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Clash Between Dera Sacha Sauda & Sikhs: Another Complex
Expression of Indian Reality
R Samanta
It started on May 14, 2007 . There was a clash between followers of Sacha Sauda Sect and group of Sikh people at Bhatinda, Punjab , and at least 25 people were injured in the clash. The reason was a photograph of Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh, self-proclaimed Guru of Sacha Sauda attired in the dress of Guru Govind Singh, 10th Sikh Guru distributing ‘Amrit', was published in some newspapers. It, naturally, did hurt religious sentiments of many Sikh people; the issue is particularly sensitive as Sikhism itself is a minority religion in India and the Sikh people suffered a lot in India ; for example, one cannot forget the 1980s! They appeared in the streets with open Kripan, started attacking Sacha Sauda Deras, burnt effigy of Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh. On 15th, Sacha Sauda followers retaliated in different places of Punjab & Rajasthan. In Bhatinda, protesters put fire in police van, attacked Deputy Commissioner's Office and Govt Circuit House. At least 50 people were injured in the clash. Tension spread at Amritsar , Ludhiana , Ferozepur, Moga, Hoshiarpur and many other places. It continued till 22nd May. Security forces were deployed, schools-colleges remained closed, thousands of extra police and soldiers were deployed all over Punjab , machine-gun wielding soldiers took position, and anti-riot Rapid Action Force marched through different sensitive areas.
Akal Takht asked state government to take punitive action against Sacha Sauda chief. They called for social boycott of followers of Sacha Sauda. Sacha Sauda chief was called to present himself before Akal Takht and to apologize for his sacrilegious behaviour. Sacha Sauda chief, from his part, refused to apologize, as he claimed that he had done nothing wrong.
After much violence across state of Punjab and some other states, Sacha Sauda Chief issued a sort of clarification, wherein he stated that a misunderstanding appeared to be at the root of the hurt evinced by the Sikhs, as neither had he dishonoured any Sikh guru nor had he the intentions to do so. With this, violence was stopped, at least for the time being, though the other side was perhaps not satisfied with this clarification. [*PS: Later media reports stated re-eruption of the violence in which Sacha Sauda activists were shot and many injured in a clash in July 07. ]
During this time, information pouring thru' media showed that Sacha Sauda had a large political clout, leaders like Om Prakash Chautala, Prakash Singh Badal keep connection with Sacha Sauda Chief; during recently concluded Punjab Assembly election, Sacha Sauda Chief instructed his followers to support the Congress (I), which led to Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) decimation in South Punjab heartland and Congress (I) won at least 30 seats in this region. According to media reports, once SAD won Assembly election, it allegedly decided to take vengeance over Sacha Sauda. On April 23, 2007 , almost one month before the conflict, a Sacha Sauda memorial in Mansa was attacked and destroyed.
Prior to this episode, few of us outside Punjab heard much about Sacha Sauda. So, when the news first broke thru' media, most of us were confused. Somehow, at the face of the incidents, conflict appeared to be a religious one. Subsequent information that drew our attention was that most of the people, who participated in clashes on behalf of Sacha Sauda Chief, are Dalits!
Relevant Info – Dalit Sikhs
‘Sacha Sauda', a religious sect, generally identified as “non-Sikh” one, was established in 1948 with headquarter at Sirsa, Haryana. According to information provided by “Frontline”, in its issue dated June 15, 2007 , Sacha Sauda claims to have 160 Branches (i.e. Deras) in 13 States and an astounding 30 million followers nationwide. [*PS: However, there are several allegations and aspersions too regarding the integrity of the present chief and some office bearers, like, the already continuing CBI enquiry, court proceedings, etc .]
Sacha Sauda insists that all gods are one and does not ask its followers to renounce their religious affiliations. Among its doctrinal mandates, most significant one is that each sect follower, must spend half an hour each day meditating on a naam , or phrase from the Guru Granth Sahib, which shows that though they claim to be a “non-Sikh” Sect, their doctrines have a root in, or, have relations with, the Sikh religion. It has listed its 47 precepts (contradicting Akal Takht code applicable to all Sikhs), first among which is that its followers must renounce their caste names and instead adopt the term insa - short for insaniyat , or humanity.
About 70% of its followers are Dalits of Punjab. Among its upper caste devotees, most are coming from landless farmers and small peasants of Punjab . During recent conflict, most of the participants from Dera Sacha were Mazhabis and Ramdasias, both known as Dalit Sikh communities.
