Indian Parsis in Interaction with Iranians

 The Indian Parsis were a group of Iranian Zoroastrians who, at the time of the fall of the Sassanid rule and advent of Islam to Iran, decided to exit the Iranian political geography. Following an adventurous and dangerous journey, they finally resided in Surat and then Gujarat and Mumbai. Over centuries, they still kept the image of Iran as their homeland in theirs and their next generations’ minds and continuously kept in contact with Iran and the Iranians. This community first entered small businesses, and then gradually, especially after the entrance of the western colonialists, started a trade, scientific and industrial period among the small expatriate Parsi community. These steps brought progress and prosperity for the Indian society and consequently impacted on the lives of the Iranian Zoroastrians. Today, this expatriate group is a major, respectable and advanced minority of political clout and unique social status in that country, who, apart from their historical/cultural presence in India, can be influential for the Islamic Republic of Iran in the domestic policy-making area.