Parsi Punchayet declares a boycott on one of the oldest community newspapers for negative stories but others allege ulterior motives
Two months after a heated community election, the city’s Parsi population is witnessing another historic battle as the centuries-old Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) takes on one of the community’s oldest newspapers, Jam-e-Jamshed.
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BPP chairman Yezdi Desai (left), former chairman Dinshaw Mehta (centre) and his son Viraf
In a surprise move last week, the Punchayet boycotted the 184-year-old newspaper on the grounds that it is bringing a ‘bad name to the BPP’. At a board meeting convened on June 28 by the BPP, a majority vote was passed by four out of six trustees to not offer any advertisements, public notices, or news to Jam-e.
“The paper has been writing against the BPP and its trustees, which is why we have decided not to make any more announcements in that publication,” said Yezdi Desai, chairman of the BPP, adding, “They have also been charging us for community-related news that we want to publish, which other papers like Parsi Times let us publish for free.”
Desai further alleged that Jam-e was carrying news and paid advertisements against them under the influence of previous BPP chairman, Dinshaw Mehta. He came down hard on Jame-e editor Shernaaz Engineer, saying, “She is in no way helping us. She only publishes letters from people who have an axe to grind with BPP.”
He added, “Jame-e should behave in a manner that is as respectable as its heritage; it cannot allow its pages to be used by people who are willing to pay and write whatever they want.”
However, there are counter-allegations that the Punchayet has declared this ‘ban’ on Jam-e for ulterior motives. One allegation is that the BPP is merely doing this because one of the trustees, Kersi Randeria, owns the rival paper, Parsi Times (see ‘Editor says’). Another theory is that this battle is an extension of the battle between trustees during the April election (see ‘Election fallout?’).
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