Such type of clashes is not new. Not only that, occurrence of such clashes has become more frequent in Rural Punjab during recent times, though only a few among them draw media attention. Another big clash in recent times that drew major media attention in 2001 was between Bhaniarawalas & orthodox Sikhs. It also reflected stark similarity in different aspects with present clash. Brief description of that incident will not be irrelevant to refer here.
Bhaniarawalas are followers of another religious Guru, namely Piara Singh Bhaniara. According to police estimates, during mid-nineties he had followers of no less than 6,00,000, majority of whom were Mazhabis. His increasing popularity raised alarm bell to orthodox Sikh religious leaders and in 1998, the Jathedar of Akal Takht excommunicated him for being anti-Sikh. Matter did not stop there and in 2001, Akal Takht again wanted to chastise him. This time, he refused to obey summons of Akal Takht saying that he was still excommunicated and not liable to obey commands of Takht. Matters became worse thereafter.
During mid 2000, one of his followers was denied permission to carry the Guru Granth Sahib from the local gurdwara for some religious ceremony at home. It is common custom among Sikhs to carry the holy book to home from nearby gurdwara for religious ceremony. This hurt sentiment of followers of Baba Bhaniara and they demanded to have a holy book of their own , over which people of higher caste would have no control. It resulted into creation of a new religious Granth from Baba Bhaniara in 2001, named as Bhavsagar Samundar Amrit Vani. It contained number of photographs of various politicians visiting Baba. Not only that, in one of the photographs Baba Bhaniara, appeared as Guru Govind Singh, tenth guru of Sikhs with his attires. In another photograph, he appeared riding a horse in the manner of Guru Gobind Singh. It hurt religious sentiments of a lot of Sikh people, and a ground of trouble brewed.
In September 2001, members of “Khalsa Action Force” attacked one religious ceremony of Bhaniarawalas at Ludhiana where the newly written holy book was displayed. They snatched and burnt the book. In retaliation, Guru Granth Sahib was burnt at different rural gurdwaras. Police arrested some young men from different villages who admitted that they had burnt Guru Granth Sahib at the instance of Baba Bhaniara. That in turn sparked off a cycle of violence. Baba Bhanaiara was charged for inciting communal violence and arrested under National Security Act. Many of his followers were put into jail. The government banned Bhavsagar granth. Copies under circulation were confiscated. Deras of Bhaniarawalas across the state were destroyed. In some places, Deras were forcibly converted into Sikh gurdwaras. No action was taken against those who had perpetrated these attacks. Akal Takht castigated politicians “close” to Baba. The then SAD govt, led by Prakash Singh Badal, was accused of being soft on such “renegade” Babas who are threatening Sikhism. Baba Bhaniara was released from jail in 2003. But District magistrate of Ropar banned him to enter not only in Dhamiana, his Dera, but also into the district. Govt banned celebration of his birthday on August 23 every year. But still it is celebrated every year. And the controversy between Bhaniarawalas and Sikhs is yet to be resolved.
In both these clashes, few things appear as common . (1) Both Sacha Sauda & Bhaniarawalas are organized as ‘independent' religious sect, consisting mainly by the Dalits of Punjab. (2) For both Sacha Sauda & Bhaniarawalas, strong political clout with existing parliamentarian political parties and its leaders are evident. (3) Both the clashes were surfaced by way of defying Sikh religious sentiments, which in other words may be stated as religious revolt or revolt in religious guise.
Other than Sacha Sauda & Bhaniarawalas, many other religious sects are also now operative in Punjab & surrounding states. Dalits are enrolling themselves in these sects and by this way they are veering themselves away from mainstream Sikh religion. It is estimated that there are about 9000-odd Deras in Punjab today, servicing 12,329 villages. Among them, most popular are Radha Soamis, Sacha Sauda, Nirankaris, Namdharis, Divya Jyoti Sansthan, Bhaniarawalas, and Ravidasis. All of them deny formulating any new religion and claim that people belonging to all religions can become their members without relinquishing their previous religious identities. Almost 80 per cent people of Punjab are affiliated with different Deras of such Sects, which can broadly be categorised as Sikh and non-Sikh and it is believed that now-a-days these Deras garner 90% of the religious donations of the state . Non-Sikh Deras enjoy large number of followings among the Dalits. Though these Sects claim to be non-sectarian, many of their Deras show certain amount of caste orientation. Almost 70 per cent followers of Sacha Sauda are Mazhabi and Ramgharia Dalits. In case of Namdharis, members are primarily of the Ramgharia caste. Bhaniarawala Deras are strongholds of the Mazhabis. In the Ravidasis Deras, large majority of the followers belong to Chamars and Ad Dharmis. Among followers of Radha Soamis sect, more than 50 per cent are Dalits. Similarly among Deras of Divya Jyoti Sansthan, participation of Dalits is much more than that of upper castes.
