Introduction
Samey Singh desperately needed time offfrom his job at a brick kiln near
Faridkot, southern Punjab. Back home in the Megha Kheri, the family's
home village near Muzzafarnagar in UP, his son had fallen seriously ill.
But Samey Singh had taken rupees 5000 advance from the kiln owners at
the start of the season, and they were willing to let him go if he left behind
his wife and daughter. PaN Singh and her daughter pooja were forced to
work without pay onsome days, without food. Both of them were beaten
and six-year-old pooja was threatened with sexual abuse. At sunset,
mother and daughter were locked into a six foot by ten foot hove/. f
When somebody says, HI am a Jat" his chest expands when we say
" eamar
h ", we contract to noth·mg. 2
Punjab has no untouchability probably because ofSikhism, but I am
ashamed to say that in committing atrocities on Dalits we do not lag
behind. 3
Living with pride and dignity is a special characteristic of every Punjabi, man or
woman, whatever be the caste or creed. Notions of izzat, honor, status, kinship
and equality bind all Punjabis. The process of, shedding old and redundant
differences and adopting whatever is new and reinvigorating remains an important
hallmark of Punjabi culture. The above quotes however suggest that despite
universal and inclusive ideals of Punjab culture the trends has been far towards
constructing exclusionary identity.
I Praveen Swami (1999): Down and out in Punjab, Frontline, December 11-24, Volume 16,Issue. 26
2 p.e Aggarwal (1983): Halfway to Equality, Manohar Publications, New Delhi: Pp 2-4
3 Harinder Singh Khalsa (2000): Atrocities against dalits high in Punjab Indian Express, August 21
1
Although known for its egalitarian traditions, the above quotes also compel us to
believe that caste identities continue to be an important marker of social,
economic and political life of Punjab and more particularly the religion of
Sikhism. And Samey Singh's story is just one of the chains of brutalities directed
at Punjabi scheduled castes in a state where Sikhism is and has been known as the
religion of the dispossessed and plebeians.4 Noting on the phenomenon, notable
sociologist Dipankar Gupta argues, 'at the end of the day what is most depressing
is that Sikhs are becoming caste-ridden, and more and more like Hindus".5
The larger dynamics of the caste based identity politics is more evident in the
recent and much more publicized cases of violent conflicts of Talhan and Sacha
Sauda between the dalits and main upholders of the Sikhism-the Jats, bringing at
forefront the incompatibility between the' egalitarian social ethos of Sikhism and
manifestation of the social exclusion in the dealings of the dominant Jat Sikh
community in the state'. 6 These conflicts not only illustrate the case of dalit
assertion and resistance against alienation and discrimination; the occurrence of
these conflicts also makes clear that equality is still a distant dream even for the
scheduled castes of Punjab, a region considered to be an exception' to the caste
system in India.
'Roadside dhabas in Punjab may not be having separate tea-cups for dalits, and
dalits are not massacred when they ask for higher wages 7, yet a recent research
4 J.S.Grewal (1998): Contesting Interpretations of the Sikh tradition, Manohar Publications, New
Delhi.:Pg 205; Jagjit Singh (1989): The Caste System and the Sikhs in Jasbir Singh Mann and Harbans
Singh Saraon (edited) Advanced Studies in Sikhism, Sikh Community of North America, Califomia:Pg
288
5
Dipankar Gupta (2007): The Threat From Within, July 25, Hindustan Times
6
Ronki Ram (2007): Social Exclusion, Resistance and Deras : Exploring myth ofcasteless society in
Punjab in Economic and Political weekly, October 6, 2007 : Pg 4072
7
Praveen Swami (2003): A shrine and a struggle in Frontline Vol 13, No 20 :21 June -4 July
survey describes the real socio-economic situations of the scheduled castes of
Punjab, India's richest state, in the following words "In the land of phenomenal
agricultural growth, they virtually own no arable land. And in the burgeoning
sector of industry or even services, there presence is negligible. In the land of the
so-called martial races they are the meekest. In the land of five rivers where
mixing of cultures is so loudly proclaimed, each one of them has an experience of
being avoided and not being accepted by the politic society. Social beliefs and
practices bid them to stay out of the care of the civil society, to literally live on the
periphery of the village. They celebrate there own festivals like Jayantis of the
Guru Ravidas or Maharishi Valmiki and practice there own temples or
gurudwaras. A miniscule number of them may have groped there way out of
poverty disease and unemployment but other problems continue to actually
hamper there growth and stunt there creative genius. These are the Scheduled
Castes of the Punjab".8 In short, caste remains to influence the social relations,
and 'influence of Sikhism and various reform movements in the region have not
been able to erase caste from the social landscape of the region' .9
Taking a cue from the recent Talhan conflict, Dera Sacha Sauda controversy, one
can talk about the revival of the caste in Punjab and more particularly in the Sikh
religion .. Speaking on significance of Talhan Surinder Jodhka argues 'though the
case of Talhan is rather peculiar, it reflects quite sharply on what is happening to
'caste' in rural Punjab. It ought to be viewed not only as a case of 'dalit assertion'
for equal rights and a share in the resources that belong commonly to the village,
marking a beginning of the new phase in the history of caste relations in Punjab. IO
. But it also has brought to the forefront the question of the caste directly in
8 Yadav Bhupinder and Sharma Anand Mohan: Economic Uplift of the scheduled castes (unpublished
report) ) Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigarh
9
Surinder Jodhka (2004): Sikhism and the caste question: Dalits and their Politics in contemporary
Punjab, Contributions to the Indian Sociology No 38 (1 & 2) : Pp 166-192
10 Surinder Jodhka and Prakash Louis (2003): 'Caste Tensions in Punjab: Ta/han and Beyond' in
Economic and Political Weekly, July 12, 2003: Pg 2923.
