Temple fire

The head priest at the oldest fire temple is game for the Modi govt8217;s development plans, but not his community

UDVADA, a quaint village some 130 km from Surat, is where the Zoroastrians have their oldest fire temple in India, housing the sacred Atash Behram. The community is now facing an important choice over this sacred spot: whether to go the state government way in developing the spot or not.

At the centre of the debate is none other than the head priest of the fire temple, Khurshed Kekobad Dastur. A few years back, he had opposed the government proposal to develop Udvada as a tourism destination. Now, he has requested the government to include Udvada in the list of pilgrimage spots, albeit under the tourism department, for development along the lines of Somnath, Dwarka, and Palitana. Many in the community, especially the conservatives, are opposing this, wary of how touristy these have become.

Already six of the seven high priests of the community have written to Chief Minister Narendra Modi, citing their disapproval. But with the administration turning a deaf ear, the conservatives feel their most famous and sacred pilgrimage centre may lose out in the face of the government juggernaut.

There8217;s more to their fears: backing the idea of government involvement is the World Zoroastrian Organisation, a reformist group which believes in admitting to the community non-Zoroastrians married to Zoroastrians, and also converts. The priest is a member of this organisation.

It all began in January 2002, when then Tourism Minister in the NDA Government, Jagmohan, allotted Rs 97.27 lakh to develop Udvada. Gujarat had allotted another Rs 24.32 lakh to develop tourism infrastructure in the village. An 11-member Foundation for Development of Udvada was set up.

The original recommendation of the state government included plans to establish a museum and cultural centre, a tourist lodge cum reception centre and heritage walks in Udvada. A core group of seven, including Dinshaw K Tamboly of the World Zoroastrian Organisation, hotelier Jehangir Cama, businessman Minoo Shroff, scholar Homi Dhalla, was set up to work on the ideas.

This year, Gujarat is going full steam ahead in dedicating Udvada as a tourism spot for all. A plan to host a huge function and dedicate a new Zoroastrian museum on November 24 was called off due to panchayat elections being within 20 days of the event.

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8220;The community was kept in the dark. We learnt of all this only after the news came in some Mumbai newspapers and a newsletter of the Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York,8221; said Naushir Dordi, from Surat. 8220;We wrote letters to the administration, the governor, and others saying the project would threaten the sanctity of the holy fire and destroy the environs of the fire temple.8221;

Said K.N. Dastoor, advocate and editor of Parsi Pukar, a Mumbai fortnightly, 8220;My primary concern is that all these activities will disturb the spiritual atmosphere of the place. Imagine the priests having to answer queries of hundreds of tourists while devout Parsis are offering prayer.8221;

Another problem is that the community does not admit non-Zoroastrians into its temples. Said Khojesti Mistry of the Mumbai-based Zoroastrian Studies institute, 8220;If a non-Zoroastrian turns up at Udvada and is told by the guards that they cannot enter the temple, don8217;t you think it will brew trouble in the place?8221;

But high priest Khurshed Kekobad Dastur is adamant that the place will benefit. 8220;We are getting a new police outpost here. The road is being better. I am the keeper of the holy fire and I know very well how to maintain it from pollution.8221;