Majority of Jatts are followers of Sikh Deras. Though its must be stated here that Sikhism as such doesn't recognize Dera-s and a Sikh Gurudwara, in general, should not be confused with a Dera. Anyway, it is rare that the head of a Sikh Dera would be a non-Jatt Sikh. Even if there would be one, he could not be a Dalit at all. A Dalit Sikh's participation in Sikh Deras is confined to the narration of the Sikhs' sacred texts and performing of Kirtan (musical rendering of sacred hymns). Those who perform Kirtan are known as Raagis , and the professional narrators of the sacred texts who read it in a stylised manner are popularly known as Granthis . Majority of the Raagis and Granthis are Dalit Sikhs. Very few Jatt Sikhs take up such professions. In the Sikh Deras, Sikh code of conduct is strictly followed and only Gurubani of Guru Granth Sahib is recited. Whereas in the non-Sikh Deras though Gurubani from Guru Granth Sahib is recited but at the same time other sacred texts are also referred to. In non-Sikh Deras idol worship and devotion towards human Guru is not an anathema like that in Sikh theology.
So, it is evident, from religious perspective, Punjab 's Society has now been broadly divided between Sikh Deras & Non-Sikh Deras. Sikh Deras are predominantly constituted by Sikh Jatts, though many of the Raagis and Granthis are Dalit Sikhs. Non-Sikh Deras are broadly constituted by different Dalit sections. But, again they are organized in caste lines in different Sects/Deras. In this way, Dalits of Punjab are seemingly striving for an independent identity, though in a segregated manner, by way of isolating themselves from mainstream Sikhism.
Why such clashes are occurring frequently in Punjab ? Why such events are gaining momentum?
To get an answer to these questions, a thorough study of the issue from historical, economic as well as different socio-political perspective is demanded. We have no hesitation to confess that we are far from being able to do the same. However, in the next sections we are trying to approach the problem from these perspectives with our limited study, so that at least we can have some very preliminary understanding of such a complex expression of Indian reality.
Economic Transformation in Punjab Since British Raj
Before proceeding further, let us clarify one thing. To study the economic transformation of Punjab in its totality is not the purview of this article. Here, we'll refer only those aspects which has appeared relevant to us to understand our present question.
Though Jatts of Punjab were recognized as a separate community long ago, during the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) they emerged as a major part of the ruling class. We must remember that during his kingdom, different Sikh factions were first united into one state. The major recipients of jagirs during his time were Sikh Jatts.
Further change in their lives came with ‘Sepoy Mutiny' or the 1857 War of Independence. Jatt Sikh Soldiers of the British army played a crucial role to suppress rebellion of sepoys. Once rebellion was suppressed, British Indian Army was re-organised in 1858 in line of ‘martial races'. Jatt Sikhs were recognised as one of the most prominent ‘martial races'. After the ‘mutiny', ‘Sikh Regiment' in British Indian Army was constituted exclusively with the Jatts. This brought further changes in the economic lives of a large section of this community. Many of them utilized their earnings from military service to purchase arable lands in the countryside of Punjab .
At the same time, separate regiment was constituted with the Mazhabis , lower caste of the Sikh community. Mazhabis constituted exclusively the Sikh Pioneers 23, 32, and 34 regiments, later named ‘Sikh Light Infantry' – exclusively separated and distinguished from ‘Sikh regiments'. It also brought a major change in the economic & social life of a section of Mazhabi community. Their recruitment as soldiers in the British Indian Army had helped them to raise their economic & social status.
British rulers took another major step that in effect further consolidated position of Jatts in land relations. They enacted Punjab Land Alienation Act in 1901 . It was enacted primarily to save the farmers who became trapped by debt to the then Khatri, Arora or Brahmin moneylenders. According to this Act, agricultural land could be purchased or acquired only by people belonging to the ‘agricultural castes'. The British rulers mainly identified Jatts as ‘agricultural castes'. Lower castes were barred from doing the same even if they had the money required. B R Ambedkar, as law minister, moved to repeal this Act in 1952. Punjab Land Alienation Act further consolidated position of Jatts in land relationship.
