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unhygienic water. One can read such stories quite often; many a times large corporations are the ones behind it. One can easily find imitation, deceptively labeled, and products suffering from poor workmanship all over India. All of these have taken a major toll on the lives, well-being, and emotions of people and are the fruit of nothing but greed and hence, himsa. Are Jains free from such practices? I am not sure. Now you decide, is this behavior consistent with ahimsa?
CHEATING IN THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY This is a major industry where huge profits are made very quickly every day, mostly by cheating the customers and users. A significant number of Jains are engaged in this value chain as physicians, service providers, hospital owners and workers, clinic and nursing home owners, chemist and drugstore owners, drug manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, and the list goes on. The following news item was forwarded to me recently by a friend of mine. The message is very clear and self-explanatory. I feel most probably Jains are not immune from this menace, either.
“Do Not Get Sick In India”. “Every doctor affiliated to a hospital in India must perform a certain number of surgeries and physicians must refer a certain number of patients for laboratory tests, X-rays and MRIS, endoscopies and ultrasound etc. If not they are removed from the hospital registries and premises... Treatment is given not according to the disease but according to the wealth of the patient. Most of these observations are either completely or partially true. Corruption has many names. Professionals and businessmen of various sorts indulge in unscrupulous
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An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide