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Jains take out a silent march in Ranchi, petition Governor Bais
A delegation of the community later submitted a memorandum with the office of the Governor Ramesh Bais.
Hundreds of Jain community members took out a silent march from Jain Mandir here to the Raj Bhawan on Tuesday, demanding withdrawal of the 2019 notification that declared Parasnath Hills, home to their biggest pilgrimage centre Sammed Shikharji, as a tourist place.
A delegation of the community later submitted a memorandum with the office of the Governor Ramesh Bais.
“Sammed Shikharji was declared tourist place by the state government. The Centre notified it eco-sensitive zone on recommendations of the state government. These decisions have hurt the sentiments of the Jain community. The sanctity of the religious centre has been hit after it was declared a tourist place. People visiting the place have started drinking and eating non-vegetarian food. This is against the tents of our religion,” said the memorandum submitted by the Sri Digambar Jain Panchayat, Ranchi.
“We urge the Governor to direct the state government to declare Parasnath Hills as holy religious centre. We request you to direct the state to withdraw the notification declaring it as tourist place and declare it a holy Jajn pilgrimage centre,” the memorandum signed by its president Pawan Chabra said.
The genesis of the entire controversy lies in a gazette notification of the state government’s tourism department issued on February 22, 2019, by the then BJP government led by Raghubar Das, designating Parasnath as one of the tourist places in the state.
Besides Parasnath, dozens of other places in each of the 24 districts of the state were also declared as tourist spots, including places of religious, historical and cultural importance.
Later, the Centre, on August 2, 219, basis a recommendation by the state government, notified the area around Parasnath Sanctuary as an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ), which allows condition development work and eco-tourism in the area.
On July 24, 2022, chief minister Hemant Soren unveiled the state’s tourism policy, which underlined developing Parasnath as a religious tourist centre along with other religious places including Baba Baidyanath Temple in Deoghar and Rajrappa Temple in Ramgarh district.
