Tata row: Parsi priest offers to mediate, writes to PM Modi
In his letter, Vada Dasturji Khurshed Dastoor, the high priest of Udvada's Iranshah Atash Behram, said the row has the potential to affect institutions and relationships that have been built over generations
Mumbai, Nov 12 (PTI) Amid the row at the Tata Group, a senior priest from one of the holiest sites for the Parsi community has pitched for a resolution within the framework of law and composite reconciliation.
Vada Dasturji Khurshed Dastoor, the high priest of Udvada's Iranshah Atash Behram, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, pointing out that preservation of philanthropic institutions and the observance of the rule of law are not competing objectives.
The letter comes at a time of rupture within the higher echelons of the Tata group, with the management entrusted with running India's largest conglomerate at loggerheads with its largest shareholder, Tata Trusts, a string of philanthropic institutions, over a range of issues, including listing the holding company Tata Sons.
Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata opposes a listing, citing the group's legacy and how it will hamper capital allocations, and the Tata Sons management led by chairman N Chandrasekaran cites the need to adhere to the rule of land, pointing out the RBI's mandate for an upper layer NBFC like Tata Sons to list.
"My sincere hope is that these matters will be resolved within the framework of the law and in a spirit of composite reconciliation, with all parties recognising that institutional legacies are preserved by upholding the values and principles that gave them their standing," the letter by Dastoor, which has been reviewed by PTI, said.
"The preservation of philanthropic institutions and the observance of the rule of law are not competing objectives. They must complement each other and, in fact, they can be mutually reinforcing," it added.
This is at least the second instance of a member from the Parsi community writing to the Prime Minister. Earlier, six organisations, including Bombay Parsi Punchayat and Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India, had written to the Prime Minister, in which they seemed to have supported Noel.
In his letter, Dastoor said the row has the potential to affect institutions and relationships that have been built over generations, and asked all concerned to "exercise restraint, wisdom and maturity, and choose dialogue over disagreement".
Interests of the community, Tata's philanthropic legacy and wider national interest are far too important to be "compromised by prolonged differences between individuals or institutions".
Dastoor has also thanked the Prime Minister for the support extended to the Zoroastrian community over the years. PTI