By Jagdish Rattanani
An unseemly and unprecedented divide has sprung up in Mumbai, carrying with it communal overtones and linguistic differences that are dividing communities and sending warning signals of what can go wrong when principles of secularism are compromised and hatred is spread to divide communities for political mileage. The ‘them’ versus ‘us’ divide that has become the staple of majoritarian national politics may have targeted a particular group or community but the hate that feeds the divisions can fan fires in places that will surprise and shock.
This time, the divide has taken the form of an ugly dispute between some members of the Jain community and local Mumbai residents who complain that some Jain customs and practices violate public space sanctity and bring aspects of the Jain religion onto the roads, literally. The Jain community has been so triggered by the developments that it has surprisingly and rather quickly offered an uncannily aggressive view of itself, shaking the long held and much-admired principled position of Jains on strict adherence to non-violence. It is known that Mahatma Gandhi’s globally acclaimed philosophy of non-violence and satyagraha was inspired by the Jain ideals of extreme and rigorous non-violence.
The controversy started when a few Jain followers painted a white stripe in the precincts of a Mumbai residential colony to mark out a pathway on which the Jain munis could walk and therefore be encouraged to visit the building. Moss or algae will not grow on an oil-painted white strip, enabling Jain sadhus and sadhvis to walk without harming life and keeping to their strict vows of non-violence. The white band also keeps the pathway cooler for Jain ascetics who usually walk barefoot. The trouble is the building compound was marked without asking other non-Jain members, who are up in arms at this affront and have demanded that this unilateralism by the Jains in the housing society must not stand. One protestor asked if it would be okay for him to paint saffron stripes and for another community to paint the compound in green, presenting the dispute in stark terms that highlight how much anger and bitterness has seeped into relations once thought harmonious.
The controversy of painted white stripes began in the North Eastern suburbs (Ghatkopar) and quickly spread to neighbourhoods in North Central and South Mumbai with other complaints added against the Jains and their practices. The dispute has turned more heated as the Jain community has not quite given in or even apologised. In fact, videos have shown a Jain senior dressed in traditional white robes rudely asking the local Maharashtrian protestors to keep their voices down as they speak. In an even uglier turn, a purportedly pro-Hindutva monk who is a Jain asked the protestors to fight other prominent minorities rather than Jains, injecting new communal hatred and targeting other minority groups not involved in this dispute at all. That disturbing video by the monk ended with a warning to local protestors: ‘hum ne choodiyan nahi pehni.’ (loosely meaning, ‘we can fight back’), which only served to display the violence deep inside the non-violence professed by the monk in question.
It is worth noting that the dispute began with a simple ask: any changes in common areas of residential colonies must follow a due process, as is indeed the norm of democratic societal functioning. In that, the local voices of protestors are making a fair point. The initial aggressive response of the Jain community has, however, challenged the foundational tenets of Jainism, which hold that ahimsa is the highest religion and the supreme duty (Ahimsa Paramo Dharma). According to scholar Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, had the great insight that reality is “many sided” and is realised in a multiplicity of ways that we cannot always reconcile.The Jains are a tiny but very influential community, many of them speak Gujarati or Marwari and a large percentage works in powerful and successful businesses. A Pew survey in 2021 reported that seven-in-ten Jains say they feel closest to the BJP, while just 8% say they feel closest to the Indian National Congress. Pew said Jains are more likely than other religious communities in India, including Hindus, to feel political affinity with the BJP. That highlights another source of friction seen in Mumbai, based on language and political affiliation. Local opposition has been increasingly vociferous against groups from the neighbouring State of Gujarat being awarded key projects in Mumbai. The latest example of this is the growing opposition to a mega redevelopment project awarded to the Adani group in the western suburbs. After securing the redevelopment of the Dharavi area (some 625 acres), followed by Bandra Reclamation (about 24 acres), the group has now won the contract for the Motilal Nagar project in Goregaon in the western suburbs, spread across some 143 acres, according to reports.
Adding to the pressure is another type of discord with objections to shop names displayed in Gujarati, opening a faultline that shows how large capital, local area dissonance and political resentment can spiral out of control. The perceived push from a political leadership rooted in Gujarat, the engineered split in the locally rooted Shiv Sena, the resentment it brewed among ordinary citizens and the history of Maharashtra — which was born on May 1, 1960 after a bitter struggle that split the erstwhile Bombay State into the distinct linguistic States of Maharashtra and Gujarat — are all complex and contributory factors to the evolving political unrest.
Broadly, it is clear that anything which breaks social cohesion, encourages crony capitalism or exploits communal divides builds a tinderbox that can burn the entire house down. The answer lies, quite simply, in turning back to the path of non-violence, and standing with Mahatma Gandhi and his principles of satyagraha. This is a path that the nation and the community of Jains will need to re-learn.
(The writer is a journalist and faculty member at SPJIMR. Views are personal) (Through The Billion Press) (e-mail: [email protected])
