An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide: Jains Did Not Walk Away From Ahimsa During The Partition Of India In 1947

During the partition of India into East and West Pakistamn and India in 1947, many thousands of Jains too got trapped in East and West Pakistan where they had lived for centuries prior to the partition. Due to full-blown hatred and mistrust that had been politically and communally developed between Muslims and Hindus, the news of partition resulted in uncontrollable murder, looting, raping and burning everywhere. As a result, it became extremely dangerous for Jains also other communities) to migrate from Pakistan to India. Jains too got engulfed in this mayhem but even in those trying times and against many odds when there was nothing but violence all around, Jains did not compromise with or walk away from ahimsa.They did become victims of violence themselves but did not harm or injure anyone. This fact was pointed out to us by long personal camera recorded interviews of nearly 40 Jain survivors of this holocaust which was conducted by Mr. Mathew Fisher, a Research scholar from Claremont Lincoln University in Claremont California in 2013 in Delhi, Ludhiana and other cities in India. Such examples are rare in the history of human race and Jains stand out nearly at the top. I am so proud of this unique hertage of ahimsa and culture in Jains.