Shrisangh Sabha sending a request to CM against Anoop Mandal
Source: www.bhaskar.com

The long-lasting dispute between cult leader Anup Mandal and the Jain community is spewing numerous clashes between them. Anoop Mandal’s cult accuses the Jains for climate change in the entire world, and that’s what is concerning about this issue. We live in a country where people are mostly ignorant towards topics like climate change, and Anoop Mandal and his cult are promoting and claiming that they are committed to saving the earth, but the Jain community is destroying it. According to them, natural calamities like floods, famines, tsunamis, cyclones, and some life-threatening diseases like cancer and even the novel coronavirus are caused by this particular community. Most of what the cult and its leader Anoop Mandal claims, appear to have no considerable proof, and their message is mostly filled with hate and anger against the Jain community.

The Jain community in India is a minority of a religion that is known for its harmlessness. And Anoop Mandal and his cult are the people who claim to save the earth from environmental degradation, which they believe is happening due to Jains and their sinful activities. This cult also holds the same accusations on the Baniya community, which is a community in India whose occupation is primarily to trade and business. All these weird accusations by Anoop Mandal have no evidence, yet, he and his cult are widely popular across the state of Rajasthan and some other parts of India. However, all these strange accusations are not the only things that are spewing the Jain community’s protests against Anoop Mandal, and there are many aspects connected to it.

Anti-Jain protest by the cult 
Source: groundreport.in

Presently, the alleged activism of this cult is closely linked to its climate change theories by its followers. However, Anoop Mandal’s hateful views towards a particular community without any valid reasons make no sense. And accordingly, the Jain community is demanding a ban on this cult. There also have been claims that Anoop Mandal is behind the killings of numerous Jain monks or Sadhu-Sadhvis through road accidents. In 2017, a resident of Usmanapura had also filed several police complaints against Anoop Mandal and his Anti-Jain cult or organization.

There have been complaints that this cult openly abuses the Jain community and attacks many Jain monks. According to Indian Express, there is also a Crime Investigation Department (CID) Report from 2010, which investigates the deaths of Jain monks with the claims of some type of conspiracy towards the Jain religion and its followers. However, the involvement of Anoop Mandal was not proved in this report. Similarly, some Jain monks had also received threat letters in Palitana, a holy place for Jains, but then again, CID found no evidence to prove anything against Anoop Mandal and his cult.

Jain Sadhvis
Source: en.m.wikipedia.org

The origin and beliefs of Anoop Mandal’s cult rise from the teachings of a book called ‘Jagathikarni’, which was supposedly written in 1909, and it translates to ‘for the welfare of the world’. The severe abuse towards the communities like Jains and Baniyas is a quite uncooperative part of this book, other than the safe environment aspect of it.

This whole anti-Jain organisation-cum-cult has its root in the very past in 1920, with a man named Anoop Das who was influenced by communism in Europe, and this book was also supposedly written by him in the past. This book claims that these communities have created many natural calamities by using their demonic powers to gain the wealth of India in their possession. And they have made things from bad to worse with their demonic activities

A write-up from the Jagathikarni
Source: www.jagathitkarnioriginal.org

Nevertheless, there is no credible literature and studies available on this organization, except a book from 1991 which is titled ‘The Assembly of Listeners: Jains in Society’. This book claims that how the members of this anti-Jain organization would constantly raid Jain villages in the pre-independent Indian era, and how it was eventually banned by the princely administration.

In recent years, the acceptance of this cult by numerous people has strangely increased. And at first, its popularity grew when this organization held a national conference in Zundal in Gujarat in 2009. In this conference, its members openly spoke about how the Jain community is responsible for carbon emissions and global warming, which are the major aspects of climate change. Since then, this organization has reportedly created its 300 centers across the nation, and the Jains are likewise protesting against its demeaning agendas towards the Jain community.

Sakal Jain Society submitting a memorandum against Anoop Mandal
Source: www.freepressjournal.in

Presently, there have been many small ongoing protests in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and in some parts of Maharashtra, against Anoop Mandal and his cult. Shrisangh Sabha, which is one of the biggest Jain associations in India has also sent a letter to the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, requesting about taking some action against Anoop Mandal. In Madhya Pradesh, the members of Sakal Jain Society, with the consent of the All India Jain Journalist Federation submitted a memorandum to its tehsildar against Anoop Mandal, and it is also addressed to the President of India. Demeaning only a particular community for any problems which occur in the nation creates several divisions of increasing religious instability in our country. And at a time, when the world is trying to fight huge issues like climate change and our nation is already battling with a global pandemic, it seems immoral to portray a specific community behind all these tragedies. And this is why this particular community is now raising this issue and eager for justice.
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Reference:

  • www.bhaskar.com
  • www.jagathitkarnioriginal.org
  • https://books.google.co.in
  • www.welfareoftheworld.com
  • www.lokmat.com
  • www.freepressjournal.in


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