India, April 8 -- Senior leaders from the Jain community condemned a Jain monk's recent statement regarding legendary 18th-century Maratha queen, Maharani Tarabai, and appealed to him to focus on social reforms rather than on creating political controversy.

The controversy relates to Jain Muni Acharya Nayan Padmasagar's claim that the queen belonged to the Jain community during a recent event in Mumbai, a comment that invited angry responses from Maratha community members.

Against this backdrop, leaders from both the Jain and Maratha communities held a joint press conference on Tuesday and stated, "We have always maintained social harmony in Maharashtra. Jain and Maratha communities used to celebrate all their festivals together."

Jain...