Jains protest Jharkhand govt move on ‘sacred’ Shikharji

NEW DELHI: After the Jharkhand government declared Shri Sammed Shikharji a tourist place, Jains all around India are observing a silent march protest. Shri Sammed Shikharji, also called Parshwanath Parwath, is located in Giridih district in Jharkhand. According to Jain religious belief, 20 out of 24 Jain Tirthankaras and monks attained moksha here.
Jains from Karnataka, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh are observing silent protests at various locations. Recently, North-East Delhi Member of Parliament, Manoj Tiwari, and Saharanpur Member of Parliament Haji Fazlur Rehman took up this issue in Parliament. While addressing Lok Sabha, MP Manoj Tiwari said, “The Jharkhand government’s decision has directly impacted the piousness of Sammed Shikhar. The Jharkhand government has declared this place as an eco-spot and converted it into a picnic spot. Because of this, devotees will face problems in future.”
MP Haji Fazlur Rehman said in Lok Sabha, “In Jharkhand state’s Giridih district, there is a place called Chota Nagpur, where Jains have Parshwanath Parwath, also called Sammed Shikhar, and the recent decision has hurt the feelings of Jain community. Jain people want that this order should be revoked.” Jains in Dakshin Karnataka and Mysuru held protests. In Mysuru, hundreds of people from the community participated in the silent and peaceful march from Gandhi Square to the DC Office, passing through Ashoka Road, Irwin Road and JLB Road to submit a memorandum to the Jharkhand government. In Dakshina Kannada district, a silent protest was observed and a march from thousand pillar Basadi to Swarajya maidan in Moodbidri was taken out. In Madhya Pradesh, too, Jains in large numbers protested, and members from the community marched in Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Narmadapuram, Gwalior, Sagar and Khandwa as part of the nationwide “Save Shikharji” campaign. The Sunday Guardian talked to one of the protesters in MP. “Sammed Shikharji is a sacred pilgrimage of Jains. According to Jains, every particle of Sammed Shikharji is very sacred. The Jain community visits Sammed Shikharji and goes to temples spread over an area of 27 km and worship. Jains eat and drink water only after worship. Any kind of anti-social activity there can hurt the sanctity of that holy place and the faith of Jains,” said Manish Jain, a protestor from Shivpuri MP.
Not only in central India and South India, Jains are also protesting in the national capital. Vishwa Jain Sangathan has organized a fast-until-death protest at Risabh Vihar. While talking to The Sunday Guardian, Sanjay Jain of Vishwa Jain Sangathan said: “There is no protocol followed at Parshwanath Parwath, many people go there as a tourist. We need protocols like Mata Vaishno Devi. There is no check post, barricading or CCTV camera and anybody can enter; this is making our religious place impious.”
He also asked why the Jharkhand government had not brought the notification publicly in 2018. “When the gazette notification was released in 2018 by the Jharkhand government, why was it not published in two newspapers, according to rules and why was it only limited to the website?” questioned Jain. According to Jain, they will protest peacefully until their demands are met by the government.