Conversion of Jains to Islam

Two well known academicians of Kerala - Prof KMBahauddin, former pro-vice chancellor of AligarhMuslim and Osmania universities, and Dr MSJayaprakash, professor of history at Kollam - throwsome deep insights into the dark history of India......

Prof. Bahauddin recalls the strong reasons to believethat a large section of Jains had embraced Islam: 'Thespread of Islam in Tamilnadu can be considered inthree or four stages. Islam spread in Kerala andTamilnadu when Jainism was under pressure (650-750AD). The new religion was received withoutresistance.. Since Islam considers every human beingwith equality Jainism and Buddhism had no conflictwith it. When Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim attacked Sindh,the Buddhists supported him because they were facingannihilation at that time. A similar situation wasprevailing in South India during 650-750 AD.. Muslimsin Tamilnadu are called Anchuvanthar, Labba (teacher),Rauthar, Marakar (sailor) or Jonakan (Yavankan). TheAnchuvanam is the guild of traders and groups ofartisans. The Muslim mohallas of 'Anchuvan Vamsagar','Anchuvanathar', etc. are scattered all over Tamilnaduand seem to be the en bloc conversion of Jain guildsengaged in different activities, especially weaving.Those who ran away from Tamilnadu settled down inSravanabalagola and Gomatheswaram in Karnataka. And,those who could not leave due to their economicinterests converted to Islam. If we analyze the bodystructure, food, language, dress, ornaments, customsand habits of Anchuvanthar, it could be see that thoseare a continuation of Jain way of living and customs.

Till recently, the weavers in such Muslim mohallaswill not eat at noon or night, and take only one mealbefore dusk. This was a continuation of Jain habits.There is a separate place in such villages called'Odukkam' where Jain Munist used to sit in prayer. Onthe last Wednesday of the month called 'Odukkathae'Wednesday, the Muslims gather together to singreligious songs, which is also a Jain tradition. Whenreligious functions like Maulood, Rathif, etc. areorganized in the house, a white cloth with lotussymbol on it called 'Mekett' is tied, which resemblesthe 'Asmanagiri' of the Jains.. The architecture ofMuslim stone mosques are completely of Jainarchitecture. The pillars of earlier mosques havepractically no difference with the Jain templepillars. The close relationship between traders andweavers had probably cemented by conversion to Islam.During 950-1200 AD, there were large number of Sufis,Fakirs, wandering poets, singing minstrels, etc. amongMuslims all over Tamilnadu. Nadirshah with 500disciples settled down in 'Trichinopoly' during 1000AD. Aliyar Shah and his disciples made Madurai astheir centre. Baba Fakhruddin travelled all overTamilnadu. Nagur became another Sufi centre. TheMuslim religious literature of Tamilnadu of thatperiod was least different from those created by Jainsand Hindus during the 'Bhakti' movement.'

Prof. Bahauddin recounts the spread of Jainism andBuddhism in Kerala, thus: 'Jainism spread in NorthKerala around 200 BC. The Jain architectural remainsin Canara and Malabar are not available anywhere elsein South of Nepal. While Jainism entered North Keralavia Mangalore, Salem, Coimbatore and Wayanad, itentered Southern Kerala from Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari,Nagercoil, Chitharal, etc. The hill near Anamala,which was an important Jain centre, is still called'Jain Durgam'. The close-by Kurumala was also a Jaincentre. From Anamala through Munnar, Devikulam,Kothamangalam, Perumbavoor, etc. they reachedNeryamangalam, Kothamangalam, Perumbavoor and otherplaces. The 'Kallil Kshetram' in Perumbavoor is animportant Jain monument as also the 'Jainmedu' inVadakethara village of Palakkad district. Kerala'scave temples at Chitharal, Kallil, Trikur,Erunilamkode (Thrissur district) and Thiruveghapuram(Palakkad district) were constructed during the periodof Jain King Mahendra Verman-I (610-640 AD). Templerecords of Rameswaram, Sucheendram, Poothadi(Wayanad), Keenalur (Kozhicode) , etc. show that theywere part of 'Kunavai Koottam' during 10-11thcenturies. 'Koottam' is the place of living for JainSanyasis. Temple records show that all thesepresent-day Hindu temples were Jain religious placestill 11th century. Place names with Kallu, Poothan,Aathan, Kotha, Palli, Ambalam, etc. were all Jaincentres. Spread all over Kerala, names of these placesshow that Buddhism and Jainism were widespread. Thefamous Kalpathi in Palakkad district was aBuddhist-Jain centre. The 'Ratholsavam' there is akinto the 'Kettukazhcha' of Buddhists. The presentBhagavati temples were also Jain temples. The group,'Adikal', had a prominent position among Jains whobecame 'Pisharadi' after absorption of Jainism inHinduism.'

