Table 5.9: Arranged vs marriage by choice (%) District Question: Are arranged marriages being replaced by love marriages among Jains in Maharashtra Mumbai Solapur Yes No No Response Pune Kolhapur 81.4 17.1 1.6 43.8 43.4 12.8 State Average 37.5 44.7 17.8 59.5 30.5 9.9 9.5 58.5 32.0 Changes in ways of arranging marriage As per our survey, 55.8 % Jains believe that there is a trend of late marriage. This change can be attributed to higher education and urge to be economically independent before getting married. 80.9 % Jains preferred nighttime wedding ceremony as compared to 10.6 % favouring daytime marriage. Only 8.9 % Jains wished their marriages to be solemnized by a Jain pandit, which again is a surprising revelation. Only 16.2 % Jains favoured selecting their partner by their own choice as against family arranged. This again is surprising for the area surveyed. Table 5.10: Changes in marriage institution (%) Late marriage Mumbai Solapur Pune Kolhapur State Day-time marriage 54.7 53.9 61.1 Average Marriage by Jain 8.1 10.0 54.3 5.4 Pandit 8.1 16.0 20.2 7.4 55.8 Marriage by own 4.3 10.6 choice 25.5 9.6 16.7 8.9 No response 3.7 10.5 8.2 9.4 13.0 16.2 8.5 Page 50 of 66
Prevalence of dowry Only 52.1 % Jains responded negatively to the prevalence of the dowry in the community. However, 31.5 % of them said that it was prevalent to some extent, while 7.2 % felt that it existed to a larger extent. It appears that the practice of dowry is more prevalent in smaller towns and cities like Kolhapur and Solapur. Table 5.11: Prevalence of dowry (%) Situation of dowry Mumbai Solapur Pune Kolhapur State 3.8 Average Prevalent to a large 11.5 5.0 6.4 extent 31.3 7.2 Prevalent to some extent 17.4 46.1 51.4 38.4 Not prevalent 62.1 42.5 13.5 47.3 31.5 No response 9.0 6.4 7.9 52.1 9.2 Widow and divorcee remarriage A great majority (84.3 %) of Jain respondents favoured remarriage of Jain divorcees/widows. However, 11.2 % did not favour such alliances. Table 5.12: Widow and divorcee remarriage (%) District Question: Do you support remarriage of divorcees/widows in Jains? Mumbai No Response Solapur Yes No Pune 0.3 Kolhapur 91.9 7.8 5.0 76.7 18.3 9.6 State Average 84.6 5.8 5.4 80.3 14.3 84.3 11.2 4.5 Page 51 of 66
Divorce Only 11.5 % of the respondents reported known cases of divorce within their family or amongst their relatives. Table 5.13: Divorce (%) District Question: Has there been any case of divorce in your family/relations? Mumbai Solapur Yes No No Response Pune Kolhapur 15.5 82.6 1.9 12.3 81.3 6.0 State Average 10.1 77.9 12.0 5.9 89.2 4.9 11.5 82.7 5.8 Membership of Jain Associations A great majority of Jains (73.9 %) did not reveal their association or affiliation with any Jain social or religious group. even with four major socio-religious associations namely; Jain Conference, Jain Social Group, Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha and Bhartiya Jain Sangathan command 23.4 % of Jains as their members. 2.7 % Jains were members of other less-known associations or groups like Jain Yuvak Mandal, Jain Yuvak Sangh, Jain International Trade Organisation, Jain Milan etc. Surprisingly Mumbai has the least number of Jains affiliated to any Jain organization which is contrary to the general belief. Table 5.14: Organization and Associational Distribution (%) Bharatiya Jain Mumbai Solapur Pune Kolhapur State Sanghatan Jain Average Dakshin Bharat 0.0 25.1 10.1 22.2 Sabha 12.7 Jain Social Group 0.3 4.1 2.4 11.8 Jain Conference 0.0 4.6 11.5 1.5 4.1 Other 0.6 0.0 11.1 0.5 No response 0.0 0.5 11.5 0.5 3.9 99.1 65.8 53.4 63.5 2.7 2.7 73.9 Page 52 of 66
