All India Jain Minority Federation (AIJMF) has urged the district collectors across Maharashtra asking them to ensure that meat shops remain shut on April 10 on the occasion of Mahavir Janma Kalyanak. The community has been irked about having to ensure that the exercise has to be undertaken every year even after a government order directing the cause is in place.

Mahavir Janma Kalyanak is considered to be one of the most important religious festivals in Jainism as it commemorates the birth anniversary of Mahavir Swami, the 24th tirthankara of the religion. The community celebrates the occasion by decorating temples, offering donations to the needy and holding ahimsa rallies.

With non-violence being one of the basic principles of Jainism, the Jain community strongly opposes the consumption or trading of meat. Therefore, many states have ordered prohibition on selling meat on Mahavir Janma Kalyanak. In March 2003, Maharashtra had also directed municipal commissioners and chief officers across the states to enforce the closure of meat shops on this day every year.

This year, as the festival falls on April 10, AIJMF has started an exercise to ensure that all meat shops remain shut on this day. AIJMF, a religious organisation with 650 branches working across 22 states to provide minority rights to the Jain religion, has initiated the drive urging district collectors to ensure that they direct all municipal corporations and municipalities to enforce the government order.

The community expressed resentment over having to carry out the exercise every year. Members of the community said that meat shops should remain shut every year on its own since there is a government order mandating it. However, they have to meet and reming the district collectors every year before the festival to ensure the enforcement of the order.

Sandeep Bhandari, national general secretary of AIJMF, said, “Every year before Lord Mahavir’s Janma Kalyanak day, we have to undergo this exercise even though the state government has issued an order to ensure the closure of meat shops. This tradition of keeping meat shops shut for a day had started from the time of Mughal reign. However, now we have to plead the district collectors every year to ensure that the order is enforced in their jurisdiction.”