Jains Congregate at Buena Park Temple

BY K.B.NAIR
BUENA PARK, CA - Over 2,000 delegates from all over the country, Canada and India converged on the holiday weekend for the 15th Biennial JAINA Convention held at the Jain Center in here from July 2 to 5. While the number appears to be large, in reality this figure actually represents a drop in attendance compared to the 5,000 attendees at previous conventions in recent years. The fall was due to the financial downturn the country is still reeling under. Officials speaking at the opening ceremony explained that these are the circumstances that prompted them to move the event from the Anaheim Convention Center to the Jain Center to conserve financial resources.

The change of venue did not in any way diminish the spirit of the event and the huge congregation gathered for four days of educational, religious, social and entertainment activities with a host of programs filling up the days. The theme of the convention was “Ecology – the Jain Way,” a subject most appropriate for the present times when the future of the planet itself is at enormous risk on account of rampant overuse of natural resources and excessive emissions. The three keynote speakers at the convention spoke on the Jain Way of Going Green – a concept which has been an integral component of the religion from the time of Lord Mahavira.

“ I stand before you as a Jain and not an American” said Dr Gary Francione, Distinguished Professor from Rutgers University in his keynote address at the opening ceremony on July 3 morning which was met with thunderous applause. What is needed today ,he proclaimed, is a change of heart, adherence to the tenets of Jainism and the practice of ahimsa . Carrying the concept still further he appealed to all Jains to consider giving up all dairy foods because he stated “ there is more suffering in a glass of milk than in a pound of steak,” with an explanation of the suffering endured by cows and calves when separated to produce milk and milk products commercially.

Speaking with occasional touches of humor on the serious subject “ Nurturing Nature Back to the Past,” Dr Jagdish Sheth, Professor at Emory University expounded on the urgent need to understand the dynamics of nature and nurturing it as against radical attempts to changing its processes for short term gains. He referred to Jainism as a “scientific” religion in that it recognizes nature in its principle of “ live and let live” and suggested that Jains should not hesitate to market its beliefs to make people aware of the need of cooperating with nature for the well being of the planet.

In his keynote address on July 4, Dr Dipak C Jain , Professor at Northwestern University provided valuable tips on how to exercise restraint on usage of valuable resources such as water and power in one’s day to day life. He spoke on how core Jain principles combined with proper faith, knowledge and conduct can serve as a valuable framework to cultivate enlightened leadership to address a range of global issues.

Participants to the convention started arriving by the afternoon of July 2 which started with pujas and ended with Raas Garba. The official program commenced the next morning with a colorful procession around the temple with ladies singing songs and dancing to the beat of a dhol. Several dignitaries also joined the march along with a few hundred attendees , many bearing bright standards with the name of the chapter they represented.

The business segments of the event started with the recital of the Namkar Mantra and the Manglacharan. The event received the blessing of Gurudev Chitrabhanu , the pioneering Jain monk who brought the Jain message to America. He said he was very happy to have been able to see his dream in the mid 1960s of the Jain dharma take root and establish itself in the USA come true.

Hamilton Brewart, the main sponsor with $51,000 lit the inaugural lamp.

Conveners Rashmi Shah, Dr.Nitin Shah and Lata Champsee, President of JAINA , Dilip Shah, Jain Center of California President Ashok Savla and Founder President of Jain Center, Southern California Mahendra Khandhar also spoke on the occasion.

The convention was loaded with several discourses and discussions moderated and led by prominent speakers and experts on a variety of subjects apart from 14 specific sessions on ecology and going green. Meetings were held concurrently , 4 at a time in both the Jain Center and the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Fullerton.

Several competitive Jaina Awards were presented to individuals during the Convention , selected by a committee from nominations received from all over US and Canada. The prestigious Jaina Ratna Award went to Dr Sulekh Jain from Sugar Land , TX and the Jaina Recognition Awards for Adults were picked up by Amita Desai(Anaheim,CA), Narendra Jain(Torrance,CA), Rakesh Jain (Columbus,OH), Mayur Mehta ( Clarksville TN,) Kirit Shah ( Edison, NJ), Nilesh Shah(Clarksville,MD) Pravin Turakhia (Fremont,CA) Hamir Vadi(Mountainside NJ) and Rasik Vagadia( Foxboro,MA) . Corresponding youth awards were presented to Naman Jain ( Norwood,MA), Rajiv Jain (Odenton,MD) Pina Mehta (Tustin,CA), Parinda Shah (Schaumburg ,IL), and Shaneshi Shah ( Torrance,CA). The Jaina Presidential Awards in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the community were presented to Udai C Jain (Sugar Land . TX), the longest serving member of the JAINA Executive Committee and to Mahendra G Mehta( Mumbai, India) who established the Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust 2 decades ago with a vision to tackle problems of poverty in Mumbai.

The entertainment highlights included the world premiere of the play “ Siddha Hem” based on the life of Acharya Hemchendra Charya and a Bollywood show “ Black” presented by 10 blind performers. There were fun activities for children and adults of different age groups which comprised cruises, dancing, treasure hunts, movies, stand up comedies and a mega mela at the hotel with 10 stalls for games. One of the most popular features among the youth were the morning Masala Bhangra workouts conducted by the Sarina Jain. Numerous stalls were also set up on the premises of the Jain Center with vendors providing various products and services.

