HT Correspondent
DIMAPUR, Jan 5: All the shops owned by the Jain community in Dimapur will remain closed for 12 hours from 6 am on January 6 in protest against declaration of their most sacred worship site, Sammed Shikarji hill, located at Giridih in Jharkhand, as a tourist spot and opening it for “commercial exploitation, by the Centre”.
Informing this on Thursday, Dimapur’s Shree Digamber Jain Samaj, in a release, said the Jains across the Northeast will protest on Friday against the decision of the Union forest and environment and climate change at the request of the Jharkhand government.
The Samaj requested all the Jains in Dimapur to assemble at Mahavir Bhawan at 9 am on the day to protest against what it called “insensitive declaration” that “damages the sanctity of our pilgrimage site” that has existed since time immemorial.
It said millions of Jain saints attained their salvation on this sacred hill.
“Every particle of this hill is worshipped and lakhs of Jains climb it barefoot, many without eating or drinking anything during the 27-km walk,” it said.
The Samaj said if anybody takes non-vegetarian food or alcoholic drinks or indulges in unholy celebrations on the sacred hill after it was declared a tourist spot is an “unpardonable sin”.
The Jain community of Dimapur, under the banner of Shree Digambar Jain Samaj and Shree Jain Swetambar Terapanthi Sabha, took out a rally on December 22 last year seeking withdrawal of declaration of the Jain sanctorum in Jharkhand into a tourist spot.
