Jaina Law and Society

Auteur
Peter Fluegel isLecturer and Chair of the Centre of Jaina Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is the General Editor of the Routledge Advances in Jaina Studies Series, and of the first book in the series, Studies in Jaina History and Culture published by Routledge in 2006.

Texte du rabat

This book analyses contemporary Jain identity and legal status in India. It explores these aspects according to the distinct doctrinal interpretations, forms of organisation and legal and ethical codes by different Jain representativies and presents the social history of Jain law and the modern construction of Jainism as an independent religion.

Résumé

The struggle for the legal recognition of the Jain community in India as a religious minority from 1992 onwards has generated a renewed interest in Jaina law and an intense debate on the question of Jain identity in the context of the wider question of the interface between religion, society, law and politics in contemporary South Asia. This book analyses contemporary Jain identity and legal status in India.

Chapters in this book, written experts on the subject, address the following issues: How do Jains themselves define their identity and customs privately and collectively in different situations and to what extent are such self-definitions recognised by Hindu law? In what way does the understanding of the social identity of lay Jains and their identification as 'secular' Hindu or 'religious' Jain differ in various Jain communities? The book explores these aspects which differ in accordance to the Jain representatives' distinct doctrinal interpretations, forms of organisation and legal and ethical codes. It presents the social history of Jain law and the modern construction of Jainism as an independent religion on the basis of legal documents, biographies, community histories and ethnographies, disputes over religious sites, and interviews with contemporary community leaders in both north and south India. The book fills a gap in the literature and will be an essential resource for researchers interested in Jainism, Indian religions, Indian history, Religious Studies and Law.

Contenu

1. Introduction Peter Fluegel Part 1: Monastic Law and Lay Ethics
   2. Jainism: Window on Early India Johannes Bronkhorst
      3. Thoughts on the Meaning and the Role of the Svetambara Canon in the History of Jainism Nalini Balbir
         4. Protecting the Faith: Exploring the Concerns of Jain Monastic Rules Phyllis Granoff
            5. Atonements in the Rituals of the Terapanth Svetambara Jains Peter Fluegel
               6. Renounced, Venerated and Engaged Bodies: Situating Ethical Discourse Among Jains Anne Vallely Part 2: Jaina Law and the State
                  7. Dharma and Religion in the Constituent Assembly Debates Torkel Brekke
                     8. Jain Minority Rights and Indian Secularism under the Siege of Hindutva Bal Patil
                        9. Concept of Public Worship: Legal Rights and Obligations D.K. Jain
                           10. The Proof of Custom: Contesting the Jain Widow's Inheritance Rights Manisha Sethi
                               11. Commented Jaina Law Case List Post C.R. Jain (1942) Werner Menski and Jeremy Brown Part 3: Custom and Community
                                   12. Jainism and the Life of Trade: Cutting Emeralds in Jaipur Lawrence A. Babb
                                       13. Caste Identity and Origin Myths of the Agravals in an Uttaranchal Market Town Ulrich Oberdiek
                                           14. The Svetambara Murtipujaka Jaina Community in Delhi Akiko Shimizu
                                               15. Religious Response to Social Unrest: The Rise of Kanji Swami Panth in Contemporary Jainism Ravindra K. Jain
                                                   16. Padmaraja Pandita (1861-1945) Revisited Hampa Nagarajaiah
                                                       17. From Herodotus Onwards: Descriptions of Unidentified Jainas Robert J. Del Bonta