Jain Personalities

This is a list of Jains. The existence of a few of the historical figures is not proven, like Lord Rishabha and some others, and these are purely religious figures.

Historical

· Lord Rishabha 1st tirthankar, first king of Ayodhya kingdom (earlier known as Vinita City)
· Parshwanath 23rd Tirthankar
· Mahavir 24th Tirthankar
· Gautam Gandhar
· Acharya Kundakunda
· Acharya Amritchandra
· Muni Shri Padmaprabhmaldhari Dev
· Bhadrabahu - Jain Acharya from Bengal and Teacher of Emperor Chandragupta
· Acharya Umaswami
· Acharya Jayasen
· Bhaiya Bhagwatidas
· Pandit Daulatram
· Pandit Banaradas
· Pandit Pravar Acharyakalp (Acharya like) Todarmal
· King Shrenik Bimbisara Magadh Emperor
· Shrimad Rajchandraji - 19th Century philosopher/mystic
· Kanjiswami - 20th Century philosopher/mystic
· Champaben - 20th Century philosopher/mystic/
· Sthulibhadra - Jain Acharya
· Chandragupta Maurya - Founder of the Mauryan empire
· Acharya Suhasti - Jain Saint and Teacher of Emperor Samprati
· Samprati - Mauryan Emperor
· Kharwel - Kalinga Emperor
· Amoghvarsh - Rashtrakut Emperor
· Chamundrai - General of Gang King Marsinha
· Acharya Maghnandi - Jain Acharya and Scholar
· Gandraditya - Shilahar King
· King Bhoj II - Shilahar King
· Acharya Hemchandra - Jain Acharya and Scholar
· Kumarpal - Solanki King
· Raja Bhamashah -(1542-1598 A.D., approx.), a Jain, was the childhood friend, colleague and adviser of Maharana Pratap, the legendary hero of Mewar (Rajasthan). Bhamashah’s loyal support was pivotal to the career of the Maharana; right from the time his coronation. Courageous and possessing exemplary military skills, Bhamashah played crucial roles in the numerous military exercises of Mewar against the mighty Mughal army, including the famous battle of Haldi Ghati. Modern historians describe him as the "Uplifter of Mewar".
· Siddhasen Diwakar - Ancient scholar
· Devchandra - Monk
· Som Sundar - 14th Century monk
· Muni Sundar - 14th Century monk
· Acharya Bhiksu - Jain Acharya of the 20th Century
· Acharya Tulsi - Jain Acharya with Revolutionary vision
· Acharya Mahaprajna - Great Jain Acharya, Scholar, thinker, writer of the 21st Century
· Haribhadrasuri - 12th Century philosopher
· Virasena - 9th century Mathematician
· Mahendra Suri - Sanskrit astrologer
· Acharya Rajendrasurishwar -19 century monk, reformer & philosopher/mystic
· Acharya Shantisagar - Great Jain Acharya of 20th Century
· Acharya Shri Chandanaji - Great Jain Acharya of the 21st Century
· Virchand Gandhi - First Silver Medalist Jain at First Ever Parliament of World Religions at Chicago, USA (1893)

Politics and Business

· Virchand Raghav Gandhi (VRG) (Aug 25, 1864 - Aug 7, 1901) represented Jains in the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. He spoke 14 languages including Gujarati, Hindi, Bengali, English, Sanskrit and French.
· Champat Rai Jain (1867 – Jun 2, 1942) was great Jain preacher who was barrister at the age of 13. He has written several books on Jainism.
· Annasaheb Latthe - First Finance minister of Maharashtra, Diwan Of Kolhapur, Educationalist, Social Reformer, Author, Awarded the Title "Diwan Bahaddur" by the then Viceroy of India.
· L.M. Singhavi - Former Indian High Commissioner to UK, Member of Parliament.
· Anshulal Sancheti – Guinness World Record Holder for translating Kalidasa's world famous ballad, Meghadutam in 36 languages, which include 12 European languages, 15 Indian regional languages and 9 Indian dialects.
· Satish Kumar Jain – Social activist, writer and journalist.
· Sunder Singh Bhandari - Governor of Gujarat
· Indu Jain and Vineet Jain - Owners of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., which owns Times of India and other related media brands.
· Anshu Jain of Deutsche Bank, London
· Sundar Lal Patwa - Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and Cabinet Minister of India
· Prakash Sethi - Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
· Virendra Sakhlecha - Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
· Takhtmal Jain - Former Chief Minister of Central Province
· Himmat Kothari - Minister in Madhya Pradesh Govt (Cabinet/Forest)
· Raghavji Bhai - Minister in Madhya Pradesh Govt (Cabinet/Finance)
· Jayant Mallya - Minister in Madhya Pradesh Govt (Cabinet - Urban Development)
· Sri Paras Jain - Minister in Madhya Pradesh Govt (State - Higher Education)
· Padma shree Birendra Hegde - Well known social activist
· Mr. Jawaharlal Darda - a veteran freedom fighter, Congress leader and founder of the Lokmat group of newspapers. Mr. Darda was elected to the Maharastra Legislative Council between 1972 and 1995. He made a mark in the governance in Maharastra by his admirable handling of the portfolios of energy, industry, irrigation, health, food and civil supplies, sports, youth affairs, textiles and environment as a Minister.
· Mohan Lal Sukhadia - Ex-Chief Minister of Rajasthan and ex-Governor of various states
· Tejraj S Dedavat - Jain business tycoon of the Oswal Group of industries
· Babu Ajit Prasad Jain - A prominent Jain politician from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, India. He was a veteran freedom fighter who was member of UP legislative council before independence. He was appointed the rehabilitation minister and then Union Food minister in the cabinet of Pandit Nehru. He was elected to the Lok Sabha 3 times and Rajya sabha twice. He played a prominent role in the formulating Zamidari abolition bill and for agricultural reform in India, which went a great way in formulating the green revolution in India. He is remembered for his courage, honesty and great social work done for the poor.

