Jainism inspiring fight for equality for all even today: PM

New Delhi, May 27 (UNI) The social justice discourse in the context of the quota issue today found an echo in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's speech at the launch of a Jain Manuscripts catalogue when he said Jainism's principled stand against caste hierarchy continued to inspire the fight for equality for all.

''The noble principles of life and spiritualism expounded in the philosophy and practice of Jainsim have influenced generations of people worldwide...Its principled stand against a hierarchical caste system inspires us to fight for equality for all even today,'' said Dr Singh.

He said the rational basis of Jainism has contributed to scientific temper and the fight against superstition and blind belief Recalling Mahatma Gandhi's remarks, the Prime Minister said Jainism represents the highest flight of logic, taking nothing for granted and endeavouring to prove metaphysical truth by challenging the intellect.

He also quoted Jawaharlal Nehru's observation from the Discovery of India that ''it was Jainism that helped us better appreciate the rights of all living beings''.

Over the millennia, the Jain way of life has left its mark not only on the country's intellectual heritage but also on its tangible cultural heritage, the Prime Minister said.

''We only need to look at the heritage of the Dilwara Temples at Mount Abu, or the magnificent multi-faith art of the Ajanta caves to realise how deeply our civilisation has benefited from this segment of our history,'' he said.

The catalogue of Jain manuscripts released by the Prime Minister today has been prepared by the scholars of the Institute of Jainology and is housed in the prestigious British Library at London.

The Prime Minister said the ancient Jain document had helped scholars a lot in recreation of history. However, he added, manuscripts and other documentary material as a result of their fragile nature had not been utilised as much as other historical material.

Therefore, he said, the preparation of a catalogue of Jain manuscripts was a commendable effort as it was a valuable addition to the corpus of available source material for recreation of history.

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