Introduction to Jainsim

Author(s): Dewan Bahadur A B Lathe
Publisher: Jain Mitra Mandal

Page 43

JAINISM
35
clothes, wcalih, ctc. Now the Jains, 2.2 million in number arc spread over Punjab and Kashmir in the North, Mysore Marrrial pro and Rameshwar in the South and Bombay, Gujcrat sperity of the and Rajasthan in the West. But not onc will be fouJains nd to wander over public streets in scarch of food. Faminc, firc or floods may have reduced some to dcstitution ; but they arc very few. Most of thc Jains are merchants, moncyIcnders or landholders. A few are servants. But they are well-doing mcn as a class. Somc arc owners of lacs. A few are owners of crorcs 100. Thus thc Jains asc a matcrially prosperous class. We shall consider their ethical condition now.
The proportion of jail-going population is a good index to the moral condition of a community. The following table, drawn from thc Jail Adminstration Report of the year 1891 for the Bombay presidency gives uscsul figures.
Moral conditions of the Jains
Rcligion
| Population
in 1891
Total prisoners
in 1891
persons to prisoners
Hindus
| 1,509
Mohamedans Christians
| 1,46,57,179
35,01,910 1.58,765
9,714 5,794 333
: 604 | 477
2.549 491
Parceos
73,945
jew's
9,639 2,40,436
Jains
39
: 6.165