The Hindus of Sindh do not follow any specific religion. Those who are religious, would believe in all the religions
[Editor’s Note: This is Part 13 (Jains in Hala) of a series of articles based on a pre-partition book named “મારી સિંધ યાત્રા” (“منهنجي سنڌ جو سفر”) in Gujarati authored by Jain sadhu Shri Vidyavijayji, narrating his experiences of travel and stay in Karachi for about 2 and half a years between 1937 and 1939. It would be advisable to click on the Introductory Article and read it for a better understanding of the series. – Nasir Aijaz, Editor Sindh Courier]
Vimal Shah, Mumbai
Tikana
The Hindus of Sindh like Baniya, Soni, etc. do not follow any specific religion. Those who are religious – would believe in all the religions and those who are not – would believe in none. Despite that, Sikhism has touched this population and looks like most people believe in Guru Nanak. Hindus have built a place of worship in each village known as ‘Tikana’. ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ is kept in these Tikanas, visiting Sadhu Sants are accommodated there, and Panch-Panchayat holds meetings over there. Religious discourse is also held there. Most of the Sadhus visiting these villages are also non-vegetarians, possessing wealth and some of them even lead the life like a commoner. How would such Sadhus have the time for the spiritual uplift of this population?
[Vimal Shah: ‘Panch’ or ‘Panchayat’ is a governing body of the community consisting of respected people.]
Faith of the People
Although the people of this region are non-vegetarian, they are pious by heart and inquisitive. No sooner they hear that a Sadhu has arrived, they pay a visit and offer Sweets and Savories. They get astonished to know that we do not accept such things; do not travel by Ekka, Cars, or Railways; do not possess money; and do not touch even our own mother.”
Jains in Hala
If there’s a place in Sindh accommodating local and old-timer Jains, it’s Hala. There are two villages – ‘Old Hala’ and ‘New Hala’ only about 2 to 3 miles apart. The Jain community lives in the New Hala. The population of New Hala is about seven thousand, out of which about four thousand are Muslims and three thousand are Hindus. Except for the 175-200 people of about 40 Jain families, the rest of the Hindus are also non-vegetarians. Only those who have become ‘Vaishnav’ would be an exception.
Despite migrating from various places over hundreds of years, the turbans of Jains in Hala represent their natives
These people have mainly migrated from Pali and Jaisalmer. There’s one wealthy Jain family here. It is said that they have migrated from Radhanpur and settled here. Though, they have no linkages with their native anymore. Despite migrating from various places over hundreds of years, the turbans of Jains in Hala represent their natives. Palishahi turbans of the people migrated from Pali, and Jaisalmeri turbans of the people migrated from Jaisalmer. In general, any Jain wearing a turban is different from Sindh or any other region.
The attire of the Ladies
The attire of the ladies is very modest, covering the whole body, but the bangles made of ivory that they wear covering their hands from the wrist to armpit look very weird. Girls as small as two years also wear such ivory bangles. They carry about two fifty tolas of silver by wearing a ‘Kadiyo’, ‘Toda’ and ‘Langar’ on their feet. The petticoat worn by ladies is made of about 26-27 yards long cloth; and still, the lower part of the legs below the knees remains open. They wear a blouse and cover part of the stomach with a cloth. A cloth is hung with the blouse to cover the stomach. Generally, wear two dupattas. They wear a ‘Nathani’ and a ‘Bulla’ on the nose. Bulla is worn by piercing the nose between the two nostrils. Both these are hanging ornaments. Bulla is a sign of Musalman tradition. In the neck, they wear three to four folds of threads. They also wear ‘Timaniya’ and ‘Chakra’ necklaces. They have a particular style of braiding hair. They add wax to the hair and braid right up to the eyebrows covering their foreheads. Females from little girls’ right up to grownup ladies mostly color their lips.
These ladies of Jain families do not go out of the Jain Mohalla. They do not participate in the processions. Mandir is within the Mohalla, so they do not have difficulty in visiting the Mandir and Upashray.
[Vimal Shah: ‘Upashray’ is a multipurpose community centre for religious studies, rituals and holding discourses. Sadhus are also given accommodation in the Upashray.]
The only Mohalla
It is truly appreciable that these less than two hundred people of about forty Jain families strictly follow their religion and code of conduct, despite living amongst about seven thousand non-vegetarians, most of whom are Muslims. All the forty families live in a single Mohalla. If the main gate of the Mohalla is closed, no one can enter the Mohalla. Mandir, Upashray, Dharamshala – everything is within the Mohalla. We could sense the feeling of joy among the Jains of Hala since they considered themselves fortunate that they got an opportunity to take darshan of their beloved Gurus over the history of hundreds of years.
Fanaticism in Religion
All the forty Jain families belong to the Visha Oswal cast. All of them have settled here by migrating from outside for a very long time. Though they have become almost Sindhi since they are settled here over hundreds of years, they strictly follow the Jain religion in their thoughts, conduct and rituals.
