Where Faith Meets Power: How Punjab's Deras Redefined Caste And Politics

The Deras: Culture, Diversity and Politics. Santosh K. Singh. Penguin Viking. Pages: 234. Price: Rs 424

Prof. Santosh K. Singh's book, The Deras: Culture, Diversity and Politics, reflects how religion is intertwined with caste, identity, and politics. It focuses on Ad-Dharm, a religious and political movement that sought to reconceptualise the religious foundation of a social order in the early twentieth century, ensuring that members of lower castes would not be marginalised.

The author's work uncovers a significant historical context for the religion's foundation when he examined old British census records while at Berkeley. Specifically, he found an entry in the 1930 Census called "Revolt of the Untouchables". This historical data helped establish the emergence of Ad-Dharm, which created a new movement that served as an alternative religious system to Hinduism.

The foreword of the book states that the concept of Ad-Dharm emerged for the members of the Scheduled Castes in Punjab, who constitute approximately 25 per cent of the state's population, enabling them to identify as Ad-Dharm rather than as Sikh, Hindu, or Muslim. This concept was profound, as it explains the religious character of the Indian society.

This experience ignited a passion in him to visit Punjab, as the author was seeking a research topic for his dissertation, which ultimately became his first published research book. He travelled to Punjab in 2008, where he fortuitously encountered several farmers wearing lockets dedicated to a particular Dera. This conversation with the farmers of Punjab provides the backdrop for this book. The book is structured into eight thematic chapters.

Founder of the Dera Movement

Instead of spending hours in uncertainty, he chose to visit the Dera that hosted the first Ad-Dharm rally. Fortunately, he was able to locate the founder of the movement, Mangoo Ram, who was then in his nineties.

During a conversation with Mangoo Ram, the author was struck by the extent of his political engagement. The former and his circle of politically astute colleagues resolved to create a new religious identity that could rival the dominant Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim leadership in Punjab.

They recognised that there was already a foundation of religiosity among the Scheduled Caste population that could serve as a focal point for this new religion. This led them to draw upon the long-standing reverence for the fifteenth-century poet-saint, Ravidas, and the Dera at Ballan dedicated to him.

The author's first visit to Dera Ballan was the result of an invitation from Manohar Mahey, who belonged to Jalandhar and later became a leading figure in the community as well as one of the main patrons of the Dera. The latter introduced him to the master of the Dera, Sant Sarwan Das. He was a towering figure and explained the origins of the Dera to the author.

The Living Pipal Tree introduces the figure of Pipal Das, whose son, Sant Sarwan Das, recounts his father's spiritual journey. Pipal Das initially followed the teachings of the poet-saint Ravidas, seeking truth within that religious tradition.

His search led him to a seemingly lifeless pipal tree around the beginning of the twentieth century. It signifies a miraculous event where the tree unexpectedly returned to life after Pipal Das provided it with water.

Mapping the Sacred Geography

In the first chapter of the book, the author introduces Gehuan village as a place where various traditions and cultures converge. It outlines the ethnic and religious composition of Gehuan, noting that it is predominantly inhabited by Jatt Sikhs, who constitute about 60 per cent of the population.

Importantly, the book highlights the land ownership disparity, showing that the Jatt Sikhs act as the landed gentry, owning over 80 per cent of the land. It also lists other groups in the village, including Hindus, Ravidassias, Valmikis, and a few Muslim families.

It discusses the dissemination of Sikhism through print media, with a focus on visual items such as calendars, posters, and photographs. These visual materials often featured images of gods and goddesses originating from religious traditions other than Sikhism.

This practice of incorporating diverse religious figures is presented as a demonstration of Sikhism's fundamental principles of syncretism and its outlook towards an inclusive religious cosmos. Founded by Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539), Sikhism emerged in the fifteenth century as an alternative and as a critique of the existing culture of caste and its rigid hierarchical principles of social organisation.

