A Sociological Study of Jain Community in Belgaum District

Marital StatusThe marital status of Jain population in Belgaum shows a wide variance with 34.39% of themunmarried while 52.67% married. The percentage of unmarried males was found to be38.24% in contrast to 30.34% females, thus signifying a higher percentage of unmarried malein the local population. While the population of widows/widowers was 2.21%. About 10% ofthe population did not reveal their marital status. That of the divorcee or separated was foundto be 0.32%.Table 5.4: Marital StatusMarital Status Number % Male % Female % 638 34.39 364 38.24 274 30.34Unmarried 977 52.67 494 51.89 483 53.49 41 2.21 3 0.32 38 4.21Married 6 0.32 0 0.00 6 0.66Widow/Widower 193 10.40 91 9.56 102 11.30Divorce / 1,855 100 952 100 903 100separatedNo responseTotal60 Marital Status504030 Number20 Male10 Female 0 Page 39 of 76

Inter-MarriageIn the case of Jains, inter-religious marriage means marriage between Jain and Hindu, Jainand Sikh, Jain and Christian, etc. There has been a long practice of inter-religious marriagesbetween Jain and Vaishnav Hindus in Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh and major towns andcities of North India. In recent times such marriages have not only increased in number, theyhave also extended to include various other castes/sub-castes of Brahamins, Khsatriyas, andeven non Vaishnav Vaishyas. Given the scenario, it should not be surprising that a majorityof respondents (73.14%) in Belgaum are aware of this phenomenon (Table 5.4).Incidentally, despite high percentage of awareness about inter-religious marriages, those whoprefer such marriages are 67%, which signifies a deficit between awareness and actualchoices of the respondents. Almost 57% of the respondents felt that Jain arranged marriagesare being gradually replaced by self-arranged love marriages (Table 5.5).When Belgaum Jain respondents were asked about the growing trends of marriage of JainsBoys/Girls outside the Jain community, a large number (73.14%) responded in affirmation,thus showing significant awareness of the marital problem faced by the Jain community.While 22.34% of them showed ignorance on the issue, some 3.19% did not respond to ourquery (Table 5.4).In reply to a question “Has there been any such marriage in your family?” only 7% of therespondents said Yes, 84% said No and 9% had no response.Table 5.5: Inter-faith marriageQuestion Yes % No % No response % 17 4.52Are you aware of thegrowing trends of marriage 275 73.14 84 22.34of Jains Boys/Girls outsidethe Jain community?Total 376 No response Inter-faith marriage 5% No 22% Yes 73% Page 40 of 76

Inter-marriage preferenceWhile there was a high percentage of awareness about inter-religious marriages within theJain community in Belgaum, an overwhelming majority (78.99%) did not favour suchmatrimonial alliances or religious exogamy. However, 17.82% of our respondents favoredinter-religious marriages for various reasons. Some 3.19% of our sample did not answer thequery.Only about 18% of the youth respondents were in favour of inter-faith marriages. About three- fourth of the respondents were not in favour of such marriages, and the rest did not respondto this question. (See Table 5.7)Table 5.6: Inter-marriage preferenceQuestion Yes % No % No response %Are you in favour of Jain- 17.82 297 78.99 12 3.19non-Jain marriages 67Total 376.Inter-marriage preference 3.19 Yes 17.82 No No response 78.99Table 5.7: Inter-marriage preference (youth)Question Yes % No % No response %Are you in favour of Jain- 17.84 276 74.59 28 7.57non-Jain marriages 66Total 370 Page 41 of 76

Reasons of Inter-MarriageWhile responding to the reasons of inter-faith marriages, about 56% of the respondentssuggested co-education/ co-working as the main reason of inter-faith marriages and about24% of them mentioned non-availability of suitable match in the Jain community as thesecond reason (Table 5.7).Among the youth respondents 50.5% mentioned co-education/ co-work as the main reason ofinter-faith marriage and 40.5% mentioned unavailability of suitable partners in the Jaincommunity as the second reason (Table 5.8).Table 5.8: Reasons of Jain and Non-Jain MarriagesReasons Number % 211 56.12Co-education/co-workCould not find suitable match in Jain 90 23.94communityOther (please specify) 30 7.98 45 11.97 No response 376 100TotalReasons of inter-faith marriage Co-education/co-work Could not find suitable match in Jain community Other (please specify) No responseTable 5.9: Reasons of Jain and Non-Jain Marriages (youth)Reasons Number %Co-education/co-work 187 50.54Could not find suitable match in Jaincommunity 150 40.54Other (please specify) 11 2.97No response 22 5.95Total 370 100 Page 42 of 76

