Iran’s Zoroastrian priest on 10-day visit to India

Mobed Mehraban Pouladi, a high-ranking Zoroastrian priest from Iran and President of the Council of Iranian Mobeds, is visiting India for the first time in five centuries. This 10-day visit signifies a potential milestone in fostering deeper cultural and religious ties between the Zoroastrian communities of India and Iran.

The Parsis, the Zoroastrian community in India, are hosting Pouladi during his tour, which includes Mumbai and the south Gujarat towns of Udvada and Navsari, home to ancient Zoroastrian fire temples.

Pouladi remarked, “This is the first time since Nariman Hoshang’s journey to Iran (in the 1500s) that I decided to travel on an official visit to India and observe how the Parsis here perform their rituals and ceremonies.” Hoshang, a Gujarat resident, had travelled to Iran centuries ago to study religious practices.

With Pouladi aiming to foster “collaboration” between Indian and Iranian Zoroastrians through joint initiatives and meetings between Indian and Iranian priests on an international platform, this opens the door for Indian diplomacy to engage and further expand cultural ties between India and Iran.

In March, Mumbai University, in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, launched ‘Avesta Pahlavi’ study centre to preserve and study Parsi-Zoroastrian heritage. With Rs 12 crore grant, the centre aims to document the Parsi community’s contributions to India’s development, analyse linguistic features and deepen understanding of Avesta-Pahlavi’s role in cultural diversity.

India’s engagement with Iran also extends to language and education. Persian, or Farsi, was recently added to the list of India’s nine classical languages under the National Education Policy, reflecting the shared civilisational ties between the two nations that date back over 4,000 years.

India’s Zoroastrian community, which migrated from Persia in the eighth century, has left an indelible mark on the nation. Prominent Parsi families like the Tatas, Godrejs, Wadias, Mistrys and Poonawalas have contributed significantly to India’s industrial, social and cultural development.