Protest against blast of an ancient (1000 yr old) idol of Aadinath Jina at ALLUR (Karnataka)

 

हम जानते है कि रक्षाबंधन धरम की रक्षा का पर्व है, आपने कई बार सुना या पढ़ा ही होगा किस प्रकार 700 जैन मुनिराजो कि रक्षा हुई थी, आज फिर धर्म के लिए वैसा ही कुछ कर दिखाने का अवसर हमारे पास (सिर्फ हमारे पास) आया है-घटना इस प्रकार है- पिछले सप्ताह मोक्ष सप्तमी के दिन अलुर (जिला- गुलबर्गा – कर्नाटक) में कुछ समाजकंटको ने आदिनाथ प्रभु की १००० वर्ष प्राचीन जिन प्रतिमा बारूद से तोड़ दी- कई जगह धरने और प्रदर्शन हो रहे है, कर्णाटक में – किन्तु क्या हमें इस मामले में चुप रहना चाहिए- बिलकुल नहीं – आज जो अवसर आया है धर्म रक्षा का, रक्षाबंधन के इस शुभ पर्व पर – आइये हाथ से हाथ मिलाये..धर्म का साथ निभाए..नीचे पढ़े आपको क्या और किस प्रकार करना है |आपको कुछ नहीं करना है- बस ये नीचे लिखी इ-मेल नीचे दिए गए इ-मेल पतों पर भेजनी है – बस हो गया | एक एक करके नीचे लिखे पांचो ईमेल पतों पर भेज दे या फिर एक साथ भी भेज सकते है | और हा भेजने से पहले ईमेल में अपना नाम और शहर का नाम भी लिख दे ताकि उन्हें पता चले कि जैन हर जगह है और जागरूक भी है |

You can also sign online petition here- just click here login with FB id and it is done.

Fwd this email to everyone.
Draft of email:

Sir,It was really sad to hear/read the news of desecration of the 1000 years idol of Lord Adinatha (July 25, 2012 – on the holy day of Lord Parshwanath’s nirvan day) in front of the Jain Temple in Allur village of Chitapur taluk of Gulbarga district. We all are shocked-not only Jains but all who read it. After all it was a 1000 years old and very important heritage and also a remembrance of the great past of Rashtrakutas and Jainism.It is really shame on those miscreants who blasted the idol using dynamite. We request you personally and to the state government to arrest the miscreants and punish them and provide security to all Jain centers in the state, especially on such places like Allur where no or very less Jains reside.Please sir – do the needful as soon as possible- we are already belongs to minority religion- govt must secure our heritage and our minority rights.

Thanks,
YOUR Name and Address

इन पतों पर भेजना है –पुलिस अधीक्षक – गुलबर्गा- इ-मेल: sp-gulbarga@karnataka.gov.in Ph: 08472- 263602 / 263604 जिनके पास ईमेल नहीं है वो कृपया फ़ोन करे और अपना विरोध दर्ज कराये |

मुख्यमंत्री कर्नाटक- इ-मेल chiefminister@karnataka.gov.in
गृह मंत्री कर्नाटक – इ-मेल: min-home@karnataka.gov.in
कानून मंत्री – कर्नाटक इ-मेल: min-lawjushr@karnataka.gov.in
अल्पसंख्यक मंत्री- कर्नाटक इ-मेल: min-minortywelf@karnataka.gov.inआपका धन्यवाद् | 

Ahimsa, Jains, and the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan

1325 North College Avenue

Claremont, CA 91711

(909) 962-6800

www.ClaremontLincoln.org

Office of the Provost

May 29, 2012

RE: Ahimsa, Jains, and the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan

Jai Jinendra to our Jain Friends and Colleagues,

In 2011, Claremont Lincoln University inaugurated its Jain Studies program, partnering with the International School for Jain Studies (ISJS), the Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA), and the Jain Center of Southern California (JCSC).

In our first quarter, we have made remarkable strides together. Seven students from Claremont departed for India this week to take part in the ISJS summer education program. Prior to their departure, these students, along with six others, visited the Jain Center of Southern Californis to participate in puja and an aarti.

A group of students began digitally recording existing Jain lectures to create an online resource for Jains and scholars of Jainism around the world. Over 100 books were generously donated to the university library to increase our Jain holdings. The first International Jain Conference on Bioethics will be held at Claremont in August 2012, and the first course, “Applied Jainism: Bioethics Among the Dharma Traditions,” will be taught in Fall 2012. Many of these actions were made possible by a grant that we were awarded by the

prestigious Uberoi Foundation in order to grow the Jain Studies Program and a generous gift from Gurudev and Pramoda Chitrabahnu of Jain Meditation International Center. You can see a full report of the first quarter achievements on the “News and Events” section of our Jain Studies homepage:

http://jain.claremontlincoln.org/. 

