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Surendra J Shah
P O Box 43709, 00100 GPO
NAIROBI, KENYA
TEL: +254-20-3742084/85
FAX: +254-20-3742050
EMAIL:
suli@shah.be
A.K.Jain
Trustee
Ahimsa Foundation
21, Skipper House,
9, Pusa Road
New Delhi - 110005, India
Dear Mr Jain
Re: Petition by Jains from Kenya
– National Religious Minority Status for Jains on par with Muslims,
Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists & Zoroastrians
I refer to the above subject. We Jains
living in Kenya have sent a Petition to The Prime Minister, Dr
Manmohan Singh and to The President of India, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam
through the High Commissioner of India to Kenya, Mr Surendra Kumar
by covering letter from Dr Manu Chandaria.
This Petition is in
connection with the Supreme Court of India ruling on 8th August,
2005, not to declare Jain Community as national religious minority
on par with Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians.
I attach herewith
two letters addressed to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh and
to The President of India, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam for your
information.
With kind regards from
Dr Manu Chandaria and me.
Yours sincerely,
Surendra J Shah
N.B.: I shall send you the list of Jain Institutes in Kenya next
week
DR
MANU CHANDARIA OBE EBS
95 Limuru Road, P O BOX 50826
City Square-00200 , NAIROBI , KENYA
TELEPHONE: 3742081/2 (Off), 3743178 (Dir)
FACSIMILE: 3741271, 3749491 (Res)
EMAIL : manu@comcraft.com
Rt Hon Dr.
Manmohan Singh,
25th September, 2006
The Prime Minister of India,
Prime Minister’s House,
New Delhi, India.
Rt. Hon Mr. Prime Minister,
Subject:Petition by Jains from Kenya – National Religious
Minority Status for Jains on par with Muslims, Christians, Sikhs,
Buddhists & Zoroastrians
We the members of the Jain community residing in Kenya are seriously
concerned about the 8th August, 2005 judgement of the Supreme Court
of India consisting of Chief Justice R.C.Lahoti, Justice
D.M.Dharmadhikari and Justice P.K.Balasubramanyan, in the Bal Patil
Case (CA 4730 of1999), of Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha, not to declare
Jain community as a national religious minority on par with Muslims,
Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians.
The judgement rejects the plea by the Jain community to the Supreme
Court to advise the Central Government to notify it as a national
minority under Section 2 [c] of the National Commission for
Minorities Act, 1992, in accordance with the recommendation of the
National Commission. Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and even
Parsees (a miniscule community with less than 0.1 million
population) have been notified by the Central Government under the
provision of the same Act. But Jains with a population of about 4.23
million in 2001 were refused a national religious minority status.
This judgement is discriminatory.
The Constitution of India is secular and the Fundamental Right to
religious freedom is enshrined in it. It has recognised Muslims,
Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists Jains and Parsees as minorities. The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Declaration of
Rights of Minorities, 1993 have all reflected what the Indian
Constitution gave to the religious, linguistic, racial, etc
minorities in India. The Supreme Court’s judgement is, therefore,
contrary to the constitutional philosophy and principles as
envisaged by the Constituent Assembly and inscribed in the
Constitutional Preambulary secular objectives. The secular principle
enshrined in the Preamble is the one feature which has primacy over
all other basic principles of the Constitution.
The judgement further says that the Sikhs and the Jains were not
treated as national minority communities at the time of framing the
Constitution and have ‘throughout been treated as part of the larger
Hindu community’. But this is not true because all along, under the
Constitution of India, both these communities have been treated as
national minorities on par with Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and
Zoroastrians. The judgement seeks to reduce them to sects or
sub-sects of Hindu religion. The Jain community vehemently opposes
this decision to treat them as part of Hinduism.
This Petition, which is signed by many members of the Jain community
residing in Kenya, respectfully submits that Jains should have a
uniform and statutory all-Indian recognition of their minority
status and be represented in the National Minorities Commission,
thus bringing them into the mainstream of the national minority
welfare programmes enunciated by the Common Minimum programme.
