Context:

Recently, the Jharkhand High Court directed the state government to enforce a pre-existing ban on the consumption and sale of meat, alcohol, and other intoxicants on a hill considered to be sacred by both the Santal Adivasi and Jain communities.

More on the news:

• The Court ordered the State government to increase the deployment of home guards on the hill to enforce the orders of the Union Environment Ministry, which had notified it as a special eco-sensitive zone in 2019 besides prohibiting certain activities in and around the area.
• The memorandum had also put a stay on the State government’s plans to turn the area into a location for religious eco-tourism, which had faced backlash from the Jain community across the country. 

Parasnath Hill:

• The hill is famously known as Marang Buru by Santals and Parasnath by Jains.
• Jains and Adivasis have coexisted on the hill for centuries, as Adivasis helped tirthankaras reach the summit to attain nirvana. 

Disputed Claims

• Jains claim an ancient king donated Parasnath Hill to them.
• However, the 1957 Hazaribagh District Gazetteer noted that the oldest Jain temple dates only to 1765

Official Records of Conflict

• The conflict was first officially recorded in 1911, during the British colonial period.
• The Gazetteer stated:
  “Parasnath is the Marang Buru or hill deity of the Santals. Each year they assemble during the full moon of Baisakh for a three-day religious hunt followed by a tribal session.”
  This refers to the Sendra festival, a recurring flashpoint in the dispute.

Importance to the Jain Community

• Jains believe that 20 of the 24 tirthankaras (divine teachers) attained nirvana (liberation) on this hill.
• The name “Parasnath” is derived from Parshvanatha, the 23rd tirthankara.
• Today, the hill is home to more than 40 Jain temples and dhams.

Importance to the Santhal Community

• Marang Buru (the Great Mountain) is the supreme animist deity in the Santal tradition.
• Key sacred sites for the Santals on the hill:
  Jug Jaher Than (sacred grove) – It is a revered religious site (Dhorom Garh).
  Dishom Manjhi Than – It is a symbolic seat of the traditional Santal leader where rituals are performed.
  Boda Darha in Sohraiya village – It is located in the eastern part of the mountain where the Lo Bir Baisi (a tribal council) convenes to resolves disputes which cannot be handled at the village level.
• The historic Santal Hul rebellion of 1855 was launched following a resolution passed by this council.

Sendra Festival

• During Sendra, all male Santals participate in a symbolic hunt.
• Community described festival as “a rebirth for Santal men… Either die or hunt to survive.”
• For Jains, the festival is problematic due to their strict vegetarian beliefs.
• Early attempts by Jains to ban hunting failed:
  A lawsuit by the Swetamber Jain community was dismissed by the district court.
  The Patna High Court in 1917 called the Jain grievance “hyper sentimental.”
  The Privy Council, then British India’s highest court of appeal, upheld Santals’ customary hunting rights.

Developments After Independence

• Fifth Schedule status, which grants special protections to tribal areas, was withdrawn from nearby villages.
• Rituals at Jug Jaher Than were halted from the 1970s until Jharkhand's statehood in 2000.
• In 2023, a memorandum by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change ordered:
  No alcohol or meat be served within a 25 km radius of the hill.
  Eggs and meat also banned in Anganwadi centres and primary schools.