Jain Monks Facing Highway Side Accidents

This article outlines the problem (in India, while there are Jains in North America too). Similarly to Amish travelers being hit here, a more recent headline from 2016 (Jain sadhvi killed as truck hits her, 5 injured) got me wondering if that was an isolated incident. It seems however that this could be the tip of a cold blooded iceberg (in an otherwise warm climate and peaceful path for them).

Some quotes from other incidents:

"We demand a thorough investigation in the accidental deaths of the monks which we believe is premeditated. We condemn the attitude of the police. Instead of beating innocent people who came to attend the cremation of respected monks they need to investigate the killing of saints who spread the message of peace and harmony in the society."

"When they were walking along the side of the highway, a heavy duty loaded truck rammed them from behind, police said. In last 5 years more than 40 Jain Monks have died in such road accidents. We have doubt that all these accidents are conspiracy."

"These accidents are not because of the walking path/pattern of the Saints but with intensions. The accident in the month of December was such that the vehicle stop before the Saints to allow them to walk as they started walking the vehicle start & murdered the saints."

"Both the elderly female monks were wheelchairs-bound and were pulled by three people... This is the second such incident after a 70-year-old Jain monk, and 50-year-old female monk were killed by a truck" & one Driver Who ‘Ran Over’ Two Jain Monks Arrested.



Whether or not it is premeditated, the truck drivers seem to think these pedestrians are merely speed bumps, and keep on going... what can I say? If I were over there I'd rather walk with them (in the sand that is).

 

That's what she said...

So maybe they're walking along the roads to avoid causing harm to little living things under their own weight (besides those who are in wheelchairs), or are making an example of themselves there (surely when they stand in protest).



This would be the gray area (syād-asti-nāsti) between their vows of ahimsa (non-violence) and aparigraha (non-attachment), where fundamentally if they believe the road shouldn't be there, then perhaps they shouldn't be on it.

 

I don't see a follow up story on this (beyond an arrest). Supposedly India's act on motor vehicles is identical to that in the UK, which uses points (described here). There's also the possiblity of culpable homicide (manslaughter) charges in such a case.

By the way, there is a sense of keeping score for walking religiously as well, in a video about a Jain nun (excerpt), she comments that they focus on the road immediately ahead of them to avoid stepping on anything (violently), so I'd imagine that they may not always be aware of vehicles approaching... ironically the documentary is entitled On an Express Highway. Indeed they do protest being hit as an act of violence though (so I don't think they want this to be their ultimate sacrifice, yet there they go).

On the other hand, I guess the story about one monk being attacked with a knife could indicate that there's no safe way for them to travel as such, on or off road, especially in small numbers. Around 4.5 million Jains live there, although they're less than 1/2 of 1% in that population (or 2-7% in areas surrounding Jain centers), and there it is said that they are mainly urban dwellers, at least several thousand of whom are monastics (mostly the women, as pictured), they avoid walking on grass in order to cause less harm themselves, where what's done is done. In this case, it seems that ahimsa (or the spreading of this message) takes precedence over other vows, and personal safety too, as it is stated in their declaration on nature, "Ahimsa parmo dharmah" (Non violence is the supreme religion). Hmm, well there it says that ten million Jains were estimated to live in modern India, so maybe half of them are looking for sidewalks elsewhere.