Irani (India)
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The Irani are an ethno-religious community in South Asia; they belong to the Zoroastrians who emigrated from Iran to South Asia in the 19th and 20th centuries.[1] They are culturally, linguistically, ethnically and socially distinct from the Parsis, who – although also Zoroastrians – emigrated to the Indian subcontinent from Greater Iran many centuries before the Iranis did.
Distinction from Parsis
The Parsis and Iranis are considered legally distinct. A 1909 obiter dictum relating to the Indian Zoroastrians, also observed that Iranis (of the now defunct Bombay Presidency) were not obliged to uphold the decisions of the then regulatory Parsi Panchayat. Some of the Irani community speaks an ethnolect called Zoroastrian Dari. However, the two communities increasingly intermarry and are said to have been "integrated well" with each other.[2]
History
Although the term 'Irani' is first attested during the Mughal era, most Iranis are descended from immigrants who left Iran and migrated to the Indian subcontinent during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At the time, Iran was ruled by the Qajars and religious persecution of Zoroastrians was widespread. The descendants of those immigrants remain ethnically and culturally closer to the Zoroastrians of Iran, in particular to the Zoroastrians of Yazd and Kerman, than to Parsis in India. Consequently, many Iranis still speak the Sorani or Dari dialects of the Zoroastrians of those provinces.
As is also the case for the Parsis, the Iranis predominately settled the west-coast of India, in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. A concentration of their people live in and around the city of Mumbai.
Notable Iranis
Irani is the generic surname for the community. Some families have adopted surnames related to their ancestral hometowns in Iran, such as Kermani, Yezdani, Khosravi, Faroodi, and Jafrabadi.
Notable members of the Irani community include:
- Anosh Irani, Indian-Canadian novelist
- Aruna Irani, Bollywood actress
- Ardeshir Irani, director of the first Indian sound film Alam Ara
- Bakhtiyaar Irani, TV actor
- Boman Irani, film and theatre actor
- C R Irani, Indian journalist and Editor-in-Chief of The Statesman
- Daisy Irani, Bollywood child actress of the 1950s and 60's
- Delnaaz Irani, Bollywood actress
- Dinshah Irani, Zoroastrian leader who provided aid to the Zoroastrian community of Iran.
- Faredoon Irani, Indian cinematographer
- Mehera Irani, Meher Baba mandali
- Honey Irani, Bollywood actress and screenwriter
- Jenni Irani (Jamshed Khudadad Irani), cricketer
- Kaikhosrov D. Irani, philosopher
- Kashmira Irani, actress
- Meher Baba (Merwan Sheriar Irani), mystic
- Manik Irani, actor
- Nariman Irani, cinematographer
- Ronnie Irani, cricketer
- Sanaya Irani, actress and model
- Sheriar Irani, father of meher baba
- Tanaaz Irani, Actress
- Zerbanoo Gifford, Human rights activist
See also
References
- ^ Masashi, Haneda,. "Emigration of Iranian Elites to India during the 16-18th centuries". Retrieved 17 December 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Shastri, Padmaja. "What sets Zoroastrian-Iranis apart". Retrieved 24 June 2018.
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