Importance of Media In unity of Jain Diaspora BY Dr. Mamta Shaha Chairperson, JAINA Media Production Committee Founder of Mangalam Jain TV program, New York
MEDIA and JAIN DIASPORA UNITY Welcome to Mangalam The first ever jain TV show in North America and now also seen globally. I am proud to say we have accomplished two years of regular weekly broadcast on TV media JAINA as a strong NRI Jain organization outside of India has achieved a very big mile stone.
Stay true This is also very important as we have stayed true to our philosophy of unity of Jains. The show is presented strictly in non sectarian, non biased way.
Self Examination Let us look at some statistics to understand ourselves, The Jains of the world
No Status
Statistics-1 Population of India 1.28 Billion Jains in India 5,200,000 (0.5%) Approx. 6 million Jains worldwide Approx. 75,000 100,000 in North America.
Statistics-2 Indian National average literacy rate 65.38% Indian National average female literacy rate 54.16% Jains literacy rate 94.1% Jain female literacy rate 90.6% It is believed that the Jains also have the highest per capita income in India.
What this means The moral and intellectual influence of the Jain communities gives them a social importance greater than would result from their mere numbers. They are not only among the businessmen and industrialists, many of the prominent authors, justices, administrators and politicians have been Jain.
What is important It is not necessary to fight for minority status across India (which was denied by the supreme court in 2005). It is necessary however to unite Jains and have a mutual pride in The Jain way of life. The most important thing is to understand our religion in the right way and then pass on the legacy to our next generation and to non Jains in a non sectarian, non biased way!
Very Important Jain way of life is the most relevant philosophy at all times. But more so NOW as world is becoming more violent!!
Logical Step Media exposure is the next logical step in the spread of Jainism, which is something the media outlet can help do. With this in mind Mangalam was founded with some core objectives.
Core objectives 1. Produce and Broadcast Quality Television Programs based on Jain Religion. 2. Bring JAINS closer together by getting participation from centers around the nation and around the globe. involving smaller centers to be recognized through their programs. 3. Utilize broadcast media to provide a wide range of exposure to Jain philosophy and Jain way of life through lectures by respectable spiritual leaders and scholars. 4. Create a platform for young Jains to get involved and creatively express their views.
Important to note This is the only religious program produced in USA, by the religious community, letting people know about our community, the way we live and practice our religion. This makes NRI Diaspora Jain community different, as every place has their unique circumstances. But we follow Jain way of life without any dogma or restriction of thought.
A Suggestion As Mangalam is now seen globally, we would like to extend our core objective in reaching out to the global community. Thus I suggest we form a Global Mangalam Team.
Mangalam Global Team-1 Mangalam Bureau of: UK/Europe Middle East Africa Singapore/South east Asia Japan and China
Mangalam Global Team-2 Every global team member is responsible for soliciting, finalizing, and forwarding video taped material including center news, updates, and youth views from his/her region. Global members will work closely with US Team. In addition to gathering material for the show, the regional members may also solicit local sponsorships for the program.
The future The future is very bright, as we are taking a giant step towards unity. With the changing times we need to explore and be present on the cyber media, to be easily available to the wider audiences
Challenges. With bright future there are challenges. Different opinions are going to come. We, as leaders of this Jain unity movement, should continue our efforts. Use of media will help us achieve this goal better and faster
Our Responsibility As a community it is our Social Responsibility to continue furthering the Jain Way of Life to our next generation and non Jains. This is very important as our community is facing inter-religious marriages and we are losing our own to other religions. The TV Media is the best audio- visual medium available to us.
Responsibility continues With this we can make others understand and adopt Jain way of life, thus gaining more people than losing our own because of our divisiveness.
Opinion We feel media can play a big part in Jain unity Through Mangalam it is possible. We are open to suggestions
Remember Mangalam For Enquiries, suggestions and comments write to us at mangalamshow@gmail.com For program information please visit our web site at www.mangalamshow.com
Thank You