Saving The Parsee Titanic Dr. Jamshed A. Modi Several years back, the film “Titanic”, directed by James Cameron was seen in theaters all over the world. It was a big-budget film, extremely well-made, with marvelously created shots about the sinking of the great ship. One often notices parallels in events that are separated by the passage of time. The time may be years, may be decades, may be centuries. But we sometimes think of 2 events, often in very different fields of human experience, and begin to discern parallels. The parallels are sometimes so striking that we often wonder to ourselves: “Is Nature trying to tell us something, teach us something?” For many decades now, the events in the Parsee community in India seem to be showing a remarkable parallel to the events leading up to the sinking of the Titanic. Consider the following. The Titanic - 1) The Titanic was built by some of the finest engineering and design talents of its time. It was a grand ship, praised and admired by many. It started out from Southampton in England, headed for New York in the USA, and the people on board were happy and proud to be on the Titanic. Every day and night there was much merriment among the passengers on board. 2) During the voyage the captain and the upper-level executive staff were the picture of confidence and cockiness, as they occasionally talked among themselves about how well the ship was moving, and the possibility of reaching New York well before the scheduled arrival day. 3) After a few days at sea, the wireless operator on the ship started receiving several telegrams warning about icebergs in the route the ship was taking. The movie showed one such telegram being dutifully shown to the first-officer and the captain. The captain is shown disregarding the telegram, and instead asking the chief engineer to “shake a leg”, and pick up speed a little more, as he was eager to break the speed record, and reach New York before scheduled arrival date. 4) On the night of 15 April 1912, the watch officer suddenly saw in the dark, the silhouette of a huge iceberg right ahead in the ship’s path. It was far away in the ordinary way of thinking, but this was no ordinary ship. It was a huge vessel, moving very fast, and one that cannot be slowed or turned quickly. The movie showed the watch officer yelling in panic (into the intercom, to the engine room) to reverse engines and “hard rudder”. 5) They managed to slow the huge ship a bit, turn a little bit to the left, and avoid a full-speed, head-on collision. But it is estimated that sometime between midnight and 3 AM, the Titanic hit its iceberg, and started taking water. The exact time it hit the iceberg is not known, but in a journey of several days, an estimation error of a few hours is understandable. 6) When word finally went through the ship that it was going down, there was of course a mad scramble for the life-boats. Many passengers were lowered in boats down to the sea (which mercifully was calm that night). But soon passengers realized there were not enough life-boats for all. By now the ship’s bow was in the water, and the stern was some 50 ft out of the water. Many decided to jump into the ice-cold waters, in the hope of swimming out to one of the life-boats and being rescued. Their fate is not known. One particularly scene in the movie shows the 4-5 member string orchestra, which was until a few hours ago playing in one of the ball-rooms of the ship, assemble on the deck close to where the life-boats were being lowered. (The ship was already tilted about 30 degrees, bow down, stern up.) And they started playing a Viennese waltz! Presumably to soothe the panicky passengers, and lead them to think that everything is alright and under control. An oceanic counter-part to Nero fiddling while Rome burnt. The Parsee Community – I am using the same numbering of points as for the Titanic above, and I am trying to use language as close as possible to the language for the Titanic above, in order to emphasize the parallel. See what you think. 1) The Parsees community in India has produced some of the finest personalities in the country. It is a grand community, praised and admired by many. The community started out from Sunjan in Gujarat, India. Most of the people in the community are happy and proud to be in the community. Every year there is much merriment among the community as they celebrate their community’s auspicious days, and private functions. 2) Over the centuries in India, the community and it’s leading personalities were the picture of confidence and cockiness, as they talked among themselves about how the community is progressing, and the great religious principles on which it was founded. 3) After about 10 centuries in India, scholarly members of the community started receiving several indications warning about falling birth-rates, and declining population numbers. However, community leaders from those days upto present times have been disregarding the warnings, and instead are reminding the community of its glorious history in ancient times, and the solid religious philosophy on which it has survived to this date. 4) In the last official census surveys of India, some thoughtful members in the community saw a huge problem, namely the demise of the community if it continued on its present path. The event would have been ignored by the country in the ordinary way of thinking, but this was no ordinary community. It was an outstanding community, whose members were among the most significant contributors to India’s development. The decline was moving very fast, and one that cannot be slowed or turned around quickly. The Government Of India and the United Nations set up programs to reverse the decline in the Parsee population. 5) The government programs and the community’s own programs may manage to slow the decline a bit, and avoid a full-fledged disaster. But it is estimated that around the start of the last century the community hit its iceberg and started “taking water”—started declining in numbers. The exact year or even decade when the community hit its iceberg is not known. But in a community journey of several centuries, an estimation error of several years is understandable. 6) When word finally went through the community that it’s numbers were going down, there was of course an acrimonious controversy over who or what is to blame. Some said it was because of “outside marriages”. Some said it was because of poor level of religious education. Some said it was because of housing shortage. Several theories were put out, but none were researched in a definitive manner, and so to-date no solution has emerged which has good prospects for reversing the decline in population. If I had to summarize the main thrust of the parallels, it would be that in both cases, the Titanic and the Parsee community, an exclusive pride in their origens and performance led to complacency. And complacency led both (the ship and the community) to ignore clear warnings of present and immediate danger. The Future - Whether you think there are or are not parallels, we are talking about the past. Most parallels and analogies breakdown at some point, and the above is no exception. The story of the Titanic after it hit its iceberg need not be the Parsee community’s story after it hit it’s iceberg. The Titanic sank. The Parsee community need not sink. That’s where the parallels can be ended. That’s where the parallels can diverge. But for the parallels to diverge, the community will have to diverge from the Titanic captain’s complacency. The community must heed the warnings. One obvious divergence between the Titanic episode and that of the Parsee community is that the Titanic HAD a captain (and supporting staff) who knew their ship, knew the technology they were into (marine engineering, ocean navigation, etc.) --- only thing was they were lulled into carelessness and complacency by the excellent heritage of their ship. Unfortunately, in the Parsee community case, the community has no “captain”, so there is no question of the captain “knowing the ship” (the community), or knowing the technology (sociology, social psychology, statistics, people management, etc.). But the community needs a “captain”. Can the community as a whole set up a “captain”? Very unlikely. Disorganized and quarrelsome as it’s members are, it is unlikely to be able to set up a human captain. The “captain” will have to be not an individual, but an institution --- an institution with the knowledge resources and the financial resources to navigate the community into a vibrant, demographically healthy condition. Here the community’s business and industry people have a glorious role to play. Not only the community’s people, but also academicians in many countries, particularly those in departments of Zoroastrian Studies, Iranian Studies, South Asian Studies, Population Studies in universities throughout the world can play a useful role. Some of these departments setting up research projects specifically aimed at uncovering the causes of the decline of the Parsee population would be a great step forward. If a few such people come together to setup an above-type institution, initiate the research necessary to formulate a strategy for survival and revival, then implement the strategy vigorously as a social-action project, the story of the Parsee community could be very different from that of the Titanic. Without such an institution, without such a strategy, the community which some say has already hit its iceberg, will continue to “take water”. *****