Sammed Shikhar-Parasnath hills tourism controversy, explained

The government is going to promote eco-tourism in Parasnath Hills located in the Giridih district of Jharkhand so that employment opportunities can be opened for the local community there and tourism can be increased in a sustainable manner. But the people of the Jain Religion are opposing it.

People of the Jain community all over the country are protesting against making Sammed Shikhar located in the Giridih district of Jharkhand a tourist destination. They say that this is not a tourist destination but the biggest pilgrimage center of Jain society, like Mecca for Muslims and the Vatican for Christians.

A large number of people from Ujjain, Indore, and Bhopal took out a rally in Madhya Pradesh and handed over a memorandum to the DM to save Sammed Shikhar, saying that 'there is a plan to desecrate Sammed Shikhar in the name of tourism. After becoming a tourist area, non-veg and liquor shops will open here, which is against the principles of Jainism.'

Save Sammed Shikhar: What is the whole matter?

On 23 July 2022, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren launched the new Jharkhand Tourism Policy 2021 to boost the tourism industry of the state which was affected due to Covid-19. Its objective was to promote religious, cultural, and mining tourism in the state.

Under this, a target was set to promote religious tourism in Parasnath Hills (Sammed Shikhar), Madhuban, and Itkhori.

Parasnath Hills has been an important pilgrimage center for Jains. 20 out of 24 Tirthankaras attained salvation from here. It is considered the biggest pilgrimage of Jain society.

Many temples located on Parasnath mountain are more than 2 thousand years old. People of the Santhal tribe recognize it as Marang Buru and celebrate their traditional festival here in the middle of April.

Parasnath Hills has a very rich biodiversity. Parasnath Wildlife Sanctuary has been declared an Eco-Sensitive Zone.

On March 8, 2018, the Jharkhand government issued a draft notification to declare Parasnath and Taposanchi Sanctuaries as eco-sensitive zones. Union Forest Ministry issued a notification on August 2, 2019, in this regard for the approval of eco-tourism and other non-religious activities around the Parasnath Wildlife sanctuary.

On 17 March 2022, all the Jain organizations demanded the Central Forest Ministry and Jharkhand Government to cancel this notification.

On March 24, 2022, the National Commission for Minorities also wrote a letter to the Jharkhand government for action in this matter, but no response was given on that too.

Jain community says that Parasnath mountain should not be considered an eco-sensitive zone and should be declared as a place of pilgrimage.

Parasnath Hills declared as an eco-sensitive zone

An eco-sensitive zone is an area around reserved and protected forests that are considered ecologically fragile. That's why many types of restrictions are imposed in this area so that the protected area is not damaged.

But eco-tourism has been allowed in eco-sensitive areas.

Also Read: What are Eco Sensitive Zones, What activities are allowed in these areas?

Eco-tourism is different from normal tourism in many ways, in which special care is taken to minimize the damage to the environment.

Such as no permanent structure shall be made /constructed to create an ecotourism facility/structure, but temporary structures/facilities made predominantly of natural material of local origin may be allowed in Protected Areas or on forest land.

Concerns of Jain Community

So the concern of the Jains in Sammed Shikhar is that when tourism increases in Sammed Shikhar, hotels, bars, pubs, and motels will open there, which will destroy the sanctity of a religious place.

But since it is an eco-sensitive zone, the question of building such a structure does not arise.

However, a clear statement should come from the Jharkhand government in this matter so that whatever confusion there is in this matter can be resolved.

But till now the Jharkhand government is taking one-sided decisions in this matter and the opinion of the people of the Jain community is also not being taken in this matter, which is pointing towards nationwide protests in the coming days.

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