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Power and Philanthropy: The Imperial Dimensions of Parsi Amelioration of the Iranian Zoroastrians

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2022

Dinyar Phiroze Patel Open the ORCID record for Dinyar Phiroze Patel [Opens in a new window]
Dinyar Phiroze Patel*
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor of History, S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, India
*
Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article brings a new perspective to Parsi philanthropy in late Qajar Iran by exploring its British imperial dimensions. It examines how Parsis leveraged British diplomatic heft in their amelioration of Iranian Zoroastrians and how imperial connections helped Parsis translate charity into political and economic power. This was a mutually beneficial process: British diplomats identified strategic value in Parsi philanthropy for Iranian Zoroastrians. It was particularly useful in Great Game rivalries against Russia, as Britain attempted to cultivate Iranian Zoroastrians to shore up its influence in southern Iran. Interactions between Parsis, Iranian Zoroastrians, and British diplomats neatly illustrate the extraordinary influence which small minorities could wield in imperial politics.

Keywords

ParsisIranian ZoroastriansPhilanthropy, ImperialismBombayMinoritiesMinority RightsHumanitarianismDiplomacy
Type
Article
Information
Iranian Studies , Volume 56 , Issue 2 , April 2023 , pp. 205 - 229
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Association for Iranian Studies

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