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Jinamasjari, Volume 23, No.1, April 2001
NEWS DIGEST
NATIONAL PREPARATIONS TO CELEBRATE 2,600 BIRTHDAY OF LORD MAHAVIRA (599 B.C.E. - 527 B.C.E.). Earlier this year, the government of India agreed to observe April 6, 2001 as "Meatless Day" to commemorate the launce of the 2,600 anniversary of the birth of Lord Mahavira Following a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Vajpayee in New Delhi, 63 of the 67 members -- including the chief ministers of Rajasthan and Maharashtra, the Gujarat Governor, Union Ministers Advani, Ananth Kumar and Ram Vilas -- agreed that RS 100 Crore would be allocated as ‘seed money' for programmes established by both NGOs and Celebration Associations.
An implementation committee has been set up to plan and monitor the celebration, and state-level committees will be set up to plan specific programmes and projects. The emphasis, as spelt out by Prime Minister Vajpayee at the meeting, would be on the creation of permanent assets and building institutions. Mrs. Indu Jain, the Times of India group chairperson, suggested that the 25-acre Mahavir Vanasthali on Sardar Patel Marg in New Delhi be handed over to Jains, and the remaining area of 150 acres of forest land be developed into a park. The suggestion was accepted.
As well, the meeting also resulted in the release of a commemorative stamp and coin, the establishment of an Institute of Prakrit Studies in Vaishali, and projects which will compile an inventory of Jain monuments and manuscripts, and take steps towards their conservation, was
Mrs. Indu Jain, acting on a suggestion that organisations should adopt villages and contribute to their development, offered on behalf of the Jain Samaj to adopt 1,000villages and develop them into 'model villages' with roads and water, and facilities for environmental conservation, education, and health car. Other activities suggested at the New Delhi meeting included the establishment of Mahavira chairs, a Mahavira Foundation, a Mahavira IT Foundation, and international seminar, and several welfare activities.
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