ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 85

1.1.d
TOWARDS SOCIOLOGY OF THE JAINA COMMUNITY
Dr. Prakash C. Jain
1.0 Introduction Although much research has been done on the literary, religious and philosophical aspects of Jainism, sociological/anthropological research of the Jaina community as well as Jainism continues to remain in incipiency. This paper argues for the Sociology of the Jaina Community by suggesting a few areas of research that deserve priority. These areas are demographic structure, social structure, social change and social stratification, and the Jainas in Diaspora, to name only a few.
Since the time of Mah vra, people of different var as and j tis, from many areas, have accepted the Jaina religion, making the Jaina society heterogeneous. Thus, the Jainas are a community, or rather a grouping of communities, as well as followers of a religion, and as they originated from different background, they organized themselves into differing groups known as j ti to facilitate smooth functioning of the society.
1.1 Jainas in India The Jainas are one of the oldest religious communities of India. Although the origin of Jainism is lost in antiquity, it was revived by Lord Mah v ra during the sixth century B.C. Jainism as well as Buddhism belongs to the rama a tradition, a tradition that is distinct from the Vedic tradition and is considered even older and indigenous. As a social movement Jainism was opposed to caste system, secondary status of women, and dominance of priestly class {namely Brahmins), ritual sacrifices, slavery and monarchical basis of polity. In ancient India Jainism was a force to reckon with and had a considerable influence on the various North Indian kingdoms and parts of Mysore and Tamil Nadu .in south India.
1.2 Demographic Trends The Jainas have always been a minority community in India. The current population of Jainas is estimated around 4.4 million. They are heavily concentrated in the western half of India, particularly Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Western Uttar Pradesh. About 200,000 Jains are in Diaspora, particularly in East Africa, North America and the U.K. Since the 1881 Census the Jains never constituted more than half a percent of the total population of India. About 80% of the Jaina population is vet mbaras and the rest Digambaras. Close to 75% of them live in urban areas. Other demographic features include very high level of literacy, the lowest infant mortality rate and medium level of sex ratio (946 females per 1,000 males in 1991) compared to 925 for Hindus and 994 for Christians. Since 1981 the Jaina population has been growing very slowly. The decadal growth rate during 1981-91 was only 4.42% compared to 23.17% for the previous decade. Although the decadal growth rate of the Jaina population during 1991-2001 periods was 26.0%, it was more due to ethnic revivalism among the Jainas than due to the fertility factor
1.3 Minority Status Presently the Jainas as an affluent minority face two major problems. One of these relate to seeking and maintaining its separate ethnic/religious identity. The 2001 census figures pertaining to the Jainas suggest that ethnic revivalism has been taking place among the Jainas. Thus compared to the 1991 census figures where the Jainas registered only 4% decadal growth rate, in the 2001 census their growth rate was about 26%. This only suggests that more and more of them preferred to be returned as "Jainas" rather than "Hindus".
Efforts are also being made to seek legal recognition to their minority status. The Jainas have been demanding minority status at the national level for the past few years with representations in the Central Government, National Minority Commission and State Legislatures. The Supreme Court of India had directed the Central Government to take a final decision in this regard by 28th November 2004. In response to the affidavit filed by the Central Government the Supreme Court had also given the ruling that under section 30 of the Constitution of India, the decision about according minority status on the grounds of language or religion can be taken by the respective State Governments and not by the Central Government. Five states namely, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Tamil Nadu have already granted minority status to the Jaina community at state level.
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