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Along with the highest literacy rate the work participation rate (WPR) or percentage of workers to total population is also highest among the Jain males (55.2%) followed by Sikhs (53.3%) and Hindus (52.4%); the WPR for all religious communities being 39.1 percent in the 2001 census (Table 3.10). The lowest WPR for the male population is found among the Muslim males (47.5%). In spite of the highest literacy rate among the Jain females however their WRP in 2001 census was the lowest (9.2%) preceded by Muslims (14.1%) and Hindus (27.5%). This suggests that gender gap in regard to WPR is extremely sharp among the Jains. Apparently lots of talent among the Jain women is not being properly utilized. It is likely that most Jain women spend their time either in performing religious activities or in doing household chores. It is also very likely that they do not feel the need for economic employment given the fact that the Jains are economically a better off community. But these are only just hypotheses. These require sociological validation through fieldwork in different parts of India.
In terms of the four broad work participation categories, namely, cultivators, agricultural labourers, household industry workers and other workers (this last category includes workers in tertiary sector, such as service, manufacturing, trade and commerce and allied activities) the distribution of Jain population was heavily skewed in favour of the "Others". Only 11.7% of the Jain population was engaged as cultivators, 3.3% as agricultural labourers, and less than 3.0% as household industry workers (Table 3.11). Thus the business character of the Jain community is evident from the 2001 census data. But again, systematic sociological studies are needed to ascertain the precise nature of the economic and occupational status of the Jain community in India.
67 Jains in India and Abroad