Almost at the same time, British rulers planned to develop nine canal colonies during 1885-1940, which involved allocation of over 4,000,000 acres of land for ownership and cultivation. Land was allocated, as a rule, to the ‘dominant castes', again Jatts. All lower caste people: Mazhabis, Balmikis and Ramdasias, Ravidasias … were not allowed to own land. Only a small number of Mazhabi retired soldiers were allotted land in two Mazhabi settlements. It was found that more than half of these allottees later became landowners and tenants. On the other hand, ‘untouchables' or kamins were not even entitled to build pucca houses on the land on which they stayed.
However, during development of Canal colonies, large numbers of lower caste/‘outcaste' people were needed as labourers. Number of ‘general labour' required for work on the canals was 3,71,940 in 1891, which increased to 8,32,689 in 1901. Mazhabis and Chamars constituted the largest groups of migrant labours to the colonies. This also in effect changed economic position of these people and their aspiration to rise in the upper ladder of the social mobility increased.
Establishment of colonies further contributed development of new towns and mandis in adjoining areas. A section of the lower caste, largely Chamars, moved to towns, working in mandis or in the municipal service. Establishment of factories provided opportunities for skilled and unskilled labour to the lower caste people, and also managerial jobs to a few of the lower caste members. The 1911 Census recorded 13,200 Chamar Sikhs working in industries like leather manufacturing. These factors brought further changes in material conditions for a section of lower castes/‘outcastes' in the Sikh community and inequalities even among different sections of the Dalits had also been increased.
Here, referring an interesting observation made by none other than the British Bureaucrat M L Middleton , ICS, made in 1911 in the Census Report for Punjab and Delhi regarding the role of British rulers in consolidation of caste division in Punjab will not be completely irrelevant. This statement has been referred in the article “Scheduled Castes in Sikh Community: A Historical Perspective” – by Harish K Puri, published in EPW June 28, 2003 . Middleton's observation was, as stated: “These castes (Scheduled Castes) have been largely manufactured and almost entirely preserved as separate castes by the British government. Our land records and official documents have added iron bands to the old rigidity of caste. We pigeonholed everyone by castes, and if we could not find a true caste for them, we labelled them with the name of the hereditary occupation. We deplore the caste system and its effects on social and economic problems, but we are largely responsible for the system we deplore”. We are not in position to assess how much valid the above observation is in historical perspective, but it can evidently be established from above observation that British rulers played an important role to consolidate Punjab 's people in caste lines.
So-called “Green Revolution” further widened social & economic inequalities. Economic and political clout of a large section of Jatts as landowning class has further been consolidated. It brought prosperity in their lives. Though most of these rich farmers of Punjab continued to live in the village, they attained the economic position to avail all the modern amenities of urban living in their homes. On the other end, a much larger section of the society, incidentally most of whom are Dalits, are polarized as agricultural labourers in rural Punjab . By the way, one scholar once in the late 1980s indicated that the districts with more rise of inequalities in land ownership and etc during the Green Revolution decades were more prone to be strongholds of the followers of the Khalistan movement, in the 1980s.
Finally, after all these economic transformation of Punjab , economically where do majority of Dalits of Punjab stand right now? Following statistics may put some light to our enquiry.
According to Census 2001, Scheduled castes constitute 30.3% population in Punjab , highest among all the states in India . Agricultural labourers (Main workers and marginal workers both inclusive) among them are 9,97,737. Cultivators among total SC population are 1,00,422. More than half (55.2 per cent) of Mazhabis work as agricultural labourers. Mazhabis are the ones with the lowest literacy rate (42.3 per cent) among Dalits of Punjab, more than one-third among them have an educational level below primary level and only 15 per cent have more than a middle school education.
In rural Punjab, according to NSS Report No: 516 for the year 2004-05, about 43% of the households are SC, insignificant (0.2%) is the household numbers of ST, the OBC households are nearly 19.5%, and the ‘Others' households constitute 37.5%.
Now let us see the agrarian condition, i.e., the landholding pattern of different rural strata, among different social categories like SC, ST, OBC and all ‘Others' together.
