3. RURAL-URBAN DISTRIBUTION
The Jainas are essentially urban
dwellers. This is the only religious community in India whose total
numbers in urban areas exceeds their number in rural areas.1 Out of
32,06,038 total population of Jainas in India
as per 1981 Census, 20,50,931 Jainas reside in
urban areas and 11,55,107 Jainas reside in
rural areas. It means that the percentage of urban and rural population
among the Jainas is 63.9 and 36.1
respectively. These figures for all religions in India are 23.7 and 76.3
respectively.
The urban character of the Jaina
population can be noticed from another point of view. The
Jainas in India form only 0.48 per cent of the
total population of the country. But the Jainas
constitute 1.30 per cent of the urban population and, only 0.23 per cent
of the rural population of the country.
The Jainas are not only more
urbanised persons but their preference to live
in urban areas in continuously increasing in this century. The figures
showing the percentage of Jainas residing in
the urban areas in the last eight Census Reports are given in Table No.
12.
From the above Table it is evident that the percentage of urban
Jaina population has doubled during the last
80 years and that there is an increasing tendency among the
Jainas to prefer to reside in urban areas than
in rural areas.
Further, the urban character of Jaina
population is not uniform over different States and Union Territories of
India. From the statements showing the distribution of Urban and Rural
population of Jainas as per 1971 Census, it is
clear that the Jainas are more urban in the
areas where they are few in number and more rural in the areas where they
are comparatively large in number. That is why the proportion of the
Jainas living in the urban areas is 99.39 per
cent in Jammu and Kashmir, 99.20 per cent in Nagaland,
98.32 per cent in Pondicherry, 91.97 per cent
in Punjab, 86.08 per cent in Andhra
l. Census of India, 1981 : Series 1 India; Paper 3 of 1984 on Household
Population by Religion, p. viii.
TABLE NO. 12
Census Year Percentage
of urban Jaina
population
1901 30.0
1911 29.6
1921 33.9
1931 34.6
1941 41.4
1951 Not
available
1961 53.9
1971 59.8
1981 63.9
Pradesh, 82.00 per cent in West Bengal and 81.29 per cent in
Goa, Daman and Diu.
It is obvious that there is a very sparse population of the
Jainas in these States and Union Territories.
Similarly, the proportion of the Jainas living
in the rural areas is 65.91 per cent in Karnataka, 53.54 per cent in
Rajasthan, 37.74 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, 36.44 per cent in
Maharashtra and 33.74 per cent in Gujarat as
these are the States where the Jaina
population is mostly concentrated.
Thus the preference of the Jainas to
live in urban areas is their characteristic feature. This is due to the
fact that in any region with a pronounced majority of one religion it will
be found that persons not of that religion are mainly to be seen in the
towns. A Parsi or a Christian, unless by an
accident brought up in a village, will not find himself at home in rural
conditions. This type of phenomenon is common all over the world.
Everywhere the country is homogeneous and native, the town heterogeneous
and cosmopolitan. All minorities thus find way to and flourish in towns
and that is why the Jaina community is
essentially urban in character.
4. SEX COMPOSITION
The sex composition of the Jainas
reveals a clear deficiency of females. There are only 941 females per 1000
males in the Jaina community. The sex ratio
among the Jainas during the last nine censuses
is given in Table No. 13.
TABLE
NO. 13
Census Year Number of females per 1000
males
1901
929
1911
940
1921
931
1931
940
1941
930
1951
927
1961
924
1971
940
1981
941
