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Malayesia 2,500; in Australia and smaller communities in countries like Japan, Thailand, Now let us examine some of these communities in detail. We will begin with state of Jainism in US and Canada.
North America : The first noteworthy Jain to visit US was the citizen scholar Veerchand Raghavji Gandhi at the First Parliament of the World religions in Chicago in 1893. He not only represented Jainism but also spoke proudly of Hinduism and India. He put to rest many misconceptions about people and traditions of India without denigrating any other religion. He dazzled western religious leaders by his command of English language and his knowledge of Christianity and western culture in general. In 1904 World Fair in St. Lois, an intricately carved wooden replica of a Jain Temple was displayed.(This is now majestically displayed at the Jain Center of Southern California - Los Angeles But significant migration of Jains did not begin until 1960's. The first Jain Sangh (Jain Center of America) was established in NY in 1965. They did not have a place of their own for their center so they met at the homes of various Jain families and began planning for the first Jain Temple in America.
During 1960's US government relaxed immigration rules and opened her doors to skilled labors like Physicians, Engineers or Scientists. At about the same time Government of India relaxed foreign exchange rules allowing more students to go abroad for higher education. Thus began the brain drain of most talented individuals from India to the US. Significant numbers of these highly educated immigrants were Jains. As more Jains arrived, many small Jain communities began to form in large American cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Detroit.
1972 saw the arrival of most notable Jain - Gurudev Shri Chitrabhanuji to address the third World Spiritual Conference at Harvard University. At first, he attracted many Americans as he was invited to many Universities and religious gatherings to speak on meditation and his message of peace and Ahimsa. He settled in New York and with the help of his American students, in 1973 rented a studio and established Jain Meditation International Center. Slowly some Jains started attending and the Jain Center of America loaned a marble statue of Shri Mahaveer Swami. As more Jains started to attend programs at JMIC to hear lectures and perform Pratikraman, Poojasetc, Chitrabhanuji became the spiritual leader of the Jains in the NY and NJ area along with scores of American students who had accepted Vegetarianism and meditation as a way of life and regularly attending Gurudev's lectures on spiritual enhancements.
During his visit to India in 1973, Chitrabhanuji met with Acharya Sushilkumarji in New Delhi and invited him to America. By the year 1981
