(Research) Jain Population/Community in Bundelkhand by Prof. Prakash C. Jain, JNU



Jain Population in Bundelkhand

                                                 by Prof. Prakash C. Jain



Bundelkhand generally comprises of the seven districts of Uttar Pradesh, namely Lalitpur, Jhansi, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Banda and Chitrakoot, and six districts of Madhya Pradesh: Sagar, Damoh, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Panna, and Datia. The cultural influence of the region however extends up to the cities of Gwalior, Bhopal and Jabalpur. Bundelkhand gets its name from Bundela Rajputs who ruled the region from the early 16th century until 1950. Prior to that, from 10th to 15th century, the Chandel Rajputs were the predominant rulers of the area. During the Chandel period, Bundelkhand was home to a flourishing Jain community. It was also during this period that the famous temple city of Khajuraho was built between the mid-10th and mid-11th centuries. The presence of Jainism, especially Digambar Jainism has been historically significant in the area. A number of Jain pilgrimage places are located in Bundelkhand. Many prominent traditional Digambar Jain scholars (Pandits) of the 20th century belong to this region.

In Bundelkhand the Jains with less than one percent of the total population of the region constitute the third largest religious community after the Hindus (93.17%) and Muslims (5.58%). They are mainly involved in whole-sale and retail trading, banking and mahajani, and various professions, and as such they have been vitally integrated into the regional economy for centuries. The overwhelming majority of Jains in Bundelkhand are the followers of Terapanthi Digambar Jainism, and a tiny minority of them belongs to Taaranpanth who are also known as Samaiyas. The region’s Jain community is divided into the following important Jain castes: Parwar, Golapurav, Golalare, and Samaiya. The 2011 census data suggest that there were about 150,000 Jains in the region whose district-wise distribution is presented in Table 1.

Table 1: Bundelkhand: Distribution and Decadal growth of Jain population by district, 2001-2011

State/District

District Population, 2011

Jain Population, 2001

Jain Population, 2011

Proportion of Jain Population, 2011

Decadal Growth Rate, 2001-2011 (%)

M.P. Bundelkhand

Sagar

2,378,458

59,931

62,992

42.39

5.11

Damoh

1,264,219

23,818

25,005

16.83

4.98

Tikamgarh

1,445,166

14,604

15,569

10.48

6.61

Chhatarpur

1,762,375

  9,766

10.409

07.00

6.58

Panna

1,016,530

  4,534

  4,734

3.19

4.41

Datia

   786,754

     499

     453

00.30

-9.22

Sub-Total

 

113,152

119,162

80.19

 5.30

U.P. Bundelkhand

Lalitpur

1,221,592

19,797

  20,390

13.72

3.00

Jhansi

1,998,603

  7,620

    7,328

04.93

-3.83

Banda

1,799,410

    884

    916

00.62

3.62

Chitrakoot

991,730

     283

    285

00.19

0.71

Jalaun

1,689,974

     344

    256

00.17

-25.58

Mahoba

   875,958

      223

     234

00.16

4.93

Hamirpur

1,104,285

        48

       41

00.03

-14.58

Sub-Total

   

29,199

29,450

19.82

  0.86

Total

18,335,044

142,351

148,612

100.00

   4.4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Dheeraj Jain (2017).

Table 2: District-wise distribution of Jain population of Bundelkhand by rural/urban residence, gender and sex and child sex ratios, 2011

