Adherents of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

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.

History

In 1873

Hermann Jacobi Hermann Georg Jacobi (11 February 1850 – 19 October 1937) was an eminent German Indologist. Education Jacobi was born in Köln (Cologne) on 11 February 1850. He was educated in the gymnasium of Cologne and then went to the University of Ber ...

encountered

Jain texts Jain literature (Sanskrit: जैन साहित्य) refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the c ...

in London. He later visited India to further study and translate some of them. Later during 1891–1901,

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure ...

in London corresponded with

Shrimad Rajchandra Shrimad Rajchandra (11 November 1867 – 9 April 1901) was a Jain poet, mystic, philosopher, scholar and reformer. Born in Vavaniya, a village near Morbi, he claimed to have recollection of his past lives at the age of seven. He performed ' ...

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. During 1906–1910, Jugmandar Lal Jaini was at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

as a law student. In 1909 he created the Jain Literature Society in London together with F. W. Thomas and H. Warren. In 1949 The World Jaina Mission was founded in London, by M. McKay, W. H. Talbot, F. Mansell, and Mrs. K. P. Jain.

Exodus of Asians from East Africa

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 Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

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 .

Jain Samaj Leicester

In 1973 the Jain Samaj Leicester was formed. 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 Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th '' tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the ...

and

Parswanath ''Parshvanatha'' (), also known as ''Parshva'' () and ''Parasnath'', was the 23rd of 24 '' Tirthankaras'' (supreme preacher of dharma) of Jainism. He is the only Tirthankara who gained the title of ''Kalīkālkalpataru ( Kalpavriksha in this " ...

. 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.

British Jain temples and institutes

Leicester Jain Centre
* Jain Samaj Leicester and Temple * Jain Samaj Wellingborough and temple * Jain Samaj Thornton Heath (Croydon) * Jain Samaj Potters Bar - Jain temple and community centre * Kailash Giri Jain temple, London
Mahavir Foundation temple
(Kenton derasar), 557 Kenton Road, Kenton, Middlesex * Shri Mahavir Swami Jain Temple, Harrow, London * Oshwal Centre, Hertfordshire. First on virgin ground in Europe.
Institute of JainologyIOJ
at

Greenford Greenford () is a suburb in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, England, lying west from Charing Cross. It has a population of 46,787 inhabitants, or 62,126 with the inclusion of Perivale. Greenford is served by Greenford Station ...

, London. In 2020,

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

(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.

Gallery

File:Jain Temple Oshwal Centre Pottersbar Hertfordshire UK ground.jpg, Jain Temple,

Potters Bar Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England,in the historic County of Middlesex Hertsmere Borough Council – Community Strategy First Review (PDF) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882. In 2022 the population wa ...

, Hertfordshire File:Oshwal Mahajanwadi, Croydon - South West.jpg, Oshwal Mahajanwadi, Croydon File:The Jain Centre on Oxford Street - geograph.org.uk - 1034296.jpg, The Jain Centre in Oxford Street, Leicester

History

Exodus of Asians from East Africa

Jain Samaj Leicester

British Jain temples and institutes

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading