Prominent Jains to be listed | Suggest Persons

Prominent Jains to be listed Suggest Persons

Jain Friends, the renowned social organization is going to publish short biographies of major Jain personalities. The list includes Jains from various fields of life who have done some extra ordinary work.

The biographies of selected Jains will be published on a specially created website. The website will be search engine friendly and will be listed in all major search engines including Google, Yahoo and MSN. Anybody from any corner of the world will find information, photographs and contact details of any person listed on the website through search engines.

Although we have collected lot of information, we herewith request you to suggest some Jain persons for inclusion. There is no restriction in which fields they are working, the only eligibility is that they are doing or have done some great or different work.

Required details:

Name of the person
Date of Birth and Birth Place
Educational Qualification (Please write in which school and university he/she studied)
Family Background
Occupation
Achievements in detail
Awards won
Institutions and organizations in which he/ she is an office-bearer
Hobbies and Interests
Two different close up photographs
Full Contact Details (Complete Postal Address with PIN/ ZIP code; Phone, Cell Phone and Fax Numbers, Email address, Website Name and URL if any)

Please write us at: jainway@gmail.com

If you want to send any printed material, please send it to: (NO Curriers, only by Registered/ Speed Post or in person)

Jain Friends (PJ)
Post Box No. 58
Jagannath Complex, 199 Mumbai-Pune Rd
Chinchwad East, Pune 411019
MH India

Please feel free to ask any question regarding this project.

Sincerely Yours,

-Mahavir Sanglikar
Cell Phones: 91 927 309 3122, 91 962 372 5249

Please note:
Some of the categories under which the Prominent Jains will be listed: (This is not complete list. Each category has many subcategories)

Education: Vice-Chancellors, Professors, Speakers
Animal Rights and Vegetarianism
Artists:


Entertainment: Actors and actresses, Music Composers, Musicians, Directors, Producers, Singers, Dancers, Mimicry artists, Magicians, Stage Performers etc.
Social Activities: Social Workers, Social Organizers, Disaster Managers,
Government and Politics: Ministers, Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Councils and Assemblies
Administration: IAS, IPS and other Government Officers
Science and Technology: Scientists and Researchers
Literature: Writers, Poets, Novelists
Media: Publishers, Editors, TV Journalists, Reporters
Jainism: Researchers, Indologists,
Sports: Sportspersons
Business and Industry: Business Persons, Industrialists, Entrepreneurs, CEOs
Any person who appears in media

Gujaratis in Malysia fast during Paryushan

Malacca (Malaysia): For Gujarati Jains here, the Paryushan fast has coincided with that of holy Ramadan being observed by the majority Muslim population. Fasting is common among the two communities, and so is the goal of self-purification.

Gujaratis have a special link with Malaysia as it is believed that Gujarati missionaries introduced Islam to Malaysia prior to the establishment of the Malacca Sultanate in 1402, according to Joshua Project website that researches and compiles information about communities globally.
While everyone knows that Aug 22 was the first day of Ramadan, few in Malaysia know that the children of another community and faith have also been fasting, The Star newspaper said Wednesday.

Unlike Muslims, who go without food and water from dawn to dusk for a month, Gujarati children survive only on boiled water without any food for between three and eight days.
The newspaper correspondent visited the home of carpet dealer Nishrint Shangani, 44, on "a joyous occasion" Tuesday.

Shangani held a colourful traditional ceremony at his home in Bandar Hilir to mark the end of the fasting for his 11-year-old son Depak.

Gujaratis, who are strict vegetarians, observe the Paryushan fast as a purification rite and a period to seek forgiveness.

Websites about Gujaratis in Malaysia list the community by their religions, castes, sub-castes and their location back in Gujarat.

They also list Hindu and Jain temples, where priests are in charge and the activity is funded and overseen by the community.

A Jain temple was opened in Malacca in 2001 amid fanfare and community participation in the presence of Gurudev Jinchandraji Maharaj (Bandhu Triputi).

Attending it were the Gujarati communities not only from Kuala Lumpur and Selangor but also from Singapore and all over Malaysia including Penang, Ipoh, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan states.

