Why Jains Are Protesting All Over India
Why Jains Are Protesting All Over India. Jain community stages protest across the country for declaring Shri summed Shikharji a tourist hotspot.
What has happened?
Members of the Jain community have been staging protests in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and New Delhi for the past two parks over demands related to two holy sites. Sammaned Shikhar on Parasnath hill in Jharjhand and Shetrunjay hill in Palitana of Gujarat. In Jharkhand, the issue is about Parasnath hill being declared a tourist spot and an eeco-sensitve zone, while in Gujarat, the row is over the vandalizing of a shrine and related security concerns.
What’s the Jharkhand issue?
Parasnath hill is home to Sammed Shikhar, considered among the most important Jain pilgrimage sites, where 20 of the 24 Jain Tarthankars are believed to have attained salvation. In August of that year, the Union environment ministry declared the hill an eco-sensitive zone and added that the area had “tremendous potential to support thriving eco-tourism.” Amid the recent protests, the Giridih district administration said there had been no opposition in the past three years.
Then What’s the problem?
Brahmachari Tarun Bhaiyyaji, Spokesperson of “Shikharji’, said they came to know about the government notifications only recently. “Neither the center nor the state consulted the main stakeholder, the people from the Jain community while declaring the hill an eco-sensitive zone and a tourist spot. Bhaiyyaji said they resorted to protests after “Informal talks” with several politicians, including Chief minister Hemant Soren, did not elicit a “Concrete response” in the past month. “A person coming here as a tourist will be looking for fun, which we don’t want. We want the decorum of this place to be maintained. People from any community can visit as long as they follow the processes being practiced by us.
What Jharkhand Govt Said?
CM Soren had earlier said that he was looking into the matter and that the notification was issued during the BJP government’s tenure. The Giridih DC said a meeting with the office bearers of the ‘Shikharji” took place on December 22, where they were assured the site’s decorum would be maintained.
What’s the issue in Gujarat?
This row began in early December when the security manager of Sheth Anandji Kalyanji Pedhi, an organization of the Shwetambar section of Jainism, Filed a police complaint that someone had vandalized the Adinath Dada’s page, a marble carving representing the feet of Lord Adinath, the first Jain Tarthankar, on the intervening night of November 26-27.
What did the police Say?
On December 23, the police arrested a Rohishala resident and claimed to have cracked the case.
So what the Jain community wants?
The Jains are demanding that Shetrunjay hill and the area around it be protected to maintain its holiness. Abhay Shah, the spokesperson of Shetrunjay Mahatirth Raksha Samiti, said, “The police claim to have solved the vandalism case, saying the motive was theft, but it does not seem convincing to us.
Why would one damage only the feet in frustration?
We demand the formation of a Special Investigation Team to probe the case”.