relation to the Sikh religion. lIOn the other hand the incumbent SAD (B)-BJP
government's· handling of the fallouts of the Dera Sacha Sauda suggest that
accommodation of the rapidly asserting dalit identity will be crucial for the
preservation of the peace of in Punjab. 12
I: Review of Literature
The case of Talhan and Dera Sacha Sauda therefore offer a useful entry point into the
review the existence of caste in relation to the Sikh religion. This entry point is built
upon the substantial literature that suggests somewhat lesser hold of the caste in Punjab.
This literature includes work of Denzil Ibbetson (1911), 0 Malley (1935), Joyce Murray
(1970) , Pettigrew (1975) , Jagjit Singh ( 1981) Paul Hershman (1981) Pimpley and
Sharma (1985), Grewal (1998).
\3.
Denzil Ibbetson (1911) study discovered that caste in Punjab has been effected by the
fact that Brahminical influence "was probably never so strong in Punjab as in the most of
the other parts of India and that, by religion the then Punjab was more "Mohammedan
than Hindu" and that instead of rigorous ritual purity norms of the caste hierarchy, "the
people are bound by social and tribal custom far more than by any rules of the religion.
14
.On the similar lines a colonial government report observed in 1920's argued 'it would
be misleading to attach to great importance to the existence of caste in Punjab. Not only
II
Surinder lodhka (2004): Sikhism and the caste question: Dalits and their Politics in contemporary
Punjab, Contributions to the Indian Sociology No 38 (1 & 2) :
Pp 166-192
12 Lionel Baixas (2007): 'The Dera Sacha Sauda Controversy and Beyond' in Economic and
Political Weeklv. October 6: Pg 4059
13 Denzil Ibbetson (1916 rpt. 1987) : Punjab Castes, Low Price Publications, Delhi 0 Malley as
quoted in Baldev Raj Nayyar (1966) Minority Politics in Punjab, Princeton University Press , New
Jeresy; Paul Hershman (198 I) Punjabi kinship and marriage, Hindustan Publishing Corporation,
Delhi; Joyce Pettigrew ( 1975) Robber Noblemen; A study of Political System of the Sikh lats,
Routledge and Kegan Paul ,London; Pimpley and Sharma (1985): Struggle for status, B.R.
Publishing Corporation, Delhi; W. Murray (1970) : 'Manners and Customs o/the Sikhs' in H T Princep,
Origin of the Sikh Power in the Punjab, Language Department, Patiala, Rpt.; Jagjit Singh (1981): Sikh
Revolution ; A Perspective, Kendri Singh Sabha publications, New Delhi.; l.S.Grewal (1998):
Contesting Interpretations of the Sikh Tradition, Manohar Publications, New Delhi.
14 Denzil Ibbetson (1916 rpt. 1987) : Punjab Castes, Low Price Publications, Delhi: Pg 14-15
is it the case that the Brahman has no practical pre-eminence among Hindus, but as
between 'caste' and 'non-caste' hindus the distinction is not so strongly marked as to
create the political problem elsewhere in India.
15
Similarly to O'Malley (1932) Punjab was a notable exception caste system as compared
to the rest of India. Some anthropologists writing during this time also made similar
claims and have argued that the caste inequalities in the region of Punjab were much
lesser than elsewhere in India. 16 Noting the lesser hold of caste in the social relations
Joyce Pettigrew (1975), a notable anthropologist, argued to the extent that the rural
society of Punjab differs radically from the Hindu social order because of the absence
caste among the Sikhs. As the writer writes: "The social organization and the value
system especially in the rural Punjab, differ from that of the Hindu India. The prevailing
\
form of social cooperation and the type of political solidarity bear no reference to the
"caste" and to the rules of purity and pollution, shame and insult".