"The Gujaratis of Malaysia are mainly adherents of Jainism and Hinduism with a small minority of Muslims," the Joshua Project website says of the 3,000-plus community of mostly traders.
"Gujarati traders from Cambay also frequently visited the port of Malacca but did not settle there. Only in the late 19th century did the Gujaratis, who are mostly businessmen in textile trade, travel to Malacca to settle. This new community grew as more Gujaratis came after World War II," the website records.

Giant Statue of Jain Teerthankar

BHUBANESWAR: After seven years and countless strokes on chisel by dozens of sculptors, statue of a Jain Tirthankar, which is claimed to be the biggest ever granite monolithic sculpture carved from Orissa, would be ready by the end of this year.

Master sculptor Sudarshan Sahoo, under whose supervision the gigantic work was undertaken, said final touches were being given to the main idol measuring 13 feet high and 12 ft wide while the structure of umbrella-like serpent hoods over the deity would be completed within next few months.

“Simultaneously we will perform polishing work and revisit the process to ensure that all minor mistakes are rectified. We will fit the three pieces into a complete statue whose height will be 23 ft before dismantling it for easy transportation,” Mr. Sahoo, a Padamshree awardee, said.

A Jain monk had assigned Mr. Sahoo the task to erect the statue which would finally be transported to Surat in Gujarat.

The statue depicts the Tirthankar seated with legs crossed in front, the toes of one foot resting close upon the knee of the other, and the right hand lying over the left in the lap.

The symbols of lotus flower have been carved on palms. The idol will have seven serpent hoods unfurling as umbrella.

Although on the face of it the work looked like any other creation of a sculptor, Mr. Sahoo said there was history behind creating such a mammoth idol.

At first it was a challenging task to discover a huge piece of granite stone from Mayurbhanj district. “My son and several of my students spent months in Adipur and Sialiuthani village near Khiching temple to lay hand on the huge piece of stone which weighed above 400 tonnes,” he said.

Villagers were compensated for their crop damage and special permission was secured from National Highway authority to transport the giant stone to the craft shed here, Mr. Sahoo said.
“Since I did not have expertise in creating Jain idols, I had to go through numerous Jain literatures and study the iconography. It was not enough. Not to take chances, we initially built hundreds of small Jain sculpture to see where we were going wrong,” the master craftsman recounted.

Precautions were taken during knocking off large portions of unwanted stone and striking chisels accurately. Any miscalculation could have injured sculptors’ hand and most importantly damaging the stone.

Jains send notice over N-submarine name

Ashutosh Shukla

Mumbai: Five days after India's first indigenous nuclear submarine was inaugurated, a member of the Jain community has sent a legal notice to the Centre. The notice, addressed to the chief secretary of Union of India on July 27, is sent by Mumbai-based Ashok Bhikamchand Jain.

Ashok Jain said, "The word 'Arihant' reflects all the beliefs of the Jain dharma. It is highly revered and indicates a win over anger, lust, greed, and violence. Non-violence is the essence of our religion and submarine stands for everything it is not." The notice, sent by advocate Mahendra Jain says, "My client takes strong objection to the naming and calls upon you to reconsider the naming for the sake of Jain religion."

The community has decided to put up handbills signed by five senior most monks in every Jain temple. It requests Jains to write to the PM and defence minister. "We have sent requests to the Centre. If the issue is not resolved peacefully however, we will support community members who will move court on it," said Suryodayasagar Suriswarji Maharaj, the senior most monk in Mumbai based in Aadeswar Temple, Walkeshwar.

Marwari jains combat female feticide

OM ASTHA RAI

KATHMANDU, Aug 3: Marwari followers of Jainism in Nepal have started a fight against sex-selective abortion after finding that the practice is on steady rise in their community.

Jain marwaris are working to launch various awareness programs against the practice.

“In the first phase, we will be holding rallies in different cities urging parents to not abort their female fetuses,” says Usha Naulakha, president of Jain Shwetamber Terapanth Mahila Mandal, an organization of Jain women that held an interaction program recently with lawmakers, doctors and intellectuals on the ways to eliminate sex-selective abortion.

According to Naulakha, the Mandal will be visiting cities like Biratnagar, Birgunj and Nepalgunj. “Our primary focus is Jain community in Kathmandu,” says Naulakha. “We, however, want to go beyond the capital and our community in the long run as this practice is not confined to one particular region or religion.”

