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THE JAINA GAZETTE
The fourth general meeting of the Digambara Jains was held on the 17th May 1927 in the Digambara Jain Temple at Bysack Street under the president-ship of Babu Baldeodass Jain. The attendance was so large that many had to wait on the ground floor for want of space in the meeting hall.
The president first gave a short account of the tragedy in the Kesarianath temple at Dhuleo P. O. Rikhabdeo in the Udaipur state and how the Digambaras were maltreated at the hands of the Swetambara officials of Udaipur. Mr. Chhotelall Jain then gave a short account of his visit to that temple about the year 1917 and how he saw several inscriptions on images which clearly showed that they were of Digambara origin. There were names of Digambara Acharyas (pontiffs) like Surenda Kirti, Sakal Kirti, Devendra Kirti, and others appearing thereon and those inscriptions were dated in Samvat years equivalent to the following Christian era i.e., 1615, 1689, 1696, 1703, 1710, 1711, 1777, 1806, etc. He then read out a very long inscription dated 1806 A.D. purporting to commemorate the erection of a very big wall all round the temple by a Digambara merchant by the name of Seth Dhanji Karanji. Mr. Jain said that Mr. Gaurisankar Ojha the illustrious historian and antiquarian also traces the origin of the temple to Digambaras. Then he pointed out how in the year 1924 when the Swetambaras wanted to perform the flag hoisting ceremony the Digambaras opposed the same and H.H. the Maharana was pleased to stop it. Again in the y the Swetambaras wanted to decorate the images with ornaments and false eyes which is opposed to our religion, and owing to oppositions from us it was also stopped by H.H. But this time even against our repeated and timely telegrams to H.H. the Maharana, the Maharaj Kumar and the British Resident on the Ist instant, the Swetambaras who are the chief officials in the state bent on having the thing done at all costs and the result was the deplorable and horrifying incident on the 4th May.
Then letters and telegrams received from Udaipur and other places giving further informations regarding the incident were read out which showed how inhuman was the treatment meted out to the Digambaras by the State officials. The facts of the incident were these. The local Digambaras hearing about the ceremony to take place on the 4th May, approached the Maharaj Kumar who assured them that no such state orders were passed. But on the 4th May, when several Digambaras were performing the Puja in the said temple there came several Swetambaras including some state officials who were also Swetambara and wanted to decorate the images. On the Digambaras asking if they had any state orders they (Swetambar) got infuriate and the official Swetambaras called the
military which they had kept ready and under their orders the Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
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