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president of the Jain center there. One day, during shopping at his shop, I noticed several items for sale in his shop freezer that contained beef and fish. I was stunned. That same day, I consulted another prominent member of the Jain center there and the next day we went to see the store owner and talked him out of selling such items—if not permanently at least during his term as the president of the Jain center there. He agreed and stopped such items, but only as long as
he was president. Soon after, he resumed his trade. O A few years ago, I went to see a relative of mine in the US.
There, he took me to see several of his convenience stores. Right away I noticed meat, salami, hot dogs, and liquor being sold. This man (about fifty years old then) comes from a highly religious and moralistic Jain family. Needless to say, I was shocked. I have never gone to his house since then. Honestly, it still bothers me a lot.
Mahavir Sanglikar, a Jain activist in India, recently wrote a satirical blog entitled, “Jains of Butcher Land.” I reproduce that blog here. It is an eye opener. When people read his blog, many people searched on the Internet to find out where “Butcher Land” is, but no one found it as it does not exist. Many people missed the theme of his message. He used fiction to make his point. I see that there are many such Butcher Lands all around us within the Jain community and more are being created. Please read on; his message touches upon so many issues and gives compelling images of some of the things happening within the community. It appears that “sub chalta hai,” or all is okay.
“The Jains of Butcher Land,” by Mahavir Sanglikar Very few people of the world know that there is a small island in Indian Ocean, called as Butcher Land. The most unknown thing about this land is that this tiny island is full of Jains! I have not visited this land yet, but while finding new friends from the most unknown parts of the world through social networking sites, I got a
An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide
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