FAMOUS PARSEES OR ZOROASTRIANS OF INDIA

[mrinalini]

FAMOUS PARSEES OR ZOROASTRIANS OF INDIA

In science and industry

• Cowasji Shavaksha Dinshaw (Adenwalla) (1827–1900): entrepreneur; founder of the modern port of Aden
• Byram Dinshawji Avari (19??- ): Pakistani hotelier, founder and chairman of the Avari Group of companies.
• Homi Jehangir Bhabha (1909–1966): nuclear scientist; first chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission.
• Adi Bulsara (1952-): Physicist
• Keki Dadiseth (1946- ): Home and Personal Care Director, Unilever plc
• Nadirshaw Edulji Dinshaw (18??-1924?): industrialist and philanthropist; NED Engineering College,
• Ardeshir Godrej (1868–1936): inventor; co-founder (with his brother Piroj) of the Godrej industrial empire
• Pirojsha Godrej (1882–1972): entrepreneur; co-founder (with his brother Ardeshir) of the Godrej industrial empire
• Jamsetji Jeejeebhoy, Sir (1783–1859): opened sea trade with China; philanthropist
• Cowasjee Jehangir, Sir (1879–1962): civil engineer; master constructor of Bombay
• Fardunjee Marzban (1787–1847): publisher, founded the first vernacular newspaper on the Indian subcontinent Bombay Samachar
• Pallonji Mistry (1929- ): construction tycoon
• Hormusjee Naorojee Mody, Sir (1838–1911): financier and industrialist in Hong Kong
• Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, Sir (1823–1901): founded the first textile factories in India
• Jehangir Hormusjee Ruttonjee (1880–1960): industrialist; founded Hong Kong's first brewery; established the first anti-tuberculosis sanatorium in the Far-East
• Homi Nusserwanji Sethna (1924-2010): Padma Vibhushan awardee, chemical engineer; guided the development of India's first nuclear explosive device.
• Ardeshir Darabshaw Shroff (1899–1965): economist; delegate at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference; co-author of the Bombay Plan; founder-director of the Investment Corporation of India; first Indian chairman of the Bank of India
• Dorabji Tata, Sir (1859–1932): industrialist and philanthropist
• Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (1839–1904): industrialist; founder of the Tata group of companies, titled a "One-Man Planning Commission" by Nehru
• Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy (J. R. D.) Tata (1904–1993): industrialist; founder of India's first commercial airline: Air India
• Ratan Naval Tata (1937- ): Chairman of the Tata Group of companies; member of the central board of the Reserve Bank of India
• Lovji Nusserwanjee Wadia (1702–1774): shipwright and naval architect; builder of the first dry-dock in Asia
• Ness Wadia (1970-): joint-Managing Director of Bombay Dyeing.

 In academia

• Mahzarin Banaji: Professor of Psychology, Harvard University
• Jamshed Bharucha (1956- ): President, Cooper Union. Formerly, Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences at Dartmouth College (first Indian American to serve as the dean of a school at an Ivy League institution).
• Homi K. Bhabha (1949- ): cultural-studies theorist; Professor, Harvard University.
• Rusi Taleyarkhan: Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Purdue University.

