Indian diamond heiress becomes nun at 8

Devanshi is the elder daughter of the owner of Sanghvi and Sons, a decades-old diamond polishing and export firm in Gujarat

The eight-year-old daughter of a diamond merchant in India’s western state of Gujarat has renounced material life to become a nun.

Devanshi Sanghvi is the elder daughter of Dhanesh Sanghvi, the owner of Sanghvi and Sons, a nearly three-decade-old diamond polishing and export firm in Surat.

On Wednesday, Ms Sanghvi took the vow of renunciation in the presence of Jain monk Acharya Vijay Kirtiyashsuri and hundreds of other people at a venue in Vesu locality of Surat, a family associate said to news agency Press Trust of India.

Jainism, one of the three ancient religions in India, subscribes to the path of non-violence to attain enlightenment.

According to the 2011 population census conducted by the Indian government, 0.40 per cent of the country follows the religion. However, the community’s economic impact is far greater. They are widely believed to be one of the wealthiest communities in the country.

The ceremony on Wednesday marked the beginning of Ms Sanghvi’s ascetic life where she will live as a nun after renouncing material life.

According to family friend Nirav Shah, the minor girl was inclined towards spiritual life since a very young age and had even walked about 700km with other monks and embraced their life before formally being initiated into monkhood.

“Devanshi showed religious inclination since she was a toddler. She has followed ascetic life since a very young age,” he was quoted as saying.

Ms Sanghvi, the heir to her father’s diamond business, also has a younger sister who is four years old.

A day before the ceremony, a giant procession with elephants, horses and camels was organised in Surat to celebrate the beginning of her monk life, reported The Times of India.

“Despite being owners of a huge business set-up, the family lives a simple life. They have noticed that their daughters want to stay away from all worldly pleasures,” another family friend was quoted as saying to the outlet.

A similar procession was also organised in Belgium where the family has business ties.