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because of the fact that more and more of them preferred to be returned as "Jains" rather than "Hindus".
In spite of the Jains being enumerated separately in Indian censuses since the very beginning, it is unfortunate that they have not been officially accorded the minority status by the Government of India. On 29th October 1993, a notification was issued by the Central Government that included Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians as distinct religious minorities, and excluded Jains. This prompted a Jain social activist Mr. Bal Patil to approach the High Court. Subsequently a division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising of Justice Ashok Desai and Justice S.S. Parkar had directed the Central government to take an early decision as to whether the Jains constitute a distinct religious minority or not.
Mr. Bal Patil, who filed the petition against the Central Government, has authored a book titled Jainism. He has argued that the Jains do not believe in any Creator of the world, and that they do not accept the Vedas as the supreme authority. Hence, they do not come under the umbrella of Hinduism, argued Mr. Dhananjay Chandrachud who appeared for the petitioner. Although the Central Government was served with notices to appear in the case there was no counsel to represent their point of view in the court. Hence, the matter was heard ex-parte.
According to press reports, Mr. Chandrachud told the Court that the Central Government has already decided to confer the status of a distinct religious minority on the Jains and this recommendation was only awaiting the approval of the cabinet. Mr. Chandrachud also told the Court that the sociological, historical and cultural material proved that Jainism was a separate and distinct religion, and the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) considered the Jains as a distinct religious minority. The Commission also noted that Jainism differed from Buddhism in its tenets and beliefs and even the founding fathers of the constitution recognised Jainism as a religion distinct from Hinduism.
Therefore efforts are being made by the Jains to seek the legal recognition to their minority status. The Jains have been demanding 123 Jains in India and Abroad
