Announcement of Taj Hotel by Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) in Gujarat’s Palitana | File
The recent announcement of a Taj Hotel by Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) in Gujarat’s Palitana hasn’t gone well with the Jain community as it is afraid that the luxury hotel will undermine the sanctity of the community’s pilgrimage site. Jain organisations from across the country have called upon the community members to oppose Taj Palitana and have demanded to scrap the hotel plan.
On March 25, IHCL announced the signing of Gujarat’s Palitana Palace under the Taj brand to turn the palace into a five-star hotel. With over 850 temples, Palitana is one of the most important pilgrimage sites for the Jain community and the Shatrunjaya Mountain located in the city is one of the five Jain panchakshetras, holy places for the community.
The announcement of a five-star hotel in the holy city of Palitana has sparked concerns among Jains as the community members fear that the luxury hospitality service will also serve non-vegetarian food and alcohol to its guests, thereby undermining the sanctity of the holy city. Jain organisations from across the country are raising their voice against the upcoming hotel and have demanded IHCL to scrap the project.
Shree Mumbai Jain Sangh Sangathan, a union of all the Jain sub-communities in Mumbai, issued a collective statement along with its counterparts from Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Chennai and Bangalore against the luxury hospitality project. While the organisation has written to Gujarat chief minister, home minister and Gujarat Pavitra Yatradham Vikas Board, it has also sought an appointment with Puneet Chhatwal, IHCL’s managing director and chief executive officer, to discuss the issue.
Kamlesh Shah, executive committee member of Mumbai Jain Sangh Sangathan, said, “We are not opposing the project as doing business is their right. It is a request that establishing such a hotel will also attract non-Jain tourists, who will not visit the place for pilgrimage, thereby consuming non-vegetarian food and alcohol. We trust the commitment and ethics of IHCL but the launch of Taj will also attract other hotel chains and not all of them can be trusted.”
Jains have also launched an email campaign against Taj Palitana where the community members are writing emails to IHCL executives and Tata Group’s chairman N Chandrasekaran. Through the emails, the community members have alleged that the project will inadvertently conflict with the sacred identity of the site and the deeply held values of its spiritual community.
“Luxury hospitality, by its very nature, involves offerings, services, and activities that may not align with the deeply rooted traditions and ascetic way of life embraced by the local community and pilgrims. Even with the utmost care, the operational demands of such property could inadvertently alter the serene and sacred environment that makes Palitana a global symbol of peace and devotion,” read an email.
Sandeep Bhandari, Maharashtra president of Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jain Cell, said, “Palitana is a very small city but holds great spiritual importance, especially for Jains. If a five-star hotel is set up inside the city or nearby, it will serve non-vegetarian food and alcohol to its guests, which is not acceptable. If they want to establish the hotel, they have to do so without non-vegetarian food and alcohol.”
The Free Press Journal contacted IHCL but did not receive any reply.
