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246: JAINS TODAY IN THE WORLD
Today, several Jain communities flourish in London, Leicester and other cities. One of them is very active in Leicester. It has built a religious complex under the leadership of "Jain Samaja Europe" managed by Dr Nathubai Shah. Smaller Jain temples have been also created in the outskirts of London and a bigger one has been recently consecrated. A Jain temple has been open in Manchester and another is shared with Hindus at Leeds. In London are now several flourishing Jain associations like: an Oshwals branch, an "Institute of Jainology", sections of "Young Jains" and the "International Mahāvīra Jain Mission". All of them have since their origin experienced an intense activity but with a little withdrawn into themselves. This is partly due to the fact that Indian Jains are not numerous in Europe outside the United Kingdom where people speak a language that Indians know quite well. The "De Montfort University" in Leicester provides studies in English on Jainism especially for young adepts.
In the USA and Canada, Jain activity has now spread to the heart of about one hundred important Indian communities whose members work in many big cities. In chapter 5 we have listed their locations in these two countries. Since 1981, these communities decided to unite with the blessings of late Acharya Sushil Kumar in a big federation called "Jain Associations in North America" (JAINA). The same Acharya has also created a religious Jain complex "Siddhacalam" in Blairstown (New Jersey). For his own part, a Jain monk, Gurudev Chitrabhanu, has settled a 'Jain Meditation International Centre' in New York.
JAINA works actively to sustain and develop faith among Jain adepts. It has seven main aims: "to promote religious and educative activities, to spread its charitable and humanitarian action in North America and all over the world, to propagate vegetarianism and nonviolence, to organise cultural exchanges, to help communities
Jain Education International
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