We are looking toward the future in which we continue to collaborate with our partners to bring Jainism to Claremont Lincoln classrooms and campus life. Among the upcoming goals are the Oct. 2 celebration of Ahimsa, developing a fully online course, and bringing a Jain temple to campus. It is our goal that

Claremont Lincoln will become one of the primary centers for Jain Studies in North America and around the world.

To that end, Claremont Lincoln is seeking support for a full analysis of Jain nonviolent action during the violent Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. Working closely with Dr. Sulekh Jain and Mr. Dilip Shah, chairmen of the Claremont Lincoln Jain Advisory Council, we have put together the following proposal.

The four of us would be grateful if you could share this letter broadly with friends and colleagues. Only with the support of the Jain community can we research and publicize the courage of Jains during Partition.

Many of the witnesses in India are now quite old. It is urgent that we find and videotape them while they can still describe what they did and saw. Otherwise their stories will never come to light.

Why Study Jains during Partition?

Numerous international conflicts are characterized by recourse to violent solutions, represented most painfully in U.S. foreign policy of the last twenty years. Religious practitioners look for alternative solutions, the oldest of these being the practice of Jain ahimsa, or non-interference. Ahimsa was a core

principle for Gandhi, and later for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. How could the ancient principle of ahimsa be brought to bear on contemporary conflicts? One of the most important test cases for ahimsa is the Partition of India and Pakistan.

The project has four facets. 

The first answers the question, “What is Ahimsa?” 

We will summarize the philosophical, metaphysical, and logical foundations of ahimsa from Jainism, comparing and contrasting Jain theory and practice with the other three Dharma traditions.

The second facet examines case studies of ahimsa in practice, with a special focus on the event of Partition between India and Pakistan, and the actions of Jain practitioners of ahimsa caught at the border. We conduct in-depth research into the behaviors of Jains during this time of crisis. Specifically, through the

Jain community we have the connections that will allow us to locate and make video recordings of Jains who were caught in this crisis of partition. Many of these individuals are at their end of their life now. If the recordings of their experiences are not made within a few years, they will be lost forever.

The third facet of the project is to analyze the video recordings and other raw data to detect patterns in the narratives, self-descriptions, and behaviors. Are there similar ways in which Jains interpreted the dilemmas of partition? Are there recurring patterns in the decisions they made and the actions they took?

The final facet offers applications of ahimsa: personal, within religious communities (including monasteries), non-governmental organizations (including the U.N.), economics, and government. In particular, if patterns emerge in the non-violent responses of Jains during Partition, how could these responses be held up as models for men and women as they face difficult decisions about violence today? It is often said that humans in these situations have “no choice” but to respond to violence with violence. It is our hypothesis that this claim is false, and that creative non-violence remains a live option even in the most

desperate of situations. Our hope is that the results from this Partition Project will offer new data that help to substantiate this hypothesis.

Why Now?

This project is extensive and multi-disciplinary. Given the fact that many of the individuals who experienced Partition are at the end of their life, It is urgent that we find and videotape them in their own voice. we feel that best way forward is to just begin, realizing that the work may progress in strategic phases.

Timeline and Deliverable Outcomes After securing initial funding of $15-25,000, Claremont Lincoln will send 1-3 doctoral students and/or faculty to India in Summer 2013 to begin gathering data, including video interviews. We plan to

collaborate with the 1947 Partition Archive and to use their existing  ethodologies and training for ethnographic research.

From this first phase, we hope to produce:

• a detailed project report, complete with video archive

• several academic papers

• seminars and/or lectures on this topic

• doctoral dissertations

• a semester-long comparative study course on ahimsa across traditions

• a popular book on the subject, describing the courageous acts of Jains during Partition Not only will this research showcase Jain teachings, but it will open the door for concrete dialog with other ahimsa traditions, such as the Quakers and Mennonites. Additionally, a project of this magnitude and scope will require the involvement of Jain scholars and institutions in India as equal collaborators and

researchers. The possibility of turning this research into a book or film remains a lively possibility.

How can you help?

We are seeking donors at the level of $5,000, but any amount will help. Donors will be acknowledged on the Claremont Lincoln Website and in all media publications. We are very happy to announce that we have already received the first gift of $5,000. We hope you will help us achieve the balance. Please make

out your tax-deductible gift in the name of Claremont Lincoln University and send your gifts by July 15, 2012 to:

Claremont Lincoln University

Jain Studies Partition Project

Office of the Provost

1235 N. College Ave.

Claremont CA 91711

We welcome your support on this undertaking. The faculty and students of Clarmont Lincoln are deeply inspired by the depth and uniqueness of Jain belief. The Jain Way of Life is urgently needed in this time of ecological destruction, impersonal globalization, and technological estrangement. This comprehensive

study of Jains living during the violence of Partition may help the world find alternatives to the violent politics of our day.

We hope you will join us in this important and timely project.

