________________
A Social Survey
CHOOSING A SPOUSE YOUNG JAIN ADULT MARRIAGES
IN NORTH AMERICA
- By S.A.Bhuvanendra Kumar
Mississauga, ON Canada
The arrival of Jains and their settlement in north America can be traced only upto early ninteen fifties. Their number was a miniscule till early seventies when it grew large and Jain community settlements across the continent in the urban centers were firmly established.
The early Jain settlers grew prosperous and rich; blossomed with bounty and their children were grown into young adults. Some of the young adults had accompanied their parents to the new land and a large number was born in the new land.
Societal developments of Jaina communities in America seem to have centered around the loose configuration of religious practices and performings while social progress has prominently strengthened around the vernacular linguistic nucleai - Hindi, Punjabi, Gujrati and so on. However the disposition the young adults display against the vernacular lingua franca of their parents' views is not necessarily a sign of total rejection but accommodating and redefining it in a living context.
Marriage, arranged or otherwise, for the young Jains in the West, particularly in America, has measured content. Their parent's educational background has provided a psychological score for scholastic excellence, and demonstrated Jaina family values with built-in ethical and moral fibre have provided confidence, composure and self-assurance in life. Still the matter of marriage is debated amongst elders as to predicate the values and the virtues of the marriage of their loved ones.
The young Jains in America seem to hold altered points of view from that of their parents. Often ther are contentious and many. Hence this Survey.
Jain Education International 2010_02
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
