Leading population experts and demographers on Monday expressed concern at the shrinking number of Parsis in India and exhorted its community leaders to buttress measures for their survival.

During the function marking the release of the the first report on religion data, Professor Ashish Bose of the Institute of Economic Growth, a a demographic researcher, did not mince words on the possibility of the extinction of the Parsis.

"They are perfectionists. The only solution is that the Parsis must marry and produce children," he said amid laughter.

Prof Bose said the Parsi commnity leaders had to seize the initiative to ensure that the talented commmunity did not fade away.

Prof Bose recalled he  often asked leading industrialist J R D Tata why his community members were so few in number.

Registrar General of India Jayant Kumar Bhantia said the population of the Parsis according to the 1991 census was 76382 (37736 males and 38646 females). The number declined to 69601 ( 33949 males & 35652 females ) in 2001, he revealed.

"This is a clearly visible but extremely unfortunate decline of a rich civilisation of Zoroastrians and its people," Bhantia said. "Are we seeing an end of Parsis?"

Also Read Muslims multiplying at a high rate: Census

He urged that the community leaders to abandon fertility control measures and replace them with fertility improvement measures.

He pointed out that the 2001 census clearly sent out the message that the numbers of the Parsis were shrinking and hoped the figures would 'help awaken the Parsi community from deep slumber'.

He said apart from the fertility control among the Parsis, girls marrying outside the community were virtually ostracised and regarded as non-Parsis.

Minorities Commission chairman Tarlocan Singh said politicians should desist from making capital out of the report.

He said that leaders of the minority communities should take special initiatives to ensure that their lot did not suffer on account of illteracy.