Among the Jains here, the entire family of Sheth Kasturchand Parekh, Bhai Maherchandji, Sheth Hakemchandji, Sheth Bankilalji, and a few others are very pious and generous. All these people used the opportunity to offer their services during the illness of Muni Himanshuvijayji.
The Jain Mandir of Hala
There’s one Jain Mandir in Hala. For reasons unknown, the structure looks like a residence. There are many idols in the Mandir, but they are all lose. Despite the Jain community living here for hundreds of years, why would they not have installed any idols so far is an unsolved puzzle.
Two incidents – one of grief and another of joy happened during our stay at Hala.
Shaheed Himanshuvijayji
The incident of grief was that we lost a young sadhu aged only thirty years – an exceptional scholar of Sanskrit and Prakrit, passionate for History, interested in research, a good orator and author, and he was my disciple – Shree Himanshuvijayji. The Karachi Jain Sangh, Dr. Nyalchand of Karachi, Bhai Talakshi of Karachi, P.T. Shah, Bhai Khushalchand, Bhai Vrajlal, Ravichand, and many other volunteers, and The Hala Jain Sangh, did not leave any stone unturned in their attempt to save that lamp from extinguishing. And particularly despite the sleepless nights and round-the-clock nursing of Dr. Nyalchand, finally the lamp extinguished.
Things will happen at its destined time without fail. Life ends at the place where it is destined. Despite not having the plan of visiting Hala even in our dreams, the soul of that sadhu was demanding the soil of Hala. How can you alter things if his death was destined in Hala?
Mahavir Jayanti or Mahavir Janma Kalyanak
[Vimal Shah: Please read my article on the Birth Anniversary of last Jain Tirthankar Bhagwan Mahavir for more details.]
The incident of joy was that – the Hala Jain Sangh had overwhelmingly participated in all the religious activities like Updhan (days of austerity), Aththai Mahotsav (eight days of celebration), Varghodo (a religious procession), Swamivatsalya (a community meal like Bhandara / Langar). They did their best to host about two hundred guests who came from Hyderabad and Karachi, and we had an opportunity to celebrate Mahavir Jayanti among non-vegetarian population of Sindh with cooperation from Hindus and Muslims.
As said above, Hala is a Muslim majority village. In fact, Hala is a popular place in Sindh for Muslims. There are two seats of Peers here. Many Muslims are followers of these seats. When we had acquaintance with the current Peers on these seats, they extended cooperation by delivering instructions through their Murid that Muslims must stay away from violence on Mahavir Jayanti. The heads of various Hindu communities also propagated instructions among their communities for participation in the celebrations of Mahavir Jayanti, and they all stayed away from violence.
The Jains of Hala are capable of hoisting the flag of Jainism in Sindh
It is truly a matter of pleasure that in a region like Sindh where entire village people are non-vegetarian, a grand celebration of Mahavir Jayanti was held with cooperation from all the communities. It would leave an impression for a long time in the minds of those who witnessed the event of Mahavir Jayanti celebrations in the Gaushala maidan. The special feature of the event was that Muslim and Hindus played leading role in propagating the message of non-violence among the violent and non-vegetarian population. Many gentlemen came for the event from Hyderabad and Karachi. Bhai Khushalchand Vastachand from Karachi impressed everyone during the procession and his discourses.
The Jains of Hala are capable of hoisting the flag of Jainism in Sindh. They are wealthy, with religious spirit, sensible, work oriented. The Jain Sangh of Hala possess a Dadawadi about 1 to 1.5 miles away from the village. There’s a land also but it is not utilized effectively. I hope the Jains of Hala understand their duties.
In our detour to Hala, we had events of good and bad experiences, and we sacrificed a scholar and strong sadhu. We left Hala on the 3rd of May 1937, came to Fuleli river of Hydrabad on the 9th and entered Hyderabad on Wednesday, the 12th May after camping there for three days. (Continues)
Click here for Part-I, Part-II, Part-III, Part-IV, Part-V , Part-VI , Part-VII , Part-VIII , Part-IX, Part-X, Part-XI, Part-XII
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About the contributor of the series of Articles based on the book
Vimal Shah is a follower of Jainism by birth and is based in Mumbai, India. He is a Computer Engineer and holds a Diploma in Jainology from Mumbai University. He has immense interest in reading, writing, studying, and teaching Jain Philosophical subjects. He conducts classroom as well as on-line sessions on Jain Philosophical courses. He has created several power point presentations with animation which he uses while teaching and has participated in several Jain Community events to present and explain the relevant subjects to the visiting audience. He has significantly contributed to the translation, reviewing, and editing of the set of books ‘Compendium of Jainism’ of JAINA, USA from English to Gujarati – an initiative of the JAINA India Foundation. He is also associated with a Project for the translation of Jain Aagams (Scriptures) from Gujarati to English and continues to study various subjects and remains a student of Jain Philosophy. He has a special interest in the history and preservation of the Jain Heritage in Pakistan, and is associated with the Jain Heritage Foundation, New Delhi.