17
Comparing the disability experienced by low castes in the Punjab with the rest of India,
Satish Saberwal (1976) studying, a small town of Punjab during the late 1960's, writes
that the lower castes in Punjab had to carry only a light burden of the ritual impurities,
much lighter, physically and socially, then the burden elsewhere in India. According to
him, the practice of untouchability was also less in the gurudwara in the village where
everyone was allowed entry. The priest himself belonged to the low caste and served all
the castes without any discrimination. This was in quite contrast to the Brahmin
priesthood. Saberwal in a study of therefore found a considerable change in the
Great Britain Indian Statutory Commission, Memorandum submitted by Government of Punjab
(1930) as in Nayyar (1966: 20) and Surinder Jodhka (2004: 174)
IS
16 0 Maltey ,L.S.S (1932): Indian Caste, Customs, Cambridge University Press :Pg 20
17 Joyce Pettigrew (1975): Robber Noblemen;
Routledge and Kegan Paul, London: Pg:4
A Study of Political System of the Sikh Jats,
traditional ideology of the caste and concluded priesthood among the Sikhs have become
achieved, rather than an ascribed status.
18
However not everyone who has studied Punjab agreed to the same result. Paul Hershman
(1981) another anthropologists carried out his fieldwork in a village near lullundhar
completely disagreed with the above thesis that the idea of purity and impurity are not
strong in Punjab as elsewhere in India and agreed to the point that caste divisions do
exist among the Sikhs. To him while the caste structure of hierarchy could be different
from other regions of India, one could easily observe some of the typical features of the
caste system in the Punjab.
19. D iscussing
the social reconfiguration of the castes in
Punjab during the century before independence 1857-1947, Prakash Tandon (2000)
recalled: "That they (Brahmins) could be the leaders of the society, in a position of
privilege; I only discovered when I went to live outside Punjab. With us Brahmans were
an underprivileged and exercised little or no influence on the community. Perhaps the
Muslims had so discouraged temples and external worship that the Brahmans had no
place left from where to exercise their authority".
20
The available literature therefore suggests that though lesser in extent pollution and
avoidance were also practiced in the region particularly in relation to the scheduled caste,
both among the Hindus as, well as the Sikhs. Evidence for this is also available from the
studies of individual villages or towns, as well as of the social reform movements for the
uplift of the low castes. I.P.Singh (1975) who did a study of village near Amritsar during
the 1950's provides fairly a good idea about the nature of the caste relations in a Sikh
village near Amritsar during the late 1950's. 21 The Sikhs living in the village were well
divided into Upper castes (the lats) and the Mazhabhis castes (the lower caste
18 Satish Saberwal (1976) : Status and Mobility in Punjab; Beyond the village: Sociological
Explanations, lIAS, Shimla ;Pg 7; Satish Saberwal (1975) Mobile Men; Limits to social change in
Urban Punjab, Vikas Publications, New Delhi :Pg 4
19
Paul Hershman (1981): Punjabi Kinship and marriage, Hindustan Publishing Corporation, Delhi:
Pg 21
20 Prakash Tandon (2000): Punjabi Centurj 1857-1947, Punjabi Saga 1857-2000, Rupa &Co., New
Delhi: Pg 73
21 I.P Singh (1975): A Sikh village in M. Singer edited Traditional India: Structure and change,. Rawat
Publications, Jaipur: PP. 273-97
scavengers). Singh observed no feeling of caste based avoidance or prejudice among the
lats- they visited each others houses and inter-dined and attended marriage functions and
celebrated most of the functions together. In terms of village settlement also, no
demarcation existed in the houses of these groups. However the Mazhabhis were treated
differently and were subjected to discrimination on the notions of purity and pollution.
Sikhism does not lead to the creation of an egalitarian community or the end of the caste
hierarchy, and discrimination.