District

Rural

Urban

Male

Female

Sex Ratio

Child Sex Ratio

M.P. Bundelkhand

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sagar

18,678

44,314

32,691

30,301

  927

966

Damoh

12,523

12,482

13,180

11,825

  897

917

Tikamgarh

5,215

10,354

8,156

  7,413

  909

896

Chhatarpur

3,867

 6,542

5,450

  4,959

  910

1046

Panna

2,484

 2,250

2,479

   2,255

  910

991

Datiya

   342

    111

   223

      230

1,031

722

Sub-Total

43,109

76,053

62,179

56,983

931

923

U.P. Bundelkhand

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lalitpur

6,026

14,364

10,636

9,754

  917

 879

Jhansi

   908

6,420

3,798

3,530

  929

 884

Banda

   795

121

   483

   433

  896

1000

Chitrakoot

   239

46

   141

   144

1021

1308

Jalaun

    75

181

   141

   115

 816

 538

Mahoba

    57

177

   133

   101

 759

 769

Hamirpur

    22

19

     24

    17

 708

1333

Sub-Total

8,122

21,328

15,356

14,094

 864

  959

Total

51,231

97,381

77,535

71,077

 898

  941

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Dheeraj Jain (2017).

Table 3: Jain population of Bundelkhand: Literacy and work participation rates (%) by gender, 2011

District

Literacy Rate

Work Participation Rate

Person

Male

Female

Person

Male

Female

M.P.-Bundelkhand

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sagar

96.80

98.1

95.39

33.65

55.39

10.2

Damoh

98.41

97.49

93.10

36.17

56.68

13.32

Tikamgarh

95.16

97.56

92.53

33.53

52.56

12.59

Chhatarpur

94.66

97.31

91.70

33.77

54.07

11.45

Panna

96.40

98.88

93.99

34.43

56.31

10.38

Datia

94.31

96.59

92.17

47.02

60.54

33.91

Sub-Total

95.45

97.65

93.15

36.42

55.92

15.30

U.P.-Bundelkhand

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lalitpur

96.21

97.97

94.31

34.32

54.49

12.32

Jhansi

96.68

98.38

94.25

33.58

54.87

10.68

Banda

96.73

98.86

94.33

32.42

54.66

7.62

Chitrakoot

92.94

97.66

88.19

36.84

44.68

29.17

Jalaun

91.95

96.09

87.04

31.64

51.77

6.96

Mahoba

89.57

92.50

85.71

32.48

48.12

11.88

Hamirpur

91.18

90.48

92.31

19.51

29.17

5.88

Sub-Total

93.68

95.99

90.96

31.54

48.25

12.07

Total

94.56

96.82

92.05

33.98

52.08

13.68

Source: Dheeraj Jain (2017).

The data in Table 1 clearly reveal that in the 2011 census only 148,612 individuals   were enumerated as the followers of Jainism in Bundelkhand. This figure amounts to about 0.88% of the total population of Bundelkhand (18.5 million in 2011). In Bundelkhand, the Sagar district hosts the largest number of Jains followed by Damoh, Lalitpur, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, and Jhansi. Further on, much of the Jain population of Bundelkhand (about 80%) resided in the MP-Bundelkhand. The data in the Table 1 further suggest that with the exception of Lalitpur and Jhansi districts, the Jain population in the other U.P.-Bundelkhand districts, namely Banda, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Jalaun and Mahoba is miniscule – adding up to only 1,732 individuals in 2011 census. 

The Jain population of Bundelkhand constituted about 3.4% of the total Jain population in India which was enumerated at about 4.5 million in 2011 (Jain, Prakash C. 2019: Chapter 7). Of these 52% were male and 48% female. The level of urbanisation is 66% which is significantly lower than the Jain national average of 80%. The sex ratio in the Jain population of Bundelkhand is 898 which is much lower than the Jain national figure of 954 females per 1,000 males (See Table 2). The sex ratio for 0-6 age group, also called child sex ratio which is 941 females per 1,000 males appears to be much higher compared to the national Jain average of 887.  Both these demographic indicators however seem to have been distorted mainly because of the very small population base of Jains in at least the six districts of the region, namely Banda, Chitrakoot, Jalaun, Mahoba, Hamirpur and Datia. Thus for example, if we take into account the rest of the districts of Bundelkhand, then the sex ratio averages to 914 – still on the lower side of the national average of 954.
Data from a sociological study of the Jains of Bundelkhand conducted by this author also suggest the small size family norm of 4-5 members (Jain, Prakash C. 2015). Age of marriage also appears to have gone up by a few years in recent decades. Our field work data also suggest a considerable number of boys beyond marriageable age remaining unmarried, particularly in villages and towns due to skewed sex ratio and other sociological factors.  At the same time, late, inter-caste and inter-religion marriages are also on the rise. 

