acharyas/vallabh.jpg · 1000×1250Born Chhagan in Vadodara in 1870, he lost his parents young. Hearing Vijayanand Suri preach, he asked to follow him, and in 1887 at Radhanpur he took diksha as Muni Vallabhvijay. His guru asked him to care for the Jains of Punjab, and he gave his life to that charge. In 1924 at Lahore he was made Acharya, and the Punjab sangh honoured him as Punjab Kesari, the lion of Punjab.
He taught that a community without schools cannot stand. At his inspiration the Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya was founded in Mumbai in 1915, followed by schools, colleges and hostels in Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat. During the 1947 Partition he refused to be flown out of Gujranwala and walked to India with the Jain community. He died in Mumbai in 1954. The Vallabh Smarak in Delhi honours him, and India issued a postage stamp in 2009.
