Freddie Mercury was born in the British protectorate of Sultanate of Zanzibar, East Africa (now part of Tanzania).His parents, Bomi (1908–2003) and Jer Bulsara (1922–),were Parsis from theGujarat region of the then province of Bombay Presidency in British India. The family surname is derived from the town of Bulsar (now known as Valsad) in southern Gujarat. As Parsis, Mercury and his family practised the Zoroastrian religion.The Bulsara family had moved to Zanzibar so that his father could continue his job as a cashier at the British Colonial Office. He had a younger sister, Kashmira.