Editing Parsis (section)

== Population ==
{{Update|part=section|date=October 2024}}
{{See also|List of countries by Zoroastrian population}}

{{Historical populations
|title = Historical population of Parsis in India
|align = Centre
|footnote = Sources:<ref name="Census1872">{{cite web |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25057647 |jstor=saoa.crl.25057647 |access-date=May 20, 2024 |title=Memorandum on the census of British India of 1871-72. |year=1872 |pages=50–54 |last1=Waterfield |first1=Henry |author2=Great Britain India Office Statistics AND Commerce Department |archive-date=July 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704040232/https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25057647 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Census1881">{{cite web |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25057654 |jstor=saoa.crl.25057654 |access-date=May 20, 2024 |title=Report on the census of British India, taken on the 17th February 1881 ..., Vol. 2 |year=1881 |pages=9–18 |archive-date=May 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240520231440/https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25057654 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Census1891">{{cite web |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25318666 |jstor=saoa.crl.25318666 |access-date=May 20, 2024 |title=Census of India, 1891. General tables for British provinces and feudatory states. |year=1891 |pages=87–95 |last1=Baines |first1=Jervoise Athelstane |author2=India Census Commissioner |volume=1 |archive-date=May 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531191628/https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25318666 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Frazer 1897 p.">{{cite book | last=Frazer | first=R.W. | title=British India | publisher=G. P. Putnam's sons | series=The story of nations | year=1897 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9F8qAAAAYAAJ | page=355 | access-date=May 8, 2023 | archive-date=May 8, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508025115/https://books.google.com/books?id=9F8qAAAAYAAJ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Census1901">{{cite web |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25352838 |jstor=saoa.crl.25352838 |access-date=May 20, 2024 |title=Census of India 1901. Vol. 1A, India. Pt. 2, Tables. |year=1901 |pages=57–62 |archive-date=January 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128154915/https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25352838 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Census1911">{{cite web |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25393779 |jstor=saoa.crl.25393779 |access-date=May 20, 2024 |title=Census of India, 1911. Vol. 1., Pt. 2, Tables. |year=1911 |pages=37–42 |last1=Edward Albert Gait |first1=Sir |author2=India Census Commissioner |volume=2 |publisher=Calcutta, Supt. Govt. Print., India, 1913. |archive-date=May 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528011326/https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25393779 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Census1921">{{cite web |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25394121 |jstor=saoa.crl.25394121 |access-date=May 20, 2024 |title=Census of India 1921. Vol. 1, India. Pt. 2, Tables. |year=1921 |pages=39–44 |archive-date=May 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528062858/https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25394121 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Bureau of Manufactures">{{cite book |author=United States Department of Commerce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PYA0AQAAMAAJ |title=Trade and Economic Review for 1922 No. 34 |publisher=Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce |year=1924 |edition=Supplement to Commerce Reports |page=46 |access-date=May 8, 2023 |archive-date=May 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513164851/https://books.google.com/books?id=PYA0AQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Census1931">{{cite web |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25793234 |jstor=saoa.crl.25793234 |access-date=May 20, 2024 |title=Census of India 1931. Vol. 1, India. Pt. 2, Imperial tables. |year=1931 |pages=513–519 |archive-date=May 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513011937/https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25793234 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Census1941">{{cite web |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.28215532 |jstor=saoa.crl.28215532 |access-date=May 20, 2024 |title=Census of India, 1941. Vol. 1, India |year=1941 |pages=97–101 |author1=India Census Commissioner |volume=1 |archive-date=July 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240702030000/https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.28215532 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="The Hindu-2016">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/Parsi-population-dips-by-22-per-cent-between-2001-2011-study/article14508859.ece|title=Parsi population dips by 22 per cent between 2001–2011: study|newspaper=The Hindu|date=July 26, 2016 |access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=January 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106014327/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/Parsi-population-dips-by-22-per-cent-between-2001-2011-study/article14508859.ece|url-status=live}}</ref>
|percentages = pagr
|1872 | 69476
|1881 | 85397
|1891 | 89904
|1901 | 94190
|1911 | 100096
|1921 | 101778
|1931 | 109752
|1941 | 114890
|1971 | 91266
|1981 | 71630
|2001 | 69601
|2011 | 57264
}}