New Jain Sites Found in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Over the last three months, two rock art sites, two caverns with Jaina beds, and dolmens have been discovered within a radius of 25 km on the hillocks behind the Gingee fort in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district.

Members of the team that found the sites, said the discovery of Jaina beds confirmed the earlier view that present-day Villupuram district was once a prominent centre of Jainism. The presence of the rock art sites and dolmens showed that the area had been under continuous human occupation for 3,000 years, they added.

On June 1, K.T. Gandhirajan, an explorer who specialises in art history, T. Ramesh, a researcher in archaeology, and others found a big cavern with Jaina beds and rock art on a hillock called Pancha Pandavar Kal, near Vadagal village in Gingee taluk.

The hillock, located 15 km behind the Gingee fort, forms part of a chain of hills in the area. The team found a series of Jaina beds on the floor of the cavern and pre-historic paintings on the boulder surface opposite the beds.

“The beds are of primitive nature. They are not evolved. They are about 2,000 years old,” said Mr. Gandhirajan.

Raised “pillows” had been hewn out of the rock-floor at one end of the beds. Channels were cut to drain out rainwater from the beds or the floor was scooped out to collect rainwater.

The rock art consists of a painting of a deer done in white kaolin with outlines in red ochre.
“This is really rare,” Mr. Gandhirajan said. While this figure of a deer is about 3 feet by 3 feet in size, there are tiny drawings of deer and lizard (udu mbu in Tamil) on the adjacent rock surface, as if to contra-distinguish their size. He estimated that the paintings might belong to circa 1000 B.C.

“These paintings were done by pre-historic men — by hunter-gatherers who used to live in this cavern. Much later, the Jain monks occupied them,” Mr. Gandhirajan said.Earlier finds
Three months earlier, the team found about a dozen port-holed dolmens on a hill near Devadanampettai, on the way to Tirukovilur, about 15 km from the Gingee fort. While most of the dolmens were found disturbed, a few were intact.

About 2 km away, the team discovered a small rock art site, with drawings in white kaolin of marching men or men with raised hands.

About 25 days ago, Mr. Ramesh and Mr. Gandhirajan found 11 Jaina beds on a hill near Kanchiyur village, 28 km from Gingee.

According to T. Arun Raj, Deputy Superintending Archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai Circle, Jaina beds had been discovered recently at Thirunarungkondai near Ulundurpet, Paraiyanpattu and Melkudalur. There are remains of the structural Jaina temples at Tirunarungkondai, Melsithamur and Thondur near Tindivanam and Melmalayanur near Tiruvannamalai. All these places are in Villupuram district.

On the hill at Sirukadambur, there is a bas-relief of 24 Jaina tirthankaras. “Adjacent to this, we have an inscription about a Jaina monk who went on a fast-unto-death. This inscription belongs to the transitional period from Tamil-Brahmi to Vattezuthu,” he said.

There are rock art sites in the district at Sethavarai and Kizhvalavu.

“In addition to these relics of Jainism, we have now discovered these Jaina beds in two places. All this show that the present-day Villupuram district was a prominent centre of Jainism,” Mr. Arun Raj said.

Now Conversion law violation is a criminal offence in Gujarat

GANDHINAGAR: From now on, anyone wishing to convert will have to tell the government why they were doing it and for how long they had been following the religion which they were renouncing, failing which, they will be declared offenders and prosecuted under criminal laws.

Forced conversion could land those responsible a three-year jail term. This clause is contained in the rules of the anti-conversion law which came into effect on April 1.

The new law is called Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, and took five years to be implemented because of the failure of the state government to come up with rules on the kind of information to be provided when applying for permission to convert to any religion.
The Bill confirms that Jainism and Buddhism are not sub-sects of Hinduism. The rules have been published in the Gujarat government gazette.

The rules make it obligatory for a priest seeking to convert someone from one religion to another to take prior permission of the district magistrate in order to avoid police action.

The priest, in fact, will have to sign a detailed form providing personal information on the person whom she/he wishes to convert, whether the one sought to be converted is a minor, a member of Scheduled Caste or Tribe, her/his marital status, occupation and monthly income.

Anyone willing to convert will have to apply to the district magistrate a month before the rituals and give details on the place of conversion, time and reason.

After getting converted, the person will have to obligatorily provide information within 10 days on the rites to the district magistrate, reason for conversion, the name of the priest who has carried out the ritual and full details of the persons who took part in the ceremony.

The district magistrate will have to send a quarterly report to the government listing the number of applications for prior permission, comparative statistics of the earlier quarter, reasons for granting or not granting permission, number of conversions, and number of actions against offenders.

From TOI

BJP's caste gamble in Karnataka irks Jains

The distribution of tickets by the Bharatiya Janata Party for the forthcoming elections to the Karnataka assembly has caused heart burn among the minority groups who had been supporting the party in North Karnataka districts.

It was north Karnataka, which gave BJP the biggest strength in the 2004 elections. The party had won 33 seats from the Mumbai-Karnataka districts with Belgaum contributing 12, Bagalkot 7, Haveri 4, Dharwad and Uttara Kannada three each and, Bijapur and Gadag two legislators each.

