02.12.2015 ►Jain Temple & other Religious Structures Demolished at Halingali in Karnataka

• This is a sacred place for Jains with over 2000 years of history says Jain Muni Kularatnabhushanaji
• Temple & Religious Strucutres were constructued illegaly on Govt. Land says Govt. Authorites
• We are not doing any illlegal or anti social activities, we are preserving & propagating Jainism says Jain community

Halingali (Jamakhandi Taluk, Bagalakote District, Karnataka, India), December 2, 2015:

A Jain temple and a group of religious structures belonging to the Jain community has been demolished at Badhragiri hillock in Halingali village by the district administration of Bagalkote. The demolition drive had been taken up by the tashildar of Jamakhandi taluk based on the directions from collector of Bagalkote district.

Demolition at Early in the Morning

While a series of government vehicles, police vans, JCB and other earth moving vehicles started moving towards Badhragiri hillock at the morning hours not many even had an iota of doubt about the demolition drive. As the no. of government vehicles started piling up people started getting nervous as it was early in the morning not many people had even woken up from their beds. People around the area who are used to hear the chanting of Namokara Mantras all of a sudden heard the sounds of JCBs. The demolition drive started at around 5.30 am. Before they could realise as to what was happening the group of Jain religious structures at the village started falling one after the other.

What has been destroyed?

The 1st to fall among the list was Dongarwale Badebaba Pooja Mandir followed by the huge Pravachana Mantapa, kitchen, information centre & library, Dhyan Mandir used by the Jain Muni 108 Sri Kularatna Bhushana Maharaj, Building of Badhragiri Cooperative bank and the newly constructed huge Jain Basadi (temple) which had the ancient idol of Lord Adinath (got from Agni village in Gulbarga district) and many trees and plants have been destroyed.

Why were these structures destroyed?

“These structure have been demolished as per the directions from the district collector. The land on which these structures have been built belongs to the Government. Since this is a Government land there is no scope for constructing any religious structures”, Rakesh Kumar, assistant commissioner of Jamakhandi.

“We have 336 Acres of land that has been marked under survey no. 142/A. Of this 58 acres of land has been illegally occupied by the Jain community and a few constructions have been built in this area. Since this is a Government land we have demolished the illegal constructions as per the directions from district collector”, A L Adade, Tashildar, Jamakhandi.

“An area of 89 acres has been earmarked for rehabilitating the people of Tamadaddi village that will be submerged due to the Alamatti dam. Since a part of this area had been encroached by a section of the community we have taken steps to clear it”, P A Meghannavar, District Collector, Bagalkote.

Importance of Halingali & Badhragiri Hillock

A series of 771 caves and cave like structures at seen at the hillock found adjacent to Halingali. According to Jain Muni 108 Sri Kularatnabhushana, in 2nd century BC the last Jain Shrutakevali Badhrabahu when he started travelling from north India (as he had forsen a severe famine & drought in North India for 12 successive years) towards south India had passed through this region and stayed at the hillock. Many Jain Munis have spent time and have attained salvation on this hillock. Hence this hillock is a very sacred place for the Jains. Based on the directions from Muni Sri Kularatnabhushana this hillock was named as Badhragiri hillock.

What does the Jain Community Say?

“We are not doing any business here. We are working towards preserving the religion. Jains are minorities and this is an act of intolerance by the Government of Karnataka. I will go on fast unto death until we get the justice” - Jain Muni 108 Sri Kularatnabhushana Maharaj

“We are not doing any business or illegal activities at Halingali. Since this hillock is a sacred place for the Jains and has significant historical importance we are trying to revive and preserve it. We want to ensure that the ancient heritage is not lost. Don’t we find many other structures being illegally built by people of other communities on Government Land, why isn’t the Government not questioning them? Why is that only we Jains are targeted? Why didn’t they not inform us about the demolition well in advance?” - Dr.Anand Upadhyay, a localite and leader of Jain community.

Jain Community in a Shock

The demolition drive came as a shock to the peace loving Jain community. The news spread like a fire across the Jains in the region and people started flooding in huge numbers to have a look at their holy place of worship. They could not believe their eyes when their place of worship was ravaged. People started sobbing and a few women fell on the floor requesting the government authorities to stop the demolition drive. However, the government authorities we in no mood to listen to the anguish of the devotees as they had clear instructions from the district administration.

“We had put in a lot of labour with very high devotion for constructing these structures and for growing the trees and plants at Badhragiri. It is really sad to see that our place of worship has been destroyed. Where do we go now to worship?” said a woman who could not control her emotions.

“This is a clear Attack on Jains (#Attackonjains),” said another devote from a neighboring village.

A few devotees who could not withstand the shock lost their breath and fell on the floor. The district administration had made medical arrangements to take care of such people. More than 3 devotees were admitted to the hospital.

Tension Prevails

Tension is prevalent in the village and Jamakhandi taluk. Thousands of Jains from the neighbouring districts and states of Maharashtra and Goa have thronged at Halingali. The district administration has beefed up the security to handle the situation and avoid any untoward incidents.