Ashwani Jain, Secretary, Jain Heritage Foundation, and Vimal Shah, a Jain Scholar, were the part of larger delegation of 18 members who earlier visited Lahore and Gujranwala. Rest of delegation members including Chief Sadhu Shri Dharmadhurandhar had left for India after 10-day pilgrimage
Sindh Courier Report
Karachi, Sindh
A delegation of 18 Jain community members from India, including four Sadhus, led by an official of Jain Heritage Foundation, visited Pakistan for the first time after the partition in 1947.
No Jain community member lives in Pakistan however the country is home to several ancient Jain Temples including a famous one in Gujranwala city of Punjab and half a dozen temples in Tharparkar, the desert district of Sindh bordering the India. According to 2011 census, India had a population of 4.5 million Jain.
The delegation members, drawn from different areas including Indian Punjab, Delhi, Mumbai and Rajasthan, entered Pakistan through Attari-Wahga border on May 21, 2023 and paid a visit to Lahore and Gujranwala after which 16 members of the delegation left for India while two members – Mr. Ashwani Jain and Mr. Vimal Shah came to Sindh to visit Jain Temples in Tharparkar.
Mr. Ashwani Jain is the Secretary, Jain Heritage Foundation, New Delhi, who led the delegation, and Mr. Vimal Shah, based in Mumbai, is a follower of Jainism. He is a Computer Engineer and also holds a Diploma in Jainology from Mumbai University, and is associated with Jain Heritage Foundation. He has significantly contributed to the translation, 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.
“The members of Jain community had been visiting Pakistan in the past for business purposes in individual capacity but this is first time that a formal delegation came for pilgrimage to their sacred places,” Ashwani Jain and Vimal Shah, who flew in from Lahore a couple of days back, told Sindh Courier at a local hotel in Karachi.
Mr. Vimal Shah told that Chief Sadhu Shri Dharmadhurandhar Surji was among four Jain Sadhus who had joined the delegation. “According to Jain principles, the Sadhus have always to travel by foot, and therefore Maharaj Dharmadhurandhar, who used to be in Delhi, traveled by foot upto Amritsar and joined the delegation,” he said.
“The main purpose of our pilgrimage was to visit Gujranwala to join the 127th death anniversary of Maharaj Shri Aatmaramji. He had passed away in Gujranwala where his followers had established a big Samadhi Temple, which still exists,” he said adding that it is a vast complex where the footprints of Maharaj Aatmaram were also placed.
“The Jain Temple Complex has a capacious Dharamshala for accommodation of pilgrims besides a Gurkul (seminary) for imparting Jain teachings. The Pakistan government had shifted the footprints of Maharaj Aatmaram to Lahore Museum for certain reasons. And since the Temple exists in Gujranwala, and its heart (footprints of Maharaj) is in Lahore, we first visited Lahore Museum and offered prayers as per Jain teachings.”
“The Lahore Museum has a specific Jain Gallery where all the artifacts related to Jainism including some statues and other things collected from different parts of Pakistan are placed,” he told.
A large and beautiful wall based replica of the most sacred place of Pilgrimage, a Temple Complex at the top of a hill in Palitana, has also been moved from a Gujranwala temple to Lahore Museum.
Vimal Shah further shared that another Jain temple also existed in Gujranwala Bazaar, which had wooden structure, but the wooden structure had been removed and placed in Lahore Museum by the government. “We saw all these artifacts at the Lahore Museum.”
“The Gujranwala Temple is so important and sacred for Jain community that its replica was made and placed in Temple complex located at a hill in Palitana town of Gujarat state in India,” he said.
The delegation also visited a place in Anarkali area of Lahore where existed a Jain Temple but was destroyed by certain elements in 1992. During later years, the temple was repaired following the orders of Supreme Court of Pakistan but it has lost its originality. “We were well received there by the officials of Evacuee Trust,” he said.
“The next day we left for Gujranwala but as per Jain principles our Chief Sadhu traveled by foot upto Gujranwala. Although the renovation work was underway at the Gujranwala Temple, we stayed there for three days and offered prayers.”
“The 28th of May was the date of death anniversary of Maharaj Aatmaram. Musical program and literary sitting were also arranged, attended by some scholars from Lahore, Bahawalpur and other cities, government officials and politicians as well as other local notables. Dr. Zohaib Ahmed, a Professor of Islamia University Bahawalpur also attended the anniversary program where his book on Jainism was launched by our Chief Sadhu,” he said.
“It was a very successful event with lot of media coverage,” Vimal Shah said.
From Gujranwala, the delegation returned to Lahore from where sixteen members left for India through Wahga border on May 31.
In Karachi, the two members of delegation – Mr. Ashwani Jain and Mr. Vimal Shah, after wandering certain areas of city like Bohra Pir and Ranchhore Line, in search of the remains of Jain Temples, left for Tharparkar early Saturday morning where they visited Gori Mandir, Bhodesar, Viravah and Nagarparkar Jain Temples. They were back to Karachi late in the night. They will try to meet Sindh Minister for Culture and Tourism Sardar Shah on Monday before leaving for Lahore on their journey back to India.
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