Monitoring Desk
After giving up worldly pleasures, an eight-year-old Indian girl who was expected to receive a multimillion-dollar diamond wealth was instead accepted as a nun into a strict religious order.
Devanshi, the elder of Dhanesh and Ami Sanghvi’s two daughters, gave up the world and became a nun last week. The Sanghvis are among the 4.5 million Jains who practice Jainism, one of the oldest religions in the world that has its roots in India and dates back more than 2,500 years. Despite the rarity of incidents involving children as young as Devanshi, religious experts claim that the number of Jain’s renunciations of the material world has been rising quickly over time.
Indian child nun
Devanshi stood with other nuns after the ritual while wearing a white sari over her shaved head. She is pictured holding a broom, which she would now use to sweep insects off of her path to prevent tripping over them. Devanshi has been residing at a Upashraya since that time, a monastery home to Jain nuns and monks.
The family had planned a sizable festive procession in Surat the day before her renunciation ceremony. Thousands of people witnessed the show as camels, horses, ox carts, drummers, and men in turbans holding canopies roamed the streets while being entertained by dancers and stilt performers. Devanshi and her family were riding in an elephant-drawn chariot while being showered with rose petals by onlookers. Processions were also organized in the Belgian city of Antwerp and Mumbai, where the Sanghvis have businesses.
Despite the Jain community’s approval of the practice, Devanshi’s renunciation has sparked controversy. Many have questioned why the family didn’t wait until Devanshi was an adult before making such an important decision on her behalf.
Why are these youngsters renouncing the world?
She may perceive it as a major celebration when a child rejects the world, and the community rejoices, but Prof. Nilima Mehta, a child protection consultant in Mumbai, claims the “difficulty and deprivation the child would go through is immense.” Many other people in the neighborhood have also expressed concern over a little child being taken away from her family. Since the news spread, many people have criticized the family on social media, charging the Sanghvis with breaching their child’s rights.
Devanshi’s rights, however, allegedly have been infringed, according to activists.
Prof. Mehta responds to those who claim the youngster is becoming an ascetic “of her own free will” by stating that “a child’s consent is not consent in law.”
The nun and the monk who married
Another girl who had become a nun at the age of nine sparked a minor stir in 2009 when she turned 21 and eloped with her lover. There have also been legal petitions made in the past, but according to Prof. Mehta, social reform is difficult because of the delicate issues at stake. She added that families and societies need to be educated that “a child is not your possession,” adding that children suffer under all religions, but criticizing it is blasphemy.
