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Jaina Ethics and Miscellaneous Customs and Manners
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papers use two languages in the same issue or in the alternate issues. Magazines like “ Jaina Antiquary,” “Jaina Siddhanta Bhāskara,” and “Anekānta' are mainly devoted to research in Jainism and have established a good reputation. There are also orthodox papers like “Jaina Bodhaka ” and progressive ones like “Jaina Gazette ” (English). As all Jaina papers are considered as agencies for the propagation of Jaina religion, it will be seen that the Jaina community conducts a large number of papers hardly run by any other community of about twenty-five lacs population. There is a considerable infant mortality among Jaina papers and a very few papers are selfsupporting. As the papers have to depend on the charities for their existence, naturally they die out early. Among the existing Jaina papers the oldest is the “Jaina Bodhaka” (estd. in A. D. 1884). from Sholapur. The papers like “Jaina Divakara”(estd. in V.S. 1932), “Jaina Sudhārasa” (estd. in V.S.1933), etc. were started earlier than the “Jaina Bodhaka" but could not be continued. The exact number of the Jaina papers, past and present, is not known but it is estimated that before 1938 there were as many as one hundred and sixteen Jaina papers conducted for a short or long period and in 1938 the number of Jaina papers was sixty-five287. The number seems to have been increased now. The papers have no doubt created interest in the minds of the people regarding Jaina religion and helped to remove the bad social customs and irreligious practices. But they hardly maintain and put forward views concerning the undivided Jaina community. On the contrary, the sectional and caste papers foster narrow visions. The absence of broad outlook in the Jaina community can, to a large extent, be attributed to these sectarian papers.
Like members of other communities the Jainas have recently launched some co-operative institutions for their benefit. The main form of cooperation is in the field of housing. The cooperative housing societies exist in Bombay and Ahmedabad. Through them residential accommodation at moderate or cheap rates is offered to the Jainas. But such institutions are not open to all Jainas. The societies are restricted generally to the members of a particular sect or caste or at times only to the members coming from a particular locality. Thus the Pāțana Jaina Mandala in Bombay offers accommodation to the Jaina families hailing from J...18
