Official language Hindi and English | ||
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Formation January 1, 1894; 123 years ago (1894-01-01) Type Jain religious organisation Purpose Religious, Educational, Non Profit, Charitable | ||
Digambar Jain Mahasabha is the oldest organisation of lay Jains in India.
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History
The Digambar Jain Mahasabha was founded in 1894 in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. It is considered a traditionalist organisation. Its two main branches are Dharm Sanrakshini Mahasabha and Teerth Sanrakshini Mahasabha.
The first President of The Digambar Jain Mahasabha was Laxmandas Tongya. In 1941, the leadership of the Mahasabha was handed over by Seth Hukumchand of Indore to Bhagchand Soni at the Shravanabelagola convention. Later leaders included Rajkumar Singh, Bhanvarilala Bakliwal, Raisahab Chandmal Pandya, and Likhamichand Chhabra. The present leader is Nirmal Kumar Jain Sethi, who has been in office since 1981 and is now the longest serving president in the history of the organisation. Raj Kumar Sethi, son of late Phulchand Sethi is the working president of the organisation. Binod Sethi, son of late Phulchand Sethi, of Dimapur is the Vice-President of the Teerth Sanrakshini Mahasabha
Publications
Jain Gazette, a weekly publication of Dharm Sanrakshini Mahasabha, has been published regularly for the last 103 years. It claims to be the oldest Jain periodical in the world.