Child initiation among Jains: a controversial issue

Abstract

The traditional age for initiation in the Shvetambara Jain scriptures is given as 8. Historical
data shows that indeed several monks who became key-figures and scholars of the
community were ordained between 8 and 12. But from the second half of the 19th century
until today child initiation (bāldīkṣā) has emerged as an issue which had aroused strong
debates. Both the caution of the tradition and the illustrious examples have been used as
arguments by those who defend its validity. On the other side, questions relating to child
agency, child autonomy and child rights have become more and more acute. As we have
shown in the first exploration of this topic in scholarship (Balbir 2001), The British colonial
rule which was keen to apply western notions of minority and majority in Indian religious
matters was determining in the emergence of such debates. The question is: is a child of 8
years old able to take a decision which will have consequences on the rest of his life? It is
important to be aware that among Jains, ordination is not meant to be a temporary option
or a kind of rite of passage but a radical turn with no time limit and eventual return to laylife
is mostly stigmatized. The paper will discuss these issues with reference to textual
documentation and ethnographic observation in order to grasp the recent developments on
this enduring topic of discussion.