Table 5.10: Arranged vs marriage by choiceQuestion Yes % No % No response % 37.23 22 5.85Are arranged marriages beingreplaced by love marriagesamong Jains in Belgaum 214 56.91 140Total 376Changes in Marriage InstitutionOur survey of Belgaum Jain population showed a high percentage of late marriages,accounting to 35.10% of such marriages. This is surprising in view of the rural and agrarianJain population inhabiting the district. Late marriage was motioned by more femalerespondents (37.65%) than male respondents (34.36%) as the major change in the institutionof marriage in recent details.A majority (83.78%) of Jain respondents preferred nighttime wedding ceremony instead ofdaytime solemnization (16.22%). The performance of wedding ritual is an important aspectof Jain way of life, which is generally performed by a Jain religious Pandit. Surprisingly, amajority (75%) of them had no objection if a non-Jain pandit performed the ritual.While majority of Jain respondents preferred arrange marriage as a common matrimonialpractice, a sizeable (17.55%) number of them preferred self-choice or love marriages.Table 5.11: Changes in marriage institutionLate marriage Number % Male % Female %Day-time marriage 132 35.10 100 34.36 32 37.65Marriage by Jain Pandit 61 16.22 51 17.53 10 11.76Marriage by own choice 93 24.73 69 23.71 24 28.24No response 66 17.55 52 17.87 14 16.47Total 24 6.38 19 6.53 5 5.88 376 100 291 100.00 85 10040 Changes in marriage institution Number35 Male30 Day-time Marriage by Marriage by No response Female25 marriage Jain Pandit own choice201510 5 0 Late marriage Page 43 of 76

Prevalence of dowryUnlike Hindus, among whom dowry is widely prevalent, majority of Jain community(61.17%) in Belgaum responded negatively to the prevalence of the social evil in thecommunity. However, 28.19% of them said that it was prevalent to some extent, while 6.91%felt that it existed to a larger extent. The percentage of female respondents affirming theexistence of dowry was higher than that of male respondents.Table 5.12: Prevalence of dowrySituation of dowry Number % Male % Female %Prevalent to a large extent 26 6.915 19 6.53 7 8.24Prevalent to some extent 106 28.191 71 24.40 35 41.18Not prevalent 230 61.170 189 64.95 41 48.24No response 14 3.723 12 4.12 2 2.35Total 376 100 291 100 85 100Widow and divorcee remarriageA sizeable majority (68.88%) of Jain respondents were found to be in favour of remarriage ofJain divorcees/widows. However, 27.13% did not favour such alliances. As reported earlier,the percentage of divorcee or separated was found to be a meager 0.32% among the Jainrespondents, which shows such incidences were quite less.Table 5.13: Widow and divorcee remarriageQuestion Yes % No % No response % 68.88 102 27.13 15 3.99Do you support 259 376remarriage ofdivorcees/widows in JainsTotalDivorceThe opinion about remarriage of divorcees or widows within the Jain community in Belgaumcould very well be compared with the prevalence of such incidences within the community. Itwas found that only 6.91% of the respondents reported known cases of divorces within theirfamily or among the relatives. Page 44 of 76

Table 5.14: DivorceQuestion Yes % No % No response %Has there been any case 6.91 339 90.16 11 2.93of divorce in your 26family/relations? 376TotalMembership of Jain AssociationsA large number (78.72%) of Jain population in Belgaum district did not reveal theirassociation or affiliation with any social or religious groups of Jains. Dakshin Bharat JainSabha and Karnataka Jain Association were two major socio-religious associations in thedistrict with each commanding 3.19% of Jains as their members, while 14.89% of them weremembers of other less-known associations or groups. These included the followingassociations: Jain Yuvak Mandal, Jain Yuvak Sangh, Bhartesh Education Trust, GomteshJain Vidhyapith, Jain International Trade Organisation, Jain Milan, Veer Sewa Dal etc.Table 5.15: Organization and Associational DistributionDakshin Bharat Jain Sabha Number % Male % Female %Karnataka Jain Association 12 3.19 12 4.12 0 0Karnataka State Jain 12 3.19 11 3.78 1 1.18conferenceOther 0 0 0 0 00No response 56 14.89 41 14.09 15 17.65Total 296 78.72 227 78.01 69 81.18 376 100 291 100 85 100Inter-Ethnic RelationsAs pointed out earlier, in spite of Jainism being a separate religion, it is often regarded asVaishyas in the framework of the Hindu Varna-Vyavastha. Our survey of Belgaum Jaincommunity revealed that 68.62% of the respondents considered Jains as a separatecommunity independent of Hindus, while 22% felt it to be a part of the Hindu Varna system.Females (72.94%) were found to hold their religious identity more strongly than their malecounterparts (67.35%). Page 45 of 76

