JAIPUR, INDIA, August 25, 2015 (Nation): Thousands of members of the austere Jain religion protested across India on Monday for the legal right to take part in an ancient ritual of starving themselves to death. Dressed in traditional white kurtas and trousers and holding banners that read “Suicide is crime, Santhara is religion”, they marched silently through the city of Jaipur in the western state of Rajasthan. Jain leader Rajendra Godha said up to 100,000 devotees took part in the protest that snaked through Jaipur for several kilometres and also saw schools and businesses run by Jains close for the day.
Jains have been campaigning after a Rajasthan High Court ruled this month that their voluntary custom of fasting until death or Santhara was a form of suicide, which is illegal under Indian law. “Our peaceful protest is against the judgement pronounced by the high court without understanding the concept and objectives” of the tradition, Godha said. As part of their religion, Jains can take a vow to give up food and water as a way of embracing death.