In the Hyderabad-Karnataka region Gulbarga and Bidar districts had sent four legislators each from the BJP while Raichur and Koppal had contributed two each, taking the number of BJP legislators from North Karnataka to 45.

But going by the pattern of BJP''s ticket distribution so far in these districts, Veerashaivas/Lingayats have bagged the lion's share. The party has announced candidates for over 70 constituencies in North Karnataka.

Barring the constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes, others have candidates belonging to the Veerashaiva/Lingayat community. The party has so far given tickets to three Brahmins, two Marathas and one candidate belonging to Uppar community.

While Shrikant Kulkarni (Jamkhandi), Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri (Sirsi) and Shashibhushan Hegde (Kumta) are Brahmins, Suresh Latur (Arabhavi in Belgaum district) belongs to Uppar community.

Vijayendra Jadhav (Haliyal) and Prahlad Remani (Khanapur) are of the Maratha community. The party had no alternative in Sirsi and Kumta as all the parties are forced to give tickets to Havyak Brahmins who dominate the constituency.

Veerashiava/Lingayat candidates dominate the party's list in Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Dharwad, Gadag and Haveri districts. Kurubas and Jains constitute a good chunk of the voters in Belgaum district and the party has not given representation to these communities in the lists announced so far.
Only K K Mendegar of the Kuruba community has been nominated for the Babaleshwar in Bijapur district. Similarly, other minority communities which have traditionally supported the BJP feel let down by the party.

"While Congress is making an all-out effort to ensure a judicious representation to all, the BJP has failed on the social engineering front, going by the present list of candidates. It has sent a wrong message," said a party leader.

Devotees pray to Jain lord

SHALINI SABOO

Ranchi, April 18: People across the capital practised the moral virtues of non-violence and truth while propagating the teachings of Lord Mahavir, the last of the 24 Tirthankaras.

Mahavir Jayanti, marking the birth anniversary of the leader, was celebrated across the state capital today.

Jain temples were busy hosting cultural programmes to mark the holy occasion. At Digambar Jain Temple in the Upper Bazaar area, 1,008 pots (kalash) were dedicated in the memory of the leaders.

Speaking on the occasion,C.M. Gangwal, the president of the Pradesh Jain Sabha, said: “Over 2,000 years ago, Mahavir, the personification of God for the Jains, left us but his teachings remain relevant even in the contemporary society.”

Later during the day, a shobha yatra was organised by the members of the community, where over a thousand devotees participated. The two-hour procession, which passed through all major lanes of the capital, had a deity of the lord with beautiful jhakis accompanying it. The jhakis depicted the teachings of the lord.

Mahavir Prasad Sogani, the secretary of the state Jain Sabha, said: “The celebrations will continue till tomorrow evening.Children will also participate in bhajans and a dance drama, enacting the virtuous preaching of the saint. Mayor Rama Khalkho will be the chief guest.”
The celebrations at the Swetambar Jain Temple in Doranda were simple.

“We started the day after praying to lord Mahavir. This year, we have resolved free our community from all evils, especially dowry and illiteracy,” said L.K. Jain, a devotee.

Rally, Demand for Holiday Mark Mahavir Jayanti

Patna: April 18, 2008
Mahavir Jayanti Celebrated Image 1Image 2Image 3Image 4 Photo by Shashi Uttam The Jain community in Patna on Friday took out a rally to mark the birth of Lord Mahavir while also pressing for their demand of declaring the Mahavir Jayanti a state holiday since Mahavir was born in the state of Bihar.

The rally was taken out from the Jain Temple in Mithapur and after covering R-Block, Bir Chand Patel Marg, Income Tax roundabout, Dak Bungalow Crossing, Exhibition Road, Bakerganj, Kadam Kuan, arrived at the Congress Maidan where it turned into a public meeting.

Pradeep Jain, a senior office-bearer of the Jain Sangh in Patna, expressed his disappointment with the state government for not declaring Mahavir Jayanti a state holiday.

"Jains have only one day in a year to celebrate their faith and that too was taken away by the state government. This is highly troubling since Bihar is the birth place of Lord Mahavir," Pradeep Jain said adding the government was clearly ignoring the religious sentiments of the Jains in Bihar.

Featuring elephants, horses, and local bands, the rally included thousands of devotees chanting religious hymns with women outnumbering men in large number.

Following the rally, the Jains visited the school for blinds and fed the students.

community in Delhi demands minority status

By Madhusree ChatterjeeNew Delhi, April 20 (IANS) The Jain community in the capital is raising the pitch for minority status on par with the Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Muslims and Parsis, listed as notified minority groups under the Delhi Minorities Commission Act, 1999. Members of the community say they want minority status primarily because they want to incorporate Jainism, the religion of the community, as a subject in Jain schools. The capital and its adjoining areas have eight Jain schools.

They are not being able teach Jainism to their children because most of the Jain schools in Delhi are partially funded by the government, which doesn’t allow the teaching of any particular religion at schools unless it is a minority community.

“The government is ignoring the community. We want minority status as enshrined (under Article 25) in the Indian Constitution, which empowers the government to accord minority status to six marginal ethno-religious groups, so that we can teach Jainism to our children in schools run by us. We don’t want reservations in jobs or in education,” Chakresh Jain, head of the Delhi Jain Samaj, told IANS.