Table 5.16: Jainism and HinduismWithin the Hindu Varna Number % Male % Female %systemA separate community 83 22.07 66 22.68 17 20independent of HindusNo response 258 68.62 196 67.35 62 72.94Total 35 9.31 29 9.97 6 7.06 376 100 291 100 85 10080 Number70 Male60 Female5040 A separate community No response30 independent of Hindus2010 0 Within the Hindu Varna systemConcluding RemarksThis chapter is mainly based on the opinions of the respondents on certain issues pertainingfamily, marriage and Jain identity, which have repercussions on Jain population dynamics.The chapter underlines the crisis in marriage in the Jain community, and at the same time thegrowing importance of inter-religious marriages.Our findings of Jain population in Belgaum district revealed an overwhelming presence ofDigambar Jains (78.72). While there was high percentage of awareness about inter-religiousmarriages within the Jain community, an overwhelming majority (78.99%) did not favorinter-faith matrimonial alliances. Among the major changes in the Jain marriage institutionlate marriage ranked the first with 35.10% respondents. A large number of our respondents(61.17%) reacted negatively to the prevalence of dowry in the community. Over 68% of theJain respondents in Belgaum considered Jains as a separate community and religion,independent of Hinduism. Page 46 of 76

Chapter – 6 JAIN WAY OF LIFEThis chapter analyses the various aspects of Jain way of life, as practiced and followed byBelgaum Jain population. The parameters that account for these practices include visit totemples, dietary habits, teaching of religious practices and the drift of youth away from thetenets of Jainism in modern times. While Ahimsa (non-violence), Aparigraha (non-attachment), self-restrain, Anekantwvada, celibacy, vows and fasting are emphasized as thecornerstone of Jain teaching, 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 oflife. “Jain ethics for householders lays significant importance on Brhamcharya. Lust is alsoconsidered as a psychical possession and cause of tainting the pure nature of soul. The vowsof celibacy in Jainism for a householder is called Svadarasantoshpariman that limits thesexual relation to one's religiously wedded spouse only and gradually enhanced to completeabstinence.” (Jain, Shugan C, 2017, pp 62)It must be noted that religious ideologies/identities and way of life are often conceptualised interms of bi-polarity: conservative vs liberal, orthodox vs heterodox, etc. Thus, Hinduism isgenerally considered as liberal and the Islam as conservative. Jainism can also becharacterised by a very high degree of asceticism and orthodoxy. The Jain identity and theway of life get shaped accordingly, and is a matter of choice and practice. Thus for example,an empirical study of Jains in Bundelkhund found the Jain way of life as highly orthodox interms of daily visit to temple, vegetarianism, eating before sunset etc. (Jain, Prakash C.2015).Our Belgaum district survey data appear to be suggesting a moderate and flexible way of lifeon all the indicators except the vegetarian diet which can be regarded as more or less anabsolute and universal indicator of Jain identity (see Tables 6.3 and 6.4). In the case of“eating before sunset”, more than 84% of our respondents said they found it difficult tofollow in their daily routine. Incidentally, a considerable number of respondents did notrespond to questions on Jain way of life. The ‘No Response’ percentage in our surveymeasured 2.66% at the lower end, while 6.91% at the highest level.Visit templeThe Belguam survey of Jain population revealed a small majority (50.27%) of Jains visitingthe temple/Sthanak daily, with the practice a little more prevalent among women (56.47%)than men (48.45%). Some 23.94% of Jains were found to be visiting the religious placesoccasionally followed by visits on the occasion of religious festivals like Paryushan Parv(14.63%). The data could be compared with the high percentage of Digambar Jain populationin Bundhelkhand, among whom temple visits are frequent (Jain, Prakash C. 2015). Over 2%of the respondents did not elicit any response to the query.