Inter-Ethnic Relations As pointed out earlier, in spite of Jainism being a separate religion, Jains are often regarded as Vaishyas in the framework of the Hindu Varna-Vyavastha. Our survey revealed that 69.4 % considered Jains as a separate community independent of Hindus, while 16.4 % considered it to be a part of the Hindu Varna system. Table 5.15: Jainism and Hinduism (%) Within the Hindu Varna Mumbai Solapur Pune Kolhapur State system 31.1 9.1 12.0 5.4 Average A separate community 65.8 70.8 63.5 79.8 independent of Hindus 3.1 20.1 24.5 14.8 16.4 No response 69.4 14.2 Concluding Remarks This chapter is mainly based on the opinions of the respondents on certain issues pertaining family, marriage and Jain identity, which have repercussions on Jain population dynamics. Family type: Joint family (41.9 %) is still the prevailing family type but 51.1 % nuclear families show the emerging trend towards nuclear families. Caste System: No clear understanding prevails amongst Jains as 19.5 % reported Jain religion as their caste. Only 30.8 % reported /caste correctly while 49.7 % did not respond. Marital status: 57 % male and 54 % female reported as being married. 15.6 % male and 11.7 % female reported as being unmarried. Very few people reported their status as widows/widowers or divorcees with 26.2 % male and 29.6% female not responding about this question. Changes in the institution of marriage: Inter-caste marriage: 57.3 % were aware of the growing trend with Mumbai at a high of 87.0% and Pune at the low of 38.0 %. Preferences: 79.2 % do not prefer inter-caste/religion marriages compared to 20.0 % youth preferring it. Page 53 of 66
Reasons: 49.5 % Jain respondents and 35.7 % Jain youth respondents cite co-education and co-working as the main reason. 22.3 % Jain adults and 20.9 % Jain youth cited non-availability of suitable match within the community. 42.7% youth and 28.1% adults did not respond to this query. Arranged/love: 58.5% reported arranged marriages being replaced by love marriages. Other changes: 55.8% responded late marriage as a major change in the marriage institution, 10.6 % reported day-time marriages. 8.9 % opted yes for solemnized by a Jain pandit or otherwise. Prevalence of dowry: 52.1% said that it is prevailing to a large or at least to some Remarriage: extent. 84.3% support remarriage of widows and divorcees. Increase in divorces: 68.2% did not think so that they are increasing. Membership of social organization: Only 26.1% reported as being member of one or the other Jain social organizations. Jain identity: 69.4 % consider Jainism as an independent religion with its own identity while 16.4 % consider Jainism being a part of Hinduism with 14.2 % not responding. The above analysis shows an emerging Jain family status and associated value system in line with growing education and expectations of Jain youth and the nation at large. However, the community leadership has to initiate steps to ensure Jain values and identity is intact and absorbing the changes taking place. Page 54 of 66
Chapter – 6 JAIN WAY OF LIFE This chapter analyses the various aspects of Jain way of life, as practiced and followed by Maharashtra Jain population. The parameters that account for these practices include visit to temples, dietary habits, teaching of religious practices and the drift of youth away from the tenets of Jainism in modern times. While Ahimsa (non-violence), Aparigraha (non- attachment), self-restraint, Anekantvada, celibacy, vows and fasting are emphasized as the cornerstone of Jain teachings, the survey could include only certain aspects of Jain way of life, as defined in its objectives. For example, Brhamcharya is an important part of Jain way of life. “Jain ethics for householders lays significant importance on Brhamcharya. Lust is also considered as a psychical possession and cause of tainting the pure nature of soul. The vows of celibacy in Jainism for a householder is called Svadarasantoshpariman that limits the sexual relation to one's religiously wedded spouse only and gradually enhanced to complete abstinence.” (Jain, Shugan C, 2017, p 62) It must be noted that religious ideologies/identities and way of life are often conceptualized in terms of bi-polarity: conservative