Members of the Jain Samaj had assembled at Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s home Saturday to celebrate Mahavir Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Lord Mahavira, the last of the Jain spiritualists. Mahavira was born 2,604 years ago in Vaishali (now in Bihar).
Chakresh Jain said children of the community here were losing touch with their traditional culture because they were not being taught Jainism in schools.

The community, comprising mostly businessmen, trace their lineage to Lord Adinath, a seer-king who preached non-violence, tolerance, vegetarianism and the importance of karma and literacy during the Vedic Age (2nd-6th century B.C.).

The members of the Jain community in the capital are traditionally jewellers by profession with the highest literacy rate.

Till the middle of the last century, the community lived in the old walled city of the capital. According to official estimates, there are 480,000 Jains in Delhi.

The Jain community is known for its social work and service in the sphere of education.
Underscoring the need for minority status, Chakresh Jain said Jains were included in the list of minorities in seven states across the country - Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal (which enacted a law to bring the community under the minority fold three weeks ago). According to 2001 Census, the Jain community forms .45 percent of the population.

“Delhi is one of the few states where the Jain community has nor been granted minority status,” he said.

According to Jaipur-based Jain scholar Hukam Chand Bharill, “Jainism as a religion is older than Buddhists, Sikhism and Islam”.

Bharill has authored 66 books on Jain spirituality and way of life.

“Sikhism, the dominant religion of Punjab, is barely 500-years-old whereas you will find mention of the Jain community in the Vedas. The ancient Indian scriptures acknowledge Rishab Dev, hailed as the first Jain guru,” the scholar told IANS, arguing in favour of minority status for the community in Delhi.

“One must not forget that Lord Mahavira’s grandfather, the ruler of Vaishali, propounded the concept of a republic (Loktantra),” Bharill said.

Bharill runs 400 Jain elementary night schools across the country (known as Vitrag Vigyan Pathshala), which churn out nearly 500 Jain scholars every year.

“We want to teach our children compassion, good behaviour, health and hygiene in school, according to Jain tradition. But we cannot do so because the government provides aid to most of our education institutions in the country. Minority status would solve the problem. But we will never teach our children to look down upon other religions,” he said.

The Jain community, who don’t like to be clubbed with Hindus, have their own temples, texts, religious mores, food habits and deities. Like Buddhism, the group is divided into two sects - the Shwetambar and Digambar folds.

“We do not believe in Jagatguru Shankaracharya, we have our own spiritual identity,” Chakresh Jain said.

CM assures people of erecting new statue of Bhagvan Mahavir at Mollem

NT News Service
Ponda, March 31 The police have failed to achieve any breakthrough in the case of disfiguring of the Lord Mahavir statue, reported on March 27 at Nandrem, Mollem. This has triggered tension among the members of the Jain community who were forced to meet the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat.

Mr Kamat has assured a delegation of Jain community that the statue of Bhagvan Mahavir erected along the Karnataka-Goa highway in Mollem would be replaced with a new one.
Mr Kamat made this assurance during his visit to Mollem to see for himself the reported damage caused to the statue by unknown miscreants. He instructed the police to pursue the case seriously and book the culprits as early as possible. The Forest Minister, Mr Filip Neri Rodrigues, accompanied Mr Kamat.

Mr Omkar Singh, chief conservator of forests, senior officials of forests and police departments were present on the occasion.

The Chief Minister during the course of discussions with the delegation who handed over the memorandums to him and Mr Rodrigues said that the existing statue of Bhagvan Mahavir would be shifted to the state museum.

The statue, according to information, was installed at the entrance of the  National Park of Mollem Wild Life Sanctuary.

It may be noted that in the past too, a case of desecration of idols was reported here in areas under the Collem police station.

  The Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat, Forest Minister, Mr Filipe Neri Rodrigues alongwith the police and forest officials taking a stock of the damaged Lord Mahavir at the Mollem Wildlife Sanctuary on Monday.

Ancient Abbakkadevi Basadi resurrected

By Team Mangalorean
Photographs: Rajesh Shetty

ULLAL, March 21, 2008: The 16th century old Chowta Rani Ullal Abbakkadevi Basadi a hallowed place of worship has been renovated and is ready to be handed over the Ullal people according to the chairman of the Apex Bank of Karnataka and a prominent Jain leader M.N. Rajendra Kumar here today.

Addressing a press conference here today Mr.Kumar stated that the 500 year old Basadi was a revered praying shrine for the Jains of Dakshina Kannada. This shrine is stated to have received the queen of Ullal Abbakka Rani during her life time in 16th century.

Mr.Kumar said as a sign of completion of the renovation the ritualistic programmes including "panchakalyan mahotsav", will be held for five days starting from March 23. Mr. Kumar outlining the works taken up by the Trust of the shrine said that the shrine had artistically beautiful depiction of Parshwanath and Aadinatha carved in black granite which had however been mutilated during the last five hundred years. But the Trust had taken pains to replace the idols with the same beauty and same material. The shrine now wears the historical splendour Mr.Kumar added.

