History of the Parsis : including their manners, customs, religion and present position : with coloured and other illustrations : in two volumes

CHAP. V.] AN ENGLISH COMMITTEE. 221

it as their opinion that the bandobast or ordinance, made by the “mobeds,” was unfair, and fully justified the “behdins” in refusing to give their daughters in marriage. They also declared that the resolution passed by the former was calculated to enrich and agorandise their own sect, for as the “‘ behdins” were excluded from marrying in turn the daughters of the priests, their own women and property were carried into the clerical class without any reciprocal advantages being gained by the laity. On these grounds the commissioners observed that the “behdins” had every right to put a stop to this unequal intercourse by any means in their power, and that consequently their resolution of 1777 was fully justified.

Before these commissioners the Parsi “ behdins” asserted that the priests made this regulation during their term of power at Surat, while the latter contended that it was the original law of their own religion, and not a modern innovation. On this point the commissioners reported that there formerly existed a mutual intercourse of marriage between the two classes, and the priests themselves were forced to admit that there had been many cases of intermarriage. The commissioners further reported that the resolution of 1777, which was the immediate cause of the dispute, was equitable in principle, and no blame whatever could with justice be attached to the Panchayet, but that the fault lay rather with