vs liberal, orthodox vs heterodox, etc. Thus, Hinduism is generally considered as liberal and the Islam as conservative. Jainism can also be characterized by a very high degree of asceticism and orthodoxy. The Jain identity and the way of life get shaped accordingly and is a matter of choice and practice. Maharashtra State survey data appear to be suggesting a moderate and flexible way of life on all the indicators except the vegetarian diet which can be regarded as more or less an absolute and universal indicator of Jain identity (see Tables 6.7 and 6.8). In the case of “eating before sunset”, more than 65 % of our respondents said they found it difficult to follow in their daily routine. Incidentally, a considerable number of respondents did not respond to questions on Jain way of life. The ‘No Response’ percentage in our survey measured 1.2 % Youth at the lower end, while 4.3 % adult at the highest level. Visit Temple/Sthanak The Maharashtra sample survey of Jain population revealed a large majority of Jains visiting the temple/sthanak daily, with the practice prevalent among 45.8 % male and 58.1 % female. 33.2 % male & 32.2 % female respondents were found to be visiting the religious places occasionally followed by visits on the occasion of religious festivals like Paryushan Parv by 8.6 % male & 5.5 % female. Over 4.1% male & 1.7 % female of the respondents did not respond to the query. Data on distribution of youth respondents’ visit to temple are presented in Table 6.2. Accordingly, about 29.0 % male youth & 31.6 % female youth make daily visit to the temple, whereas about 45.4 % male youth & 52.8 %female youth do this occasionally. Sunday Page 55 of 66
visitors and those visiting only during Paryushan Parv are 24.4% male youth & 14.2 % female youth respectively (See Table 6.2). Thus a distinct drift is noticeable amongst youth in the practice of going to the temple daily. Table 6.1: Visit to temple (%) District Daily Occasionally Sunday During No Paryushan response Mumbai M F M F M F Parv Only Solapur 49.4 51.9 38.4 39.2 4.3 3.2 MF Pune 56.4 65.8 26.5 21.1 9.4 2.6 MF 4.9 1.3 Kolhapur 13.0 0.0 3.0 4.4 3.9 2.6 State Average 24.5 62.5 34.5 25.0 5.3 0.0 3.9 7.9 5.0 0.0 56.1 78.1 33.9 12.5 8.3 2.5 23.0 12.5 2.3 3.1 45.8 58.1 33.2 32.2 2.3 6.3 4.1 1.7 8.6 5.5 Table 6.2: Visit to temple/Sthanak (Youth) (%) District Daily Occasionally Sunday During No Paryushan response Mumbai MF M F MF Parv Only Solapur 31.4 40.0 52.1 47.3 10.7 7.3 MF Pune 44.8 29.4 43.9 56.9 6.3 7.8 MF 0.0 0.9 Kolhapur 15.1 12.5 32.5 50.0 14.3 6.3 5.7 4.5 0.0 2.0 State Average 27.6 24.0 56.6 72.0 9.2 4.0 5.2 3.9 4.0 3.1 29.0 31.6 45.4 52.8 10.5 6.9 34.1 28.1 0.0 0.0 6.6 0.0 1.2 1.4 13.9 7.3 Daily temple visit Daily temple visit (Youth) 100 100 80 80 60 60 40 40 20 Male 20 Male 0 Female 0 Female Page 56 of 66
Food after sunset Dietary habit of taking food before sunset used to be a common and popular practice among the Jains. About 65.4 % of our respondents admitted that they take food after the sunset, with only 30.3 % Jain respondents still taking food before sunset. A large majority of Maharashtra Jain youth (about 71.4 %) also take food after sunset (See Table 6.4). This also shows an increasing drift or change away from earlier Jain practice or Way of life. Table 6.3: Food after sunset (%) District Question: Take food after sunset? No Response Yes No 0.3 Mumbai 73.0 26.7 6.8 Solapur 56.6 36.5 8.7 Pune 64.9 26.4 3.4 Kolhapur 63.1 33.5 4.3 65.4 30.3 State Average Table 6.4: Food after sunset (youth) (%) District Question: Take food after sunset? No Response Mumbai Yes No 0.8 Solapur 0.0 Pune 74.8 24.4 3.2 Kolhapur 65.3 34.7 1.0 68.4 28.5 1.2 State Average 76.2 22.8 71.4 27.4 90 Food after Sunset (Youth) 80 70 Yes 60 No 50 40 Solapur Pune Kolhapur State Average 30 20 10 0 Mumbai Page 57 of 66