In partnership,

Philip Clayton, Provost Brianne Donaldson, Coordinator of Dharma Traditions

Girnar is a Jain Pilgrimage_Disputed site

Temples Of Controversy A dispute between religious heads of Hindu and Jain communities over sacred sites on Mt Girnar threatens to get out of hand, with efforts to resolve it moving from politics to the judiciary

By Uday Mahurkar

PICTURE SPEAK SOFT SPOT: The shrine of Lord Dattatreya which has become a hotbed of religious rivalry This is a mini-Mahabharata in the making. The two warring sides are the religious heads of the Hindu and Jain communities. Their bone of contention: Mount Girnar in Gujarat's Junagarh district. According to the Jains, it is the spot where the Jain Tirthankara Lord Neminath attained nirvana. According to Hindu spiritual leaders, however, Jains are illegally constructing religious structures as part of a grand expansion plan to capture the Girnar hills. That's a motive that Jain leaders also accuse the Hindu mahants, who control the shrines across the various peaks of Girnar, of harbouring. Besides, the mahants are preventing the Jains from worshipping in their shrines, Jain leaders complain. "The authentic history of the place and many other valid sources say that the spot belongs to Lord Datta. The Jains have absolutely no right over the place, legally or otherwise," claims Swami Muktanand, who controls the Datta shrine located on the highest peak of Girnar. Counters Sunil Kumar Jain, the assistant manager of Bandilal Jain Karkhana, a trust which manages some of the Jain religious spots on Girnar, says, "We want Jain pilgrims to be allowed to worship peacefully. Instead, they are often ill-treated by Hindu priests." Though the conflict ranges over an extensive area, the battle is essentially for two spots-the footprint of Datta at the God's shrine on Peak No. 5 and the shrine of the ancient Hindu saint Gorakhnath on Peak No. 3, which also has an imprint of the saint's footprints. The footprints of Gorakhnath are worshipped by Jains as being those of Jain saint Shambhukumarji.    WAR OF WORDS "The spot belongs to Lord Datta and the Jains have no right over the place." SWAMI MUKTANAND CONTROLLER, DATTA SHRINE "Ill-treatment of Jain pilgrims should stop and they should be allowed to worship." SUNIL KUMAR JAIN ASSISTANT MANAGER OF BANDILAL JAIN TRUST Conflict between the Jains and the Hindus started over the mysterious appearance of idols in 2004. The Jains claim that they found an idol of Lord Datta at Peak No. 5, and then discovered another image, of the Hindu deity Ramdev Pir, near the footprints of Gorakhnath. Even as they were voicing their concern over the alleged illegal construction, a Jain sadhu was thrashed by Hindu priests at the Datta shrine for trying to remove flowers from the footprints of the deity, as according to Jain belief, flowers are alive and should not be used for worship. The dispute took an ugly turn when Swami Muktanand filed a case against the Jains for trying to break the idol at Datta's shrine, which he claims has been there for ages. After this, the state Archaeology Directorate also filed two cases against Jain leaders-one against Bandilal Trust, which led to the arrest of Sunil Kumar for trying to build a temple of a Jain goddess near a protected monument dedicated to Jain heroes Vastupal and Tejpal. They have been filed under the law that prevents construction within a 100-metre radius around the protected monument.   PICTURE SPEAK TALL CLAIMS: Statue of Narshi Mehta, a renowned Vaishnava saint, lords over the controversial site The volley of charges from both sides continues to fly thick and fast in Mount Girnar, which is proclaimed by Hindu scriptures to be more sacred than the Himalayas. The mahants allege the Jains have been systematically trying to change the character of the Girnar hills. According to them, many images of Hindu gods and goddesses have been replaced by Jains from the Raa Khengar Mahal, ruins of an ancient palace, with carved images of Jain gods, to give an impression that Girnar is essentially a Jain place of pilgrimage. Says Gopalanand, a Hindu monk, "We are not going to tolerate these moves by the Jains." Ascribing cases of the so-called illegal construction on the part of Jains more to ignorance of laws than any design, Sunil Kumar says: "All we want is that Jain pilgrims be allowed to worship the footprints of Neminathji and Shambhukumarji, in keeping with the Jain tenets, at a fixed time in the day." They allege that Hindu leaders are building a stone door on the path leading to a Jain shrine to block access. "Even the district administration is partial," Sunil Kumar says. Adds Acharya Nirmalsagarji, a Jain sadhu, "The situation is best described by the phrase jiski laathi uski bhains (those who have power can do anything). Though Jain and Hindu leaders met Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in an effort to find an amicable solution to this religious crisis, nothing positive has emerged so far. In fact, attempts at mediation have been obscured in the maze of claims and counter-claims. The conflict has assumed gigantic proportions over the years and now both sides have set their hopes on the Gujarat High Court, whose verdict in this case will be final and abiding. Among the warring leaders, however, there seems to be little concern for tolerance, judicial or otherwise. Holy wars may be decided by a higher court, and this one, judging by the location of the disputed area, is higher than most.