Christian body welcomes Minority status granted to Jains

The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) has welcomed granting of minority status to Jains who have been demanding the government to recognized them as a distinct religious group.

The Jain community was accorded minority status by the central government on Monday which will enable them to avail of benefits in government schemes and programmes.

Jains who comprises about 50 lakhs in the country have been demanding the minority status in order to preserve their religious identity, culture and heritage.

Earlier, a group of Jains met Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and pressed for their long-standing demand; Gandhi then spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in their support and the cabinet later approved it.

Minority Affairs Minister K. Rahman told media persons that his ministry would soon issue a notification on this issue.

The Jains became the sixth community to have minority status after Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis.

The community is already enjoying minority status in some states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan but the new decision extends that status across the country.