ABSTRACT
Against a background of comparative jurisprudential analysis, this chapter demonstrates that despite its formal amalgamation into Hindu law in India during 1955–1956, Jaina law continues to manifest itself in various unofficial and semi-official forms. Much of Jaina law is found in unreported cases from lower courts, and in unrecorded private agreements within the context of ‘family arrangements’. Before turning to the law, it may be useful to consider Jainas briefly as forming a transnational community with its own complex identity. Jainas have been making notable public statements about their presence in diaspora and about the contributions that Jainism can make to the well-being of mankind and all creations. Jain’s study tells readers virtually nothing about what happened to the application of supposedly legal texts between the seventeenth century and the end of British rule. Hence, it may be possible to argue that Jaina law has not totally lost its potential in terms of legal and social reconstruction.