Table – 1 Land Possessed by Number of Households per thousand households of Each Social Category in Rural Punjab (2004-5) Source: NSS report no: 516
LAND |
0 Ha |
0.001– |
0.005– |
0.41– |
1.01– |
2.01– |
4.01Ha |
All |
ST |
0 |
0 |
844 |
0 |
91 |
0 |
65 |
1000 |
SC |
7 |
230 |
717 |
21 |
11 |
14 |
1 |
1000 |
OBC |
29 |
95 |
658 |
72 |
58 |
53 |
35 |
1000 |
OTHERS |
7 |
47 |
315 |
139 |
158 |
200 |
136 |
1000 |
We see that at least 24% (237 out of 1000) of the SC households are practically landless. The corresponding figures for the OBC and Others are 12.5% and 0.5% respectively. If we can say that having at most 0.40Ha of land with cropping intensity roughly 2 (i.e. land is twice cultivated per year, as is the case of Punjab on an average) and having no extra-agricultural income means roughly a ‘middle peasant' (toiling peasant, cultivating almost solely with own/family labour or equivalent) – then poor and middle peasants constitute 72% or nearly three-fourth of SC households; among ‘Others' such peasants are 31.5% or less than one-third. Though, we must add here that number of such peasant households may actually be less, as ‘reverse tenancy' in Punjab has to be taken into account; also, in this ‘neo-liberal era' it has become tougher than before to carry on farming in so small ‘farm's. Anyway, on the other hand, if we can say that having equal to or more than 2Ha of land with cropping intensity roughly 2 means at least a ‘ rich peasant ' (or, Kulak, a toiling peasant who takes part in major agricultural activities by his own and/or family labour, but employs hired labourers in a substantial proportion) or a ‘ capitalist landlord ' (who doesn't labour in any major agricultural activity, for labour solely depends on hired labourers) – then such households number an insignificant 1.5% among SC households, whereas, nearly 9%, a tenth, of OBC households can claim that status; and more than 33.6%, i.e. more than a third, of the households of ‘Others' belong to these categories of Kulak and capitalist landlord!!
It can be estimated from all the figures above facts that among Kulak and Capitalist Landlord households less than 6.5% are of Dalits, whereas, among landless households about 70% are of Dalits . Among poor and middle peasants too Dalit households form the bulk. Among all rural poor and toiling households Dalits are nearly 60%.
According to another source, some of the Mazhabis still work as Siris (Bonded Labour). Though the Siri system has ceased to exist in the state, but in Malwa region some of the Mazhabis still work as Siris . According to a field-based study of 26 villages in Malwa region, 21 had Dalits working as Siris .
It provides us some picture of true economic status of Dalits of Punjab today.
Recent Caste Characteristics in Punjab
a) Some basic information : According to Census of 2001, Scheduled castes constitute 30.3% population in Punjab , highest among the states in India . Over 80 per cent of them live in rural areas. There are total of 38 castes among Dalits in Punjab . Out of these, two belong to Sikh religion. Scheduled castes belonging to Sikh religion are known as Mazhabi Sikhs and Ramdasia Sikhs and they together constitute around three-fourths of the entire Dalit population of the state. Rest is relatively less mobilized and more disadvantaged . Punjab government has recently identified 13 communities among them as ‘depressed scheduled castes'. Mazhabis were sweepers who converted first to Islam from Hinduism, and later to Sikhism (a section of them still belong to Hindu religion). Ramdasias were weavers before their conversion to Sikhism. Ramdasia Sikhs are mostly confined to the Doaba and Malwa sub-regions of the state and majority of them are Sahajdhari Sikhs – those who do not observe the Khalsa outward manifestation. Kanshi Ram, founder of the Bhaujan Samaj Party (BSP), was a Ramdasia Sikh. Mazhabi Sikhs are mostly concentrated in the Mazha (between Beas and Ravi Rivers ) and Malwa (south of the Sutlej River ) sub-regions of Punjab – the battlefield of recent violent clashes.
