{"id":46701,"date":"2025-05-17T10:33:07","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T05:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=46701"},"modified":"2025-05-18T00:50:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T19:20:10","slug":"sacred-jharkhand-hill-sparks-conflict-between-jains-and-santals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/sacred-jharkhand-hill-sparks-conflict-between-jains-and-santals\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacred Jharkhand Hill Sparks Conflict Between Jains and Santals"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Parasnath Hill Dispute Latest News<\/li>\n<li>A Sacred Hill Revered by Two Communities<\/li>\n<li>An Old Conflict Over Sacred Rights<\/li>\n<li>Situation After Independence<\/li>\n<li>Parasnath Hill Dispute FAQs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Parasnath Hill Dispute Latest News<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Jharkhand High Court directed the state government to enforce an existing ban on meat, alcohol, and other intoxicants on a sacred hill in Giridih district.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Known as <strong>Marang Buru<\/strong> to the Santal Adivasi community and <strong>Parasnath<\/strong> to Jains, the hill is a site of religious significance for both groups and has been at the center of a long-standing inter-community conflict.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vajiram-prod.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/image4_37449b7256.webp\" alt=\"image4.webp\" \/><\/figure>\n<h2>A Sacred Hill Revered by Two Communities<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Jain Significance<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Parasnath Hill holds immense religious importance for Jains, as it is believed that 20 of the 24 tirthankaras, including Parshvanatha (after whom the hill is named), attained nirvana here.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Today, the hill features over 20 Jain temples and pilgrimage sites, symbolizing its deep historical and spiritual roots in Jain tradition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Santal Significance<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>For the Santal Adivasi community, the hill is known as <i>Marang Buru<\/i> or &#8220;Great Mountain&#8221; and is the abode of their supreme animist deity.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>It houses sacred sites like <i>Jug Jaher Than<\/i> and <i>Dishom Manjhi Than<\/i>, where vital rituals are performed.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The hill also serves as a spiritual and cultural hub during the annual <i>Hudur Durga<\/i> festival in December.<\/li>\n<li>The tribal council <i>Lo Bir Baisi<\/i> convenes at its base to resolve major disputes.\n<ul>\n<li>It was with a resolution of this council that the historic Santal Hul was launched in 1855.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Led by Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, the rebellion targeted the oppressive dikus (outsiders), including za- mindars, mahajans, and British officals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Source of Conflict<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The dual sanctity has made the hill a shared yet contested religious space between the two communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>An Old Conflict Over Sacred Rights<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Historical Claims and Disputes<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>While Jains claim that an ancient king once donated Parasnath Hill to their community, historical records challenge this.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>According to the 1957 Hazaribagh District Gazetteer, the oldest Jain temple on the hill dates only to 1765 AD.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The formal dispute between the Santals and Jains over the hill was first documented in 1911, during the preparation of the record-of-rights.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Sendra Festival and Religious Friction<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>A key point of contention is the <strong>Sendra festival<\/strong>\u2014a three-day ritual hunt during the full moon of Baisakh, considered a rite of passage for Santal men.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The hill, called Marang Buru by Santals, becomes the center of this religious and cultural practice.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>For Jains, who adhere strictly to non-violence and vegetarianism, this tradition is deeply troubling.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Legal Battles and Customary Rights<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Early efforts by the Jain community to legally halt the hunting practice failed.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>In 1917, the Patna High Court dismissed the suit, terming the Jains\u2019 grievance as \u201chyper sentimental.\u201d\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Ultimately, the Privy Council\u2014the highest court in British India\u2014upheld the Santals\u2019 customary right to hunt on the hill, recognizing their longstanding traditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Situation After Independence<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Loss of Constitutional Protections<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>After India\u2019s independence, the rights of Adivasis over Marang Buru began to decline due to increasing state control over forests and pressure from non-tribal communities (<i>dikus<\/i>).\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>In 1972, the same year the Wildlife Protection Act was passed, <strong>Adivasi villages around the hill lost their Fifth Schedule status<\/strong>, stripping them of constitutional protections that allowed forest usage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Impact on Religious Practices<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>This led to restrictions on traditional rituals, especially at <i>Jug Jaher Than<\/i>, the sacred Santal site.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Between the 1970s and Jharkhand\u2019s formation in 2000, Santals faced growing limitations on access and gatherings at the hill.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Recent Government Directives and Legal Orders<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In 2023, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) issued a memorandum banning alcohol, meat, and eggs within a 25 km radius of the hill\u2014covering 99 mostly Adivasi villages\u2014to honor Jain sentiments.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>This included restrictions in Anganwadi centers and primary schools.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The Jharkhand High Court\u2019s recent order enforced this directive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Parasnath Hill Dispute FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong> Why is Parasnath Hill important to Jains?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> It\u2019s believed 20 Tirthankaras attained nirvana here; it houses major temples and pilgrimage sites.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2.<\/strong> What does the hill mean to Santals?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> Known as Marang Buru, it&#8217;s home to their supreme deity and vital for rituals like Hudur Durga.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3.<\/strong> What triggered the conflict?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> Clashing religious practices\u2014Santal hunting vs Jain non-violence\u2014created disputes over rituals and sacred space.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4.<\/strong> What was the 2023 government order?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> A ban on meat, alcohol, and eggs within 25 km to respect Jain values, affecting tribal villages.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5.<\/strong> What is the Sendra festival?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> A traditional Santal hunting ritual on the hill, which Jains oppose as it conflicts with their beliefs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/faith-vs-tourism-jains-fear-that-a-sacred-hill-will-be-defiled-by-tourism-initiatives\/article66331262.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/frontline.thehindu.com\/the-nation\/adivasis-and-jains-battle-over-parasnath-hill-in-jharkhand\/article66408390.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">FL<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Parasnath Hill, sacred to Jains and Santals, faces fresh conflict over rituals, hunting, and forest rights; court steps in to address the tensions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":46702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-46701","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}