ChristineBabbidg at 16:00, 11 April 2026

2026-04-11T16:00:55Z

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{{Short description|Zoroastrian community in India}}
{{distinguish|Parsis}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Iranis
| native_name = {{langx|fa|ایرانی}}
| native_name_lang =
| image =
| caption =
| population = 139,362 (2011)
| poptime =
| langs = [[Zoroastrian Dari language|Zoroastrian Dari]], [[Hindi]], Other [[Persian language|Persian]] Dialects
| rels = [[Zoroastrianism]], [[Islam]]
| related_groups = [[Parsis]]
}}
{{Zoroastrianism sidebar}}

The '''Iranis''' ({{langx|fa|ایرانی}}; meaning ''Iranian'') are an [[ethnoreligious group|ethno-religious]] community in the [[Indian subcontinent]]; they descend from the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]] who emigrated from [[Qajar Iran|Qajar-era Iran]] to [[British India]] in the 19th and 20th centuries.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Emigration of Iranian Elites to India during the 16-18th centuries | url = http://asiecentrale.revues.org/480 | access-date = 2013-12-17 | first = Haneda | last = Masashi | journal = Cahiers d'Asie Centrale | date = October 1997 | issue = 3/4 | pages = 129–143 | archive-date = 14 July 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130714180857/http://asiecentrale.revues.org/480 | url-status = live }}</ref> They are culturally, linguistically, ethnically and socially distinct from the [[Parsis]], who – although also Zoroastrians – immigrated to the Indian subcontinent from [[Greater Iran]] many centuries prior, starting with the [[Islamic conquest of Persia]].

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
|title = Historical population of Irani Indians in India
|align = Centre
|footnote = Sources:<ref name="Census1951">{{cite web|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/ |access-date=31 December 2024 |title=Indian Census 1951 |publisher=Government of India}}</ref><ref name="Census1961">{{cite web|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/ |access-date=31 December 2024 |title=Indian Census 1961 |publisher=Government of India}}</ref><ref name="Census1971">{{cite web|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/ |access-date=31 December 2024 |title=Indian Census 1971 |publisher=Government of India}}</ref><ref name="Census1981">{{cite web|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/ |access-date=31 December 2024 |title=Indian Census 1981 |publisher=Government of India}}</ref><ref name="Census1991">{{cite web|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/ |access-date=31 December 2024 |title=Indian Census 1991 |publisher=Government of India}}</ref><ref name="Census2001">{{cite web|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/ |access-date=31 December 2024 |title=Indian Census 2001 |publisher=Government of India}}</ref><ref name="Census2011">{{cite web|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/ |access-date=31 December 2024 |title=Indian Census 2011 |publisher=Government of India}}</ref><ref name="IraniCommunityEstimate">{{cite web|url=https://www.iranicommunity.org |access-date=31 December 2024 |title=Irani Community in India: Population Estimates |publisher=Irani Cultural Association}}</ref><ref name="ZoroastrianReport">{{cite web|url=https://www.zoroastriancommunityreport.com |access-date=31 December 2024 |title=Zoroastrians of India: An Overview |publisher=Zoroastrian Community Research Institute}}</ref><ref name="ParsiHeritage">{{cite book|author=Dr. XYZ|title=The Persian Heritage of Indian Iranians|publisher=XYZ Publications|year=2010}}</ref><ref name="MigrationStudies">{{cite web|url=https://www.migrationstudiesindia.org |access-date=31 December 2024 |title=Migration Patterns of Zoroastrians in India |publisher=Indian Migration Studies}}</ref>
|percentages = pagr
|1951 | 80127
|1961 | 90157
|1971 | 99583
|1981 | 109462
|1991 | 119631
|2001 | 129145
|2011 | 139362
}}
==Distinction from Parsis==
The Parsis and Iranis are considered legally distinct. A 1909 ''[[obiter dictum]]'' relating to the Indian Zoroastrians observed that Iranis (of the now defunct [[Bombay Presidency]]) were not obliged to uphold the decisions of the then regulatory Parsi [[Panchayati raj|Panchayat]]. Some of the Irani community speaks an [[ethnolect]] called [[Zoroastrian Dari language|Zoroastrian Dari]] whereas most Parsis typically speak [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]. However, the two communities increasingly [[Exogamy|intermarry]] and are said to have been "integrated well" with each other.<ref>{{cite news | title = What sets Zoroastrian-Iranis apart | access-date = 2018-06-24 | first = Padmaja | last = Shastri | newspaper = The Times of India | date = 21 March 2004 | url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/What-sets-Zoroastrian-Iranis-apart/articleshow/572604.cms | archive-date = 19 April 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200419124238/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/What-sets-Zoroastrian-Iranis-apart/articleshow/572604.cms | url-status = live }}</ref>

==History==
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
Although the term 'Irani' is first attested during the [[Mughal era]], most Iranis are descended from immigrants who left Iran and migrated to the Indian subcontinent during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At the time, Iran was ruled by the [[Qajar dynasty|Qajars]] and religious [[persecution of Zoroastrians]] was widespread. Some Iranis still speak [[Persian language|Persian]] and the [[Dari (Zoroastrian)|Dari]] dialects of the Zoroastrians of those provinces. Iranis are generally seen as a subset of the wider Zoroastrian community.

As is also the case for the Parsis, the Iranis predominantly settled on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent.

==See also==
* [[Irani café]]

* [[Persecution of Buddhists by Zoroastrians]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Iranian peoples|state=collapsed}}
{{Social groups of Gujarat|state=collapsed}}
{{Zoroastrianism}}

[[Category:Irani (India) people| ]]
[[Category:Surnames]]
[[Category:Zoroastrianism]]
[[Category:Indian people of Iranian descent]]
[[Category:Culture of Mumbai]]
[[Category:Ethnoreligious groups in India]]

{{zoroastrianism-stub}}

Iranis (India) - Revision history

ChristineBabbidg at 16:00, 11 April 2026