Table 3 provides data about the level of literacy and work participation rates among the Jain of Bundelkhand. Both these demographic indicators appear to be satisfactory and in tune with the national level indicators of the Jain population. Literacy (94.18%) and education among the Jains of Bundelkhand have certainly gone up which is reflected in increased number of them working/getting employed as professionals in public as well as private sectors within the region and outside it. The work participation rate for Jain males in Bundelkhand is about 34 (52.08 for males and 13.68 for females).
There appears to be a fair amount of out-migration of Jains, particularly of highly educated professionals from Bundelkhand as many of them happen to be getting education outside the region and thereby easily getting suitable jobs there itself. Thus a significant number of Bundelkhandi Jains have been living in Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Nagpur, Pune, Mumbai, Ahmadabad, Jaipur, National Capital Region of Delhi, and many more towns and cities in India. Even if some of these Jains are willing to come back to their native places, the region is not developed enough to provide them suitable employment. A number of Bundelkhandi Jains have also settled abroad, particularly in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Gulf countries.

To sum up, about 150,000 Jain population of Bundelkhand is unevenly distributed across the 13 districts of the region – about 95% of it living in only six districts, namely Sagar, Damoh, Lalitpur, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur and Jhansi. Among the major demographic indicators, the skewed sex ratio has been the most problematic in that the shortage of marriageable-age girls has forced a considerable number of boys either to remain unmarried or opt for inter-religion marriage. Fortunately, the child sex ratio since the 2001 census has been improving as evident from the 2011 census data. Increased access to higher education has also been prompting many Jains not only to go for professional occupations, but also to migrate outside the region in search of better employment opportunities. 


References

  • Jain, Dheeraj (2017) Population of Jains in India (A Perspective from the Census 2011). New Delhi: International School for Jain Studies.
  • Jain, Prakash C. (2011) Jains in India and Abroad: A Sociological Introduction. New Delhi: International School for Jain Studies
  • Jain, Prakash C. (2015) Socio-Economic Change among the Jains of the Bundelkhand Region: A Sociological Study. New Delhi: Indian Council of Social Science Research (Mimeographed). (To be published shortly as a book under the title Jain Community of Bundelkhand: Socio-Economic and Cultural Changes by Shipra Publications, Delhi).
  • Jain, Prakash C. (2019) Studies in Jain Population and Demography. Jaipur & Delhi: Rawat Publications.

About the Author :

Prakash C. Jain, Ph.D. (Sociology, Carleton University) is currently Project Director of Population and Sociological Studies at International School for Jain Studies, New Delhi. Prior to this he was a Senior Fellow of ICSSR (2013-15) and UGC-Emeritus Fellow (2015-17) at the Centre for Comparative Politics & Political Theory, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Until his superannuation in December 2011, Professor Jain served JNU for over 25 years as Professor of West Asian Studies. 

The author was born and brought up in Saidpur village of Lalitpur district, Bundelkhand.

Prof. Jain is the author of Racial Discrimination against Overseas Indians: A Class Analysis (1990), Indians in South Africa: Political Economy of Race Relations (1999), Population and Society in West Asia (2001), Non-Resident Indian Entrepreneurs in the United Arab Emirates (2010) and Jains in India and Abroad: A Sociological Introduction (2011). He has also edited/co-edited books on Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indian Diaspora, and the Jain community which include Indian Diaspora in West Asia: A Reader (2007), Indian Trade Diaspora in the Arabian Peninsula (2013), Social Consciousness in Jainism (2014) and South Asian Migration to Gulf Countries (2016). His latest publication is an anthology titled Studies in Jain Population and Demography (2019).
 

Comments

Thanks for sharing,
I think Cesus 2021 will reveals more progressive facts regarding Jain Population.

-
ankur vishwakarma