 In entertainment and sports

• Aruna Irani : Bollywood actress.
• Homi Adajania (1972- ): Film Director, Writer and SCUBA Diving Instructor (CMAS Three Star)
• Erick Avari (1952- ): Hollywood actor.
• Cyrus Broacha (1971- ): MTV India VJ and stand-up comedian.
• Behram "Busybee" Contractor (1930–2001): journalist and columnist.
• Nariman "Nari" Contractor (1934- ): cricketer; coach at the CCI Academy.
• Ardeshir Cowasjee (1926- ): investigative journalist and newspaper columnist.
• Nauheed Cyrusi (1982- ): model, film actress, television presenter
• Bejan Daruwalla (1931- ): astrologer.
• Keki Daruwalla (1937- ), poet and writer
• Sam Dastor (1941- ): television actor and director.
• Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla (1875–1956): high priest and religious scholar.
• Farrukh Dhondy (1944- ): novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, journalist.
• Diana Eduljee (1956 - ): first captain of the Indian women’s Cricket team – from 1978 till 1993
• Farokh Engineer (1938- ): cricketer.
• Karishmeh Felfeli: musician, radio personality, founder-director of the Glenn Gould Project.
• Zerbanoo Gifford (1950- ): human rights campaigner
• Kaizad Gustad (1968- ): film director.
• Boman Irani (1962-) : Indian film and theatre actor, host of the 2007 IIFA awards
• Aban Marker Kabraji (1953-) : Pakistani ecologist, Asian regional director of IUCN
• Firdaus Kanga (1960- ): author, actor and screenwriter.
• Rustom Khurshedji Karanjia (1912–2008): Journalist & editor, founder of India's first tabloid, Blitz.
• Persis Khambatta (1950–1998): actress and model. Miss India in 1965.
• Firdaus Kharas (1955–): animation, television and film producer and director.
• Shapur Kharegat (1932–2000): Journalist, editor and director of The Economist (Asia).
• Behramji Malabari (1853–1912): poet, publicist, author, and social reformer.
• Meher Baba (Merwan Sheriar Irani, 1894-1969), sage and spiritual master
• Mehli Mehta (1908–2002): musician; founder of the Bombay Philharmonic and Bombay String Orchestras.
• Zarin Mehta (1938- ): musician; executive director of the New York Philharmonic since 2000
• Zubin Mehta (1936- ): musician; Musical Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, former director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and Bavarian State Opera.
• Freddie Mercury (Farrokh Bulsara, 1946–1991): rock icon and lead singer for Queen.
• Deena M. Mistri (19??- ): author and educationalist; recipient of Pakistan's "Pride of Performance" medal.
• Rohinton Mistry (1952- ): novelist, short story author, screenplay writer.
• Sohrab Modi (1897–1984): stage and film actor, director and producer.
• Ray Panthaki (1979- ): actor and film producer
• Cyrus Poncha (1976- ): Asian Squash Federation Junior Coach of the Year 2003-4.
• Bapsi Sidhwa (1938- ): author and screenwriter; vocal proponent of women's rights
• Godrej Sidhwa (1925- ): theologian, historian and high priest.
• Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (1892–1988): composer, music critic and pianist.
• Sooni Taraporevala (1957- ): screenwriter, author and photographer.
• Pahlan Ratanji "Polly" Umrigar (1926–2006): cricketer.
• Zubin Varla (19??- ): stage actor.
• Nina Wadia (1968- ): British-Indian comedienne and television actress, currently and most notebly from EastEnders.
• Perizaad Zorabian (1973- ): model, film actress

 In law and government

• Minocher Bhandara (1937?-2008): Pakistani parliamentarian and owner of Muree Brewery.
• Sam Piroj Bharucha (1937- ): Chief Justice of India.
• Mancherjee Bhownagree (1851–1933): politician, second Asian to be elected to the House of Commons (Conservative).
• Bhikaiji Cama (1861–1936): political activist, co-creator of the Indian nationalist flag.
• Feroze Gandhi (1912–1960): journalist and politician; Indian MP under Jawaharlal Nehru; father of Rajiv Gandhi and grandfather of Rahul Gandhi.
• Frene Ginwala (1932- ): Is a member of the ANC and aided Nelson Mandela in abolishing apartheid in South Africa. Later served for 7 years as Speaker Of the House of Parliament in South Africa
• S. H. Kapadia- Current Chief Justice of India.
• Fali Homi Major (1947-): Former Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force.
• Sam Manekshaw (1914–2008): Former Indian Army chief and the Second Indian Field Marshal.
• Jamsheed Marker (1922- ): Pakistani diplomat, ambassador to more countries than any other person; recipient of Hilal-i Imtiaz.
• Minoo Masani (1905–1998): author, parliamentarian and a member of the Constituent Assembly.
• Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta (1886–1952): former Mayor of Karachi for 12 consecutive years.
• Pherozeshah Mehta, Sir (1845–1915): political activist, co-founder and first President of the Indian National Congress, founder of the Bombay Municipal Corporation.
• Dadabhai Naoroji (1825–1917): economist, political activist, first Asian to be elected to the House of Commons (Liberal), first to publicly demand independence from Great Britain.
• Fali Sam Nariman (1929-): jurist, recipient of the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.
• Khurshed Framji Nariman (18??-19??): social activist, Mayor of Bombay, founding member of the Indian National Congress.
• Kawas Manekshaw Nanavati (1935–2003): Appellant in K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra (1961–1962)
• Nanabhoy ("Nani") Palkhivala (1920–2002): prominent jurist and economist.
• Justice Dorab Patel (1924–1997): Former Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, former Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan and human rights campaigner.
• Rattanbai Petit (1900-1929): second wife of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
• Dossabhoy Muncherji Raja (1873–1947): first Indian to be appointed appraiser of precious stones to British Indian customs. Awarded the title of Khan Sahib.
• Cowasji Jehangir (Readymoney) (1812–1878): J.P.; introduced income tax in India; first baronet of Bombay.
• Bukhtyar Rustomji (1899–1936), Mumbai-born Lancaster doctor executed for murdering his wife and a maid
• Shapurji Saklatvala (1874–1936): socialist, workers' welfare activist, third Asian to be elected to the House of Commons (Communist, Labour).
• Soli Jehangir Sorabjee (1930- ): former Attorney-General of India.

In arts

• Jehangir Sabavala (1922 – 2011), painter