Choose OTHER, Select JAIN
The 2011 Census only captured 20,288 UK Jains. Today, we believe that there are an estimated 65,000 Jains in the UK.
The IOJ believes that the reason for this is twofold; firstly the lack of a Jain ‘tick box’ in the religion question of the census, requiring the selection of ‘Other’ and the word Jain to be written, and secondly the confusion that is caused as many Indians see the word ‘Hindu’ as culturally and geographically identifying them as ‘Indian’. (i.e from Hindustan).
In 2021, it is believed that 75% of the population will fill the census online, so it’s important for Jains to know how to identify themselves. Collecting inaccurate and incomplete data will mean that UK Jain communities cannot plan for community needs. This includes places of worship, birth and marriage rites. It may also mean that local policy and funding decisions are made by central and local government bodies, without taking Jains into account, even where they are a significant percentage of the population.
Examples of this include;
- Inclusion of Jainism in school RE curriculum by LAs and school groups
- Provision for Jains in NHS hospitals. This includes Jain diet, Jain chaplaincy and provision for those health conditions that are prominent in Jains.
- Provision for crematoria, and also provision of Jain funeral rites in crematoria.
- Needs for Housing Provision.
- In BBC cultural programming and coverage.
