Refugees From Greater Iran
According to Zoroastrian legend (see Qissa-i Sanjan), a few centuries after the conquest of the Sassanid state and the subsequent collapse of Zoroastrianism as a state-sponsored religion, at least one group of Zoroastrians eventually migrated to what is now the Indian state of Gujarat to maintain their Zoroastrian religious tradition. Although this 16th/17th century legend is taken at face value by the majority of the Parsis, persecution was not yet a significant issue at the time of migration (11th century at the latest). Given that the same legend observes that they migrated from Sanjan (in present-day Turkmenistan), the decline of silk road trade in favour of sea-route trade makes it equally likely that their immigration was economically motivated. For details, see Parsi history.
Although isolated groups of Zoroastrians may be presumed to have immigrated between the 12th and 16th centuries, due to persecution (for instance, the Mughal emperor Akbar encouraged relocation of skilled Iranians—irrespective of their religion). Immigration of Zoroastrians for socio-religious reasons is only again documented during Iran's Qajar era (1794–1925) when persecution of non-Muslims was rampant and by which time the Indian Zoroastrians had established special funds to assist their Iranian co-religionists. The descendants of these newer immigrants are known as Iranis.
Read more about this topic: Refugees In India
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