Exile and the Nation : The Parsi Community of India and the Making of Modern Iran

In the aftermath of the seventh-century Islamic conquest of Iran, Zoroastrians departed for India. Known as the Parsis, they slowly lost contact with their ancestral land until the nineteenth century, when steam-powered sea travel, the increased circulation of Zoroastrian-themed books, and the philanthropic efforts of Parsi benefactors sparked a new era of interaction between the two groups. Tracing the cultural and intellectual exchange between Iranian nationalists and the Parsi community during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, __Exile and the Nation__ shows how this interchange led to the collective reimagining of Parsi and Iranian national identity―and the influence of antiquity on modern Iranian nationalism, which previously rested solely on European forms of thought. Iranian nationalism, Afshin Marashi argues, was also the byproduct of the complex history resulting from the demise of the early modern Persianate cultural system, as well as one of the many cultural heterodoxies produced within the Indian Ocean world. Crossing the boundaries of numerous fields of study, this book reframes Iranian nationalism within the context of the connected, transnational, and global history of the modern era. Honorable Mention, Hamid Naficy Iranian Studies Book Award from the Association of Iranian Studies In the aftermath of the seventh-century Islamic conquest of Iran, Zoroastrians departed for India. Known as the Parsis, they slowly lost contact with their ancestral land until the nineteenth century, when steam-powered sea travel, the increased circulation of Zoroastrian-themed books, and the philanthropic efforts of Parsi benefactors sparked a new era of interaction between the two groups. Tracing the cultural and intellectual exchange between Iranian nationalists and the Parsi community during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Exile and the Nation shows how this interchange led to the collective reimagining of Parsi and Iranian national identity—and the influence of antiquity on modern Iranian nationalism, which previously rested solely on European forms of thought. Iranian nationalism, Afshin Marashi argues, was also the byproduct of the complex history resulting from the demise of the early modern Persianate cultural system, as well as one of the many cultural heterodoxies produced within the Indian Ocean world. Crossing the boundaries of numerous fields of study, this book reframes Iranian nationalism within the context of the connected, transnational, and global history of the modern era. "After the Muslim conquest of Iran in the 7th century, devoted Zoroastrians emigrated to India, where the growing community came to be known as Parsis. This Parsi settlement had increasingly little contact with Iran over the succeeding centuries until the 19th century, when a romanticized notion of their ancestral homeland led them to reestablish contact with Iran and the remaining Zoroastrians there. The Parsis had thrived under British rule of India and so they were able to strengthen their ties to Iran with philanthropic work. Meanwhile, Iranians were coming to romanticize their own ancient history and saw the Parsis as a living embodiment of this history. The Iranian neo-classicism of the 20th century that helped to establish a sense of Iranian national identity is usually ascribed to European contact, but Marashi argues that this growing relationship with the Parsi community was an important element that influenced the development of modern-day Iran"-- Provided by publisher "After the Muslim conquest of Iran in the 7th century, devoted Zoroastrians emigrated to India, where the growing community came to be known as Parsis. This Parsi settlement had increasingly little contact with Iran over the succeeding centuries until the 19th century, when a romanticized notion of their ancestral homeland led them to reestablish contact with Iran and the remaining Zoroastrians there. The Parsis had thrived under British rule of India and so they were able to strengthen their ties to Iran with philanthropic work. Meanwhile, Iranians were coming to romanticize their own ancient history and saw the Parsis as a living embodiment of this history. The Iranian neo-classicism of the 20th century that helped to establish a sense of Iranian national identity is usually ascribed to European contact, but Marashi argues that this growing relationship with the Parsi community was an important element that influenced the development of modern-day Iran"-- Información editorial Note on Transliteration and Dates 10 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction 18 Chapter 1. To Bombay and Back: Arbab Kaykhosrow Shahrokh and the Reinvention of Iranian Zoroastrianism 38 Chapter 2. Patron and Patriot: Dinshah J. Irani, Parsi Philanthropy, and the Revival of Indo-Iranian Culture 72 Chapter 3. Imagining Hafez: Rabindranath Tagore in Iran, 1932 114 Chapter 4. Ebrahim Purdavud and His Interlocutors: Parsi Patronage and the Making of the Vernacular Avesta 152 Chapter 5. Sword of Freedom: Abdulrahman Saif Azad and Interwar Iranian Nationalism 206 Conclusion 250 Notes 254 Bibliography 300 Index 320