Data on distribution of youth respondents’ visit to temple are presented in Table 6.2.Accordingly about 43% of the youth make daily visit to the temple, whereas about 29.1% dothis occasionally. Sunday visitors and those visiting only during Paryushan Parv are 10.2%and 14.8% respectively. (See Table 6.2)Table 6.1: Visit to templeDaily Number % Male % Female %Occasionally 189 50.27 141 48.45 48 56.47Sunday 90 23.94 72 24.74 18 21.18During Paryushan Parv 34 9.04 27 9.28 7 8.24OnlyNo response 55 14.63 44 15.12 11 12.94Total 8 2.13 7 2.41 1 1.18 376 100 291 100 85 10060504030 Number Male20 Female100 Daily Occasionally Sunday During No response Parushan Parv Only Page 48 of 76

Table 6.2: Visit to temple/Sthanak (Youth)Daily Parv Number % Male % Female % 159 42.97 102 41.13 57 46.72Occasionally 108 29.19 81 32.66 27 22.13 38 10.27 27 10.89 11 9.02SundayDuring Paryushan 55 14.86 32 12.90 23 18.85OnlyNo response 10 2.70 6 2.42 4 3.28 370 100 248 100 122 100Total504540353025 Number Male20 Female151050 Daily Occasionally Sunday During Parushan No response Parv OnlyFood after sunsetDietary habit of taking food before sunset is a common and popular practice among the Jains.Contrary to this, a great majority of Belgaum Jain respondents (84.04%) take food aftersunset. Only 13.30% of our respondents said that they did not take food after the sunset.Some 2.66% respondents did not respo to this item.A worst majority of Belgaum Jain youth (about 85%) also take food after sunset. (See Table6.4)Table 6.3: Food after sunsetQuestion Yes % No % No response % 2.66Take food after sunset 316 84.04 50 13.30 10Total 376 Page 49 of 76

Table 6.4: Food after sunset (youth)Question Yes % No % No response % 0.81Take food after sunset 315 85.14 52 14.054 3Total 370DrinkingJain way of life stresses on moderation of food habits and self-restrain in consumption of anykind of intoxicants. The consumption of liquor among the Belgaum Jain population wasfound to be low (7.98%). An overwhelming majority of them (87.5%) said that they did notconsume liquor, while 4.52% did not respond to the query.A considerable number of Jain youth in Belgaum district (16.49%) admitted of drinkingalcohol. (See Table 6.6)Table 6.5: DrinkingQuestion Yes % No % No response %Drink alcohol 30 7.98 329 87.5 17 4.52Total 376Table 6.6: Drinking (youth)Question Yes % No % No response %Drink alcohol 5.68Total 61 16.49 288 77.84 21 370Dietary HabitsAs part of the practice of Ahimsa (non-violence), killing of animals or any kind of violenceon creature is prohibited in Jainism. An overwhelming majority (92.82%) of our respondentssaid that they were vegetarian, while 2.93% said they were non-vegetarian, thus affirmingtheir Jain way of life.Only about 2% of the youth respondent confessed of taking non-vegetarian food. Assuming“No response” cases (4-5%) as the indirect supporters of non-vegetarianism, the total numberconsumers of non-vegetarian food do not exceed the 7% mark. (See Table 6.8) Page 50 of 76

Table 6.7: Dietary HabitsQuestion Yes % No % No response %Eat non-vegetarian food 11 2.93 349 92.82 16 4.26Total 376Table 6.8: Dietary Habits (youth)Question Yes % No % No response %Eat non-vegetarian food 2.16 345 93.24 17 4.59Total 8 370Youth, drifting away from JainismThe appeal of Jainism among youth is an important religious issue. Our survey found that alarge majority (71.54%) of Belgaum Jains believed that its youths were drifting away fromJain philosophy and way of life, while 23.40% did not agree to the preposition. Some 5.05%of our respondents did not respond to the question.Drifting away from Jainism by younger generation of Jains is admitted by about 67.5%,whereas about 29% of them denied it. (See Table 6.10)Table 6.9: Opinion about drifting of youth from JainismQuestion Yes % No % No response %Younger generation is 71.54 88 23.40 19 5.05drifting away from 269Jainism 376TotalOpinion about drifting of youth from Jainism No response 5% No 23% Yes 72% Page 51 of 76

