Project Partners & Funders

The JAINpedia project is led by the Institute of Jainology (IoJ). The IoJ was established after the first International Jain Conference held in London in 1983, when the need for an organisation to co-ordinate Jain affairs internationally was recognised.

Based in London and Ahmedabad, India, the IoJ began its activities with educational programmes, inviting guest scholars from India to the UK, publishing newsletters and distributing Jain literature. Milestones in the institution’s history were work on the Jain Declaration on Nature and the translation of Jain scriptures in collaboration with the International Sacred Literature Trust.

The IoJ’s aims are to:

raise awareness of the history, art, philosophy and practices of the Jain faith among the Jain and wider communities and to promote its modern relevance, especially on key aspects such as the environment and respect for all living beings
provide a platform for interaction among different community organisations where all Jains, regardless of tradition and background, promote the faith with the aim of encouraging Jain unity
encourage interfaith relationships so the Jain community can become familiar with other religions and create a better understanding of Jainism
offer more opportunities for the study of Jainism at community level and institutions of higher learning and to facilitate scholarly research on Jainism through the establishment of scholarships and cataloguing of Jain manuscripts and artefacts.

Project partners

A number of world-leading cultural and scholarly institutions in the UK hold significant collections of Jain material. The JAINpedia project is proud to be working with the following institutions in the opening phases of the project.

Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford

Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford logo
Image by Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford © Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford

One of the leading university libraries in Europe holding Jain objects, the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, have a significant collection of manuscripts and academic material.

An exhibition of some manuscripts available in digital form on the JAINpedia website opened at the library in June 2012.

British Library

British Library logo
Image by British Library © British Library Board

A world-renowned institution, the British Library has a large and significant holding of Jain manuscripts.

A display of some of the most beautiful examples was mounted in the Treasures of the British Library gallery from October 2010 to June 2011.

Royal Asiatic Society

Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland
Image by Royal Asiatic Society © Royal Asiatic Society

The Royal Asiatic Society is a highly distinguished scholarly society dedicated to the study of Asia and holds a small yet important collection of Jain material.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Victoria and Albert Museum logo
Image by Victoria and Albert Museum © V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum, London

One of the foremost museums in the world, the Victoria and Albert Museum boasts an impressive collection of Jain objects.

A exhibition of finely illustrated Jain manuscript pages and paintings from India opened in May 2010. It has proven so successful that it is set to become one of the semi-permanent displays in the Nehru Gallery of Indian Art in the museum.

Wellcome Trust Library

The Wellcome Trust Library preserves almost 2000 Jain manuscripts among its London holdings. One of the largest collections outside India, the Jain works at the Wellcome include many unique texts.

JAINpedia looks forward to becoming partners with other major UK and international repositories in due course.

Project funders

Logos of the four main funders of JAINpedia or part of the digitisation: Institute of Jainology; Heritage Lottery Fund; Oshwal Association of the UK; Shraman South Asian Museum and Learning Center Foundation.

It would not have been possible to conceive and carry out the JAINpedia project without support and funding from individuals and organisations. We are very grateful to the following organisations for their continued support:

In addition, the Jain community worldwide has demonstrated great generosity and enthusiasm.

Technical partners

Thought Agile is a premier IT, Software and Project Management Consultancy

Thought Agile specializes in Software development services, IT enabled services, Project Management Consultancy, Business Consultancy, IT Business Analysis, CRM and ERP solutions, Mobile Cloud Technology, Web and Mobile Application development, Website Design and development, UX/UI development E-commerce Solutions and digital media marketing.