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92
JAINA GAZETTE
causes that have led to the decrease may be temporary, but presently we shall find that those causes which liave preventeil the growth are of a more serious nature.
Social customs are responsible för a great deal, and of the niany, it is most important that special stress should be laid on a custom which is so deeply rocted that people hardly ever think of it, as a matter where change may be or is necessary. Let us first see what we are told about the civil condition of the Jains ?
To all Population.
Married.
Unmarried.
Widowed.
Age.
Males, Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males, Feniales.
0-5 75,316 76,212 423 945 74,723 75.172 168 | 92 5–151,41,227 1,26,313 6,710 25,349 1,34,011 99,797 506 1,167 15—45,3,22,011 2,98,328 1,98,796 2,17,682 99,507 6,207 23,708 74,439 45- 1,04,999 1,03,776 63,007 25,643 8,956 529 33,036 77,599
Total, 6,13,553 6,01,629 2,68,938 2,69,627 3,17,197 1,81,705 57,418 |1,53,297
This at once shows that for the age in which most issu es are generally expected, riz., 15 – 45, out of a total male population of 3,32,011 only 1,98,796 are married, the rest being either unmarried or widowed. And out of a total female population of 2,98,328, the number of unmarried or widowed is 80,648. Thus in round numbers about 2 in every 5 males, and 1 in every 4 females, is either unmarried or widowed ! 40 p. c., males unmarried and 25 p. c., females, is certainly a very large proportion indeed. And we may rest assured this is not of their own choosing. In America and European countries people do not marry for economic reasons. But it is not so here. The chief barrier in the path of marriage among the Jainas is the innumerable number of sub-castes, some of which are represented hy only a few hundred persons : we will not find less than a
score of them having less than 100 persons. Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
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