Explained: Why is the Jain community protesting against Jharkhand government

Thousands of members of the Jain community held protests in several cities across India, including Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, on Wednesday. They have been protesting against the Jharkhand government's decision to declare Sammed Shikharji an eco-tourism place. The place is located in the state's Giridih district. In Delhi, the protesters demanded to meet President Droupadi Murmu in order to apprise her of their demands. The community also held demonstrations in Ahmedabad, calling for justice against criminals accused of desecrating the revered Shetrunjaya Hills in the state's Bhavnagar district.

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Protests in Delhi regarding Shri Sammed Shikharji:
Shri Sammed Shikharji is considered to be one of the holy places of Jain. It is located on Parasnath Hills in Jharkhand’s Giridih district. The Jain community believes that religious tourism will impact the sanctity of the site whereas the state government thinks otherwise. The site is important for both the Digambara and Shwetambara Jains as 20 out of 24 Jain Tirthankaras along with their monks attained moksha in the place. 

The Jharkhand government decided to convert the site into a tourist spot as part of its tourism policy which was announced in July 2022. 

The Jain community wrote to the chief secretary of the Government of Jharkhand in November urging to declare the temple a holy place since it is one of the highest places of pilgrimage of the Jain religion. However, no actions have been taken in this regard. 

Protests in Ahemdabad regarding vandalism at Shetrunjaya Hills:
The Jain community held more than 85 rallies in different parts of the state seeking action against anti-social elements allegedly desecrating the sacred Shetrunjaya Hills i.e., the “charan paduka” of a Jain saint was vandalised at a temple on the hills on November 26. 

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Shatrunjaya Hill, according to members of the Jain community, has turned into a hub for illegal encroachments, liquor dens, and mining operations.

The Shetrunjaya Hill is situated on the banks of the Shetrunji river around 164 feet above sea level, near Palitana city, home to 865 Jain temples and a holy place for Shwetambara Jains. 

The community also presented a memo to the district collector's office with a list of demands. “All illegal activities in the hills such as mining and land grabbing should be stopped and the hills should be mapped to remove illegal construction — these are our main demands,” reported PTI.

According to the reports, the Jain community reached out to the President and Prime Minister of India with their demands. They shared their displeasure over the two incidents and urged them to not covert the holy place of Jains- Shri Sammed Shikharji into a tourist spot. 

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Jharkhand finance minister Dr Rameshwar Oraon claimed that though the decision to convert the place into a tourist spot was taken for the state’s own benefit since its hurting the religion of the community, the issue will be revisited. 

The commission will hold a hearing on 17 January 2023 at 3 pm, as per Outlook India.