Progress of Jain Journal

Summary

In “Progress of Jain Journal,” Dr. Satya Ranjan Banerjee reviews the journal’s development over 25 years. He emphasises its unique status as an independent quarterly dedicated to Jainology that has appeared regularly since 1966. The journal has maintained an average length of 64 pages, uses quality paper and includes no advertising within the main text; its special numbers are devoted entirely to original research. Because Jain Journal is controlled by no sectarian institution and is run almost entirely by the editor, scholars of all schools feel welcome to submit their research. Banerjee notes that articles undergo rigorous selection, and only those meeting scholarly standards are accepted. This policy has produced a body of work on Jain philosophy, religion, hagiography, folk tales, monastic discipline, grammar and linguistics that reveals many aspects of India’s cultural history seldom described elsewhere. Banerjee commends Jain Journal’s editor, Shri Ganesh Lalwani, for managing every aspect of production by himself. Lalwani writes, edits, solicits and evaluates submissions, proofreads, oversees printing and binding at a Calcutta press, and even packs and posts each issue. Under his single‑handed care the journal has been free of typographical errors and has used proper diacritical marks for Prakrit and Sanskrit terms. The author highlights that Lalwani simultaneously edits two other journals – the monthly Bengali journal Śramaṇa and the Hindi magazine Titthayara – yet still manages to produce Jain Journal on time and to a high standard. The article praises the journal’s balanced, non‑sectarian approach and its willingness to publish differing viewpoints. Contributors include professors, monks, lay scholars and foreign academics. The variety of topics, from epistemology and cosmology to astronomy and mathematics, has made the journal indispensable for research libraries. Banerjee urges that past issues be reprinted so that new students can access early articles, and he proposes that the editor compile a volume summarising two and a half decades of research for the benefit of scholars. Such initiatives would highlight how Jain studies have progressed and how the journal has contributed to India’s intellectual heritage. The piece is an earnest tribute that celebrates the editor’s dedication and the journal’s scholarly achievements while cautioning that such work demands wider appreciation and support. For Banerjee, reading and quoting Jain Journal is both a pleasure and an intellectual necessity, and he exhorts researchers to keep it on their desks.