Raj Sadosh/Abohar.

Among the holidays announced by the Punjab government for the year 2026, Lord Adinatha Janma Kalyanak (January 17), the Jain Mahaparva Samvatsari (September 15), and Anant Chaturdashi (September 25, 2026) have been declared optional holidays, while Lord Mahavir Janma Kalyanak (March 31, 2026) has been declared a gazetted holiday.

The Vishwa Jain Sangathan (Punjab Chapter) has been demanding this for many years so that government employees of the Jain community can celebrate their religious festivals with devotion. The organization's National Convenor, Sanjay Jain, Chief Convenor for Punjab and Chandigarh, Dr. Sandeep Kumar Jain, General Secretary Ravindra Jain, Co-Convenor Rakesh Jain (Guru Sewak Parivar), Rajesh Jain Romy of S.S. Jain Sabha, Ludhiana, and A.P. Jain, Vice President of Bhagwan Mahavir Abhay Shala, have welcomed the government's announcement. Employees can avail of two holidays per year from the list of optional holidays as per their choice. On the demand of the World Jain Organization of Punjab, the government had declared these holidays in the year 2025 as well.

Dr. Sandeep Kumar Jain has also written a letter to the Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, Gulab Chand Kataria (Governor of Punjab), demanding that Samvatsari and the above-mentioned festivals be declared optional holidays in the Union Territory of Chandigarh (UT) as well, and that slaughterhouses be closed and the sale of meat etc. be stopped on these days