[[File:The geographical population distribution of modern and ancient Parsi.png|thumb|upright=1.15|The geographical distribution of modern and ancient Parsis in India and Pakistan.{{sfn|Chaubey|Ayub|Rai|Prakash|2017}}]]
According to the [[2011 census of India]], there are 57,264 Parsis in India.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/where-we-belong-the-fight-of-parsi-women-in-interfaith-marriages-4900480/ |title=Where we belong: The fight of Parsi women in interfaith marriages |date=October 24, 2017 |access-date=October 23, 2017 |archive-date=January 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106014351/https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/where-we-belong-the-fight-of-parsi-women-in-interfaith-marriages-4900480/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/Parsi-population-dips-by-22-per-cent-between-2001-2011-study/article14508859.ece|title=Parsi population dips by 22 per cent between 2001-2011: study|newspaper=The Hindu|date=July 25, 2016|archive-date=January 6, 2019|access-date=October 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106014327/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/Parsi-population-dips-by-22-per-cent-between-2001-2011-study/article14508859.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the [[National Commission for Minorities]], there are a "variety of causes that are responsible for this steady decline in the population of the community", the most significant of which were childlessness and migration.{{sfn|Roy|Unisa|Bhatt|2004|pp=8, 21}}

If Demographic trends project that by 2020 the Parsis will number only 23,000.<!-- Taraporevala|2000|p=9 --> The Parsis will then cease to be called a community and will be labeled a '[[tribe]]'.<!-- "cease to be termed a community and will be labelled {{sic}} a 'tribe'" -->{{sfn|Taraporevala|2000|p=9}}

One-fifth of the decrease in population is attributed to migration. There are sizeable Parsi communities in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and the United States.{{sfn|Roy|Unisa|Bhatt|2004|p=21}} A slower birthrate than deathrate accounts for the rest<!-- infant mortality is the other possibility, but is negligible among Parsis-->: as of 2001, Parsis over the age of 60 make up for 31% of the community. Only 4.7% of the Parsi community are under 6 years of age, which translates to 7 births per year per 1000 individuals.{{sfn|Roy|Unisa|Bhatt|2004|p=14}} Concerns have been raised in recent years over the rapidly declining population of the Parsi community in India.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi |first=PIB Delhi |date=March 21, 2022 |title=Declining Parsi Population in the Country |url=https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1807702}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02wmp5q|title=Saving India's Parsis|publisher=BBC|archive-date=April 20, 2019|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420221421/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02wmp5q|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Ties to modern-day Iran===
Parsis have also been migrating to the traditional homeland of Iran and while the number of Parsis who have returned to Iran is small compared to the overall Zoroastrian community in Iran, their presence has helped to strengthen the ties between the Iranian and Indian Zoroastrian communities. The Parsis played a significant role in the modernization of Iran, particularly in the 20th century. They served as a reminder of Iran's ancient heritage, which was crucial to Iranians. The Parsis also demonstrated to Iranians that it was possible to be both modern and culturally authentic, and that the revival of Zoroastrianism could be a way of modernizing Iranian culture while retaining its original identity.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 27, 2020 |title=Afshin Marashi talks about the role of the exiled Zoroastrian Parsi community of India in shaping Iranian nationalism when they |url=https://en.radiozamaneh.com/30459/ |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=Zamaneh Media |language=en-US |archive-date=March 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315215635/https://en.radiozamaneh.com/30459/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Both [[Reza Shah]] and [[Muhammad Reza Shah]] played an active role in encouraging Parsis to invest in Iran and contribute to its economic development by inviting them to return to their homeland. During the Pahlavi dynasty in Iran, the relationship between Zoroastrianism and Iranian national identity was blurred. This was exemplified by Reza Shah's adoption of Zoroastrian calendar names and placement of the Fravahar symbol on prominent government buildings. Additionally, he maintained a close relationship with the Zoroastrian parliamentary representative, [[Keikhosrow Shahrokh]], who was entrusted by him with important governmental tasks.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Ringer |first=Monica M. |title=Iranian Nationalism and Zoroastrian Identity |date=2012 |url=https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137013408_13 |work=Iran Facing Others: Identity Boundaries in a Historical Perspective |pages=267–277 |editor-last=Amanat |editor-first=Abbas |access-date=2023-03-15 |place=New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |language=en |doi=10.1057/9781137013408_13 |isbn=978-1-137-01340-8 |editor2-last=Vejdani |editor2-first=Farzin}}</ref>

Reza Shah was also sympathetic to Indian Zoroastrians (Parsis) and actively encouraged their return to Iran to invest and help develop the country's economy. In 1932, he invited [[Dinshah Irani]], a Parsi leader and founder of the Iranian Zoroastrian Anjoman and the Iran League in India, to visit Iran as part of a Parsi delegation. Irani was awarded honors by Reza Shah and entrusted with a message to take back to the Parsi community in India.<blockquote>''You Parsis are as much the children of this soil as any other Iranis, and so you are as much entitled to have your proper share in its development as any other nationals.''

