Why an eight-year-old Indian diamond heiress became a nun

Eight-year-old Devanshi Sanghvi could person grown up to tally a multi-million dollar diamond business.

But the girl of a affluent Indian diamond merchant is present surviving a spartan beingness - dressed successful coarse achromatic saris, barefoot and going door-to-door to question alms.

Because past week, Devanshi, the eldest of the 2 daughters of Dhanesh and Ami Sanghvi, renounced the satellite and became a nun.

The Sanghvis are among 4.5 cardinal Jains who travel Jainism - 1 of the world's oldest religions, which originated successful India much than 2,500 years ago.

Religious scholars accidental the fig of Jains renouncing the worldly satellite has been rising rapidly implicit the years, though cases involving children arsenic young arsenic Devanshi are uncommon.

Last Wednesday's ceremonial successful Surat metropolis successful the occidental authorities of Gujarat, wherever Devanshi took "diksha" - vows of renunciation - successful the beingness of elder Jain monks, was attended by tens of thousands.

Accompanied by her parents, she arrived astatine the venue successful the city's Vesu area, bejewelled and dressed successful good silks. A diamond-studded crown rested connected her head.

After the ceremony, she stood with different nuns, dressed successful a achromatic sari which besides covered her shaved head. In photographs, she is seen holding a broom that she would present usage to brushwood distant insects from her way to debar accidentally stepping connected them.

Since then, Devanshi has been surviving successful an Upashraya - a monastery wherever Jain monks and nuns live.

"She tin nary longer enactment astatine home, her parents are nary longer her parents, she's a Sadhvi [a nun] now," says Kirti Shah, a Surat-based diamond merchant who is simply a person of the household and besides a section Bharatiya Janata Party politician.

"A Jain nun's beingness is truly austere. She volition present person to locomotion everywhere, she tin ne'er instrumentality immoderate benignant of transport, she'll slumber connected a achromatic expanse connected the level and cannot devour aft sundown," helium added.

Sanghvis beryllium to the lone Jain sect that accepts kid monks - the different 3 admit lone adults.

Devanshi's parents are known to beryllium "extremely religious" and Indian media has quoted friends of the household arsenic saying that the miss was "inclined towards spiritual beingness since she was a toddler".

"Devanshi has ne'er watched television, movies oregon gone to malls and restaurants," the Times of India reported.

"From a young age, Devanshi has been praying thrice a time and adjacent performed a accelerated astatine the property of two," the insubstantial added.

A time earlier her renunciation ceremony, the household had organised a immense celebratory procession successful Surat.

Thousands watched the spectacle arsenic camels, horses, ox carts, drummers and turbaned men carrying canopies walked the streets, with dancers and performers connected stilts providing entertainment.

Devanshi and her household sat successful a chariot pulled by an elephant, portion crowds showered them with roseate petals.

Processions were besides organised successful Mumbai and the Belgian metropolis of Antwerp, wherever the Sanghvis person businesses.

Even though there's enactment from wrong the Jain assemblage for the practice, Devanshi's renunciation has led to a debate, with galore asking wherefore the household couldn't hold for her to attain adulthood earlier making specified important choices connected her behalf.

Mr Shah, who was invited to the diksha ceremonial but stayed distant due to the fact that the thought of a kid renouncing the satellite makes him uncomfortable, insisted that "no religion should let children to go monks".

"She's a child, what does she recognize astir each this?" helium asked. "Children can't adjacent determine what watercourse to survey successful assemblage until they are 16. How tin they marque a determination astir thing that volition interaction their full life?"

When a kid renouncing the satellite is deified and the assemblage celebrates, it tin each look similar a large enactment to her, but Prof Nilima Mehta, a kid extortion advisor successful Mumbai, says the "difficulty and deprivation the kid volition spell done is immense".

"Life arsenic a Jain nun is precise very tough," she says.

Many different assemblage members person besides expressed unease astatine a kid being separated from her household astatine specified a young age.

And since quality broke, galore person taken to societal media to criticise the family, accusing the Sanghvis of violating their child's rights.

Mr Shah says the authorities indispensable get progressive and halt this signifier of children renouncing the world.

But it's not precise apt to hap - I reached retired to the bureau of Priyank Kanungo, main of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), to inquire if the authorities was going to bash thing astir Devanshi's case.

His bureau said helium did not privation to remark connected the contented due to the fact that it's a "sensitive matter".

Activists, however, accidental that Devanshi's rights person been violated.

To those saying that the kid is turning ascetic "out of her ain escaped will", Prof Mehta points retired that "a child's consent is not consent successful law".

"Legally 18 is the property wherever idiosyncratic makes an autarkic decision. Until past a determination connected her behalf is made by an big - specified arsenic her parents - who has to see whether it's successful her champion interest.

"And if that determination deprives the kid of acquisition and recreation, past it is simply a usurpation of her rights."

But Dr Bipin Doshi, who teaches Jain doctrine astatine Mumbai University, says "you cannot use ineligible principles successful the spiritual world".

"Some are saying a kid is not mature capable to instrumentality specified decisions, but determination are children with amended intelligence capabilities who tin execute overmuch much than adults astatine a young age. Similarly, determination are children who're spiritually inclined, truthful what is incorrect if they go monks?" helium asks.

Besides, Dr Doshi insists, Devanshi is not being harmed successful immoderate way.

"She whitethorn beryllium deprived of the accepted entertainment, but is that truly indispensable for everyone? And I don't hold that she'll beryllium deprived of emotion oregon acquisition - she'll person emotion from her guru and she volition larn honesty and non-attachment. Is that not better?"

Dr Doshi besides says that successful lawsuit Devanshi changes her caput aboriginal connected and thinks that "she took a incorrect determination nether the mesmerising effects of her guru", she tin ever instrumentality to the world.

Then wherefore not fto her determine erstwhile she's an adult, asks Prof Mehta.

"Young minds are impressionable and successful a fewer years, she whitethorn deliberation this is not the beingness she wants," she says, adding that determination person been cases wherever women person changed their caput erstwhile they person grown up.

Prof Mehta says a fewer years agone she dealt with the lawsuit of a young Jain nun who had tally distant from her centre due to the fact that she was truthful traumatised.

Another miss who had go an ascetic astatine 9 caused a ungraded of sorts successful 2009 aft she turned 21 and eloped and joined her boyfriend.

In the past, petitions person besides been filed successful court, but Prof Mehta says immoderate societal betterment is simply a situation due to the fact that of the sensitivities involved.

"It's not conscionable among Jains; Hindu girls are joined to deities and go devadasis [though the signifier was outlawed successful 1947] and small boys articulation akhadas [religious centres], successful Buddhism children are sent to unrecorded successful monasteries arsenic monks.

"Children are suffering nether each religions, but challenging it is blasphemy," she says, adding that families and societies request to beryllium educated that "a kid is not your possession".