Drinking Jain way of life stresses on moderation of food habits and self-restrain in consumption of any kind of intoxicants. The consumption of liquor among the Maharashtra Jain population was found to be very low in percentage (1.1 %). An overwhelming majority of them (88.4 %) said that they did not consume liquor, while 10.5 % did not respond to the query. The figure for Jain youth (0.9 %) also shows insignificant drift away from Jain way of life (See Table 6.6). No response percentage is 5. Table 6.5: Drinking (%) District Question: Drink alcohol? No Response Mumbai Yes No 5.6 Solapur 16.0 Pune 0.9 93.5 12.5 Kolhapur 1.4 82.6 10.3 0.5 87.0 10.5 State Average 1.5 88.2 1.1 88.4 Table 6.6: Drinking (youth) (%) District Question: Drink alcohol? No Response Mumbai Yes No 4.8 Solapur 4.8 Pune 0.0 95.2 4.4 Kolhapur 0.0 95.2 6.9 2.5 93.0 5.0 State Average 2.0 91.1 0.9 94.1 Page 58 of 66
Dietary Habits As part of the practice of Ahimsa (non-violence), killing of animals or any kind of violence on creatures is prohibited in Jainism. An overwhelming majority (89.1 %) of our respondents said that they were vegetarian, while 0.4 % said they were non-vegetarian. However, the no response category at about 10.5 % is high. Only about 0.6 % of the youth respondent confessed of taking non-vegetarian food. Assuming “No response” cases (5.2 %) as the indirect supporters of non-vegetarianism, the total number consumers of non-vegetarian food do not exceed the 1 % mark. (See Table 6.8). Thus, a strong and growing adherence to vegetarianism still continues in Maharashtra Jains. Table 6.7: Dietary Habits (%) Question: Eat non-vegetarian food? District Yes No No Response Mumbai 0.0 94.4 5.6 Solapur 1.4 83.6 15.1 Pune 0.0 87.0 13.0 Kolhapur 0.5 88.7 10.8 0.4 89.1 10.5 State Average Table 6.8: Dietary Habits (youth) (%) Question: Eat non-vegetarian food? District Yes No No Response Mumbai 0.4 94.8 4.8 Solapur 0.0 94.6 5.4 Pune 0.0 94.9 5.1 Kolhapur 3.0 91.1 5.9 0.6 94.2 5.2 State Average Page 59 of 66
Youth drifting away from Jainism The appeal of Jainism among youth is an important religious issue. Our survey found that a majority (70.3 %) of Maharashtra Jains believed that its youths were drifting away from Jain philosophy and way of life, while 25.1 % did not agree to the preposition. On the contrary only 68.1 % Jain youth agreed of their drifting away from Jainism and 29.9 % of them denied it (See Table 6.10). Table 6.9: Opinion about drifting of youth from Jainism (%) District Question: Younger generation is drifting away from Jainism? Mumbai Solapur Yes No No Response Pune Kolhapur 62.7 37.0 0.3 71.7 22.4 5.9 State Average 73.6 15.4 11.1 77.3 19.2 3.4 70.3 25.1 4.6 Table 6.10: Opinion about drifting of youth from Jainism (Youth) (%) District Question: Younger generation is drifting away from Jainism? Mumbai Solapur Yes No No Response Pune Kolhapur 59.6 39.6 0.8 72.8 25.9 1.4 State Average 70.3 24.7 5.1 79.2 19.8 1.0 68.1 29.9 2.0 Page 60 of 66
Religious education To a query whether Jain religious education was imparted to them, some 44.6 % of our respondents answered in affirmation, while 50.3 % denied of receiving Jain religious education. Only 5.1 % did not respond. Table 6.11: Religious education (%) District Question: Religious Education? No Response Mumbai Yes No 0.6 Solapur 3.7 Pune 35.7 63.7 12.5 Kolhapur 49.3 47.0 5.9 53.8 33.7 5.1 State Average 44.3 49.8 44.6 50.3 Should religious education be made mandatory? Surprisingly, a large majority (85.6 %) of Maharashtra State Jain respondents believed that religious education should be mandatory for Jain children in order to inculcate the ethos of Jainism in them. However, some 8.1 % of our respondents felt that no such compulsion should be forced upon children, while 6.3 % did not express their opinion. Table 6.12: Should religious education be made mandatory? (%) District Question: Do you think that religious education should be made compulsory to Jain children? Mumbai Solapur Yes No No Response Pune Kolhapur 92.2 6.2 1.6 90.0 4.1 5.9 State Average 75.5 10.6 13.9 80.8 12.8 6.4 85.6 8.1 6.3 Page 61 of 66
