Jainism in the United Kingdom
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Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, 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 ...
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 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 nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
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 Champat Rai Jain (6 August 1867–2 June 1942) was a Digambara Jain born in Delhi and who studied and practised law in England. He became an influential Jainism scholar and comparative religion writer between 1910s and 1930s who translated and ...
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 ...
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 Halar (Haalaar) is a historical region of western India, located by the Gulf of Kutch coast on the northwestern area of Nawanagar, now Jamnagar, in Gujarat State, on Saurashtra peninsula, roughly corresponding to the present Jamnagar District ...
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 Shantinatha was the sixteenth Jain tirthankar of the present age (Avasarpini). Shantinatha was born to King Vishvasena and Queen Aiira at Hastinapur in the Ikshvaku dynasty. His birth date is the thirteenth day of the Jyest Krishna month of the ...
,
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 6t ...
and Parswanath. 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 ''Panch Kalyanaka Pratishtha Mahotsava'' is a traditional Jain ceremony that consecrates one or more Jain Tirthankara icons with celebration of Panch Kalyanaka (five auspicious events). The ceremony is generally held when new Jain temple is er ...
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 (L ...
, 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 wit ...
(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 was ...
, 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 Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...


See also

*
Jainism in India Jainism is India's sixth-largest religion and is practiced throughout India. Per the 2011 census, there are 4,451,753 Jains in the 1.35 billion population of India, the majority living in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, Ka ...
*
Jainism in Europe The credit for introducing Jainism to the West goes to a German scholar, Hermann Jacobi, who translated some Jain literature and published it in the series 'Sacred Books of East' in 1884. In Europe, the largest Jain populations are in Britain ...
*
Jainism in the United States Adherents of Jainism first arrived in the United States in the 20th century. Jain immigration began in earnest in the late 1960s and continues to the present day. History In 1893, Virachand Gandhi became the first Jain delegate to visit the ...
*
Jainism in Australia The history of Jainism in Australia is relatively short when compared to the history of Christianity on the same continent. There are four Jain centres in Australia. The Jain population in Australia was counted in the 2016 census to be 4,047, ...
*
Jainism in Japan Jainism, unlike the closely related Buddhism, is a minority religion in Japan. At present, there are three Jain temples in Japan, with the Kobe Jain temple being the most famous one. Jainism is growing in Japan, more than 5,000 ethnic Japanes ...
*
Jainism in Africa The history of Jainism in Africa is relatively short when compared with the histories of Judaism, Christianity and Islam on the same continent. There are about 20,000 Jains and around 10 Jain organizations in Africa. History Jainism entered A ...
*
Jainism in Singapore The Jain community celebrated a presence of 100 years in Singapore marking the occasion by rededicating the "Stanak" and consecrating the idol of Mahavira. This brings together the two main sects of Jains - Svetambara and Digambara. The Singap ...


References


Further reading

* The Western Order of Jainism by Nathubhai Shah of London (Jain Journal Vol XXX1, No 1 July 1996) * Jainism A Way of Life by Vinod Kapashi * Jains and Their Religion in America: A Social Survey by Dr. Bhuvannendra Kumar (Jain Journal Vol XXX1, No 1 July 1996)
JAIN eLibrary
attempts to provide an increasingly complete digitized collection of Jain Scriptures, dictionaries, encyclopedias, articles, commentaries, photographs, and other materials related to Jain life. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jainism in the United Kingdom Jain communities Indian diaspora in the United Kingdom