 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(February 2014) |
 Jain Temple Oshwal Centre, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, UK | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 20,288 [1] | |
| Languages | |
| English Indian Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Jainism |
Adherents of Jainism first arrived in the United Kingdom in the 19th century. Britain, mainly England, has since become a center of the Jain diaspora with a population of 40,000 in 2007. [2]
In 1873 Hermann Jacobi encountered Jain texts in London. He later visited India to further study and translate some of them. Later during 1891–1901, Mahatma Gandhi in London corresponded with Shrimad Rajchandra regarding questions raised by missionaries.
Champat Rai Jain was in England during 1892–1897, to study law. He established the Rishabh Jain Lending library 1930. Later he translated several Jain texts into English. [3]
During 1906–1910, Jugmandar Lal Jaini was at Oxford as a law student. In 1909 he created the Jain Literature Society in London together with F. W. Thomas and H. Warren. [4]
In 1949 The World Jaina Mission was founded in London, by M. McKay, W. H. Talbot, F. Mansell, and Mrs. K. P. Jain.
After the independence of the various East African colonies in early 1960s, Jains of Gujarati origin who had been in the colonies for decades started moving to UK. This process accelerated after the 1972 Idi Amin expulsion of Asians from Uganda. Most of the Gujarati Jains from East Africa belonged either to the Visa Oshwal community, originally from the Halar region of Saurashtra or the Jamnagar Srimali community . [5] [6]
In 1973 the Jain Samaj Leicester was formed. [7] [8] In 1979 an old church building on Oxford Street, in the heart of Leicester, was bought and named the Jain Centre. In 1980, the Jain Samaj was expanded as a European body.
In 1982, the Jain Samaj opened an office in London. The All India (Overseas) Jinalaya Samiti was created to complete the temple according to the plans drawn by the architects from Leicester, Bombay and Ahmedabad.
In 1983, on 10 November, Shilanyas ceremony (the laying of the foundation stones) for the first fully consecrated Jain temple in the western world, was performed. In 1984, on 14 December, the Anjanshalaka ceremony was carried at Pali for the images of Shantinath, Mahavir and Parswanath. In 1985, on 25 August, the above images were placed in the Jain Centre, Leicester. In 1988, on 8 July, the images were entered in the Garbagriha (permanent place of adobe) and the Pratistha ceremony was celebrated for 16 days from 8 July 1988 to 23 July 1988.
In 2020, Historic England (HE) published A Survey of Jain Buildings in England with the aim of providing information about buildings that Jains use in England so that HE can work with communities to enhance and protect those buildings now and in the future. The scoping survey identified 27 Jain Buildings. [12]
The Jains in India are the last direct representatives of the ancient Shramana tradition. People who practice Jainism, an ancient religion of the Indian subcontinent, are collectively referred to as Jains.
Adherents of Jainism first arrived in the United States in the 20th century. Jain immigration began in earnest in the late 1960s and continues to the present day.
The Gujarati people, or Gujaratis, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who reside in or can trace their ancestry or heritage to a region of the Indian subcontinent primarily centered in the present-day western Indian state of Gujarat. They primarily speak Gujarati, an Indo-Aryan language. While Gujaratis mainly inhabit Gujarat, they have a diaspora worldwide. Gujaratis in India and the diaspora are prominent entrepreneurs and industrialists and maintain high social capital. Many notable independence activists were Gujarati, including Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
The credit for introducing Jainism to the West goes to a German scholar, Hermann Jacobi, who translated some Jain literature and published it in the series 'Sacred Books of East' in 1884. In Europe, the largest Jain populations are in Britain, with a population of about 25,000.
Hinduism in England is the third largest religion in the country, with over 1,020,533 followers as of the 2021 Census. This represents over 1.5% of the English population, up from 1.1% the previous decade. Hindus are predominantly in the cities of London and Leicester, where they make up greater proportions of the population. England has a number of Hindu temples, including the Hindu temple at Neasden which is the largest Hindu temple in Europe. Recently the largest Hindu Mandir in the North of England, the Bradford Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple opened in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Mahudi is a town in Mansa taluka of Gandhinagar district, Gujarat, India situated on the banks of Madhumati river, a tributary of Sabarmati River. It is a pilgrimage centre of Jains and other communities visiting temple of Jain deity, Ghantakarna Mahavir and Padmaprabhu Jain Temple. It was known as Madhupuri formerly.
Ghantakarna Mahavira is one of the fifty-two viras of Svetambara Jainism. He is chiefly associated with Tapa Gaccha, a monastic lineage. He was a deity of the Jain tantrik tradition. There is a shrine dedicated to him at the Mahudi Jain Temple established by Buddhisagar Suri, a Jain monk, in nineteenth century. It is one of the popular Jain pilgrimage centres of India.
Jain Canadians number 8,275, composing 0.02% of Canada's population. Adherents of Jainism first settled in Canada in small numbers in the late 19th century. The number of Jains in Canada later increased, leading to the establishment of Jain temples in Canada. The type of Jainism in Canada later exhibited several differences from Jainism in India.
The Jains in Belgium are estimated to be around about 1,500 people.
Jina Kanchi Jain Math, Melsithamur, is a Jain Matha that is located near Gingee, Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu, India.
Laxmisena, or Lakshmisena, is the name given to the head (Bhattaraka) of the Mel Sithamur Jain Math.
Chitrabhanu was a prominent figure in American Jainism. He was one of the co-founders of JAINA.
Vishwa Jain Sangathan (VJS) is a religious and social service organization of Jains in India. Amongst other things, it was involved in the Jain minority campaign.
Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha (DBJS), also known as the South Indian Jain Association, is a religious and social service organization of the Jains in India. The organization is headquartered at Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. The association is credited with being one of the first Jain associations to start reform movements among the Jains in modern India. The organization mainly seeks to represent the interests of the native Jains of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa.
Sompura Salat are a Hindu Vishwakarma Brahmin community of Gujarat, which have branched off from Sompura Brahmin community. They are also found in southern Rajasthan, specially in the Mewar region. Their origin is said to be from Prabhas Patan famous for the Somnath temple. The term "salat" is derived from Shilavat, the old term for a temple architect.
The history of Jainism in Australia is relatively short when compared to the history of Christianity on the same continent. There are four Jain centres in Australia. The Jain population in Australia was counted in the 2016 census to be 4,047, of whom 38% lived in Greater Sydney, 31% in Greater Melbourne, and 15% in Greater Perth. The states and territories with the highest proportion of Jains are Western Australia (0.025%) and Victoria (0.022%), whereas those with the lowest are Queensland (0.006%) and Tasmania (0.001%).
There are references in Jain texts to various areas of Southeast Asia. During the reign of Samprati, Jain teachers were sent to various Southeast Asian countries.
Mahudi Jain Temple is situated in Mahudi town in Mansa taluka of Gandhinagar district, Gujarat. It is a pilgrimage centre of Jains and other communities visiting the temple of Jain deity, Ghantakarna Mahavir and the Padmaprabhu Jain Temple. It was known as Madhupuri historically.
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