Table 6.10: Opinion about drifting of youth from Jainism (Youth)Question generation is Yes % No % No response %Younger away from 67.57 108 29.19 12 3.24drifting 250Jainism 370TotalReligious educationTo a query whether Jain religious education were imparted to youths, some 42.82% of ourrespondents answered in affirmation, while 50.27% disagreed. Some 6.91% of ourrespondents did not respond to the question.Table 6.11: Religious educationQuestion Yes % No % No response %Religious Education 161 42.82 189 50.27 26 6.91Total 376Should religious education be made mandatory?Surprisingly, a large majority (86.44%) of Belgaum Jain respondents believed that religiouseducation should be mandatory for Jain children in order to inculcate the ethos of Jainism inthem. However, some 9.04% of our respondents felt that no such compulsion should beforced upon children while 4.52% did not express their opinion.Table 6.12: Should religious education be made mandatory?Question Yes % No % No response % 17 4.52Do you think thatreligious educationshould be made 325 86.44 34 9.04compulsory to Jainchildren?Total 376 Page 52 of 76

Should religious education be made mandatory 9% 5% Yes 86% No No responseOpinion on JainismThe Belgaum Jain population's opinion on Jainism was measured under three broadparameters: whether there were too many rituals in Jainism, the lack of exposure to Jainismand Jainism’s harmonious existence with modern culture. Surprisingly, lack of exposure toJainism was cited as the main reason (48.40%) about its perception among the Jains in thedistrict, followed by too many rituals in the religion and not being in tune with the modernculture. The 'No response' was found to be quite high at 10.59%. Some respondents in 'othercategory' cited too much emphasis on modern education, thus leading to the neglect of Jainreligious teaching. Some also cited lack of infrastructural facilities and the lack of awarenesson Jainism. However, a common consensus was that Jain community should lay stress onimparting Jain teachings to Jain children and youth.The youth response to on these issues was a little different. The lack of exposure to Jainismwas listed as the main reason of drifting (62.7%) followed by too many rituals in Jainism(20.5%). Only about 16% of Jain youth said that Jainism is not “in tune with modernculture”.Table 6.13: Reasons of drifting away from JainismToo Many rituals in Jainism Number % Male % Female %Lack of exposure to Jainism 85 22.61 66 22.68 19 22.35Not in tune with modern 182 48.40 148 50.86 34 40.00cultureOther 75 19.95 54 18.56 21 24.71No responseTotal 6 1.60 4 1.37 2 2.35 28 7.45 19 6.53 9 10.59 376 100 291 100 85 100 Page 53 of 76

605040 Number Male30 Female20100 Too Many rituals Lack of exposure Not in tune with Other in Jainism to Jainism modern cultureTable 6.14: Reasons of drifting away from Jainism (Youth)Too Many rituals in Number % Male % Female %Jainism 76 20.54 50 20.16 26 21.31Lack of exposure toJainism 232 62.70 159 64.11 73 59.84Not in tune with modern 59 15.95 37 14.92 22 18.03culture 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00Other 3 0.81 2 0.81 1 0.82No response 370 100 248 100 122 100TotalPopularizing JainismTo a query as to how Jainism could be popularized, a large number of Belgaum respondentsfelt that the onus of its popularity rests with the Jain community. That the latter couldorganize Sunday schools and Camps (70.48%) to impart Jain religious teachings to childrenand youth. Some 24.73% of our respondents felt that Jain moral education should be includedin the school/college curriculum to make it popular among the Jain students.Some of Belgaum respondents felt that parents should teach their children about Jainismwhile others laid stress on the need of publicity, advertisement, workshop, religious hymnsand musical programs for making the religion popular among the youth. Some of ourrespondents also said that Jain educational institutions should be set-up in cities to teachJainism.Jain youth responses were more or less on the same pattern as that of the general Jainpopulation of Belgaum. Among the suggestions for imparting religious education to youth thefollowing were important ones: religious/spiritual camps (50%), religious education programs(24%) and special training courses (17%). Page 54 of 76