Mr.Kumar acknowledging the phenomenal interest shown by the Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala Dr. Veerendra Heggade said that the Dharmotthana Trust of the Dharmasthala temple had taken personal interest in renovating the shrine. However the minor shrine outside the main Shrine belonging to the Kshetrapala has been renovated with the help from the people he added. Charukirthi Panditacharyavarya swamiji of the Moodbdiri Jain Math will perform the Panchakalyana ritual on that day he informed.

Global Vectra to focus on Religious Tourism

By Anita Jain Mumbai

Global Vectra Helicorp Ltd. (GVHL), part of UK-based USD 700 million Vectra Group, is all set to focus on the Religious Tourism circuit in India starting with North India. According to Lt. Gen. (Retd) S J S Saighal, Chairman, GVHL, "There is a huge demand for helicopter services for the religious circuit of India. We have already received approval from Uttar Pradesh (UP) government to operate on these religious circuits and the sanction from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government is still awaited. Starting May this year, we are going to flag off the UP service and hopefully by June, we can start the J&K services, if we receive an approval for the same." The company is also expanding the fleet size for the same.

The demand for helicopters for the religious circuit within India is huge. "We are just trying to meet the ever increasing demand in this sector. The main focus in UP will be the Buddhist Circuit," added Saighal. Religious sites like Kushinagar, Sarnath and Sravasti will be focused on a large scale in UP, while Vaishnodevi in Jammu will be in focus. "Other sites like Badrinath, Tirupati Temple, Kedarnath will also be included," stated Saighal.

The company is investing about USD 65 million to expand the offshore operations in India. As a part of fleet expansion plans, the company will induct two Bell 412 for offshore operations and one EC 135 helicopter for onshore operations for which it is investing USD 26 million. The EC 135 helicopter is due for delivery in May this year along with PA 335 P3, while the two Bell 412s will be inducted by December 2008. In 2009 -10, four EC 155 along with three B3's will also be included in the operations. According to Saighal, by 2010 -11, the company will receive the delivery of three EC 135 and 12 EC 175 helicopters. Currently, the company operates 20 Bell 412.

GVHL is India's largest dedicated off-shore air logistics support helicopter company. Headquartered in Mumbai, the Rs 300 Crore company serves the E&P efforts of the country's oil industry on both sides of the Indian sub-continent from the main base at Juhu Airport and forward bases at Bhubaneshwar,Vishakapatnam and Rajamundry.

Mudbidri: 'Bimba Shuddhi' Rituals Begin at Thousand Pillar Basadi

Daijiworld Media Network - Moodbidri (GA)
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje

Moodbidri, Apr 12: 'Bimba Shuddhi' and 'Dhama Samprokshana' of the Thousand Pillar Basadi at Jain Kashi here began on Friday April 11. The rituals will be held till Sunday April 13. This marks the end of the renovation of the 15th century Basadi.

"Thorana Muhurtha" for "Bimba Shuddhi"(cleansing of the statue) of Chadraprabha Swami and "Dhama Samprokshana"( cleansing of the premises) of Thribhuvana Thilaka Chudamani( Thousand Pillars) Basadi were held in the presence of Cahrukeerthi Bhattaraka Swami of Moodbidri Jain Math and Dhavalakeerthi Bhattaraka Swami of Arihanthagiri.
The Basadi was renovated jointly by Shree Jain Math, Dharmothana Trust of Shree Dharmasthala and ITACT together with the help of philanthropists and others.

JAINA Announces ‘Ellis Island’ Honor to Dr. Dhiraj Shah

By LISA TSERING India-West Staff Reporter Dr. Dhiraj H. Shah, a retired radiologist near Buffalo, NY, has been selected as a recipient of the 2008 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, according to a Mar. 24 press release from Jaina, the Federation of Jain Associations in North America. Shah, who became one of the first Indian Americans to win conscientious objector status in 1970 when he refused to fight during the Vietnam War, has long worked for peace. Asked by a reporter if he would use this opportunity to make a statement about the state of world peace, Shah said, "Absolutely." "There is no question that I will speak out for peace," the 64-year-old Shah told India-West April 1 from his home in Grand Island, NY. "All my life, I have tried to help the disadvantaged and underprivileged." He will receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor at a ceremony May 10 on Ellis Island in New York City. The Ellis Island Medals of Honor are given out each year by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations Foundation, Inc., at the location in which millions of immigrants historically first set foot on United States soil. According to a statement on the NECO Web site, the awards are "designed to pay homage to the immigrant experience, as well as for individual achievement. The honorees are remarkable Americans who exemplify outstanding qualities in both their personal and professional lives, while continuing to preserve the richness of their particular heritage." This year's recipients have not been publicly named (and a NECO representative could not be reached by press time), but Dilip V. Shah, president of Jaina, contacted India-West with the news and a copy of the letter from NECO to Dhiraj Shah. It is not known how many individuals will receive this year's Medal of Honor. Shah was awarded the Jain Ratna award in 2001 by Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee, and has also been quite active in Indian American, Jain and medical groups here and in India. He earned medical degrees at Gujarat University and at State University of New York before becoming a Fellow of the International College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. A past president of Jaina and the current chairman of Jaina's World Community Service program, Shah is on the boards of the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls and the India Association of Buffalo, and is a trustee with the Hindu Cultural Society of Western New York. He has been a director of Jaina for 20 years and has a long and impressive list of humanitarian activities to his name that includes helping Tsunami, drought, flood and earthquake victims; donating hundreds of thousands of dollars of medical equipment to clinics in India; building a school in Andamans/Nicobar Island for Tsunami-affected youth, and many, many other projects. In January 2008 he traveled to Kucch, Gujarat, to participate in a medical camp, where he treated hundreds of indigent patients. "Human beings are blessed by the Lord with the power of empathy, so that we can feel the pain of other human beings," he told India-West. "I just try to help others."

