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increasing number of Jains in the American diaspora, to succeed in transcending the
movement's tradition-based religious and geographical boundaries and, if so, how?
Jain Communities in North America
Since the time that Mahavira first established the Jain sangha, Jains have for the
most part remained in close-knit communities and they have chosen to limit their travel,
both because their rigorous cultural and dietary habits required the support of a culturally
like-minded community and because of Jain philosophies which associated the means of
travel with himsa (violence). Only in the last two centuries have Jains begun to move out
of India in significant numbers. In 1893, Virchand Gandhi was officially the first Jain
delegate to visit the United States and represent Jainism in the first-ever Parliament of
World Religions."
The first wave of the Jain diaspora occurred before Independence and involved
very small numbers of merchants and government officers traveling to England and to
other British held territories. It was not until the late 1960s that Jains began emigrating in
large numbers, still to England, which has the largest Jain population outside of India,
however, now also to other places, including a significant number coming to the United
States. The immigrant Jains were largely from the higher socio-economic classes and
came not just out of professional requirements but also to actively pursue new global
educational and business opportunities.
"Prakash C. Jain, Jains in India and Abroad - A Sociological Introduction (Delhi: International School for Jain Studies, 2011), 98.
