Parsi-Zoroastrian War Martyrs Honoured At Century-Old Khareghat Colony Cenotaph In Mumbai

Mumbai: Military veterans joined members of the public on Wednesday morning at the century-old cenotaph at Khareghat Colony on N S Patkar Road to pay tribute to Parsi-Zoroastrian war martyrs who died during the First World War.

Frawardigan Prayers Held

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The annual commemoration is held on Frawardigan, the Zoroastrian ‘All Souls’ period dedicated to departed family members and guardian spirits. Special prayers are offered in their memory.

At the Khareghat Colony memorial, erected in 1926, wreaths were laid in memory of nearly 30 Parsi-Zoroastrians who died during the First World War, also known as the Great War, fought between 1914 and 1918. Beside the cenotaph are more recent memorials commemorating members of the community who died in the Second World War (1939-45), the India-China conflict of 1962 and the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971.

Veteran Highlights Memorial’s Uniqueness

Commodore (retired) Aspi Marker, a veteran of the 1971 India-Pakistan war and the 1999 Kargil conflict, attended the ceremony in his service dress uniform. He said the cenotaph was unique as it was built by citizens rather than the military.

“All the other war memorials have been constructed by the military,” said Marker, who served in the Indian Navy from 1969 to 2005.

Marker’s Naval Service Recalled

Marker spent three years at the National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla near Pune before joining the Navy. He later served as Naval Officer-in-Charge, Gujarat, and Commanding Officer of INS Angre, the Indian Navy’s base depot in Mumbai.

A resident of Godrej Baug on Nepean Sea Road, Marker helps ensure that a Navy bugler attends the annual ceremony. “We lay wreaths and remember the dead,” he said, adding that the commemoration is open to anyone wishing to attend.

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The names of the martyrs are inscribed on plaques at the memorial, which is maintained by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), the organisation managing Khareghat Colony, a community housing estate.

The annual commemoration is organised by the Bombay Parsi Association (BPA), which conducts memorial services at Parsi memorials across the city. Xerxes Dastur, BPP trustee and BPA president, said the association has been organising the ceremony for more than 60 years to remember Parsi and Irani veterans of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

“This year was especially important because it marks the centenary of the cenotaph,” Dastur said.

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