Vibha Sharma
Chandigarh, January 5
Comprising a relatively small fraction (said to be around 0.4 per cent) of India’s almost 140 crore population, Jains, the peace-loving community committed to the principle tenet of ‘ahimsa’ (love, compassion and non-violence), are protesting.
The reason is a decision by the Jharkhand government to list one of their most sacred pilgrimages/shrines Sammed Shikharji as a tourist destination.
Though the issue has been continuing for some time now, the world-wide protests have led to the BJP-led Centre to sit-up and ask the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress government led by Hemant Soren how it can be resolved or modified.
The Soren government, however, is arguing that the original notification was issued by Narendra Modi-led BJP government and that it is the Centre, which needs to do the needful. The Environment Ministry has asked the Jharkhand government, to “recommend necessary modifications for further needful action”, citing representations from the Jain community.
The Centre had notified an eco-sensitive zone around the Parasnath sanctuary, approving an eco-tourism proposal sent by the then BJP government in the state around August 2019.
Though now, the then BJP chief minister Raghubar Singh was quoted as saying that if some wrong decisions were made they can be rectified.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Minorities has scheduled a hearing later this month in which it may make some recommendations to the governments.
Decrying the attempts to “commercialise their sacred shrine”, members of the community insist that the decision would have to be rolled back completely.
Protests intensified after a Jain saint Muni Sugyeya Sagar, who was on a hunger strike in Jaipur, died.
According to the members of the community, he became the “martyr” for the cause.
Demonstrations have been held in several places across the country, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
Community leaders say the issue has support from their members living abroad.
The Jains
Hailed as sizable contributors to India’s economy, Jains known for their education and wealth are in fact the smallest of the country’s six major religious groups after Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Buddhists.
According to some reports, they have the highest literacy rate at 94.1 per cent and more than 50,000 temples across India.
The majority of the community belongs to Rajasthan, Gujarat—largely the western parts of the country—a reason why Rajasthan’s Congress Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has also spoken to Soren on the issue.
Influential in business, Jains are the only religious group in India where majority say they are from General Category caste.
Why are Jains protesting?
At the root is the Sammed Shikharji in the Parasnath Hills in Jharkhand’s Giridih district. Sammed Shikharji is one of the important religious sites of the two sects of the community—Digambar and Svetambara.
The community believes 20 out of their 24 ‘Tirthankars’ attained salvation at Sammed Shikharji.
Every year, thousands of Jains undertake the long trek to pray where the ‘Tirthankars’ attained salvation.
In fact, the Parasnath Hills have been named after Lord Parasnath—one of the ‘Tirthankars’ who attained salvation there.
