Jain leaders will meet at Varur near Karnataka’s Hubballi on August 6 to discuss what they described as an “aim to slander the Jain religion” by using the allegations of mass burials at Dharmasthala.
Acharya Gunadharanandi Maharaj of the Navagraha Tirtha in Varur near Hubballi in Dharward district was quoted by Kannada newspaper Vijaya Karnataka as saying, “People are using the Dharmasthala mass burials case to slander the Jain religion and its history. We called a meeting of Jain leaders in Varur to discuss this.”
He claimed that some people were spreading lies related to Dharmasthala. “There are no educational institutions in the name of the Jain religion. All the institutions built are in the name of Manjunatha. All people go there. Devotees are extremely pained by these allegations,” he said during a press conference in Hubballi.
He also said that many false allegations are being made against the Jain religion. “If wrongdoing is proved, I will give up monkhood. We will not spare slanderers.”
Gunadharanandi Maharaj welcomed the formation of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that is investigating allegations of mass burials at Dharmasthala. “The investigation must be speedy. If the allegations are true, we will organise a protest of three lakh people to demand strict punishment for the guilty. If they are false, we will hold a celebration,” the Acharya said.
Allegations of mass burials at Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district made by a former sanitation worker have taken the country by storm. On August 4, the SIT found skeletal remains near spot number 11, which is the second such finding since excavations at spots identified by the whistleblower began on July 30. The whistleblower identified a total of 13 sites. Human remains were also found in spot 6 on July 31.