Protection of Shikharji Temple (Parasnath Hills) Jharkhand , India, Jainism's Rights

Shikharji Temple (Parasnath Hills) Jharkhand

Considered as one of the Holiest of all Jain Teerths, Shikharji Temple in Jharkhand is one of the most visited Jain pilgrimage places. The temple is perched atop Parasnath Mountain, the highest among the Parasnath Range. This temple is popular among the Jain followers as this is the place where twenty out of twenty-four Tirthankaras attained Moksha or Freedom from the Cycle of Rebirth.

Common fallacy propagated amongst Jain's is that the Indian Constitution includes Jainism in the definition of Hindus. The write-up aims to dispassionately analyse this view.

The contention swirls around Article 25 of the Indian constitution, which reads as follows:

25. Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion

(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



Jain religion Explanation II In sub clause (b) of clause reference to Hindus shall be construed as including a reference to persons professing the Jaina or Buddhist religion, and the reference to Hindu religious institutions shall be construed accordingly

Read 25 (2) (b) closely again – the article extends the provisions regarding Hindu religious institutions to Jain religious institutions. It specifically mentions "Jain Religion" as a term TWICE. 25 (b) is more about extending some legal provisions as applicable to Hindus; to Buddhist and Jainism 'Religions'.



Buddhism is recognized the world over as a separate religion, and so is Jain religion; by bundling Jainism Religion with them, the Constitution of India in fact provides it the same legal rights.





The NOTICE sent by the Jharkhand Government to convert the Temple Site to a Tourist Spot should be withdrawn with immediate effect.
Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage

The General Conference of UNESCO adopted on 16 November 1972 the Recommendation concerning the Protection at National Level, of the Cultural and Natural Heritage.





The General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization meeting in Paris from 17 October to 21 November 1972, at its seventeenth session,



Noting that the cultural heritage and the natural heritage are increasingly threatened with destruction not only by the traditional causes of decay, but also by changing social and economic conditions which aggravate the situation with even more formidable phenomena of damage or destruction,



Considering that protection of this heritage at the national level often remains incomplete because of the scale of the resources which it requires and of the insufficient economic, scientific, and technological resources of the country where the property to be protected is situated,



Recalling that the Constitution of the Organization provides that it will maintain, increase, and diffuse knowledge, by assuring the conservation and protection of the world's heritage, and recommending to the nations concerned the necessary international conventions,



Article 4

Each State Party to this Convention recognizes that the duty of ensuring the identification, protection, conservation, presentation and transmission to future generations of the cultural and natural heritage referred to in Articles 1 and 2 and situated on its territory, belongs primarily to that State. It will do all it can to this end, to the utmost of its own resources and, where appropriate, with any international assistance and co-operation, in particular, financial, artistic, scientific and technical, which it may be able to obtain.



Jainism teaches that the path to enlightenment is through nonviolence and reducing harm to living things (including plants and animals) as much as possible. Like Hindus and Buddhists, Jains believe in reincarnation. This cycle of birth, death, and rebirth is determined by one's karma

Estimates for the population of Jains put them at around 9.5 million in the world, with the vast majority situated in India, where they number around 7.5 million

The NOTICE sent by the Indian Government to convert the Temple Site to a Tourist Spot should be withdrawn with immediate effect.


Best Regards

Admin
Human Rights Sanrakshan Sansthaa.


Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2016.