Protest of Jain community

• The Jain community has recently been protested over demands related to two holy sites — Sammed Shikhar on Parasnath hill in Jharkhand and Shatrunjaya hill in Palitana of Gujarat.

Highlights

• In Jharkhand, the issue is about Parasnath hill being declared a tourist spot and an eco-sensitive zone without consulting the people from the Jain community, while in Gujarat, the row is over the vandalising of a shrine and related security concerns in Shatrunjaya Hill
• Parasnath Hills are a range of hills located in Giridih district of Jharkhand.
• The highest peak is 1350 metres. It is one of the most important pilgrimage centre for Jains. They call it Sammed Sikhar.
• The hill Is named after Parasnath, the 23rd Tirthankara.
• Twenty of Jain Tirthankaras attained salvation on this hill. For each of them there is a shrine (gumti or tuk) on the hill.
• Some of the temples on the hill are believed to be more than 2,000 years old.
• The Santhals call it Marang Buru, the hill of the deity. They celebrate a hunting festival on the full moon day in Baisakh (mid-April).
• Every year, thousands of Jains from across the world undertake the 27 km long trek of climbing the hills to reach the summit.
• Pilgrimage tourism is the type of tourism that entirely or powerfully motivates tourists for the achievement of religious attitude and practices. Thus, pilgrimage and “religious tourism could become an enduring source of employment and income, without sacrificing the important social and religious functions of the sanctuaries and their pilgrimages.