Govt-backed 'online dating' scheme is increasing Parsi population
Aimed at improving the country's Parsi population, which has been dwindling because of little interest in marriage among eligible bachelors, the Minority Affairs Ministry has come out with a scheme named 'Jiyo Parsi' that encourages online dating' and marriage counselling among Parsi men and women.
FollowAimed at improving the country's Parsi population, which has been dwindling because of little interest in marriage among eligible bachelors, the Minority Affairs Ministry has come out with a scheme named 'Jiyo Parsi' that encourages online dating' and marriage counselling among Parsi men and women.
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Statistics show that about 30 per cent of eligible Parsi adults are unmarried.
"It is necessary to encourage people of the Parsi community to marry and have children because the community's total fertility rate is about 0.8 per couple. An average of 800 people die yearly against the birth of 200 to 300 children. That is worse when compared to the situation of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians," Shernaz Cama, director of the Parzor Foundation, is among the implementing bodies for this scheme.
Data from the new National Health and Family Welfare Survey, the total fertility rate in the Muslim community is 2.36, while it is 1.94 in the Hindu community, followed by 1.88 in the Christian community and 1.61 in the Sikh community. As per the 2011 census, the Parsi community population in India was 57,264 compared to 1,14,000 in 1941.
In November 2013, the Minority Affairs ministry launched the 'Jiyo Parsi' scheme to balance the Parsi community population and increase the total fertility rate, with an annual budget of Rs 4 to 5 crore.
"A total of 376 babies have been born since the launch of the scheme (till July 15), which is more than the average of 200 babies born in the Parsi community annually," Cama said.
Why Parsi adults don't get married
The biggest reason for the low birth in the community is unmarried adults, with about 30 per cent of adults being unmarried even though they are eligible for marriage.Â
About 30 per cent of those who get married have an average of one child each. About 30 per cent of the people are over 65 years of age. The average age of women marrying in the Parsi community is 28 years, and that of men is 31 years.
The strong feeling of independence among youth, especially women, is cited as the main reason cited for not getting married. The other reason they avoid marriage is that they are responsible for caring for their elderly.Â
Each young couple currently has the responsibility of taking care of eight elders. This, despite the government giving monthly help of Rs 4,000 to the people earning less than Rs 10 lakh to take care of the elderly, it is not enough.Â
Cama, an associate professor at the Lady Shri Ram College, said that a large number of babies were also born during the Covid-19 pandemic. There are many marriages that took place during the pandemic.
How online dating has helped
Talking about the efforts to encourage Parsi youth to get married, Cama said that 'online dating' has provided good results.
Explaining how online dating operates, Cama said that his group's counsellors attend community events at the local level and gather information about their expectations of their future life partner, the likes and dislikes of men and women willing to get married and other personal details.
"After this, these people are introduced through online medium. These people make decisions regarding marriage at their discretion. We just provide them with a platform to choose a life partner," she said. Â
Under marriage counselling, face-to-face meetings are organised.
Shernaz said that those adults who are determined to not get married are counselled to change their minds, adding, "We have achieved decent-level of success in this as well."
They say that many Parsi couples face problems like infertility due to getting married at an older age. In such a situation, they are provided annual assistance of up to Rs 8 lakh each for 'IVF' and other advanced medical services.
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