A Little Fiefdom

It discusses the nature of the Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS), a religious and social organisation, with a specific focus on the controversies surrounding its current leader, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan. It explains that the Dera phenomenon often garners significant media attention due to various ongoing controversies.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim, based in Sirsa, Haryana, has faced accusations of disrespecting Sikh religious tenets since 2007, which is considered Beadbi within the Sikh tradition. Despite serving a twenty-year sentence in Sunaria jail, Rohtak, for committing crimes including both rape and murder, he has successfully managed to frequently secure furlough, which often conveniently precedes major electoral events in the surrounding Indian states.

This act of the Dera chief mimicking the sacred iconography of the tenth guru shocked the followers of the Sikh tradition. Consequently, Sikh organisations declared it an act of blasphemy, and widespread protests followed all over Punjab.

Later, the demand for a public apology from the Dera chief for his act was raised, which was endorsed by the then Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) government led by Prakash Singh Badal. Amid tremendous media pressure, a series of apologies were issued by Dera spokespersons, but none by the Dera chief himself.

This act of defiance by Gurmeet Ram Rahim made him prone to physical attacks by the radical groups, and therefore, he was put under Z-category security by the government. This clearly highlights the nexus between the state government and the Dera chief himself, which has assisted him in establishing an empire out of a religious organisation.

The DSS continues to thrive within the messy and perpetually charged maze of regional politics and has managed its optics skilfully and successfully so far. But political winds are known for their mercurial nature, and the colourful saga of Baba Ram Rahim is far from over.

Epicentre of the Ravidassia Movement

The fourth chapter of the book details the origins and early development of Dera Ballan, describing its modest foundation. It chronicles how, through the efforts and struggles of its spiritual leaders, Dera Ballan emerged to become the primary site for expressing Ravidassia identity in the present century.

The chapter thus acts as an introduction to the historical and cultural significance of the Dera within the community's modern self-understanding.

The history of Dera Ballan is incomplete without diving into the spiritual journeys of its saints, popularly known as Sants. "In the village of Gill Patti in Bathinda, Punjab, there lived a boy named Harnaam Das, whose grandfather had settled there after moving from Joganand village near Kuttiwala (now in the Ajnala tehsil of Amritsar district) sometime in the early nineteenth century" (Pg 79).

Since his childhood, Harnaam had shown a strong interest in naam Simran, the chanting of God's name, and in nurturing trees. Apart from a keen interest in farming, Harnaam Das had a deep scholarly interest in Punjabi and Amritbani, and he often studied themes related to renunciation and detachment.

The creation of Dera is interlinked with the personal life of Harnaam Das. He had a deep scholarly interest in Punjabi and Amritbani, and he often studied themes related to renunciation and detachment. He got married to Bibi Shobhawanti, who was also a deeply religious lady. They had two sons, Sewa Das and Sarwan Das.

A personal tragedy shook the lives of both Harnaam Das and Sarwan Das and made them disillusioned with life. In the quest for higher truth, Harnaam Das decided to leave the village along with Sarwan. After wandering through towns, they decided to settle in the village of Ballan, in Jalandhar, as the inhabitants of this village were kind to them.

At the request of the villagers of Ballan, a sangat began to be organised for people who came to listen to the Amritbani of Guru Ravidas. Therefore, this incident became the foundation stone of Dera Ballan.

Dera Ballan in Varanasi

Pilgrimage sites are part of a broader network of identity politics that usually remains unnoticed by ordinary actors, those who participate in these events without being completely aware of the underlying politics and power dynamics at play.

In other words, religion may be a central theme in the political-economic matrix of a pilgrimage site, but it is not everything. The connecting thread between Jalandhar and Varanasi is that the latter is the sacred birthplace of Guru Ravidas. This acts as a cornerstone for the establishment of Dera Ballan at Varanasi. This tradition of Dera in Varanasi was carried forward by various saints from time to time.

The Channi Experiment

The social and political influence exerted by Deras has been discussed at great length towards the end of chapter four (pg. 108). An instance has been cited where politicians seek the support of Deras in the run-up to the crucial state assembly election in 2021.

