Paper ISSJS - Indias last minority: Campaigning for Jain Minority Status

India’s last minority Final Paper ISSJS 2014 Tine Vekemans

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India’s last minority Campaigning for Jain minority status


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India’s last minority Campaigning for Jain minority status

Tine Vekemans

Abstract

In January 2014, the government of India granted national minority status to the Jain

community. This makes them the 6th community to acquire this status, after the Muslim,

Christian, Buddhist, Sikh and Parsi communities. There may be several reasons for the time

gap between the recognition of these other religions as the basis of minority community, and

Jainism. This paper seeks to explore the historical precedents and the recent campaign for

minority status, its negotiations through legal and political channels, and its possible

consequences.

After giving a brief introduction into the concept of Minority Status in India, I will explore

the history of the Jain claim to minority status as it is enunciated in colonial times, at the time

of the draft of the Indian Constitution and in recent times. Next, I will identify the different

interpretations of and arguments for Jain minority status as expressed by prominent

members of the Jain community. In conclusion, I will explore the different reactions from

within the Jain community and from other factions in Indian society (such as political parties,

militant organizations, and opinion pages in newspapers) and I will look at some of the

possible implications of the government of India’s decision to grant minority status to the

Jain community in the fields of education, archeology and renovation of temples and

political awareness.

This paper will use data derived from a personal communication with prominent

campaigners of Jain minority status, news-paper articles, pamphlets and legal texts.

***


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Introduction: Group rights and minorities

Whereas certain individual (human) rights have been more or less universally accepted,

group rights, both cultural and social, have been subject to a more intense public and

political debate. It is argued by some that in a secular democratic system, where the

government takes care to ensure the individual (human) rights of all its citizens, group rights

will automatically follow. Separate legislation, positive discriminatory measures such as

reservations, and the granting of greater autonomy to cultural minority groups are in this

view seen at best as unnecessary, at worst as counter-democratic measures that stand in the

way of a merit-based economy.

I am getting quite sick of Congress and its divisive politics. It is time the people of

India stop seeing each other as part of hundreds of different communities. We are all

one and no one person should avail benefits because he/she is part of a different

community. Is it not violation of equality if some people are given special benefits just

because they belong to a particular community? We need a strong leader to stop this

nonsense. It is not as if every Hindu Brahman in the world is highly educated and

flowing with riches. Why cannot the government focus on uplifting everyone equally

instead of granting minority status to idiot people who like to grovel and beg for extra

benefits?

26-01-2014 Pradeep1

On the other hand, when one places the emphasis on equal opportunities and redistributive

action after a period of discrimination, these group rights seem very close to the basic human

rights indeed. In India, minority rights have been topic of intense discussion for a long time.

To the British colonial rulers who made it their quest to identify and categorize the South

Asian religions and formalize their systems of customary law, the intricate connections and

subtle distinctions between groups was bewildering. In this paper, I try to give a brief history

of minority status in India, with special reference to the Jains. After looking into the

formalization of customary law and the relevant legislation pertaining to minority status as

we know it today, I will focus on the campaigning and lobbying that preceded the

recognition of the Jains as a national minority by the union government on January 27th 2014.

By way of conclusion, I will try to identify the implications this recognition may have for the

Jain community in the years to come. Front page: Notification S.O. No. 267(E): Declaration of Jain community as a minority community reg. http://www.minorityaffairs.gov.in/GazettedNotification (accessed on 13/07/2014) 1 Comment on http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/what-minority-status-will-mean-for-jains-114012100944_1.html (accessed on 27/07/2014)

http://www.minorityaffairs.gov.in/GazettedNotification

http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/what-minority-status-will-mean-for-jains-114012100944_1.html



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Reservations, minority status, and the difference between them

When it comes to group rights and positive discriminatory measures, the Indian Constitution

mentions two separate systems of group rights. A brief look at the legislative basis for

reservations and minority status is included here, as in public debates on minority status, the

two tend to get unduly conflated.

The system of reservation is delineated by constitutional and statutory laws, and local rules

and regulations. Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes

(OBC) are the beneficiaries of the reservation policies as stipulated under the Constitution. In

1993, the Constitution was amended to include quotas pertaining to women in the local

village administration (panchayat). Certain regional governments have expanded this

reservation systems to those affiliated to specific religious groups as well.2

In the Constitution, the reservations for OBC, SC and ST are provided for in various articles,

such as this one, on public sector employment.

16. Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.

(1) There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to

employment or appointment to any office under the State.

(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth,

residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any

employment or office under the State.

(3) Nothing in this article shall prevent Parliament from making any law prescribing,

in regard to a class or classes of employment or appointment to an office under the

Government of, or any local or other authority within, a State or Union territory, any

requirement as to residence within that State or Union territory prior to such

employment or appointment.

(4) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the

reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens

which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services

under the State.

(4A) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for

reservation in matters of promotion, with consequential seniority, to any class or

classes of posts in the services under the State in favour of the Scheduled Castes and

the Scheduled Tribes which, in the opinion of the State, are not adequately

represented in the services under the State.

2 E.g. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala,…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Other_Backward_Class

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Other_Backward_Class


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(4B) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from considering any unfilled

vacancies of a year which are reserved for being filled up in that year in accordance

with any provision for reservation made under clause (4) or clause (4A) as a separate

class of vacancies to be filled up in any succeeding year or years and such class of

vacancies shall not be considered together with the vacancies of the year in which they

are being filled up for determining the ceiling of fifty per cent. reservation on total

number of vacancies of that year.

(5) Nothing in this article shall affect the operation of any law which provides that the

incumbent of an office in connection with the affairs of any religious or

denominational institution or any member of the governing body thereof shall be a

person professing a particular religion or belonging to a particular denomination. 3

Regarding religious and cultural minorities, the number of articles and provisions in the

Constitution is much smaller. The term ‘minority’ is also not clearly defined. The following

articles are relevant for what has come to be called ‘minority status’:

Article 29:

(1) Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof

having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve

the same.

(2) No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained

by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste,

language or any of them.

Article 30:

(1) All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to

establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

1[(1A) In making any law providing for the compulsory acquisition of any property of

an educational institution established and administered by a minority, referred to in

clause (1), the State shall ensure that the amount fixed by or determined under such

law for the acquisition of such property is such as would not restrict or abrogate the

right guaranteed under that clause.]

3 http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/Const.Pock%202Pg.Rom8Fsss%286%29.pdf (accessed on 27/07/2014, emphasis added by author)


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(2) The State shall not, in granting aid to educational institutions, discriminate against

any educational institution on the ground that it is under the management of a

minority, whether based on religion or language.4

Minority status, as stipulated by the Constitution of India, thus only concerns matters

pertaining to the religious and the religious-educational sphere, whereas reservations for SC,

ST and OBC span other fields such as economy and politics, as well as education. Minority

status originated as a means to ensure the right to conserve culture as mentioned in the

excerpt above (29.1). Reservations are redistributive measures, aimed to compensate

historical discrimination. The benefits that can be derived from both SC/ST/OBC

membership and minority status have expanded beyond their initial, 1950 constitutional

scope. The Jains as a group do not claim to have right to reservations, but they have been

campaigning to be attributed the national minority status.

A brief history of the demand for Jain minority status

Personal law and the Hindu Code Bill

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the question of Jaina law formed the basis

upon which the idea of a singular Jain minority identity was formed.5 For the largest part of

the 19th and early 20th century, Jains were generally subsumed under Hindu personal Law.

This was partly so because of the colonial administrators’ befuddlement about the

connections and differences between different South Asian religious traditions. Additionally,

the Jains are said to have been very reluctant of providing scriptural evidence of their

divergent legal principles, out of fear that the colonial legislators would desecrate the

scriptures. This attitude changed only gradually. It took until the beginning of the 20th

century, when the debates on customary law were becoming increasingly intense, for

Jainisms’ most authoritative legal texts, the Arhan Niti and Bhadrabahu Samhita to be

published and circulated.6 At the same time the reform movement coined Jain Modernism,

sought to raise awareness about, collect and publish scriptural texts.7

4 http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/Const.Pock%202Pg.Rom8Fsss%286%29.pdf (accessed on 27/07/2014) 5 Sethi, M. (2009), Jains as Minority between Inclusivism & Exclusivism. p 157 6 Sethi, M. (2009), Jains as Minority between Inclusivism & Exclusivism . p 157 7 Long, J. (2009) “Jainism, an Introduction” – for another account of Global Jainism, see Flügel, P. 2012 “Jainism”


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Jaina customary law differs from Hindu law on such topics as inheritance rights and

adoption rights of widows. The first of these legal cases that centered on these issues (e.g.

Dakho (1878) and Prem Sagar v. Ram Gopal and others (1929))8 can be interpreted as the

precursors to the Jain minority status campaign.

Independence and the Constitution of India

The drafting of the Constitution opened up a whole new arena of discussion. Article 25,

Explanation II included Jains (and Buddhists and Sikhs) under the ‘broad’ category of

Hinduism.

Article 25:

(1) Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part,

all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess,

practise and propagate religion.

(2) Nothing in this article shall affect the operation of any existing law or prevent the

State from making any law—

(a) regulating or restricting any economic, financial, political or other secular activity

which may be associated with religious practice;

(b) providing for social welfare and reform or the throwing open of Hindu religious

institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus.

Explanation I.—The wearing and carrying of kirpans shall be deemed to be included

in the profession of the Sikh religion.

Explanation II.—In sub-clause (b) of clause (2), the reference to Hindus shall be

construed as including a reference to persons professing the Sikh, Jaina or Buddhist

religion, and the reference to Hindu religious institutions shall be construed

accordingly. 9

This prompted a delegation from the Jain community to petition Jawaharlal Nehru in 1950.

In the end, this protest had the effect of formalizing the idea of a distinction between Hindu-

by-religion and Hindu-by-law. Although Nehru and other politicians of that time recognized

Jainism as a religious tradition separate from Hinduism, it continued to subsume Jains, Sikhs

and Buddhists under Hindu Law.

8 For a more elaborate description of these cases, see Sethi, M. (2009), p 155-156 9 http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/Const.Pock%202Pg.Rom8Fsss%286%29.pdf (accessed on 27/07/2014)


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As we have seen in the discussion of the minority rights and reservations in the Indian

Constitution above, article 30 of the Constitution declares, ‘All minorities, whether based on

religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions

of their choice.’ For a long time, however, it remained unclear what exactly constituted a

‘minority’. Only in the early nineties was this looked into by the Union Governments’

appointed National Commission for Minorities.

National Commission for Minorities Act and the Bal Patil case

In 1992, the government set to work to clarify the minority matter and list the religious

minorities that could claim the right to administer their own educational institutions as

described in the Constitution. The list the commission compiled, and enacted in 1993, did not

include the Jains as a national minority. After a year of intense lobbying and petitioning, the

National Minority Commission recommended the addition of the Jains to the list of national

minorities. However, this recommendation was not enacted by the government, nor was its

renewal in 1996. This unwillingness of the central government to act upon the

recommendations of its own commission resulted in the Jains taking the case to the High

Court. Although this court case, better known as the Bal Patil vs Union of India did not result

in the recognition of the Jains as a national minority, it did prompt legislators to include Jains

in the list of minorities eligible for minority status on state-level in 2002. A number of states

did recognize the Jains as a minority.

Campaigning for national minority status from Bal Patil onwards

With the Bal Patil verdict not prompting action from the government on the national level,

different individuals and organizations of Jains renewed their efforts to put pressure on the

politicians in charge. It is important to note here that although different individuals and

organizations succeeded in rallying a large number of Jains, not all Jains have been united in

their wish to obtain national minority status. This bifurcation in opinion has even been noted

by Wajahat Habibullah (then chairperson national commission for minorities) in his 2012

renewal of the recommendation to Salman Khurshid (then minister of law and minority

affairs).10 Although the majority of Jains seem to have supported the campaign for minority

status, some reactions reveal the ambivalent attitude towards measures of positive

discrimination I described in the introduction to this paper, and that is often repeated in

Hindu nationalist objections to minority status.

10 Internal (?) document nr. 81/71/04 – NCM - II


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me and my friend who is a Jain felt annoyed at this news… we feel its attempt to

divide Jains from rest of the population…

22/01/2014 , Sri11

In what follows, I will first give an overview of the most prevalent arguments pro Jain

national minority status and their respective counter-arguments, and then try to analyze the

different political pathways that were followed by the main players in the recent campaign

for Jain national minority status.

