Septuagenarian Jain priest Sugyeyasagar Maharaj, 72, a native of a village in Banswara district of Rajasthan, sat on a hunger strike to oppose govt against the decision of tourist tag for Prasannatha hills, dies in Jaipur.
The Jain priest sat on a fast at Sanghiji temple in Sanganer after participating in a peace march in Jaipur. He was on a hunger strike against the Jharkhand government’s decision of declaring Shri Sammed Shikharji, a sacred pilgrimage site for the Jain community, as a tourist place.
Shri Sammed Shikharji is located at Parasnath Hills in Jharkhand state. It is also the major pilgrimage destination for people of the Jainism faith, for both its sects, the Digambaras and the Svetambaras. It is believed that this is the place where 20 of the 24 Jain Tirthankaras achieved “moksha” or salvation after meditating.
According to the Rajasthan Jain Sabha president, Subhash Jain, “A priest lost his life fasting, protesting for the cause. The government of India and Jharkhand government is working at a very slow pace, if it goes on like this then public outrage will spread. At present, the community members are keeping it peaceful till January 15, afterward, it will not be easy to maintain the grudge.”
The members of the Jain community held a nationwide massive protest on January 1 against the Jharkhand government’s decision of publicizing the ‘sacred’ Sammed Shikharji, a tourist place.
