Jainism isIndia'ssixth-largest religion.[2][3] As per thecensus of 2011, there were 4,451,753 and countingJains in the 1.35 billion population of India, the majority living inMaharashtra,Rajasthan,Gujarat,Madhya Pradesh,Karnataka, and so on. However, the influence of Jainism has been far greater on Indian and theSouth Asian population than these numbers suggest. Jains can be found in every state and every union territories of India, varying from large societies to smaller. The state ofJharkhand, with a population of 16,301 and counting Jains also contains the most holy pilgrimage centre ofSammed Shikhar.Indian Jains can also be found in many other countries throughout the world.
Jain doctrine teaches that Jainism has always existed and will always exist.[4][5][6][7][8] Like most ancientIndian religions, Jainism has its roots from theIndus Valley civilization, reflecting native spirituality prior to theIndo-Aryan migration into India.[9][10][11] Other scholars suggested theShramana traditions were separate and contemporaneous with Indo-Aryan religious practices of thehistorical Vedic religion.[12] In August 2005, theSupreme Court of India ruled that Jainism,Sikhism (andBuddhism) are distinct religions but are inter-connected and inter-related toHinduism, so these three are part of wider broader Hindu religion, based on the historic background on how theConstitution had come into existence after.[13][14] However, in the 2006 verdict, the Supreme Court found that the "Jain Religion is indisputably not a part of the Hindu Religion".[15][16]
On January 20, 2014, theGovernment of India awarded the minority status to the Jain community in India, as per Section 2(c) of theNational Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act (NCM), 1992. This made the Jain community, which makes for 9.5 million or 0.72 percent of the population as per 2011 census, the sixth community to be designated this status as a "national minority", after Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, andParsis.[17] Though Jains already had minority status in 11 states of India including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, in 2005 a petition was filed with Supreme Court of India, by community representatives, which was also backed by the National Minorities Commission. In its judgement the court left the decision to the Central government.[18][19]
^Varni, Jinendra; Ed. Prof. Sagarmal Jain, Translated Justice T.K. Tukol and Dr. Narendra Bhandari.Samaṇ Suttaṁ. New Delhi: Bhagwan Mahavir memorial Samiti. "The Historians have so far fully recognized the truth that Tirthankara Mahavira was not the founder of the religion. He was preceded by many tirthankaras. He merely reiterated and rejuvenated that religion. It is correct that history has not been able to trace the origin of the Jaina religion; but historical evidence now available and the result of dispassionate researches in literature have established that Jainism is undoubtedly an ancient religion." Pp. xii – xiii of introduction by Justice T. K.Tutkol and Dr. K. K. Dixit.
^Larson, Gerald James (1995);India’s Agony Over Religion; SUNY Press; p. 27;ISBN0-7914-2412-X. "There is some evidence that Jain traditions may be even older than the Buddhist traditions, possibly going back to the time of the Indus valley civilization, and that Vardhamana rather than being a 'founder' per se was, rather, simply a primary spokesman for much older tradition."
^Beversluis, Joel Diederik (2000); in:Sourcebook of the World's Religions: An Interfaith Guide to Religion and Spirituality; Novato, California: New World Library;ISBN1577311213 Originating on the Indian sub-continent, Jainism is one of the oldest religion of its homeland and indeed the world, having pre-historic origins before 3000 BC and the propagation of Indo-Aryan culture.... p. 81
^para 25, Committee of Management Kanya Junior High School Bal Vidya Mandir, Etah, Uttar Pradesh v. Sachiv, U.P. Basic Shiksha Parishad, Allahabad, U.P. and Ors., Per Dalveer Bhandari J., Civil Appeal No. 9595 of 2003, decided On: 21.08.2006, Supreme Court of India
4,451,753 (2011)[1]