The arguments

Asserting Jainism as an independent religion

Much of the campaign for minority status has focused, not on the benefits that this minority

status may bring, but on the assertion of Jainism as an independent religion. We have

discussed how both in the penal code as in other fields, Jains have often been assumed to be

a heterodox branch of Hinduism, and even sporadically as a branch of Buddhism. Broadly

speaking, we can see three categories of reasons for this conclusion. Firstly, there are many

apparent similarities in customs and rituals such as the celebration, although in a different

interpretation, of many of the festivals that have traditionally been seen as Hindu festivals,

and the veneration of gods and goddesses that are also known in the Hindu pantheon. To

this category, we can add that there exists a tradition of intermarriage with certain Vaishnava

Hindu castes. Secondly, the Jains for a long time did not manifest themselves as a unified

community. Divisions of sect and differences in social and religious practice long prevented

the formation of a unified Jain identity. Thirdly, there is a tendency to include all religions

and cultural elements that originate on the South-Asian subcontinent in a broader category

of ‘Hindu culture’. This idea of a ‘Hindu Culture’ is not new, indeed for a long time,

everything and everyone coming from the land beyond the river Sindh was coined Hindu.

Hindu nationalist organizations have elaborated and capitalized on this concept of Hindu

Culture.12

These facts notwithstanding, the currently prevailing view in scholarly as well as popular

writing is that Jainism, like Buddhism, is an independent religion that formed in the 6th

century BCE as a reaction against the Vedic Hindu-tradition. Some Jains, although

supportive of the first part of this claim, deny the latter, and argue that Jainism is in fact the

11 Comment on http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/what-minority-status-will-mean-for-jains-114012100944_1.html (accessed on 27/07/2014) 12 Subhas Dev. Jains are Hindus. Organiser, 25-5-1997. Savarkar, V.D. (1928) Hindutva: who is a hindu


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oldest religion on the Indian subcontinent. They base this claim upon the mention of the

name of the first Thirthankara, Rshabdev, in the Puranas. By reversing the relationship of

chronological dependence, these claims make Hinduism a possible derivate of Jainism,

rather than the other way around.

Defining a minority by numbers

Based on the number of adherents, Jainism forms the second smallest religious group in

India, after the Parsis. This entails that the other groups that hold minority status, i.e. Sikhs,

Buddhists, Muslims and Christians, are demographically stronger. It was felt by most Jains

to be an injustice to withhold the national minority status from them, when it was allocated

to other, larger communities long ago. The counter argument to this has been that factors of

power and dominance should also be considered when defining who qualifies as a minority

and who doesn’t. Although the Jains are indeed numerically weak, they are seen as an ultra-

rich and therefore powerful community that, according to some critics as well as some Jains,

does not need the benefits and safeguards minority status was devised for.

Making a legal point

Many of my informants stressed that they do not necessarily agree that minority status is a

productive way to deal with India’s blend of multiculturalism. For some, the reason for the

persistent campaign for Jain minority status is the perceived need to bring home a legal

point. Even from the first struggles regarding customary law, a large number of courts have

declared the Jains to be ‘separate from the Hindus’ and therefore a minority. As we have

seen, several government commissions and courts have suggested the recognition of the

Jains as a national minority. The fact that this legal recognition has for such a long time been

ignored and sidetracked by the government has frustrated many.

The benefits of national minority status

Arguments centering on the benefits national minority status would bring to the Jain

community are often downplayed and considered secondary to the principle of svatantrata

(independence) of the Jain religion and their limited numbers. In this category, the two most

prevalent points that are often raised in this category are practical arguments on education

(centering on article 30 of the Constitution) and preservation of heritage sites.

The only benefit we will have is the government won’t be able to interfere in our daily

function of running trusts and temples, which have enormous wealth in terms of cash


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and properties. The Archeological Survey of India wanted to bring down some of our

temples; now, it can’t do much,” says Jain, a charted accountant.13

Interestingly, some of my informants stressed that the financial benefits are not what the

Jains are after as they are generally rich, hardworking and entrepreneurial. Other informants

on the other hand talked of the need for scholarships and internships to give young Jains

from poorer backgrounds the chance to pursue higher education and/or acquire better

professional skills, and the need of financial aid in the upkeep of the many historical temple

sites.

The politics

Traditionally, Jains have not been very active in Indian politics. Many assert that the

campaign for minority status had little to do with politics, but was more about making a

legal-constitutional point. However, when we look at the lobbying and negotiating that

preceded the recognition of the Jains as a national minority, it is apparent that the campaign

for minority status was very much conducted in the political arena.

