Tamil Jains: Explorations of a Cultural Legacy
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Tamil Jains: Explorations of a Cultural Legacy

Practices and RitualsHistoriesPeople
in Video
Published on: 05 October 2018

Mahima Jain

Mahima A. Jain is a freelance journalist and writer. She has worked as an editor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, 'The Hindu', and the 'Hindu BusinessLine'. She writes on environment, business, and culture. Her research focuses on the history, identity and socio-cultural position of Tamil Jains within Tamil society as well as their unique place as a minority within the minority Jain community. In 2015, she was awarded the Nehru Trust for India Collection at the V&A (Jain Art) Fellowship to study Tamil Jain heritage through colonial records. She presented a paper on 'Communicating Heritage: Construction of Tamil Jain Identity in Print and Social Media' in 2017 at the European Association for Study of Religion Conference at University of Leuven, Belgium. You can reach her at mhmajain@gmail.com.

Kanaka Ajithdoss and members of the Tamil Jain community trace the architectural, cultural and literary impact of Tamil Jains through the ages (video shot in 2017)

 

Recognised as a minority in 2014, the Tamil Jain community in India is often called a 'minority within a minority', with a population of just over 25,000. The Tamil Jains have left an imprint on the literary, cultural and architectural landscape of India, and of Tamil Nadu in particular. The video documents this impact through interviews and oral accounts of members of the Tamil Jain community.

Author Details

Mahima Jain

Mahima A. Jain is a freelance journalist and writer. She writes on environment, business, and culture. Her research focuses on the history, identity and socio-cultural position of Tamil Jains within Tamil society as well as their unique place as a minority within the minority Jain community.

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