Peacock Feathers Come From Murdered Birds

Here's a comprehensive summary of the Jain text "Peacock Feathers Come From Murdered Birds" by Maneka Sanjay Gandhi:

The article argues that Jainism, a religion professing complete adherence to ahimsa (non-violence), is inadvertently causing the extinction of India's national bird, the peacock, due to its demand for peacock feathers.

The author, Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, highlights how the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 initially allowed the sale of peacock feathers. This exception, she claims, was primarily due to significant lobbying by the Jain community on the Congress party and Indira Gandhi. The availability of these feathers led to their widespread sale and purchase. However, subsequent investigations and raids by wildlife departments have consistently revealed that the feathers sold could only have originated from killed peacocks.

Gandhi details attempts to amend the Act to ban the sale of peacock feathers. During Atal Behari Vajpayee's tenure, the amendment was planned but withdrawn after Shri Pramod Mahajan warned that the entire Jain vote would be lost because the Digambara Jain monks were strongly opposed to the ban. A similar attempt in 2013 under Jairam Ramesh also failed due to the Jain community's widespread opposition and threats, leading politicians to back down.

The author criticizes this prioritization of political votes over the survival of a national species, even from monks who, as a group, do not vote. She asserts that Jains are aware of the ethical issues surrounding other products they use, such as silk (made from dead butterflies) and silver varakh (historically made from cow/buffalo intestines). Similarly, they consume vegetarian food but are not vegan, despite knowing the suffering cows endure in milk production and eventual slaughter.

The core of the argument centers on the Digambara Jain monks' practice of using pichchis (small brooms) made of peacock feathers for sweeping their seating areas. While these are theoretically meant to protect small insects, Gandhi argues this principle is hypocritically applied. She refutes the Jain claim that feathers are collected from naturally shed ones, stating that peacocks shed only one feather monthly, which is quickly consumed by other creatures for calcium. Furthermore, the large number of peacock feather shops, catering to a steady demand, cannot be sustained by such meager natural shedding.

The article explains that Jain mendicants are supposed to adhere to aparigraha (non-possession), meaning they do not own their belongings but are given them as dana (charity). However, the Digambara monks have developed an attachment to their peacock feather pichchis, demanding new ones annually through elaborate ceremonies called Pichchi parivartan samaroh. Gandhi likens this to secular gift-giving traditions, contradicting the principle of detachment.

Gandhi points out a simple method to differentiate naturally shed feathers from those from killed birds: naturally shed feathers have a whole, tapering white funnel, while forcibly removed feathers have a cut funnel filled with blood. She asserts that all Jain pichchis from Digambara monks have these cut stalks.

The author concludes by questioning the supposed spiritual leadership of the Digambara sect, suggesting that their fanaticism for peacock feather brooms demonstrates a profound attachment to worldly possessions, directly contradicting core Jain principles like ahimsa and aparigraha. She challenges them to acknowledge the truth that their practices are leading to the extinction of peacocks and to consider alternatives like cotton or plant stalks, rather than the current destructive tradition. She ends by posing the question of who will seek forgiveness from the spirits of the slain peacocks.