Jains told to adopt a village in each dt.

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, APRIL 16. The Union Minister for Culture, Mr. Ananth Kumar, today urged the Jain community to adopt a village in each of India's 500 districts and at least a slum in every city, as part of its Mahaveer Jayanti celebrations. The Jain Yuva Sanghatan responded by adopting one slum in Bangalore.

At the 2,599th birth anniversary celebrations of Lord Mahaveer, Mr. Ananth Kumar said the festivities should be meaningful in keeping with the Jain philosophy of non-violence and community service. The community could adopt a park in every city as Mahaveer was known for his concern for the environment.

The Minister announced that a national committee under the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, had been formed to oversee the 2,600th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahaveer. The committee would consider the community's request to release postage stamps and coins as a commemorative gesture. Hosting a world conference on Jainism would also be considered, he added.

Mr. Kumar said the promise of a train from Bangalore to Jaipur and another to Ajmer had been fulfilled by the NDA Government. The train would be named after Mahaveer.

Mr. Ananth Kumar said unlike Buddhists, Jains did not have one major religious centre. If they came forward with a proposal for an international Jain centre, the Government would provide all support. The Mayor, Mr. Ramachandrappa, announced that the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike would give a five-acre plot to the community to build a shelter for dogs. He lauded the community for its development works in Karnataka.

Earlier, the community members took out a procession from the Town Hall, which passed through Nagarthpet, Chickpet, B.V.K. Iyengar Road, Kalidasa Marga, Central College Road, Palace Road and Mysore Bank Circle, before converging at Kundalpur Nagari, the meeting venue.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Regional
Previous : Poor record of private members' Bills
Next     : Political lobbying to force shelving of forest law