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NOTES AND NEWS
159 tile community. Lord Curzon had said on one occasion that half the mercantile wealth of India passes through the hands of the Jains. With such a large stake in the country it would be nothing short of madness to allow ourselves to be deprived of all voice in the government of our country. Hence we hope that our leaders would rise up to the occasion, sink their differences, formulate definite proposals and place them before the Govern. ment. We may just suggest in passing that the Jains will do well to ask for an electorate of their own, so that they may elect a certain number of members to the provincial and central legislatures.
Our Gazette. It was Edmund Burke who once said that the Press represented the fourth estate of the Realm. ' In these days of improved means of communication and speedy methods of publication nothing can possibly be more useful to the Jains than an uptodate journal to ventilate their views and come to a common understanding. Living as they do scattered all over the country and speaking several languages it goes without saying that an English periodical is bound to be of invaluable service to the community. It was in recognition of this indispensable need that “The Jaina Gazette " was started four and twenty years ago. During the past years it has been striving its best to propagate the divine message of Universal Love as preached by Jaina Tirthankaras and has also been working for the social, educational and political amelioration of the community. The Journal has been successively edited and published by illustrious and selfless gentlemen whose sacrifices to this noble cause deserve all praise. From 1919 onwards the Jaina Gazette has been very ably edited from Madras. Its work has been very highly commanded by eminent persons both Jain and non-Jain, Indian and Foreign. But we are very sorry to observe that its onward course and career has been often checked by financial difficulties. That the only English journal of a proverbially rich community should thus struggle for its very existence is a
paradox indeed. To bring home to the minds of our readers we Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
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