The Mandal has already launched two programs that aim to prevent female feticides apart from encouraging morality in society. “Under the first program, we reach out to girl students in different schools and educate them about female feticide as they are future mothers,” says Sharada Pragya,a Jainism preacher. The second program is focused on sensitizing parents.

The Mandal has already launched two programs that aim to prevent female feticides apart from encouraging morality in society. “Under the first program, we reach out to girl students in different schools and educate them about female feticide as they are future mothers,” says Sharada Pragya,a Jainism preacher. The second program is focused on sensitizing parents.

According to Lalwani, the average age of marriage for males in Marwari community has gone up to 27 years from 22. “The number of females is falling compared to males in the community,” he says. It has apparently caused anxiety among prospective bridegrooms. “Parents will be unable to find brides for their sons in the days to come if the trend of female feticide is not stopped right away,” says Lalwani.

According to Lalwani, the average age of marriage for males in Marwari community has gone up to 27 years from 22. “The number of females is falling compared to males in the community,” he says. It has apparently caused anxiety among prospective bridegrooms. “Parents will be unable to find brides for their sons in the days to come if the trend of female feticide is not stopped right away,” says Lalwani.

Pragya says scores of women talking to her confessed to having aborted female fetuses. “Women cannot hide the crimes they commit for long and confess it while talking to me after some years,” says Pragya. According to her, most of the women abort female fetuses under pressure from their husbands or sons and mothers-in-law while a few do it on their own.

Having observed a whole lot of women making confession, Pragya has now come to believe that female feticide is rampant particularly in Madhes. “Female feticide has resulted in gender imbalance in a number of states in India,” she says. “Our situation is similar to that of India as we share common culture and faiths.”

Having observed a whole lot of women making confession, Pragya has now come to believe that female feticide is rampant particularly in Madhes. “Female feticide has resulted in gender imbalance in a number of states in India,” she says. “Our situation is similar to that of India as we share common culture and faiths.”

As in India, dowry system and male preference are the two main reasons that cause female feticide. In societies largely dominated by Hindus, sons are considered as incomes whereas daughters as expenses. “This deep-rooted thought is the main problem,” says she.

Although there has been no survey on gender-selective abortion so far, the gender ratio of Nepal is somewhat ominous. According to the 2001 census, the gender ratio is 99.8 males per 100 females. This ratio was 99.5 males per 100 females according to the 1991 census. “The gender ratio is imbalanced in Madhes than in pahad (hills),” says sociologist Dilli Ram Dahal. “It would be pretty interesting to carry out a thorough research on this.”

Bihar promotes Jain circuit

Bihar promotes Jain circuit
Kumar Manish

AHMEDABAD: Pilgrimage tourism always tops the Jain mind. No wonder the Bihar government has come up with a Jain circuit to woo the community in the state.

It was in Bihar that Jainism, which has millions of followers today, was first propagated, according to officials. The chief proponent of Jain religion and 24th tirthankar, Lord Mahavir, was born near Patna, capital of Bihar.

The most revered Jain pilgrim spot in Bihar is Jalmandir Temple complex at Pawapuri. Says officer in department of tourism, Bihar government, Tapan Kumar Sinha, "Bihar Tourism has designed the religious circuit in a holistic manner. There are more than seven important places in Bihar which are famous for Jain temples and are of historical significance to Jains."

The prominent Jain spots are Vasokund, believed to be the birthplace of Lord Mahavir, Rajgir, Kundalpur, Lachhaur Nalanda, Pawapuri, among others.

"We have been promoting religious tourism in a big way in Gujarat. In the last two days of the travel and tourism fair, we're getting good response from the Gujarati community. We have introduced special package tours for Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs," says Sinha.

This is the first time Bihar Tourism has prominently displayed their tourist destinations with this attractive religious circuit, says visitor Nitin Dalal. "Gujarat has highest concentration of Jain community and the places included in the circuit are of historical importance to it," he adds.

Says another visitor Dinesh Patel, "I'm curious about the tourist destinations in Bihar and places of religious importance there. The state is still to be explored in terms of tourism."