[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]
SIR,—It is not surprising that a Parsi would be affronted if he were regarded, as Mr. Dover asserts he should be, as a West Indian. Parsis stand in no need of " attempts to isolate them," for they already consist of one of the purest stocks in India. They are a well-defined community of Persian Origin with no admixture of Negroid blood whatever. They first reached India in the eighth century A.D. on the Arab conquest of Persia, although their settlement in Bombay only dates from the seventeenth century. There, however, their industry,' probity and bUsiness acumen are proverbial. I fear that unless Mr. Dover can prove 6...Negroid invasion of Persia- prior to A.D. 700 his case for Negroid admixture in Parsi stock must fall, for the isolation of Parsis since their arrival in India is well known. I hesitate to suggest that Mr. Dover may be confusing the Parsis with the Goanese.
—Yours faithfully, MICHAEL C.- T. REILLY. 57 Hilldrop Road, N. 7.
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