Leading figures

After the Supreme Court’s decision that it was up to the central government to decide,

different initiatives, organizations and campaigns were launched to urge the government on

to recognize the Jains as a national minority. Over the years, different delegations petitioned

Prime minister Manmohan Singh, INC leader Sonia Gandhi and other leading politicians.

The national commission of minority affairs also played a certain role, renewing its

recommendation for the recognition several times since 1993.

During this campaign, different tactics were used. Some stayed behind the scenes and trying

to win the support of politicians through lobbying (e.g. all india jain minority forum,

Acharya Lokesh Muni, …) while the more militant organizations took recourse to protests

and rallies. Vishwa Jain Sangathan even organized a fast unto death.

We have decided to organize FAST UNTO DEATH w.e.f. 4th April 2013, the day of

Janam-Kalyanak of our 1st Tirthankar Bhagwan Adinath (who has started Jain

Dharma) at Jantar-Mantar, New Delhi, if religious minority status has not been

granted by the Govt. of India to the Jain community till 31st March 2013 and the notice

13 http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/what-minority-status-will-mean-for-jains-114012100944_1.html (accessed on 13/07/2014)




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dated 19.02.2013 has already been sent to the hon’ble President & Prime Minister of

India and you by e-mail and speed post.

Further we assure you that if the Central Govt. declares minority status to Jains U/s

2C of NCM Act, 1992, Jain community will withdraw all cases, filed for national

minority status, pending in any Court of India, against the Central Govt. without any

delay.14

Although the thread to fast unto death apparently did not impress the government into

action, the intensified wave of campaigning seems to have had its effect. It raised awareness,

and according to some also the feeling of unity, within the Jain community and beyond.

Even the Jain diasporic community in the USA got involved and petitioned Manmohan

Singh and others.

We wish to offer some critical thinking on this important matter. Are the traditionally

recognized national minorities - such as the Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs - truly

minorities? Muslims are a majority in Jammu and Kashmir; Sikhs are a majority in

Punjab; and Christians are majority in the eastern states Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram

and Meghalaya. Furthermore, the national majority of the Hindus are minorities in

these states. As a matter of fact, only the Jains, who form a religious community

comprised of only 4,225,053 persons according to the official 2001 Government of

India Census, are a true minority in every state of India.15

The pressure on the government to act steadily grew as actions became more and more

coordinated and united. On January 19th 2014, yet another delegation, comprised of

representatives of all Jain sects and organizations, met with Rahul Gandhi. This time it did

have the desired effect and on the 20th of January, the Jains were recognized as the 6th

national minority, the notification of which was released on January 27th 2014.

Jains, Congress and BJP

The word ‘vote-bank politics’ is never far from any discussion on politics, especially in India.

This practice, or the suspicion of this practice, of appealing and promising benefits to certain

14 “Clarification to Minority Affairs Minister for his statement to UNI dated 3 March 2013 for National Minority Status to Jains” – Correspondence from Sunjay K. Jain (National President of Vishwa Jain Sangathan) to Rehman Khan (Union Minister for Minority Affairs) 15 Correspondence from the Federation of Jain Associations in North America - Regarding: National Minority Status for Jains - Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25 to 30 of Constitution of India) - Representation for notification of Jains as a minority community under section 2(iii) of the National Minorities Commissions Act. (dated 23/10/2013)


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communities for their collective vote in upcoming elections, is considered highly unethical

and intrinsically divisive. Opponents of the long-ruling Indian National Congress Party

(INC) often accuse them of using minority issues to bolster support from influential

communities.

Many believe this is a pre-election dole and the Congress is likely to gain from it

during the coming Lok Sabha elections. Jain community leaders said Jains had never

exercised political influence, though they welcomed this decision with an open mind.16

When we scrutinize the different petitions and delegations that have been at the core of the

campaign for Jain national minority status, it becomes apparent that the vast majority (if not

all) of those petitioned are Congress-affiliated. This has been downplayed by some

respondents as a coincidence: As Congress was leading the previous two national

governments, it seems logical that people like Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (INC, in

office between 2004 and 2014), President Pranab Kumar Mukherjee (INC, in office since

2012), and INC President Sonia Gandhi (party president since 1998) were addressed most

often. Indeed, as can rightly be pointed out, there have been meetings between minority

status campaigners such as Lokesh Muni and members of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and

other parties. But one cannot deny that minority rights and related issues are ideologically

further removed from right-wing (Hindu) nationalist parties such as BJP. Another case that

illustrates this point is the contested Freedom of Religion Bill, that caused quite a political

crisis in Gujarat (then governed by chief Minister Narendra Modi, currently Prime Minister)

in 2006-2007. The bill banning forced conversion and was actually passed in Gujarat in 2003.

