Written by 20 People Who Shaped the Modern World — and the Ancient Faith They Carried
eFireTemple.com
You know their names. You know their music, their science, their companies, their art. What you probably don’t know is that they all share a faith — the oldest monotheistic religion on earth.
These are Zoroastrians. And they changed the world.
1. Freddie Mercury (1946-1991)
Born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar to Parsi Zoroastrian parents from Gujarat, India. He underwent the Navjote ceremony as a child. The lead vocalist and songwriter of Queen — one of the most successful rock bands in history. “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You,” “We Are the Champions.” His Zoroastrian funeral rites were performed by two priests from the Zoroastrian community in London.
The man who gave the world “We Are the Champions” was a Zoroastrian. The fire burned in him until the end.
2. Zubin Mehta (b. 1936)
Born in Bombay to a Parsi Zoroastrian family. One of the most celebrated conductors of the twentieth century. Music Director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for nearly fifty years (1969-2019). Also led the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Recipient of India’s Padma Vibhushan and countless international honors.
The man who conducted the world’s great orchestras is a Zoroastrian.
3. The Tata Family
The Tata Group — one of the largest and most respected conglomerates on earth — was founded by Jamsetji Tata (1839-1904), a Parsi Zoroastrian from Navsari, Gujarat. The group includes Tata Motors (owner of Jaguar Land Rover), Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Taj Hotels, Tata Communications, and over 100 other companies operating in more than 100 countries.
J.R.D. Tata (1904-1993), Jamsetji’s descendant, was India’s first licensed pilot and built Tata Airlines, which became Air India. Ratan Tata (1937-2024) led the group into the twenty-first century and became one of the most admired business leaders in the world, known equally for his philanthropy and his humility.
The Tata Group’s philanthropic arm gives away approximately 60-65% of its profits. The Tata Trusts have funded hospitals, universities, scientific research, and public infrastructure across India for over a century.
The family that built modern Indian industry — and one of the world’s most ethical corporate empires — is Zoroastrian.
4. Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917)
Born in Bombay to a Parsi Zoroastrian family. The “Grand Old Man of India.” The first Asian to be elected to the British House of Commons (1892, representing Finsbury Central). A founder of the Indian National Congress. His book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India was one of the first systematic critiques of colonial economic exploitation.
The first person of Asian descent to sit in the British Parliament was a Zoroastrian.
5. Homi J. Bhabha (1909-1966)
Born in Bombay to a prominent Parsi Zoroastrian family. Known as the “father of the Indian nuclear program.” Founded the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the Atomic Energy Establishment (later renamed the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre). His work laid the foundation for India’s nuclear energy and nuclear weapons capabilities.
The architect of India’s nuclear program was a Zoroastrian.
6. Feroze Gandhi (1912-1960)
Born Feroze Jehangir Ghandy to a Parsi Zoroastrian family in Bombay. Married Indira Nehru in 1942 — she took his surname and became Indira Gandhi, later Prime Minister of India. Their son Rajiv Gandhi and grandson Rahul Gandhi continue to lead the Indian National Congress. The entire Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty — the most powerful family in Indian politics — carries a Zoroastrian surname.
The man whose name became synonymous with Indian political power was a Zoroastrian.
7. Persis Khambatta (1948-1998)
Born in Bombay to a Parsi Zoroastrian family. Won Miss India in 1965. Became an internationally recognized actress, most famously playing Lieutenant Ilia in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) — one of the first Indian actresses to achieve a major role in a Hollywood science fiction franchise.
The woman who brought India to the bridge of the Enterprise was a Zoroastrian.
8. Rohinton Mistry (b. 1952)
Born in Bombay to a Parsi Zoroastrian family. One of the most acclaimed novelists writing in English. His novel A Fine Balance was selected for Oprah’s Book Club and is widely regarded as one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century. Such a Long Journey won the Governor General’s Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.
One of the finest English-language novelists of the modern era is a Zoroastrian.
9. Cyrus the Great (c. 600-530 BCE)
Founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire — the largest empire the world had ever seen. Conqueror of Babylon. Liberator of the Jewish exiles. Author of the Cyrus Cylinder — recognized by the United Nations as the first declaration of human rights. The only non-Jew in the entire Hebrew Bible to be called Messiah (Isaiah 45:1).