Table 6.15: Suggestions for Popularizing JainismJain moral education Number % Male % Female %classes in 93 24.73 69 23.71 24 28.24school/colleges 147 39.10 113 38.83 34 40.00Jain Sunday schools for 118 31.38 94 32.30 24 28.24 8 2.13 8 2.75 0 0.00teaching Jainism 10 2.66 7 2.41 3 3.53 376 100 291 100 85 100Jain shivris (camps) for Female %religious education 32 26.23Other 49 40.16 36 29.51No response 0.00Total 5 4.10 122 100Table 6.16: Suggestions for Popularizing Jainism (Youth)Jain moral education Number % Male %classes in school/collegesJain Sunday schools for 107 28.92 75 30.24teaching JainismJain shivris (camps) for 152 41.08 103 41.53religious education 100 64Other 11 27.03 6 25.81No response 370 0.00 248 0.00 2.97 2.42Total 100 10045 Suggestions for popularizing Jainism (youth)4035302520 Number Male15 Female1050 Jain moral Jain Sunday Jain shivris Other No response (camps) for education classes schools for religious in school/colleges teaching Jainism education Page 55 of 76

Table 6.17: Suggestion for religious educationSpiritual Number % Male % Female %Campus 185 50 141 56.85 44 36.07Special 63 17.03 43 17.34 20 16.39TrainingReligious 90 24.32 45 18.15 45 36.89educationprogram 32 8.65 19 7.66 13 10.66No 370 100 248 100 122 100responseTotalConcluding RemarksThis chapter is mainly based on the opinions of the respondents on certain issues pertainingto Jain way of life, which includes visits to religious places, food and dietary habits, religiousteachings and religious interaction of Jain youths. The chapter underlines the crisis infollowing the Jain way of life, especially related to diet and dietary habits. A large number ofour respondent (84.04%) found adherence to food consumption after sunset as impractical intoday's time. Surprisingly, majority (86.44%) of our respondents believed that religiouseducation should be made mandatory for Jain children for inculcating in them the values andthe Jain way of life. The respondents, both adult and youth, appeared to be following amoderate and relaxed Jain way of life. Page 56 of 76

Chapter – 7 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONBelgaum district survey is the third in a series of Jain Population Studies in India undertakenby International School for Jain Studies, New Delhi. The first two surveys were conducted inDelhi at Hauz Khas tehsil and New Delhi district. The Belgaum study is the first survey of itskind in South India and is expected to provide an insight into the distinguishing features ofNorth-South Jain population divide along with its concomitant attributes. Another highlightof this survey is the study of Jain youth population, which was carried out to understand thehopes, aspirations and their views on Jainism.The idea of conducting Belgaum survey was mooted in 2017. With the help of a steeringcommittee consisting of scholars and community leaders, two questionnaires were finalized.One questionnaire which was for the general Jain population of Belgaum consisted of 51questions/items and the other which was meant for the Jain youth of Belgaum consisted of 22questions/items. These questions meant to highlight the sociological profile of the Jaincommunity covered the following four major aspects of the community: (i) Populationcharacteristics, socio-economic aspects, community profile and the Jain way of life andvalues. The work on data collection began in March 2018 and continued till the end of April2018. Data collection was done by Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana (BJS), a Pune-basedphilanthropic organization devoted to improve the quality of school education in India. Thedata were tabulated and analyzed and the final report was prepared in July 2018.The results of Belgaum survey were found to be quite similar to a Bundelkhand study (Jain,Prakash C 2015), especially in terms of socio-economic profile. At both these places,majority of Jains were found to be poor and engaged in agriculture and/or petty trade.Allegorically, Belgaum could be called the Bundelkhand of Karnataka. However, there weremarked differences in terms of religious and ritualistic practices. We found Belgaum Jains tobe more “liberal” in terms of, eating after the sunset, food habits and consuming liquor.Unlike our earlier studies of Delhi, Belgaum survey does not directly address the issue ofunder-enumeration of Jain population in census-undertakings. The issue had come into sharpfocus with the 2011 census data suggesting only 5.4% decadal growth rate of the total Jainpopulation in India during 2001 and 2011. However, our survey at Belgaum shows that while78.7% of the respondents were enumerated in the 2011 census, some 9.3% were not. About12% of the respondents did not respond to the question. These data through some light ownunder-enumeration of the Jain population in census-taking exercises.In Belgaum Jain community survey, 376 general Jain population and 370 youth participated.Most of the youth belonged to the same general Jain families. The data generated from theyouth were however merged with the general Jain population to provide a comparativeunderstanding of the profile of the Jain community. Our survey data suggest the total sample

