Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

's sixth-largest religion and is practiced throughout India. Per the 2011 census, there are 4,451,753 Jains in the 1.35 billion population of India, the majority living in

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

, however, the influence of Jainism has been far greater on the Indian population than these numbers suggest. Jains can be found in every states and union territories, varying from large societies to smaller. The state of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

, with a population of 16,301 Jains also contains the holy pilgrimage centre of Sammed Shikharji.Jain's are all over India and other countries are also adopting Jainism.

History

Jain doctrine teaches that Jainism has always existed and will always exist, Like most ancient

Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of ...

, Jainism has its roots from the

Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...

, reflecting native spirituality prior to the Indo-Aryan migration into India. Other scholars suggested the Shramana traditions were separate and contemporaneous with Indo-Aryan religious practices of the

historical Vedic religion The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subco ...

. In August 2005, the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

ruled that Jainism,

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

(and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

) are distinct religions, but are inter-connected and inter-related to

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, so these three are part of wider broader Hindu religion, based on the historic background on how the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

had come into existence after. However, in the 2006 verdict,

found that the "Jain Religion is indisputably not a part of the Hindu Religion".

Status in India

On January 20, 2014, the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

awarded the minority status to the Jain community in India, as per Section 2(c) of the

National Commission for Minorities The Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. Six religious communities, viz; Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains have been no ...

(NCM) Act (NCM), 1992. This made the Jain community which makes for 9.5 million or 0.72 percent of the population as per 2011 census, the sixth community to be designated this status as a "national minority", after Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis. Though Jains already had minority status in 11 states of India including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, in 2005 a petition was filed with Supreme Court of India, by community representatives, which was also backed by the National Minorities Commission. In its judgement the court left the decision to the Central government.

Jainism by state

Jainism as a religion exists throughout India. Jainism also varies from state to state, but the core values are the same. *

Jainism in Assam Assam, a state in north eastern India has had a long association with Jainism. Today the state is home to a number of Jain monuments, such as Jain temples and Jain tirths. History Surya Pahar in the Goalpara district of Assam has several Jai ...

Jainism in Bengal Archaeological evidence shows Jainism was a significant religion in Bengal during the early historic period. Sarak Saraks are a Jain community in Bihar, Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand. They have been followers of Jainism since ancient times; ho ...

* Jainism in Bihar *

Jainism in Bundelkhand Bundelkhand, a region in central India, has been an ancient center of Jainism. It covers northern part of Madhya Pradesh and southern western part of Uttar Pradesh. Bundelkhand was known as Dasharna or Jaijakabhukti in ancient times. The Be ...

Jainism in Delhi Delhi is an ancient centre of Jainism, home to over 165 Jain temples. Delhi has a large population of Jains spread all over the city. It has had continued presence of a Jain community throughout its history, and it is still a major Jain cent ...

Jainism in Gujarat Jainism has had a notable following in Gujarat. According to the 2011 Census of India, around 0.959% of the population of Gujarat is Jain. There are several old Jain temples that draw pilgrims from Jains around the world in places such as Palitan ...

( Gujarati Jain) *

Jainism in Rajasthan Rajasthan, a state in western India, has had a close historical connection with Jainism. Southwestern Rajasthan was the main centre for Svetambara Jainism. Major Digambara centres are in the northern and eastern parts of Rajasthan. Central an ...

( Marwari Jain) * Jainism in Karnataka (Kannada Jain) * Jainism in Kerala *

Jainism in Maharashtra Jainism has been present in Maharashtra since ancient times. The famous Ellora Caves demonstrate that Jainism was part of a thriving religious culture in Maharashtra in premodern times. History Jainism in Maharashtra has a long history. The ...

( Marathi Jain) *

Jainism in Mumbai Mumbai has one of the largest populations of Jainism, Jains among all the cities in India. Mumbai also has numerous Jain temples. One of the best known is the Babu Amichand Panalal Lord Rishabha, Adishwarji Jain Temple, Walkeshwar (Malabar Hi ...

* Jainism in Nagaland * Jainism in North Karnataka *

Jainism in Tamil Nadu Jainism has an extensive history in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, although practiced by a minority of Tamils in contemporary times. According to the 2011 India Census, Jains represent 0.12% of the total population of Tamil Nadu, and are of ...

( Tamil Jain) *

Jainism in Tulu Nadu The Jain Bunt are the Jainists of Bunt caste from Tulunaad area of India. It has been said that the Jain Bunts also have the highest per capita income in India. They have a feudal and martial race heritages, because of ties to the erstwhile ...

( Jain Bunt) *

Jainism in Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh, a state in north India has a long association with Jainism. Today the state is home to a number of Jain monuments, such as Jain Temples and Jain Tirths. There are around 213,267 Jains in Uttar Pradesh according to 2011 Census o ...

Census of India, 2011

District wise Jain population percentage India census 2011

Notes

References