Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Thousands of members of Jain community in Bhopal took out a silent march from Agrasen Chouraha to CM House on Wednesday. They were protesting against Jharkhand government’s proposal to make Shri Sammed Shikharji as a tourist destination. It is holiest site of Jains located in Giridih district in Jharkhand.
According to a press release issued by Jain Community, the Jharkhand government withdrew the proposal later in the day to turn their pilgrimage site into a tourist spot.
During the rally, Muni Shri Aditya Sagar Maharaj, a disciple of Acharya Shri Vishuddh Sagar said, "Today, everyone has gathered here not for politics but in support of religion. Under any circumstances, the government will have to change its decision. It takes less time to prove the truth and more time to prove a lie. We are peace-loving, let us remain peace-loving, don't make us revolutionary, and let the government function as a government, don't become arrogant." Free Press interacted with a section of Jain community regarding their disapproval. Excerpts
Not meant for fun
Aadi Jain, a 12-year-old boy, said, "Shikhar ji is very important to us. Jain people keep that place holy and clean. If the government turns it into a tourist spot, then people from other religions will come there and our holy place will become impure as they’ll eat non-vegetarian food there.It is a place to pray, not to have fun."
Will get polluted
Priyanka Jain, a software engineer, said, "We are very peaceful people, we pay our taxes on time. We are a minority but we pay the most taxes in the country.The government is greedy, but we are not. All we want is to keep our pilgrimage site exclusively for ourselves. That’s all, and the government will have to listen to us. People from other communities will pollute the holy hill by smoking, drinking, and walking around in shoes."
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