The man who invented human rights was a Zoroastrian.
10. Darius the Great (c. 550-486 BCE)
Third king of the Achaemenid Empire. Builder of Persepolis. Creator of the Royal Road — the ancient world’s greatest infrastructure project. Organizer of the satrapy system that became the model for provincial governance worldwide. His inscriptions repeatedly invoke Ahura Mazda by name.
The man who built the administrative blueprint for every empire that followed was a Zoroastrian.
11. Sam Manekshaw (1914-2008)
Born to a Parsi Zoroastrian family. India’s first Field Marshal — the highest rank in the Indian Army. Led India to victory in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh. One of the most decorated and respected military officers in Indian history.
India’s greatest military commander was a Zoroastrian.
12. Dorabji Tata (1859-1932)
Son of Jamsetji Tata. Founded the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore — one of India’s premier research institutions. Played cricket for England. Financed India’s participation in the Olympic Games. The Dorabji Tata Trust continues to fund education, healthcare, and research across India.
13. Homi K. Bhabha (1949-present)
Not to be confused with the nuclear physicist — this Homi Bhabha is a Parsi Zoroastrian literary theorist, born in Bombay, now at Harvard University. One of the most influential postcolonial scholars in the world. His concept of “hybridity” and “third space” reshaped how the academy thinks about culture, identity, and power.
One of the most cited scholars in the humanities is a Zoroastrian.
14. Ardeshir Godrej (1868-1936)
Born to a Parsi Zoroastrian family. Founded the Godrej Group — one of India’s largest conglomerates, spanning consumer goods, real estate, industrial engineering, and agriculture. The Godrej brand is found in virtually every Indian household.
15. Nusli Wadia (b. 1944)
Parsi Zoroastrian industrialist. Chairman of the Wadia Group, one of India’s oldest conglomerates (founded 1736). Descendant of Lovji Nusserwanjee Wadia, who built Bombay’s first dry dock. The Wadia family has been central to Bombay’s commercial life for nearly three centuries.
16. Boman Irani (b. 1959)
Born to a Parsi Zoroastrian family in Bombay. One of India’s most beloved actors, known for his roles in 3 Idiots, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., PK, and dozens of Bollywood films. His comic and dramatic range has made him one of the most recognizable faces in Indian cinema.
17. Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry (1929-2022)
Parsi Zoroastrian construction magnate. His company, Shapoorji Pallonji Group, built some of India’s most iconic structures, including the Reserve Bank of India building and the Oberoi Hotel. The Mistry family was the largest individual shareholder of Tata Sons.
18. Firdausi (Ferdowsi) (940-1020 CE)
Born Abul-Qasim Ferdowsi in Tus, Khorasan. Author of the Shahnameh — the Book of Kings — a 60,000-verse epic poem that preserved the entire Zoroastrian mythological cycle within an Islamic civilization that was actively erasing it. Ferdowsi deliberately wrote in New Persian, avoiding Arabic loanwords, to preserve the language. He reportedly said: “I have revived the Persians with this work.” Though Ferdowsi lived as a Muslim, his life’s work was the preservation of Zoroastrian heritage — the most extraordinary act of cultural resistance in literary history.
19. Phiroze Jeejeebhoy (1811-1859) and the Baronetcy
Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy (1783-1859), Phiroze’s father, was the first Indian to receive a British baronetcy and the first Indian to be knighted. A Parsi Zoroastrian philanthropist from Bombay, he funded hospitals, schools, water systems, and fire temples. The Jeejeebhoy baronetcy passed through five generations — the most prominent Indian title in the British Empire.
20. You
If you have read this far, you have begun to understand something that most of the world does not: that Zoroastrians, though small in number, have shaped civilization out of all proportion to their population.
Nuclear physics. The world’s greatest orchestras. The largest conglomerates in India. The British Parliament. Star Trek. Human rights. The preservation of an entire mythological tradition. Rock and roll.
And behind all of it — behind every name on this list — the same three words:
Humata. Hukhta. Hvarshta.
Good Thoughts. Good Words. Good Deeds.
The fire is small. But look at what it has lit.
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