Eliza Rassiwala (d,
2012). The name is a familiar one for the Bahai community, both in India as
well as outside India. This is because this lady spent almost her entire life
in the service of Bahaullah and the Bahai Faith. She even offered a significant
service in Haifa, Israel – the head quarters of the Bahai Faith and in New
Delhi, India at the Lotus Temple. People have praised her for her oratory
skills and her knowledge of the Bahai Faith.
Eliza Rassiwala was
the daughter of Salma Rassiwala and the sister of Yasmin Rassiwala.
Salma Rassiwala (d,
2014) was a stalwart in the Indian Bahai community having spent almost 40 years
in teaching the Bahai Faith. A former Bohri Muslim who had settled in Pune,
Salma Rassiwala declared her Faith in the Bahai community 40 years ago and
travelled all over the country giving lectures. Such is the extent of the work
that she has done that there will be but a few Bahais in India who will be
unaware of the name and the services of Salma Rassiwala.
Yasmin
Rassiwala, the sister of Eliza Rassiwala – a feisty woman, despite not being
blessed with the knowledge and oratory skills of her sister, Yasmin has also
offered service for 12 years in Haifa and in India and for some time was a
teacher in the New Era Bahai School in Panchgani. Yasmin accepted the Bahai
Faith at the young, impressionable age of 19 years and has travelled
internationally to Haifa and Maldives to teach the Bahai Faith.
Eliza
Rassiwala accepted the Bahai Faith one year after her mother. She was a teacher
at Sophia College, Mumbai and then on mother’s insistence went on to become a
teacher for the Bahai Faith. She was a good speaker and an expert in the art of
public speaking. Eliza served at Haifa for no less than 15 years.
Eliza and Yasmin at Neil Farzana’s Wedding Day and
Reception
In the last years of
her life, Eliza was affected with cancer and finally succumbed to the disease
in August 2012. Few know that despite her illness, she travelled to Delhi
earlier that year to give a lecture on the occasion of the anniversary of the
Lotus Temple.
This blog
outlines an event in the last days of Eliza’s life. An event which affected her
significantly and shook the foundations of her faith in Bahaullah and the Bahai
Faith. While it is not in my nature to talk of a person posthumously, but in
this case, given the gravity of the event and its impact on the life of Eliza
and that of her family, I think it is important for people to know the truth.
The truth, however bitter, must come out…
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