:by indiawest

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K.P. Jain Becomes TN Director General of Police

Chennai, March 31: K.P. Jain , IPS, took charge today as the new Director General of Police in place of P. Rajendran, IPS, who had retired today.

Mr. Jain, who belongs to the 1971 batch of IPS officers, prior to this appointment was Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation.

He started his career as Assistant Superintendent of Police (Training), Salem, and served in various capacities including SP Madurai (South and North), Vigilance and Anti-Corruption and Railways.

Deputed to the Intelligence Bureau in 1983 as Assistant Director, Mr. Jain rose to the position of Joint Director in the organisation.

Mr. Jain addressing the media after assuming charge, said ''I don't foresee a law and order problem (in the wake of BJP in Karnataka politicising the issue and a Kannada outfit's threat to prevent Tamil Nadu buses from entering Karnataka),''If it occurs, we will handle it,'' he added.
He also dismissed reports of LTTE activities in Tamil Nadu and said ''I cannot not comment on it now as I assumed charge just now.'' Mr Jain, however, put his foot down on tackling the menace of rowdyism in the state and said it would be one of the tasks of the police.

''We will identify the people indulging in anti-social acts like extortion and goondaism, prepare a district-wise list, monitor their movements and deal with them sternly,'' he added.
He also parried a question on revival of naxal activity in the state in the wake of arms theft at a police station and detonator explosion in a railway track near Oothangarai, once a hot-bed for naxal activity, and said ''we are well prepared to cope with the problem.'' He said the Police Department had taken a serious note of the recent theft of arms from Adhiyamankottai police station. - Staff Reporter

A Feel For Jainism

Jinal Shah

Mumbai, March 23 It has made it to the bestsellers' list among the visually impaired in India. And now, several manuscripts from Jain literature are all set to be translated into English and then put on the Braille system for blind people living abroad and harbouring an interest in Jainism.

Four years ago, the Blind Graduate Forum of India, a body comprising 700 members—all graduates and all visually impaired—who assist blind students get through their graduation, had discussed an idea. Considering the population of students learning about Jainism though various courses, including certificate courses, diploma courses as well as the MA or PhD level courses, the number of Braille books available on the subject was abysmal.

"When I was a kid, I had read a Braille book on Jainism. So, when the idea struck us at the forum, we approached a social group comprising doctors," says Hasmukh Shah, president of the Blind Graduate Forum of India.

At the forefront of this silent effort is Dr Bipin Doshi, a doctor with a flourishing practice as a private physician in Borivali. His love for Jainism, however, forced him to also take on the mantle of a full-time professor of Jainism at Mumbai University. When contacted by the Blind Graduate Forum who had zeroed down on the idea of converting Jain literature into Braille form, Doshi and the others had to decide on what texts should be converted first. "We consulted an 87-year-old Jain scholar at Navsari near Ahmedabad. We then decided to convert two of the oldest books, the Panch Pratikaman Sutra and 24 Jinvandana," says Dr Doshi.

Four years ago, it was merely an idea. Today, Jainism has reached 500 visually impaired individuals across India, both Jain and non-Jain, for academic purposes, through the efforts of this group.

"The big challenge was to translate the original Ardhmaghdhi language into Hindi. After all, students are taught only the commercially viable languages. Then we had to get everything dotted into Braille," he adds.

This year alone, the demand for literature on Jainism from blind students has increased to 1,200 copies in Braille, from across the country. "It is a no-profit-no-loss venture; we deliver books on demand. Last year, we delivered 500 copies to various institutes in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Calcutta, etc," says Dr Doshi.

The two books are creating immense interest not only among blind academicians in India but those abroad as well. "We have got three letters from visually impaired individuals from the United States and from Europe, all people interested in learning Jainism. We have already started translating the literature into English now," says Dr Doshi..

"Our ultimate goal is to prepare a rich database for blind individuals interested in studying Jain literature," he adds.

Structure with artefacts found below Paharpur site temple

Archaeologists have found another ancient brick-built structure with floor and artefacts under the basement of the main temple at world heritage site Paharpur.

Earlier, two brick-built structures of Gupta dynasty were found during an excavation, according to archaeologists of the Department of Archaeology.

Dr Md Shafiqul Alam, director, Department of Archaeology, said the recently excavated structures were built in pre-Pal period.

"Most probably the structure of temple was built by followers of Jain religion," Alam added.

Nahid Sultana, custodian, Rabindra Kacharibari, Sirajganj and member of the excavation team, said the 2.1-metre width brick-built structure crossed the basement of the main temple built by King Dharmapala in the eighth centaury.