The Chief Minister, Charanjit Singh Channi, announced several ambitious projects, including the establishment of a research centre at Ballan dedicated to the study of Guru Ravidas's teachings and the Amritbani. The project costs Rs 50 crores; a cheque for Rs 25 crores was handed over to the Dera. This incident clearly shows the gigantic role played by the Deras in influencing the masses through political routes.

The Congress's decision to announce a Dalit as their chief ministerial candidate in a state with the highest SC population in the country, but with no political clout, was seen as a masterstroke. However, the election results turned out to be a damp squib, as Channi lost both seats, and the reason behind the failure of the Channi experiment in Punjab is the fractured history of the Dalits.

It appears that Channi and the Congress were carried away by the mistaken belief that Dalits form a monolithic group. It is believed that Channi's overemphasis on his Dalit identity, especially his repeated visits to Dera Ballan and his championing of the Ravidassia identity before the elections, gave rise to two events.

First, it riled up the Jatt Sikhs and unsettled their entrenched power structures, pushing them away from the Congress and towards the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Second, other Dalit caste groups felt excluded and marginalised.

The essence of this book lies in the three local narratives that have been illustrated on pg. no. 140 to 148. All three originate from the broader Ravidassia caste cluster yet are ideologically and spatially distinct. They outline the critical role that religion plays in the region, specifying the complex dynamics that its interaction with politics unleashes locally.

Furthermore, these perspectives underline the myth of a monolithic Ravidassia identity, even among the Ravidassias themselves.

Defining three perspectives

Being a voracious writer, L.R. Balley was involved in Dalit politics through the Scheduled Caste Federation and the Republican Party of India (RPI). As a staunch believer of Buddhism, the Buddhist model did not quite work in Punjab; he now reluctantly concedes that there may have been some merit in the view that Ambedkar's prescription of Buddhism as a pan-Indian framework was too monolithic for the diverse social and religio-cultural realities of Dalit life and did not strike a chord with local dynamics.

Consequently, he dismissed the movement for a new religion around the Ravidassia identity led by Dera Ballan. He believed that the movement had, in a way, fragmented the Dalit community, leading to the notion that there is no merit in establishing a new religion in his name.

The second perspective has been reiterated by Manohar Lal Mahey. He has been an active supporter of broader Dalit community consolidation. As the secretary of the Dera Ballan Trust for the Guru Ravidas Janam Asthan from 1984 to 1992, he has been deeply concerned with the internal squabbling and splintering associated with the Deras. He emphasised the relevance and importance of community unity and valued coexistence over confrontation as a strategy.

Paramjit Singh Kainth is the President of the National Scheduled Caste Alliance (NSCA) in Punjab, who had contested the state assembly elections thrice on a BSP ticket, in 1992, 1997, and 2007, losing on all three occasions.

The last perspective put forth by him believed that Deras exploits politics and the resources of the public at large for their own vested interests, lacking any positive agenda, hence creating a divide in the community. What lies ahead of him is the launch of a social movement across Punjab to highlight the pressing issues faced by Dalits in the state.

A broad view of the religious landscape of India's northwest, comprising Deras, reveals that while silos were constructed through the census and other tools during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, people who belonged to the bottom of the caste hierarchy remained free-floating and were in search of equality.

At the heart of this phenomenon of the emergence and mushrooming of the Deras lie different views leading to the creation of new spaces for those who felt marginalised and were not equally accommodated into the mainstream society. Therefore, Deras are symbolic of regional socio-political and economic conditions and, at the same time, are reflective of philosophical churning.

The Deras: Culture, Diversity and Politics is a book that discusses significant issues within that religious and social framework. The author restricts himself to discussing the rampant corruption prevalent in other prominent Deras, thus limiting the scope of his analysis.

It explores how the dominance of the Jatt Sikh community has been undermined, and the focus appears to be more on the internal community dynamics and institutional integrity rather than on the cynical overview of the Deras.