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 being ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

'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,

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 s ...

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 nin ...

and

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

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...

, 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 . ...

, with a population of 16,301 Jains also contains the holy pilgrimage centre of Sammed

Shikharji Shri Sammet Shikharji () is a pilgrimage site in Giridih district, Jharkhand, India. It is located on Parasnath hill, the highest mountain in the state of Jharkhand. It is the most important Jain Tirtha (pilgrimage site) by both Digambara an ...

.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 The Indo-Aryan migrations were the migrations into the Indian subcontinent of Indo-Aryan peoples, an ethnolinguistic group that spoke Indo-Aryan languages, the predominant languages of today's North India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lank ...

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 fr ...

(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 po ...

, 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 princip ...

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 noti ...

(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 Jain ...

* Jainism in Bengal *

Jainism in Bihar Jainism in Bihar trace a long history since the times of twenty-fourth Tirthankara Mahavira, who was born in Vaishali (ancient city), Vaishali (near Hajipur). The state of Bihar is considered to have played an important role in the development of ...

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 Betw ...

* Jainism in Delhi * Jainism in Gujarat ( Gujarati Jain) * Jainism in Rajasthan (

Marwari Jain Marwari may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the Marwar region of Rajasthan, India * Marwari people, an Indian ethnic group originating in the Marwar region * Marwari language, the language of the Marwari people * Marwari, Iran, a villa ...

) *

Jainism in Karnataka Karnataka, a state in South India has a long association with Jainism, a religion which enjoyed patronage of major historic kingdoms in the state such as the Rastrakuta Dynasty, Western Ganga Dynasty, Western Ganga, Kadamba Dynasty, Kadamba and ...

(Kannada Jain) * Jainism in Kerala * Jainism in Maharashtra ( Marathi Jain) * Jainism in Mumbai * Jainism in Nagaland *

Jainism in North Karnataka Jainism in North Karnataka flourished under the Chalukyas, Kadamba, Rashtrakutas, and Vijayanagara empire. Imbued with religious feeling, patronage was extended towards the building of Jain temple and it garnered high repute among the people, ...

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 Tamil Jains ( Tamil Samaṇar, from Prakrit '' samaṇa'' "wandering renunciate") are Tamils from Tamil Nadu, India, who practice Jainism (Tamil ). The Tamil Jain is a microcommunity of around 85,000 (around 0.13% of the population of Tamil Na ...

) * Jainism in Tulu Nadu ( Jain Bunt) * Jainism in Uttar Pradesh

Census of India, 2011

District wise Jain population percentage India census 2011

Notes

References