Religion: Desecration in India

To express their outraged feelings, the 1,250,000 Jains all over India declared a general one-day strike. In the Shree Chawmukhiji Temple on Kathiawar, religion-baiting goondas (hooligans) had destroyed the Jains’ 2,000-year-old idols.

The “gentle” Jains, one of India’s oldest religious sects, believe that almost every living thing is man’s brother. They are thus careful not to harm any form of animal life, even the smallest insects. Gandhi once (1928) offended them deeply by killing a helplessly maimed calf. The Jains are humane to women & children but take a dim view of mankind in general: billions of years ago humanity was very good, they say, but in less than 40,000 years from now, all men, having reached the bottom of a “bad” cycle, will be less than one foot tall.