Adivasi Conversion To Jainism

Forget the conversions to Christianity. Forget, also, the re-conversions by the champions of
Hindutva. It is Jainism which is fast growing into a major religion among Adivasis of the Vadodara and Panchmahals districts of Gujarat, thanks to vigorous campaign by a number of Jain organisations, all belonging to the Shwetamber sect. Though Christian missionaries and various Hindu religious sects, like the Swaminarayan, Jay Yogeshwar, Pragat Purushottam, Ramanand, and Kabir Panthi sects, and the Swadhyaya Parivar have been active in the area for many decades, lately Jainism has been attracting more and more converts.

According to a rough estimate of the Jain missionaries, more than two lakh Adivasis in Chhotaudepur, Jetpur Pavi, Naswadi, and Sankheda talukas of the Vadodara district, and Halol and Jambughoda talukas of the Panchmahals district have embraced Jainism in the last six years.

As many as 60 Jain temples have come up, and religious schools are running in 40villages to teach the neo-converts.

What began as a de-addiction and vegetarian movement 40 years ago, with the efforts of an Adivasi convert to Jainism, Jain Indradin Suri of Salpura village in Jetpur Pavi taluka, has now transformed into ``a Jain missionary movement'', says Purushottam K. Jain, manager of
the Parmar Kshatriya Jain Dharma Pracharak Sabha of Bodeli.

The Sabha is one of the two local organisations involved in conversion activities. The other is the Parmar Kshatriya Jain Seva Samaj at Pavagadh in the Panchmahals. The Vijay Vallabh Mission Trust of Ludhiana in Punjab is also active here. Its main functionary in the adivasi belt is Yashobhadra Vijayji Maharaj. Jain businessmen from all over the country, especially the Oswals of Ludhiana, regularly visit the area, according to neo-Jains.

What is the attraction of Jainism for the tribals? It is the anti- addiction and non-violent teachings of the faith which have impressed the tribals, replies deputy mamlatdar of Chhotaudepur Parsinh NarsinhRathwa, who has himself converted to Jainism. Rathwa says the tribals regard Jainism as ``a reform movement''.

Dharamsheel Rathwa, a neo-Jain of Kavra village, 25 kms away from Chhotaudepur, says that alcoholism and frequent infighting in the clans, combined with ignorance and ancient evil practices, had damaged the social fabric of Adivasi society. This has been checked
to a great extent amongst neo-Jains and improved their quality of life, he said.

Thirty-two-year old Varsinh Mandubhai Rathwa of Sajwa village in Jetpur Pavi taluka, who embraced Jainisim three years ago, agreed with Dharamsheel. ``There is more peace in life now,'' he said, adding there is no protest from fellow Adivasis against Jainism.

But some do have reservations, like primary school teacher Bachubhai Nanubhai Rathwa, who alleged that the Jain missionaries were using money power to convert poor Adivasis. ``Whatever may be the reason for Adivasis' new-found love for Jainism, it will certainly lead to
social tension when the convertsbegin to assert themselves politically,'' he said, citing the example of Kavra village, where some of the Adivasis had opposed the construction of a Jain temple two years ago.

According to Ganjbhai Kanbhai Rathwa, the Jain priest in Kavra, as many as 50 families of his village embraced Jainisim two years ago, and an 18-year-old youth and two children of 12 and 10 years, respectively, were ordained into priesthood recently. More than 100
families in Sankad, Asar and Kaidawat villages in Kawant taluka also embraced Jainism recently.

The visible symbols of the fledgling religion are also there. A big temple has come up in Salpura village near Bodeli and another temple and a `upasray' on gram panchayat land in Kavra village at a cost of Rs 20 lakh. Yet another temple is proposed to be built soon in
Tejgadh, said a Jain businessman in Chhotaudepur. A colony, named Mahaveer Nagar, too, has come up in the interiors of the tribal belt along Bodeli-Kawant Road.