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Jain Diaspora
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facing any mortal danger in or outside India but our culture is eroding and our numbers are declining. But we are blissfully ignorant of these threats. There is no connection between Jains of Kenya to Jains of Singapore or the Jains of Australia have no dialog with Jains in Canada. May be economic self sufficiency of individual Jains has created apathy towards the wider Jain brotherhood. It is ironic that in these days of instant communications, there are no connections between the communities. There is no central record of overseas Jains - no single register of Jain Temples world wide - no database of Jain scholars (western or home grown) outside of India or no list of world class Jain Doctors or scientists or philanthropists (Yes, there are Jain Philanthropists outside India). We are a very fragmented community.
For a vibrant Diaspora to exist, it must have 3 Characteristics : * Assimilation and growth in the host country. * Maintaining ties with the homeland. * Maintaining relationships between the communities.
On the first two issues - Assimilation and ties with homeland, there is a mixed picture. Jains from around the world visit India for social visits with relatives and friends, pilgrimages to our holly places, matrimonial reasons and just plain nostalgia. But as to maintaining relationships between the communities, we have a very bad record. As I began writing this essay, I realized how poor our state of knowledge about our brothers in distant lands is. Even inquiring of population of Jains in various countries elicits wildly contradictory numbers. The listing above is incomplete or grossly inadequate. Loss of the sense of togetherness is already showing some ill effects. Out side · India, many Jain children of marrying ages are having tough time finding Jain life partners. Many Jains are identifying themselves as Hindus. Their knowledge of Jainism is limited to Navkar Mantra and some adherence to Vegetarianism. Sectarian divides is hurting efforts towards unity. Many of our widowed senior citizens in their adopted lands are living a life of loneliness even if they are economically well off. These occurrences do not bode well for the future of Jainism.
Jains are a minority community in India. Outside India they are even less than minority. The world knows very little about Jainism and Jains have not done a lot to change that. Jains as a whole, partly due to their upbringing, remained socially insulated from the societies they live in. In the very near future, Temple building activities will slow down and need to have professional managers to help grow the communities will arise. A structured · leadership of ascetics will also be required that can preach unity of the Jains
and provide fundamental knowledge of Jainism to the new generation. We