''We estimate Our Empire's resources to be even greater than those of America, and in tapping them you can take your proper part. We do not want you to come all bag and baggage; just wait a little and watch.''

''If you find the proposition beneficial both to yourselves and to this land, then do come and We shall greet you with open arms, as We might.''

''Our dear brothers and sisters.''

''Iran is a vast country pregnant with many advantages and fresh fields waiting for development. We suggest that the Parsis, who are still the sons of Iran, though separated from her, should look upon this country of to-day as their own, and differentiate it from its immediate past, and strive to derive benefit from her developments.<ref name=":0" />''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Committee |first=Dinshah J. Irani Memorial Fund |title=Dinshah Irani Memorial Volume: Papers on Zoroastrian and Iranian Subjects |date=1943 |publisher=Dinshah J. Irani Memorial Fund Committee |language=en}}</ref><ref>The Shah's missive is reproduced in Sir Jehangir C. Coyajee, "A brief Life-Sketch of the Late Mr. Dinshah Jeejeebhoy Irani" in ''Dinshah Irani Memorial Volume: Papers on Zoroastrian and Iranian Subjects'' (Dinshah J. Irani Memorial Fund Committee, Bombay: 1948), pp i-xiii.</ref></blockquote>In the 1930s, Parsis discussed the idea of buying land in Iran to create a Parsi colony. Sir [[Hormusji Adenwala|Hormusji C. Adenwala]] proposed raising funds in Bombay for this purpose, with support from the Iranian government and Reza Shah. Some Parsis had already resettled in Iran earlier since the time of [[Maneckji Limji Hataria|Maneckji Hataria]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Marashi |first=Afshin |title=Exile and the Nation: The Parsi Community of India and the Making of Modern Iran |date=June 8, 2020 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-1-4773-2079-2 |language=en}}</ref> The Iran League Quarterly provided information on legal and economic aspects of land purchase. Land near Bandar-e Shapur was suggested as particularly valuable due to government plans for the port.<ref name=":1" /> Similar plans were considered for other Parsi colonies in Iran, including Yazd and Kerman. Textile manufacturing was seen as a potential area for Parsi investment, leading to the establishment of the Khorsovi Textile Mill in Mashhad (based on joint Parsi and Iranian ownership agreements).<ref name=":1" /> There was also discussion of combining industrial and agricultural ventures in such colonies.<ref name=":1" />

=== Other demographic statistics ===
The gender ratio among Parsis is unusual: as of 2001, the ratio of males to females was 1000 males to 1050 females (up from 1024 in 1991), due primarily to the high median age of the population (elderly women are more common than elderly men). As of 2001 the national average in India was 1000 males to 933 females.

Parsis have a high [[literacy rate]]; as of 2001, the literacy rate is 99.1%, the highest of any Indian community (the national average was 78.5%). 97.1% of Parsis reside in [[urban area]]s (the national average is 27.8%). Parsis mother tongue is [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]].<ref>Desai, Usha & Ramsay-Brijball, M. (2004). Tracing Gujarati Language development: philologically and sociolinguistically. Alternation, 11(2), 308-324.[https://journals.co.za/doi/epdf/10.10520/AJA10231757_350]</ref><ref>Dodiya, J. (2006). Parsi English Novel. Sarup & Sons.|Dodiya, J. (2006). Parsi English Novel. Sarup & Sons.|[https://books.google.com/books?id=-NvXoUkeL_kC&dq=parsi+%22mother+tongue%22+gujarati&pg=PR7] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241224170717/https://books.google.com/books?dq=parsi+%22mother+tongue%22+gujarati&pg=PR7&id=-NvXoUkeL_kC|date=December 24, 2024}}|page=7</ref>
In the Greater Mumbai area, where the density of Parsis is highest, about 13% of Parsi females and about 24% of Parsi males do not marry.{{sfn|Roy|Unisa|Bhatt|2004|pp=18, 19}}