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TOI : PUNE: He is a man of peace. But whenever he dwells upon the crisis that has begun to loom large over the Zoroastrian community in terms of their dwindling numbers, the reactions he evokes are just short of extreme rage.

That’s because Dasturji Dr Kersey Antia is of the firm view that children of Zoroastrian women who marry outside the community must be accepted by the faith.

“If children of Zoroastrian men marrying women from outside the community are accepted, why shouldn’t it be so the other way around too?” he asks. It’s a question not being looked upon too kindly by those who staunchly believe that inter-community marriages “dilute the gene pool”.

Based in the United States, Antia has been the Zoroastrian high priest in Chicago since 1977. He was ordained a priest at the age of 13 after attending the M.F. Cama Athornan Institute in Bombay for nine years. He then went to serve as a volunteer priest even while working at his first job as an officer with the Tata Group.

Antia has done his Master’s in psychology from the North Carolina State University and has obtained a doctorate in the subject from the Indiana Northern University. He is known for talk shows on the radio and television and has also made videos on Zoroastrianism, apart from having studied the Gathas (religious scriptures) for many years.
In Pune to deliver a lecture on ‘Acceptance in Zoroastrianism’, Antia, in the course of an exclusive interview with the TOI, says that the resistance to allow members from outside the faith become a part of the community is mainly because there is a great amount of misunderstanding.

“There are some who are of the point of the view that ‘outsiders’ will start demanding the benefits provided by Zoroastrian trusts. It’s a very orthodox mindset…More

TOI : PUNE: Nine labourers were killed and 12 were severely injured as the truck in which they were travelling turned turtle and fell into a five-feet ditch on the Pune-Ahmednagar highway at Shirur on Wednesday.

Shirur police station in-charge inspector Navnath Bere told TOI over phone that 28 labourers hailing from Madhya Pradesh had arrived Ahmednagar by Goa Express about 1 pm. They were hired by a gas agency at Navara, Shirur. The labourers hired a truck loaded with iron rods to go to Shirur and sat on the rods.

On the way, the truck driver lost control of the vehicle and it turned turtle around 2.45 pm, Bere added.
Nine labourers died instantly after the iron rods came crashing on them.

Truck driver Mahadeo Namdeo Chaudhar of Beed was arrested for rash and negligent driving.

The deceased were identified as Visambar Sharma (35), Maunu Sharma (15), Maunu Darji (17), Chandagiram Darji (25), Nawab Kusuva (31), Anup Kusuva (18), Mohan Razak (25), Mahavir Sharma (28) and Kalyan.

The injured who are undergoing treatment at a private hospital include Sandeep Sharma, Pawan Sharma, Suresh Sharma, Ravraisingh Prajapati, Kalyansingh Prajapati, Adaram Kusava, Ramnivas Sharma, Mohan Bareda, Sevaram Kusava, Salega Prajapati, Raghuraj Prajapati and Dhiraj Kusava.

Seven labourers escaped with minor injuries…More

TOI : PUNE: Fast-track court judge V.V. Virkar on Wednesday sentenced Rajesh Popat Gaikwad (28) of Ramtekdi to 10 years rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 for raping his sister in-law.

According to additional public prosecutor Vijay Phargade, Gaikwad, a school bus driver, used to visit his in-laws at Kahun road and developed a liking for his sister-in-law, who was a school girl.

He raped the girl on the last day of her examination and threatened her by saying that he would ruin the life of her sister. Gaikwad had raped her at various places between March 16 to 24, 2004. The prosecutor who had examined nine witnesses had also relied on a letter written by the accused to his mother-in-law wherein he had confessed to his involvement in the crime…More

TOI : PUNE: Pedestrian Sopan Nivrutti Shelar (45) of Kondhwa was killed when a scooter knocked her down at Salunkhe Vihar road on Tuesday. The police said scooterist Arun Dhanate (21) of Azadnagar, who was driving recklessly, had lost control over the vehicle and knocked down Shelar around 11 pm. Dhanate was arrested for reckless driving on a complaint registered by the victim’s relative Ashok Kale…More

TOI : PUNE: A motorcyclist, Balu Baburao Shewale (35) of Gawade chawl at Chinchwad, was knocked dead by a speeding truck on Pune-Mumbai highway on Tuesday. Khadki police said that the truck driver lost control over the steering and hit Shewale’s motorcycle from behind at around 1.45 am. The impact of the mishap was so severe that Shewale died on the spot. The truck driver fled the spot. Police sub-inspector V.V. Khandagale is investigating further…More