exceptional skills and leadership. In music, rock musician [[Freddie Mercury]]; composer [[Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji]]; conductor [[Zubin Mehta]].

In literature and journalism, they boast authors [[Rohinton Mistry]], [[Firdaus Kanga]], [[Bapsi Sidhwa]], [[Ardashir Vakil]], and investigative journalists [[Ardeshir Cowasjee]], [[Russi Karanjia]], and [[Behram Contractor]]. The film industry features screenwriter and photographer [[Sooni Taraporevala]], actors [[Boman Irani]], [[Erick Avari]], actresses [[Nina Wadia]] and [[Persis Khambatta]], and Thailand's cinematic pioneer [[Rattana Pestonji]].

Educational and legal achievements include educator [[Jamshed Bharucha]], suffragist, cultural studies theorist [[Homi K. Bhabha]], and first female barrister [[Mithan Jamshed Lam]], Pakistan's first Parsi Supreme Court Justice [[Dorab Patel]], and constitutional experts [[Fali Sam Nariman|Fali S. Nariman]] and [[Nani Palkhivala|Nani Ardeshir Palkhivala]], along with former Attorney-General of India [[Soli Sorabjee]], and Supreme Court Justice [[Rohinton Fali Nariman|Rohinton F. Nariman]], India's first female photojournalist, [[Homai Vyarawalla]], also hails from this community, as does Naxalite leader and intellectual [[Kobad Ghandy]].