The structure was found in the northeast corner of more than 1,200 years old main temple "Somapura Maha Vihara", which is locally known as Paharpur Monastery.

Md Mahabub-ul-Alam, assistant custodian, Paharpur Museum and excavation team member, said a huge number of potsherds have been found under the monastic cell no-21 in the northeast corner of the Vihara.

Probably, these were used over 1,500 years ago, said Mahabub, adding that it is likely to be the first habitation over the virgin soil in this area.

World famous archaeologist Dr KN Dikshit believes there was a Jain monastery at Paharpur but no traces have survived.

Archaeologists of the archaeology department believe the recently discovered structure was the part of the Jain temple.

There has so far been no structural existence of Jain temples in Bangladesh. But Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang saw several Jain structures during his visit to Pundranagar in Bogra and adjacent areas in 639-645 AD, said Mahabub.

Jharkhand Tourism: Moving ahead through PPP

The Madhu Kora Government in Jharkhand has accorded top-most priority to promotion of tourism in the state. The state plans to globally promote all the facets of tourism, be it eco, spiritual or rural. The mission being to put the state firmly on the global tourism map by 2010. On an average 30-35 lakh domestic tourists visit Jharkhand every year during the peak tourist season. Of this, 25 lakh visit Deoghar, which is famous for religious tourism. Domestic tourists generally come from neighbouring West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Deoghar or Baidyanath Dham is an important pilgrim centre of the state. Scores of pilgrims visit the temple on foot travelling for around 100 km during the month of Shravan (July-August as per the English calendar) to pay their obeisance to Lord Shiva.

Speaking on the state's tourism plans and initiatives, Dipak Singh, Director-Tourism and Managing Director, Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation (JTDC) said, "We are looking for partners for progress. The State Government is also keen on improving tourism infrastructure in the state, it is facilitating the creation of tourist bungalows, yatri niwas, lodges, budget category hotels, wayside facilities and resorts with private participation on a PPP (Public-Private-Partnership) model."

The state government aims to set up more budget hotels in the state under the PPP model. Presently, JTDC is refurbishing its existing properties, as well as improving on the road network, electricity and air connectivity to the state capital. Few private airlines have started their operations from Ranchi, connecting the state capital with other important metros. JTDC is also contemplating to offer land at concessional rates to hospitality groups for construction of hotels and other wayside facilities.

To attract more foreign tourists into Jharkhand, the state government has also identified the famous Ranchi-Netarhat-Betla circuit for developing tourism and also an inter-religious circuit in Parasnath temple. Situated at 4431 ft above sea level, Parasnath also known as Samved Shikhar is the most sacred place of the Jains and attracts Jain tourists throughout the year. It is the highest hill in the state and is about 190 km from Ranchi, the state capital.

To promote adventure tourism in the state, the Tourism Department is also looking at developing several sites in the state as water sports destinations under the PPP-model.

Jharkhand is undoubtedly a treasure-house of herbal plants and forest resources. More than 1,500 herbal plants are found in the country and a huge chunk of them is found in the State. The state therefore sees an opportunity for eco-tourism.

On the hospitality front, the department has received encouraging feedback from domestic and international hospitality groups to set up star-category and budget hotels in the state. The state has also embarked on an aggressive marketing and promotion exercise. It is participating at major travel and tourism marts in the country and abroad. A high-level delegation from the Department of Tourism visited WTM London and now Jharkhand Tourism will be participating at the forthcoming ITB Berlin event. As part of its marketing exercise, it plans to launch a comprehensive website and tourism information centers in different parts of the country.

NEW SPECIAL COVER ON JAINISM ISSUED AT KOLKATA

On the occasion of 80 years of Shree Swetambar Sthanakvasi Jain Sabha, a special cover has been issued on 10th Feb. 2008 at Kolkata. The cover bears a painting of Padmawati Devi. Indian Postal Department provided a special cancellation on this occasion which bears SWASTIKA, GRANTHA and three Ratnatraya - SAMYAK DARSHAN, SAMYAK GYAN, SAMYAK CHARITRA.

- Sudhir Jain,
Universal Cables Ltd.,SATNA (M.P.) 485 005.Phone ; 07672 257121 to 257127Mobile : 9425174190E-mail : mrsudhirjain@ yahoo.comand mrsudhirjain@ hotmail.comWebpage : www.geocities. com/mrsudhirjainWebpage : www.geocities. com/mrsudhirjain

Ancient Abbakkadevi Basadi resurrected

By Team Mangalorean
Photograph: Rajesh Shetty

ULLAL, March 21, 2008: The 16th century old Chowta Rani Ullal Abbakkadevi Basadi a hallowed place of worship has been renovated and is ready to be handed over the Ullal people according to the chairman of the Apex Bank of Karnataka and a prominent Jain leader M.N. Rajendra Kumar here today.

Addressing a press conference here today Mr.Kumar stated that the 500 year old Basadi was a revered praying shrine for the Jains of Dakshina Kannada. This shrine is stated to have received the queen of Ullal Abbakka Rani during her life time in 16th century.