There are about 14,000 Jains in Kenya and the petition contains
about a thousand signatures by the heads of Jain households and
represents 5000 people of the total Jain population in Kenya. If we
had presented the above subject matter to all the Jain families
living in Kenya, we would have had more than 2000 signatures.
We submit this Petition to you, Sir, with earnest hope that the
Government of India will take appropriate action for the reassertion
of the minority rights under the Constitution and declare the Jain
community as a national religious minority community, on par with
Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians.
Yours respectfully
Dr Manu Chandaria
Encl: Petition bearing signatures, names and addresses of Jains
living in Kenya
DR
MANU CHANDARIA OBE EBS
95 Limuru Road, P O BOX 50826
City Square-00200 , NAIROBI , KENYA
TELEPHONE: 3742081/2 (Off), 3743178 (Dir)
FACSIMILE: 3741271, 3749491 (Res)
EMAIL : manu@comcraft.com
Dr A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam 25th September, 2006
H.E. The President of India
Government Secretariat
New Delhi
INDIA
Your Excellency,
Subject: Petition by Jains from Kenya – National Religious
Minority Status for Jains on par with Muslims, Christians, Sikhs,
Buddhists & Zoroastrians
We the members of
the Jain community residing in Kenya are seriously concerned about
the 8th August, 2005 judgement of the Supreme Court of India
consisting of Chief Justice R.C.Lahoti, Justice D.M.Dharmadhikari
and Justice P.K.Balasubramanyan, in the Bal Patil Case (CA 4730
of1999), of Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha, not to declare Jain community
as a national religious minority on par with Muslims, Christians,
Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians.
The judgement
rejects the plea by the Jain community to the Supreme Court to
advise the Central Government to notify it as a national minority
under Section 2 [c] of the National Commission for Minorities Act,
1992, in accordance with the recommendation of the National
Commission. Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and even Parsees
(a miniscule community with less than 0.1 million population) have
been notified by the Central Government under the provision of the
same Act. But Jains with a population of about 4.23 million in 2001
were refused a national religious minority status. This judgement is
discriminatory.
The Constitution
of India is secular and the Fundamental Right to religious freedom
is enshrined in it. It has recognised Muslims, Christians, Sikhs,
Buddhists Jains and Parsees as minorities. The Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and the UN Declaration of Rights of Minorities, 1993
have all reflected what the Indian Constitution gave to the
religious, linguistic, racial, etc minorities in India. The Supreme
Court’s judgement is, therefore, contrary to the constitutional
philosophy and principles as envisaged by the Constituent Assembly
and inscribed in the Constitutional Preambulary secular objectives.
The secular principle enshrined in the Preamble is the one
feature which has primacy over all other basic principles of the
Constitution.
The judgement further says that the Sikhs and the Jains were not
treated as national minority communities at the time of framing the
Constitution and have ‘throughout been treated as part of the larger
Hindu community’. But this is not true because all along, under the
Constitution of India, both these communities have been treated as
national minorities on par with Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and
Zoroastrians. The judgement seeks to reduce them to sects or
sub-sects of Hindu religion. The Jain community vehemently opposes
this decision to treat them as part of Hinduism.
This Petition, which is signed by many members of the Jain community
residing in Kenya, respectfully submits that Jains should have a
uniform and statutory all-Indian recognition of their minority
status and be represented in the National Minorities Commission,
thus bringing them into the mainstream of the national minority
welfare programmes enunciated by the Common Minimum programme.
There are about 14,000 Jains in Kenya and the petition contains
about a thousand signatures by the heads of Jain households and
represents 5000 people of the total Jain population in Kenya. If we
had presented the above subject matter to all the Jain families
living in Kenya, we would have had more than 2000 signatures.
We submit this Petition to you, Sir, with earnest hope that the
Government of India will take appropriate action for the reassertion
of the minority rights under the Constitution and declare the Jain
community as a national religious minority community, on par with
Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians.
Yours respectfully
Dr Manu Chandaria
Encl: Petition bearing signatures, names and addresses of Jains
living in Kenya
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