b) Discrimination & Atrocities to Dalits: According to Surinder S Jodhka, who made an extensive field-study of 51 villages selected from the three sub-regions of Punjab observed regarding untouchability in Punjab in his article “Caste & Untouchability in Rural Punjab”, published in EPW May 11, 2002, that: Now, crude forms of discrimination, in particular untouchability, are not overtly seen in Punjab. However, in the question of participation in religious activities commonly with higher caste people, some forms of discrimination can palpably be seen. In the gurdwaras built and managed by the local upper castes, Dalits normally feel that they are not treated at par with their counterparts from the upper castes, their children are asked to come for the ‘langar' after everyone else had finished eating, they are often asked to sit in separate queues for the langar, are avoided touching their plates while serving them food, not allowed to participate in the cooking and serving of the langar, are often told to sit outside the main door of the gurdwara. …
However, in terms of atrocities over Dalits, Punjab is no different from other states of India . It has now been a common practice to rape, gang rape, stripping naked, stripping and walking Dalit women by Jatt landowners in the villages, invariably with covert support from policemen, in order to punish the Dalits for non-payment of loans taken by male members and to avenge felt insults. Social boycott of the Dalits in the village is another method which has, of late, been more frequent than earlier, leading inevitably to intervention by district administration for ‘razinama' (compromise). Harinder Singh Khalsa, a member of the National Commission for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, observed, evidently with some pain, ‘Punjab has no untouchability, probably because of Sikhism, but I am ashamed to say that in committing atrocities on Dalits, we do not lag behind'. ( Indian Express , August 21, 2000 ). (Quoted in the article ‘Scheduled Castes in Sikh Community: A Historical Perspective' – by Harish K Puri, published in EPW June 28, 2003 ).
Finally, a statement from Dr. Pramod Kumar, Director of Institute of Development and Communication, Chandigarh , appears very significant to understand the nature of Dalit atrocities in Punjab , signifying that, finally nature of atrocities in Punjab is in no way different from other states in India . “Although Punjab has the largest proportion of Dalits in the country - at least 31 per cent - they have never been properly mobilised. They are also politically deprived, so they are not articulate. While researching atrocities on women, we found rape cases were often brought before the panchayat rather than the police and the courts. If the rapist is a Jatt, it is not even considered a crime and the victim's father is told to keep his daughter in check. But if a Dalit is accused of rape, they let the law take its course.” He further added that Punjab has already seen waves of class and religious conflict, and that it was not improbable that the next phase of turbulence could be set off by caste . (Referred in the article ‘Casteist Assault' – by ANNIE ZAIDI, published in the ‘Frontline' dated Feb 10, 2006 ).
c) Incidents of Dalit Assertions: During last few years there have been number of cases of resistance and conflict appearing in Punjab 's villages. Construction of separate gurdwara by the Dalits in almost all the villages is common phenomenon now in Punjab and it has been causing serious resentment among Jatt landowners and SGPC. In some of the Ravidasi temples, pictures of ‘Guru Ravidas' as well as of Babasaheb Ambedkar are installed within the precincts. The presence of an idol of Guru Ravidas, close to the Guru Granth Sahib, which is considered improper according to Sikh tenets, became, for example, a cause for Jatt-Dalit tension in basti Jodhewal of Ludhiana ( The Indian Express, November 11, 2001 ). A significant dimension of Dalit people's search for independent identity is reflected in large scale movement of Sikh Dalits towards a large number of deras and sects, regarding which a lot of space has already been occupied in this article.
Another aspect of Dalit assertion in Punjab : “According to State government data, Punjab 's Dalits are increasingly asserting their right to seek justice through the legal system. The number of cases reported under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has steadily increased. (“Casteist Assault”, published in ‘Frontline', Feb 10, 2006 )
In this respect, the case of Bant Singh demands special attention. On January 7, 2006 he, a Dalit and resident of Jhabbar in the southern Punjab district of Mansa, was brutally beaten with iron rods by a group of Jatt youths from the same village, which finally led to amputation of two hands and one leg. This was a brutal retaliation of the upper caste youths of Mansa against the persisting legal battle pursued by Bant Singh against rape of his minor daughter Baljeet Kaur. Initially, in accordance to common practice in Punjab , he and his family was pressurized to accept cash as compensation and threatened with violence if they refuse to do so. Due to his refusal, village Panchayat, led by upper caste Jatts, finally offered him compensation even up to Rs 10 lacs, and gold ornaments and a scooter for his daughter, but he and his family refused to accept the same and demanded legal justice. Finally, he won the legal battle in 2004, district court convicted 3 of the accused. It was the first time a Dalit from the region making complaint against upper-caste violence had been able to secure legal ‘justice'. Finally, upper caste Jatts retaliated in 2006 by chopping off his two hands and a leg. An important factor of Bant Singh and his family being able to pursue legal battle sustaining all pressures from local upper caste people is that he is an activist of “ Mazdoor Mukti Morcha ”, a left organisation. In Mansa, he is popularly known as Dalit singer.
