Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla

Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla
Dhalla in 1914 at Columbia University
Born	September 22, 1875 Surat, India
Died	May 25, 1956 Karachi, Pakistan
Occupation	Linguist and Theologian

Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla (September 22, 1875 – May 25, 1956), also abbreviated M. N. Dhalla, was a Zoroastrian priest and religious scholar.

Dhalla is best known for his criticism of the orthodox factions within the Parsi community. In particular, he was stringently opposed to the excessive ritualization of religious practice, including that of the use of the Towers of Silence. In his autobiography, he was also critical of the orthodox refusal to accept converts, noting that "the permanent blockade to an influx from outside, the abandoning of the fold by an increasing number of both men and women, and the ever-falling birth-rate of the community [...] it can be said that [the question of conversion] has become the thread on which hangs the very existence of this microscopic community."

The Encyclopædia Iranica entry for Dhalla – written by the son of a contemporary of Dhalla's with whom the Head Priest was at loggerheads for many years – summarizes Dhallas's position as "embroiled in the problem of proselytizing [...] that plagued the community; even though he held liberal views in the matter, he always sided with the orthodox majority." Dhalla himself merely acknowledged that "in replying to questions concerning ceremonies and conventions I do not give my personal opinion as a thinking individual or as a humble scholar or as a reformist, because I have no authority to do so. I am the Head Priest of a [community] that is 75% conservative and of a performing priest-class that is 99% orthodox. These gentlemen consider the later [traditional treatises] as authentic law-books on customs and conventions, hence my replies are perforce based mainly in conformity with their teachings."

Maneckji Dhalla was born on September 22, 1875 in Surat, India into a family of Godavara priests. At age 3, he was sent with his father Nusserwanji Dhalla to Karachi (then a city in the Sindh province of British India, and today lies in Pakistan), where his father had subsequently employed.

In 1890, at the age of 15, Dhalla began his training for the priesthood. Shortly thereafter he interrupted his studies in order to work and so augment the family's meagre income. In 1894, Dhalla became editor of a monthly magazine Goolshan-e-Danesh. Two years later, Dhalla acquired ownership of the magazine but was forced to shut it down when funds ran out a few months later. The debt incurred would remain with him for many years.