Jain population in Belgaum district at 1,855 persons. The gender distribution appears to bemarginally in favors of male with 51.32% males and 48.68% females. Jain family size wasenumerated at 4.93 members.The study of Belgaum district survey revealed an overwhelming presence of Digambar Jains(78.72%). The survey also confirmed in most cases the practice of not using 'Jain' as surnameby the local people. In our sample of Belgaum district, only about 5% of the respondentswere found to be using 'Jain' as their surnames, while 91% of them preferred to use someother or local surnames.A noteworthy feature of our Belgaum survey was a sociological profile of its youthpopulation. The highest number of youth (56.75%) were found in the age group of 21-25years, with 59% male and 51% female. In the age group below 20 years, which had 25% ofthe youth population, females (30.33%) out-numbered the males (22.98%), which indicatesgender division in favor of female.A large number of those who responded to our survey were male (77%), only 23% of themwere female, with one-third in the age group of 45-54 years. A large majority (89%) of themwere married. Only one female respondent reported to be a divorcee or separated. Anoverwhelming majority (95%) of them were literate, with 35% holding graduation and aboveeducational qualifications.Agriculture was found to be the dominant (14.72%) occupation in Belgaum district followedby business (11.48%) and others working in service sector (10.57%). Majority of respondents(73%) reported their monthly income less than Rs 25,000, while only 10% of them had amonthly income of Rs 100,000 or more. The maximum size of the land holding among theJain population in the district was in the range of 5 acres or below, which constitutes 43.88%of the entire land holding along with 88% of them enjoying house ownership.The dependency ratio for the young in our survey was found to be high, whereas thedependency ratio for the old was low. In other words, the burden of supporting the youngpopulation on the economically active segment (15-59 years) is a little more than that ofsupporting the old population. The sex ratio in Belgaum district at 948 was marginally lowerthan the all-India Jain average of 954. The child sex ratio at 724 was much lower than thenational average of 889. Our survey data also reported 2.64% of non-responsive respondents.As per our survey, 88% of Jain population was found to be educated while 24.74% stillengaged in studies as students. Females in the Belgaum district fared better (75.41%) thanmen (60.48%) as graduates and above educational qualification. Predictably, the languages ofeducation were found to be Kannada (61.08%) followed by English and Hindi.While there was high percentage of awareness about inter-religious marriages within the Jaincommunity, a large majority (78.99%) did not favor the new matrimonial alliances orexogamy. In their own family and kinship network only 7% of the respondents admitted of Page 58 of 76

having inter-faith marriages. While responding to the reason of inter-faith marriage, about56% of the respondents suggested co-education/ co-working as the main reason of interfaithmarriage and about 24% of them mentioned non-availability of suitable match in the Jaincommunity as the second reason.Among the youth respondents 50.5% mentioned co-education/ co-work as the main reason ofinter-faith marriage and 40.5% mentioned unavailability of suitable partners as the secondreason. It was hypothesized that “the lower rate of growth of Jain population andconsequently the unavailability of suitable life partners within the community not onlyincreases the possibility of inter-religious marriage and drift, but also dilutes the key elementsof the typical orthodox Jain identity primarily based on Ahimsa”.Among the on-going changes in the marriage institution late marriage figured prominentlywith as many as 35.10% singling it out as a major change. A large number of our respondents(61.17%) denied the prevalence of dowry in the community.The opinions of the respondents on certain issues pertaining to Jain way of life, whichincludes visits to religious places, food and dietary habits, religious teachings and religiousinteraction of Jain youths have also been included in the report for giving a comparativeview.The Belgaum survey result reported difficulties in practicing the Jain way of life, especiallyrelated to food and dietary habits. In our survey reports the consumption of liquor was notfavored by majority of youth population (77.84%). The same was found to be true for non-vegetarianism, with 93.24% saying no to it. However, a large number of our respondents(84.04%) found adherence to food consumption after sunset as impractical in today's time.When it came to the religious education of children, majority (86.44%) of our respondentsbelieved that religious education should be made mandatory for Jain children for inculcatingin them the ethos of Jain way of life. The respondents appeared to be following a moderateand relaxed Jain way of life.The Belgaum sociological survey was found to be quite significant in a number of ways.While our survey positively validates some major population characteristics of the Jaincommunity such as age and gender structure, family size, sex and child sex ratios, literacyand educational levels, occupational structure etc, it also highlights a number of features ofthe Jain community of Belgaum district such as sect/sub-sect and caste composition, size andtype of family, education, occupation and income levels and the change and continuity in theJain way of life. An important finding of the survey was that over 68% of the Jainrespondents considered Jains as a separate community and religion, independent ofHinduism. Page 59 of 76



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