Opinion on Jainism In the Maharashtra Sample Survey Jain population's opinion on Jainism was measured under three broad parameters: whether there were too many rituals in Jainism, the lack of exposure to Jainism and Jainism’s harmonious existence with modern culture. Surprisingly, lack of exposure to Jainism was cited as the main reason (53.8 % male & 67.0 % female) about its perception among the Jains in the State, followed by too many rituals in the religion and not being in tune with the modern culture. The 'No response' was found to be quite high at 14.0 % male & 5.9 % female. Some respondents in 'other category' cited too much emphasis on modern education, thus leading to the neglect of Jain religious teaching. Some also cited lack of infrastructural facilities and the lack of awareness on Jainism. However, a common consensus was that Jain community should lay stress on imparting Jain teachings to Jain children and youth. The youth response to these issues was a little different. The lack of exposure to Jainism was listed as the main reason of drifting by 57.5 % male youth & 57.3 % female youth followed by too many rituals in Jainism (19.9% male youth & 17.9% female youth). 17.1 % of male youth and 19.3 % female youth said that Jainism is not “in tune with modern culture”. Table 6.13: Reasons of drifting away from Jainism (%) District Too Many Lack of Not in tune Other No rituals in exposure to with response Mumbai Jainism MF Solapur Jainism modern 0.0 0.0 MF Pune MF culture 0.0 0.0 3.0 1.9 Kolhapur 14.0 13.9 M F 2.0 0.0 16.0 13.2 State Average 16.0 2.6 67.7 70.3 MF 0.0 0.0 22.0 25.0 8.5 12.5 52.5 73.7 15.2 13.9 0.5 0.0 12.9 12.5 24.0 28.1 52.5 62.5 15.5 10.5 14.0 5.9 15.4 14.0 43.3 43.8 15.0 0.0 53.8 67.0 19.9 15.6 16.3 13.1 Table 6.14: Reasons of drifting away from Jainism (Youth) (%) District Too Many Lack of Not in tune No rituals in exposure to with response Mumbai Jainism Solapur Jainism modern MF Pune MF culture 3.6 1.8 Kolhapur 17.1 20.9 M F 5.2 3.9 State Average 16.7 15.7 65.7 62.7 MF 7.1 15.6 23.8 9.4 67.7 58.8 13.6 14.5 6.6 12.0 22.4 20.0 42.1 50.0 10.4 21.6 5.5 5.5 19.9 17.9 55.3 40.0 27.0 25.0 57.5 57.3 15.8 28.0 17.1 19.3 Popularizing Jainism Page 62 of 66
To a query as to how Jainism could be popularized, a large number of Maharashtra respondents felt that the onus of its popularity rests with the Jain community. That the latter could organize Sunday schools and Camps (52.8% male & 56.3% female) to impart Jain religious teachings to children and youth. Some 36.6% male & 39.8% female of our respondents felt that Jain moral education should be included in the school/college curriculum to make it popular among the Jain students. Some of Maharashtra respondents felt that parents should teach their children about Jainism while others laid stress on the need of publicity, advertisement, workshop, religious hymns and musical programs for making the religion popular among the youth. Some of our respondents also said that Jain educational institutions should be set-up in cities to teach Jainism. Jain youth responses were more or less on the same pattern as that of the general Jain population of Maharashtra. Among the suggestions for imparting religious education to youth the following were important ones: religious/spiritual camps (34.0 % male Jain Youth and 38.5 % female Jain Youth), religious education programs (36.3 % male Jain Youth and 33.5 % female Jain Youth) and special training courses (18.9 % male Jain Youth and 23.4 % female Jain Youth). Table 6.15: Suggestions for Popularizing Jainism (%) District Jain moral Jain Sunday Jain shivris Other No education schools for (camps) for response Mumbai classes in teaching MF Solapur school/colleges religious 0.0 0.0 MF Pune Jainism education 0.0 0.0 2.4 2.5 Kolhapur MF 0.5 0.0 8.8 2.6 State Average 47.0 44.3 MF MF 0.0 0.0 20.0 25.0 40.9 31.6 37.2 43.0 13.4 10.1 0.1 0.0 8.8 6.3 31.5 25.0 36.5 47.4 13.8 18.4 10.5 3.9 28.1 31.3 34.0 50.0 14.0 0.0 36.6 39.8 40.9 25.0 22.2 37.5 37.0 41.5 15.8 14.8 Page 63 of 66