Some other expressions of Dalit assertion, sometimes violent in nature, were reported in an article “Up the Ante”, by Chander Suta Dogra dated September 19, 2005 , published in “The Outlook”. It was reported that: In Punjab, Dalit anger is more visible and organised. This is reflected in scores of running disputes over village common lands, Gurudwaras or deras between Dalits and Jatts in recent years. In 2003, Talhan village on the outskirts of Jalandhar emerged on the political consciousness of the state due to the violent clashes between Dalits and upper-caste Jatts there, over control of a religious shrine. Though Dalits are 70 per cent of the population in Talhan, the 20 per cent Jatt Sikh landlords controlled the Rs 5 crore annual offerings at the shrine. The Dalits wanted a place in the shrine's managing committee and managed to get it after holding a weeklong violent agitation in which one Dalit died and scores were wounded.
There are many other instances of growing Dalit assertion in villages of Bhatinda, Jalandhar, Mansa, etc districts; but we refrain from giving some glimpses of them here for the sake of brevity. Interested readers may study the sources mentioned at the end of this article.
Observations for further Consideration
It is indeed difficult to conclude some points from a scrappy study like this, but perhaps we can cite the following points as things to be considered.
1. Historically, Jatts of Punjab can be identified as a privileged community with respect to the Dalits. In terms of benefits of the process of capitalist development in India, made from above and by way of slow reforms, at a time done by the British Colonial rulers and subsequently after 1947, led by Indian ruling classes, have primarily been consolidated to a large section of Jatts. And they are grossly identified as land-owning class. In can be said in other way that in Punjab , Jatts kulaks and landlords are the prime movers of exploitation in terms of land relation.
2. Sikh religion was born defying Hindu caste division & caste oppression. At a time, a large numbers of oppressed lower caste and untouchable Hindus moved towards Sikhism. But later, with the advent of Jatt community in economic as well as social sphere, authority of religion had shifted into the hands of propertied Jatts and Jatts have broadly been identified with Sikh religion. At the same time, their identity as upper caste was also socially recognized in Punjab . During the process of capitalist development in India , large section among them has also been identified as land-owning class. So, finally to the oppressed class of Punjab (exploited in terms of economic relation, while oppressed in terms of caste relation), the equation seems to appear as: Land-owning class ˜ higher caste Jatts ˜ Sikhs. [˜ means ‘is approximately/almost equal to'] Then, in terms of caste relation, Punjab has the highest %age of Dalit population. Again, from religious identity, Dalit Sikhs are greatest in number among Dalits. At the same time, a large section of Dalits are also agricultural labourers, most exploited section of Punjab 's society. So, at the bottom of social relation, equation seems: Agricultural labourers ˜ Dalits ˜ Sikhs.
3. It is also found that during course of capitalist development since British era, a section of Dalits of Punjab has economically been uplifted and their aspiration to rise in the social ladder has been increased. However, their Dalit identity is still obstructing them to be up in social identity. And, it leads them to strive for search of an independent social identity. As a result, it is found since 1st half of 20th century and continuing till now that, series of reform movements occurred primarily led by Bourgeoisie intellectuals and elites among Dalits whose search for liberation from caste discrimination and atrocities remain limited within the arena of alienating themselves from mainstream Sikh religion. And, they have, till now, more or less been successful to rally large section of oppressed Dalits with them. At the other end, liberals among Sikh religion has also kept their reform activities limited within the arena of participating more Dalits in Sikh religious organisations . [We couldn't elaborate this point in a bit detail in the above due to lack of space.] And, these particular paths taken by all these reform movements have made the expression of Dalit assertions of Punjab in someway different from some other states of India . In this respect, the Singh Sabha movement, the history of the SGPC (Shiromoni Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee), the Ad Dharm movement etc can be studied.
4. It is evident that colonial British rulers took all necessary steps not only to preserve caste divisions in Punjab , it led to consolidate this division. After 1947, by way of granting same constitutional status and benefits for the Sikh Scheduled Castes as provided to Hindu Scheduled Castes and in this way constitutionally approving caste division in Sikh community, the ruling classes of India have actually followed the same path left by their British counterpart. All parliamentary political parties have since then utilized aspirations of Dalit castes for their electoral gains. Consolidation of Jatt Sikhs in SAD has also helped all these parties to polarize Dalits of Punjab further in caste line. Role of so-called “Left” parties like CPI, CPIM etc is no different here, and in Punjab they are more identified with higher caste Jatts.
5. As the assertion of Dalits for independent identity has increased, it further antagonizes land-owning higher caste Jatts, which leads to rise in Dalit atrocities.