Entertainment

· V Shantaram - Pioneer of Indian film industry
· Asha Parekh - Famous leading lady of yesteryears
· Sooraj R Barjatya - Movie producer & director
· Kalyanji - Anandji - Music director
· Ravindra Jain - Music director
· Anuradha Paudwal - Singer
· Bharat Shah - Businessman and movie producer
· Sanjay Leela Bhansali- Famous movie maker

Sports

· Dilip Doshi - Indian Test and One Day cricketer

Literature

· Kundakunda - Jain scholar monk, 2nd century CE, composer of spiritual classics such as: Samayasara, Niyamasara, Pancastikayasara, Pravacanasara, Atthapahuda and Barasanuvekkha.
· Umasvami - Author of Tattvarthasutra.
· Siddhasena Divakara - Author of Sanmatitarka Prakarana
· Banarasidasa - Poet, Spiritualist and Thinker. Composed the Banarasivilasa, Nataka Samayasara and his magnum opus, Ardhakathanaka, the first ever autobiography in Hindi literature.
· Nathuram Premi - Publisher and Scholar of Jainism, founder of Hindi Granth Karyalay and Manikchandra Jain Granthamala, Historian, Researcher, Social reformer and Editor of Jain Mitra and Jain Hitaishi.
· Shrenik Annadate - Editor and Scholar, Mumbai, India
· Pierre Amiel - Writer and Activist, France
· S.A. Bhuvanendra Kumar - Jain Scholar & Editor, Canada
· Yashvant Malaiya - Sanskritist and Jain scholar, Colorado, USA
· Sudhir M. Shah - Writer, Editor, Scholar & Activist, Connecticut, USA
· Dr. Hemalata Pokharna - Scholar & Doctor, Chicago
· Amar Salgia - Young Scholar, Activist & Publisher, Los Angeles
· Annasaheb B Latthe - Started the magazines Sri Jinavijay, Pragati Ani Jinavijaya, Deccan Rayat and wrote many books on Jainism and politics including Jagati Federal Rajyaghatana.
· Sanjay D.Bafna - Writer, Editor, Scholar & Activist, Connecticut, Mumbai
· Dr. Hukumchnad Bharill - Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Author of 52 books on main Principles of Jainism like Krambadh Paryaya, Anekant-Syadwad, Nimitt-Upadaan, Naychakra, etc.
· Pt. Ratanchnad Bharill - Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Author of many books on Jainisim like 'Sanskar', 'Jin-Pujan-Rahasya', etc.

Philatalist
· Dhirubhai Mehta – He is one of the pioneers in establishing Philatelic Congress of India (PCI). He got elected trustee of PCI Trust in 1992.
· Manik Jain – Avid Philatelic material collector and writer of several books on philately.
· Pradip Jain – Famous Aerophilatist. He is winner of several awards world over. He has served in Philatic Advisory Committee, Department of Post, India. He is writer for several books on Indian philately.
· Prakash Mody – Prakash Mody is known for his politico-philatic mission. He is one of the leading figure in Canada and USA philatic canvas. He is instrumental in movement for multifaith postal stamp release in Canada and Mahaveer Nirvana in USA.
· Sudhir Jain – Secretery of Central India Philatic Society. With his help various Special Covers, Cancellations and Stamps have been released based on Jainism. He is also untiring force behind various philatic exhibitions across India like MAHAPRAGYAPEX-2004.

Other

· Acharya Rajneesh - "OSHO" Controversial Guru Rajneesh
· Shahil Mehta - World Renowned Mathematician
· Chandra Swami- Controversial Godmen Chandraswami
· Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai - World famous space scientist of India
· Dr. Karmveer Bhaurao Patil - educationalist and social worker
· Dr. Jagdish Chandra Jain - renowned philosopher
· Harshad Mehta – Famous trader at Indian stock market and instrumental in perpetuating 1992 stock market fraud.