As the original version did not specify what ‘forced conversion’ actually meant, the bill was

amended in 2006. In the amendment, Jains and Buddhists are classified as sects of Hinduism.

As conversion between different sects of the same religion was allowed, this was seen as a

direct attempt to open up the possibilities of conversion from Jainism and Buddhism to

Hinduism. The bill sparked fierce protests from Jain, Buddhist and also Christian groups.

The first two livid for being subsumed under Hinduism once again, the last annoyed that

conversions to Christianity would be officially outlawed. In 2007, the amendment bill was

declared void as it was felt it was not in keeping with the Indian Constitution, which

declares freedom of religion to be a right of all its citizens.

16 http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/what-minority-status-will-mean-for-jains-114012100944_1.html (accessed on 29/07/2014)




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The reactions from the Hindu nationalist organizations on the Jains receiving national

minority status have been interesting. Although BJP has been very careful not to antagonize

the community, many of whom in several states have been known to back BJP-candidates,

the reaction of RSS, the militant organization closely related to ruling party BJP, after the

recognition was one of disappointment. RSS general secretary Suresh ‘Bhayyaji’ Joshi was

quoted in the media stating that Jains are not separate from Hindu culture: “Sangh has

already said it does not support any move to divide the society as majority and minority.

Jains are a part and parcel of the Hindu ethos, history and culture. Few of our traditions and

rituals might be different but every culture of this land are Hindu.’’17

Conclusion: Now what? Implications of National minority status for Jains

National minority status implies that the Jain community will from now on be able to enjoy

different benefits. The Constitution of India states the right to organize and administrate

educational institutions. Additionally, they can also access different scholarship schemes and

are exempted from rent control laws.

But what now? Some of the organizations that have been instrumental in the campaign for

minority status, have since been organizing to inform the Jain community on the possible

benefits now accessible to them, and how these can be applied for (e.g. Bharatvarshiya

Digamber Jain Mahasabha). The Ministry of Minority Affairs runs more than 15 different

programs and schemes18 that can be (and probably will need to be) negotiated, applied for

and adapted. This will take a lot of effort and time to work through.

Additionally, the government in power since the elections in May differs quite strikingly

from the one the Jain delegations appealed to and that sunsequently granted them minority

status in January. INC has had to face a historical loss, whereas BJP won a landslide victory

led by the new prime minister Narendra Modi. It will be interesting to see how this new

government deals with the collective rights and benefits of the notified minorities, and with

the possible claims to minority status of groups that have until now been assumed to be a

sect rather than a religion, such as Rama Krishna mission, tribal religions, different Christian

churches, …

17 http://samvada.org/2014/news/press-conference-details-by-sarakaryavah-suresh-bhaiyyaji-joshi-at-rss-abps-meet-2014/ (accessed 29/07/2014) 18 For an overview of these, please see http://minorityaffairs.gov.in/

http://samvada.org/2014/news/press-conference-details-by-sarakaryavah-suresh-bhaiyyaji-joshi-at-rss-abps-meet-2014/

http://samvada.org/2014/news/press-conference-details-by-sarakaryavah-suresh-bhaiyyaji-joshi-at-rss-abps-meet-2014/


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Bibliography

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Anheier & Mark Juergensmeyer, 975-979.Thousand Oakes: Sage.

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Sethi, M. (2009) Jains as Minority between Inclusivism & Exclusivism, in: Contemporary

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Sinha, M.K. (2005) Minority Rights: A Case Study of India, in: International Journal on

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Subhas D. (1997) Jains are Hindus. Organiser, 25-5-1997.

I would like to thank Acharya Lokesh Muni, Dr. Nirmal Sethi (President of the All India

Digambara Jain Mahasabha) and Sudhir Lodha for their readiness to discuss the finer points

of the political lobbying process that has led to the Jains being attributed national minority

status when they did, and the valuable material they provided. I also thank Dr. Shugan Jain

of the International School for Jain Studies, for arranging these meetings.

Documents

Paper ISSJS - Indias last minority: Campaigning for Jain Minority Status