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Development & Impact of Jainism in India & Abroad
which Guru Vijayanand Barah Masa, Chitthi to Guru Atmaram and Jadachetan Barahmasa are well known.
Poet Chandulal (Malerkotla): Six of his collections of Poems and Padas are published. They describe each event of the Initiations, Renunciations and consecrations of Shri Vijayanand Suri.
Literature in Punjabi Language:
Very recently Shri Purushottam Jain and Shri Ravinder Jain of Malerkotla (Punjab) have rendered 14 Sutras (Holy Texts) into Punjabi language and have also written books on various subjects.
Other Poets/Writers:
Names of those who have composed interesting poems, songs, bhajns and Tappe etc. are
as follows:
Hakim Manikchand (Ramnagar), Shobharam Oswal (Jammu), Dashondhi Ram (Raikot), Sunderlal Bothra (Zeera), Muni Tilak Vijay Punjabi, Upadhayay Vir Vijay ji, Muni Vimal Vijay ji, Vrijlal Nahar (Hoshiarpur), Ishwar Das (Hoshiapur), Sabar, Mohanlal, Chiranjilal, Pandit (Prof.) Ramkumar Jain, Kapoorchand Munhani, Devraj Munhani, Sadaram (Samana), Sagarchand (Samana), Nazarchand Samanavi (Chandigarh), at present Mahendra Kumar Mast (Pachkula, Chandigarh), Sushil Jain Rind (Delhi) and Gulshan Kumar Jain (Chandigarh).
Text Composition and Authors:
The large Agamas edited by Acharya Varya Shri Atmar'm Ji in Ludhiana is unique in its
own sense.
Pt. Hiralal Dugar has also composed 40 books and many articles.
Prof. Prithviraj Jain of Ambala has written a number of valuable and authoritative works. Shri Virendar Kr. Jain (Delhi) has also written many books and papers.
Senior Writer and Poet :
At present Mahendra Kumar Mast is the most prolific writer and poet in the entire area. Since 1954 his writings got published in a number of Jain magazines regularly as well as in the daily Newspapers of Hindi and English. He is the person who has also compiled and edited the work "Atma Amritasara"
Digambar Jain Samaj :
There is quite a dense population of the Digambar Jains in the places like Ambala Cantt., Jagadhari, Chandigarh, Jalandhar Cantt., Firozpur, Panipat, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Hansi and Hissar etc. They have strong control over such spheres as Industry, Business, Education, high Govt. jobs and politics. The Digambar Munis also walk on foot from place to place.
27 Jain images recovered from the fort of Hansi are now kept in the Digambar Temple at that place. In the adjacent village Ranila a big image of Bhagavan Rishbhdeva was discovered which is established and enshrined there making Ranila a place of pilgrimage.
Lala Hukam Chand Jain, a wealthy Jagirdar of Hansi was hanged by the Britishers as he had participated in the Swatantrata Sangram (Freedom Movement) of 1857.
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