Mr.Kumar said as a sign of completion of the renovation the ritualistic programmes including "panchakalyan mahotsav", will be held for five days starting from March 23. Mr. Kumar outlining the works taken up by the Trust of the shrine said that the shrine had artistically beautiful depiction of Parshwanath and Aadinatha carved in black granite which had however been mutilated during the last five hundred years. But the Trust had taken pains to replace the idols with the same beauty and same material. The shrine now wears the historical splendour Mr.Kumar added.

Mr.Kumar acknowledging the phenomenal interest shown by the Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala Dr. Veerendra Heggade said that the Dharmotthana Trust of the Dharmasthala temple had taken personal interest in renovating the shrine. However the minor shrine outside the main Shrine belonging to the Kshetrapala has been renovated with the help from the people he added. Charukirthi Panditacharyavarya swamiji of the Moodbdiri Jain Math will perform the Panchakalyana ritual on that day he informed.

Woman arrested for attempting to sell an antique Mahavir idol

Express news service

Mumbai, February 20 The Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police on Tuesday arrested a woman for trying to sell a Mahavir idol, suspected to be an antique piece, without a licence to deal in antiques.

Experts from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) are being consulted to ascertain the age and worth of the piece, the police said.

The woman, Jagruti Atul Shah (48), a garment trader and a resident of Borivli, was trying to pawn the item for Rs 4 crore when she was trapped by the Crime Branch officials at her parent's residence at an apartment complex in Tardeo.

"We do not know the exact age and worth of the idol yet, as an expert from the ASI is yet to give us a report on it. However, investigations are on to ascertain where she sourced the idol from, who else is involved in the case, and whether this is an organised racket in antiques," said Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime, Rakesh Maria.

According to the police, the idol — Mahavir in a standing posture — is approximately 7 inches in height and weighs between 9 and 10 kg. It is made of an alloy of five metals.

"Shah was arrested after we received a tip-off that she was looking for buyers for an antique idol. We communicated with her on the phone, set up a deal and sent a dummy customer before arresting her. We do not know much about the idol, but Shah claims that it is at least three centuries old. She demanded Rs 4 crore within seven days. We have booked her under the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act (1972)" said senior police inspector, R Mahale, of Crime Branch Unit 1.

Temple tries again to secure visas

As a Jain house of worship sits unfinished in Bartlett, officials scale back request to allow stonemasons from India into the U.S.

By Russell Working Tribune reporter

March 19, 2008

Over the last 19 months, officials of the Jain temple in Bartlett have spent $35,000 on lawyers and fees in an attempt to import five skilled stonemasons from India to help assemble a new house of worship.

They sent a consultant to Delhi, built a chain-link fence around a stack of marble carvings in the parking lot, and pleaded with immigration authorities for an answer.

Their first attempt to get visas for the workers failed, so temple officials have started the process again, with a smaller request. They found an Indian immigrant in Detroit who is a skilled temple stonemason, meaning visas are needed for just four craftsmen.

The renewed effort comes as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is considering amending regulations for religious worker visas. Hindus and Jains say current regulations are geared toward Judeo-Christian faiths, with an emphasis on priests, cantors and even ritual slaughter supervisors rather than stone carvers.

The Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago is one of a number of Indian religious centers from New York to Hawaii that have struggled to get government approval to bring in the silpis, or stone carvers, who are needed to construct their intricate temples.

For the Jains in Bartlett, the delays resulted in reduced donations, as the leadership was expecting $2 million to $3 million to pour in after the temple dedication. Members are reluctant to give money when they see no progress.

"It's just a nightmare," said Prabodh Vaidya, chairman of the board of trustees.

The federal government is redefining religious workers in ways officials believe may better take into account the concerns of Eastern faiths. In the past, there was a problem with bogus applications, with a government study finding a 33 percent fraud rate, according to Citizenship and Immigration Services.

"The goal is to eliminate the fraud," said CIS spokeswoman Mary Lou Cabrera.

Some temples already are seeing a change in attitude. Construction had stalled last year at Kauai's Hindu Monastery in Hawaii, said Sannyasin Arumugaswami, managing editor of Hinduism Today Magazine. But during a visit to India in February, Arumugaswami said a U.S. official told him to resubmit the documents for the stone carvers, saying it would henceforth consider silpis as religious workers.

The key to the temples' argument is that, although the silpi is not a cleric, he sees his calling as a religious duty in the way a nurse in a Roman Catholic hospital might.

"They say: 'This is our dharma. This is our god-given work," he said. "They take their shoes off before they go to work at the temple. They worship their tools before they start the day. There's an annual festival which is to bless the tools and the work site."

George R. Willy, a Houston attorney who was serving as a consultant for the Bartlett temple in the previous case, said it usually takes a few weeks for a visa to be accepted or denied. But his office spent months trying to pry an answer out of U.S. officials in India.

"In Delhi, we tried and we tried and we tried, and nothing happened," Willy said. "And these officials don't even give these folks [at the temple] even a word about what they were up to and why they were not issuing it."

Before, the temple tried to bring in the workers through an Indian-American contractor. Since that approach failed, they now plan to apply directly to bring in the workers while also hiring the man in Detroit.

"I can control only things that I do," Vaidya said. "I cannot control what other people do. Eventually we have to get this done. And somehow or other, we will get this done."

rworking@tribune.com