6. Effects of Globalisation-Liberalisation followed by Indian ruling classes since 1991 is further polarizing India between haves and have-nots in a much greater scale. Restlessness of have-nots of India is increasing day-by-day. And it is happening in such a time when there is no truly Working Class Party in India who can represent the real aspirations of not only the working class and peasantry, but that of all the exploited and oppressed sections of society including Dalits–Minority Nationalities-Religious Minorities etc. In addition, worldwide defeat of 1st offensive of socialist movement (including Russia-China) has created a great vacuum in ideological plane.
In absence of a truly liberating ideology and a truly Working Class party, different section of exploited and oppressed section of the society is venting their anger-frustration-restlessness in many different complex, and at times, ‘distorted', tortuous ways. In Punjab , a major expression of this anger-frustration-restlessness-assertion of the oppressed Dalit community is now being expressed by way of so called religious ‘rebellion' and confrontation like that happened in mid-May 2007.
7. But Dalits of Punjab must keep in mind: Till this assertion remain limited within the arena of legal battles and religious rebellion like alienation from mainstream Sikh religion, being organized in new religious sects (that also again in caste line), and, if required, some open street battles with mainstream Jatt Sikhs on behalf of this sects… while simultaneously keeping political link with Indian big bourgeois parties– all these will remain harmless to the ruling classes of India and to their parliamentary political parties, to whom preservation of caste division and discrimination is required for their own survival.
Oppressed Dalits of Punjab must have to sum up their experience of last 150 years in a positive way, if they are sincere to the question of abolition of not only the caste atrocities, but to the question of annihilation of caste. They have to think how long they will keep themselves bound with the arena of religious rebellion. For how long, all the parliamentary political parties for their immediate electoral gains will go on utilizing them! Furthermore, the Dalits in Punjab are to realise the extent to which their problem is related to the agrarian problem, to the problem of unfinished Democratic Revolution of India . And, here, in terms of movements, protests, they may take a cue from the Dalits of Maharastra, who have taken a new path through their actions in late '05. [See the article on Maharastra Dalits in the May 06 issue of this magazine.] However incomplete and insufficient it may be, reaction expressed by them regarding the atrocity at Khairlanji, by way of alienating themselves from all old parties and taking the leadership of the protests exclusively into their own hand, is definitely showing a new path to the Dalits of India.
8. At the same time, industrial workers of India expect from Dalit workers and agricultural labourers of Punjab a truly positive role in the rural struggle and organisation, on the basis of their own class demands, and uniting the non-Dalit agricultural labourers, all poor peasants, and all other toiling population too – Separate and Independent from rich peasants, landlords, bourgeoisie; that can bring some new light to the struggle of the Dalits of India against caste oppression and all other oppressions. A trend of rebellion against the established ‘old' leaders' unions and fighting against the rising assault of the govt-capitalists-parties combine, establishing workers' own union is now being seen. Not a few Dalit worker-leaders are in that arena, leading fights and ‘new' organisations. The ‘new' is rising slowly from among the ‘lower' and oppressed strata of the society. Punjab Dalits may start interaction with them. After all – the main thing is to eradicate totally this ugly caste system, and that needs a thorough cleansing of filths accumulated over millennia, which can only materialise by revolutionary transformation of the society.
Sources:
Most of the information provided here has been taken from:
1. Caste & Untouchability in Rural Punjab – by Surinder S Jodhka, published in Economic & Political Weekly (henceforth mentioned as EPW), May 11, 2002.
2. Scheduled Castes in Sikh Community: A Historical Perspective – by Harish K Puri, published in EPW, June 28, 2003 .
3. Caste Tensions in Punjab : Talhan & Beyond – by Surinder S Jodhka & Prakash Louis, published in EPW, July 12, 2003 .
4. Caste & Religion in Punjab : Case of the Bhaniarawala Phenomenon – by Meeta & Rajivlochan, published in EPW, May 26, 2007
5. Faiths At War – by Praveen Swami & Aman Sethi, published in the ‘Frontline', dated June 15, 2007
6. Casteist Assault – by ANNIE ZAIDI, published in the ‘Frontline' dated Feb 10, 2006
7. Different articles of Chander Suta Dogra, published at different times in the “Outlook” – available in www.outlookindia.com
8. Social Catastrophe in the Making: Religion, Deras & Dalits in Punjab – by Dr Ronki Ram, Punjab University , and also his other articles on Punjab Dalit issues, all published in www.ambedkartimes.com
9. Sikh Community – by Dr Jarnail Singh, published in www.sikhbulletin.com
10. http://punjabDalitsolidarity.blogspot.com
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