Indore (Madhya Pradesh): In order to make their “voice heard” by the administration, members of the Jain society staged a silent protest.
Members of the Jain community are protesting across the country against their prime religious shrine Sammed Shikharji in Jharkhand having been listed as a tourist destination — they fear it'll hurt the place's sacredness. Though the declaration is not new, the protests have led to the Centre asking the state how it can be modified.
Sammed Shikharji, atop Parasnath Hill in Giridih district, is considered the biggest pilgrimage site by both the Digambar and Svetambara sects of the Jains.
Meanwhile, members of the Jain community in Indore gathered at the Regal Square on January 5.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
MP Shankar Lalwani, MLA Mahendra Hardia, and MLA Akash Vijayvargiya also participated in the silent protest. Holding aloft banners and placards, they expressed their resentment silently.
MP Lalwani said the Jain community has demanded that Sammed Shikharji should not be declared a tourist destination. It is a holy place and a matter of faith. The central government has also written to the Jharkhand government in this regard. He said, “The Jharkhand government should reconsider the matter and it should be declared as a place of pilgrimage. We all are with the Jain Samaj. We demand that Sammed Shikharji should not be declared as a tourist destination.”
Protests have, meanwhile, intensified after a Jain saint, Muni Sugyeya Sagar, who was on a hunger strike in Rajasthan's Jaipur, died on Tuesday. Community leaders claimed he died as “martyr for the cause”.
Demonstrations have been held in several cities of UP, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, besides in Mumbai and at the India Gate in national capital Delhi.
In Indore too, there’s a lot of resentment. Rajkumar Patodi of the Digambar Jain Samaj said, “Our sage Mahatma was sitting on a fast regarding the matter and died. It is an extremely unfortunate incident for the entire country. The government must reconsider its decision and Sammed Shikharji should be declared a holy pilgrimage site.”
.jpeg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