Table 6.16: Suggestions for Popularizing Jainism (youth) (%) District Jain moral Jain Sunday Jain shivris Other No education schools for (camps) for response Mumbai classes in teaching MF Solapur school/colleges religious 0.0 0.0 MF Pune Jainism education 0.0 0.0 5.7 2.7 Kolhapur MF 0.0 0.0 3.1 5.9 State Average 41.4 43.6 MF MF 0.0 0.0 7.1 9.4 35.4 29.4 39.3 44.5 13.6 9.1 0.0 0.0 3.9 8.0 35.7 37.5 25.0 19.6 36.5 45.1 5.1 5.0 15.8 24.0 35.7 25.0 21.4 28.1 34.0 37.1 35.5 40.0 44.7 28.0 34.5 35.3 26.3 22.5 Religious education In Maharashtra Sample Survey a small number of Jains were hesitant to our survey out of fear of being seen as drifting from Jainism or loss of privacy of family information in spite of our assurance for strict adherence to confidentiality and non-disclosure of personal information. Surprisingly, majority (36.3 %male & 33.5 % female) of our respondents believed that religious education should be made mandatory for Jain children for inculcating in them the values and the Jain way of life. The respondents, both adult and youth, appeared to be following a moderate and relaxed Jain way of life. Table 6.17: Suggestion for religious education (%) District Spiritual Special Training Religious No response Campus education Mumbai program MF Solapur M F M F 5.7 0.0 Pune 36.4 39.1 25.0 36.4 MF 14.6 5.9 Kolhapur 39.6 45.1 7.3 9.8 32.9 24.5 10.3 15.6 State Average 31.7 34.4 22.2 12.5 38.5 39.2 15.8 8.0 26.3 28.0 17.1 8.0 35.7 37.5 10.7 4.6 34.0 38.5 18.9 23.4 40.8 56.0 36.3 33.5 Page 64 of 66
Concluding Remarks This chapter is mainly based on the opinions of the respondents on Jain Way of life including food and dietary habits, visiting temples, religious interactions amongst youth and so on. Summary of the findings are given below: Visit to temples: 45.8 % male & 58.1 % female adults visit the temple/sthanak daily, while only 29.0 % male youth & Food after Sunset: 31.6% % female youth visit daily. Drinking: 30.3 % adults do not take food after Sunset while 71.4% Dietary Habits: youth do eat after sunset. 88.4 % adults & 94.1 % Youth do not consume alcohol. 89.1 % adults were vegetarian, while 10.9 % did not respond (includes 0.4 % who confessed of taking non- vegetarian food). Remarkably 94.2% Jain Youth are vegetarian. Opinion about certain issues pertaining to Jain way of life: Drifting away: 70.3 % adult and 68.1 % Youth said that Jain youth were drifting away from Jainism. Religious education: 44.6 % adults said that they had got religious education. Reasons of drifting: 53.8 % male and 67.0 % female adults cited lack of exposure to Jainism as the main reason. 57.5 % male youth and 57.3 % female youth also cited this as a reason. 15.4 % male & 14.0 % female adults also cited too many rituals as another reason as well as 19.9 % male youth & 17.9 % female youth cited this as also another reason. 16.3 % male & 13.1 % female adults cited ‘not in tune with times’ as also an important reason while 17.1 % male youth & 19.3 % female youth cited this also as a reason. Mandatory religious education: 85.6 % believed that religious education should be mandatory to Jain children. Page 65 of 66
Popularizing Jainism: 36.6 % male & 39.8 % female adults were in favour of Jain moral education in Schools or colleges while 34.0 % male & 37.1 % female youth supported this. Surprisingly, 15.8 % male & 14.8 % female adults and 26.3 % male youth & 22.5 % female youth supported organizing special camps /shivirs for Jain education. This chapter is mainly based on the opinions of the respondents on Jain Way of life including food and dietary habits, visiting temples, religious interactions amongst youth and so on. Page 66 of 66
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