These claims however have been contested by the by scholars like Hershman, who based
on his work in lullundhar concluded "even in those areas where almost the whole of
population was Sikh, there was most certainly a caste system in operation in the sense
that endogamous groups organize their social relationships with one another through the
idiom of the ritual purity and avoidance behavior". 22 Pettigrew too mentioned in her
study, that "while lats, Khatris, all ate with one another and there were also an increasing
number of cases of inter-marriage between them', lats in the villages do not visit the
houses of the Mazhabhis, take food for them and eat with them or intermarry with them 23 •
In the Sikh caste hierarchy, the lats who were otherwise assigned the lower status in the
Hindu social order claim to occupy the top position. 24 Next to lat Sikhs were the Khatri
Sikhs who belonged to the mercantile caste to which also belonged all the 10 historic
gurus of the Panth. 25
This is clearly reflected in the following quote 'the other
•
agricultural Sikh castes like the Kamboh, Mali and Saini Sikhs, and other trading Sikh
castes, like the Arora Sikhs and other artisan Sikh castes, like the lohar or sunar Sikhs
came somewhere after the aforementioned castes in the hierarchy. Then there were Sikh
menial castes (Jhinmwars, Kahars, banjaras, labanas, Bahrupuias, Batwals and Barwalas),
22 Paul Hershman (1981): Punjabi Kinship and Marriage, Hindustan Publishing Corporation, Delhi: Pg 21
23 Paul Hershman (1981): Punjabi Kinship and marriage, Hindustan Publishing Corporation, Delhi ; Pg
21; Pettigrew Joyce ( 1975): Robber Noblemen: A study of political system of the Sikh Jats, Routledge and
Kegan Paul, London: Pg :44
24
Singh I.P (1977): 'Caste in a Sikh village' in HaIjinder Singh (edited) Caste among the Non-Hindus in
India, National Publishing House, New Delhi :70 ; Paramjit Singh Judge (2002): 'Religion, Caste and
Communalism in Punjab " Sociological Bulletin, Vol S1, No.2, September : Pg 178-85
2S
Ethne Marenco (1976) The Transformation of the Sikh Society, Heritage Publishers, New Delhi: Pg
296; Muzzafar Alam (1982): 'Sikh Uprisings under Banda Bhadur 1708-17J5'in The Punjab Past and
Present, Vol XVI (1) April. : Pp 103~107; Bhagat Singh (1982) Social Structure of the Punjab during
the first half of the nineteenth century in The Punjab Past and Present, Vol XVI (I), April Pp 146-147
7
and last of all there were sikh untouchables, the Ramdasias and the Mazhabhis who
ranked the lowest despite the many advances they had made since the conversion to
Sikhism'. 26
Based on the extensive field survey of 51 villages selected from three different regions
of Punjab Jodhka (2002) in a paper provides a broad mapping of the prevailing caste
relations and the practice of untouchability in.the Punjab. It focuses on the process of
change particularly in the context of agrarian transformations that Punjab countryside has
experienced in the wake of the success of the green revolution technology. The paper
captures the processes of change through the categories of 'disassociation, distancing and
autonomy' that have also been used as strategies of social and cultural assertion by the
dalits in the rural Punjab. 27 • Harish, K.Puri (2004) in his edited volume provides a series
of essays on the basic features of caste system in Punjab, socio-economic status of the
Dalits in Punjab, impact of economic transformations and Dalit assertion in the context of
Talhan. 28
The emergence of the movements among the scheduled castes of Punjab has been dealt
mainly in works of Mark Jurgensmyer and Veena Dua.
29
The pioneering work related to
the emergence of the movements among the scheduled castes of Punjab was that of Mark
Jurgensmyer (1988). Jurgensmyer argued that religious language proved to be an
important and powerful tool in expressing the social grievances of the untouchables and
religious institutions became formidable conduits of the social change. Jurgensmyer work
talked about the non-violent movements for the social change in which the lower castes
activists which have been involved throughout the century. Apart from the Ad-Dharm
movement,
the writer also explores various other avenues of expression that were
26 Ethne Marenco ( 1976): The Transfonnation of the Sikh Society, Heritage Publishers, New Delhi:
Pg 2796 Harish Puri (2003): 'The Scheduled Castes in a Sikh community; A Historical Perspective' in
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 38, No. 26 June 28-July 4 :Pg 2698
27 Surinder Jodhka (2002): 'Caste and Untouchability in Rural Punjab', in Economic and Political
Weekly, May 11: Pg 1822
28 Harish K Puri (edited) (2004): 'Introduction' in Dalits in the Regional Context, Rawat Publication
29 Mark Jurgensmyer (1988) Religious Rebels in Punjab; The Social Vision of untouchables, Ajanta
Publications, Delhi :Veena Dua ( 1999) The Arya Samaj in Punjab Politics, Picus Books, New Delhi
:PgX
.
available to the socially minded untouchables - the Arya Samaj, the Valmiki Sabha, the
Ambedkar and Dalit Panther Mevements, Christianity, Marxism, the Congress party, the
Radahasaomi Satsang. 30 The book raises important question as to whether the movements
like the Ad-Dharm were really effective in creating the social change, arguing that radical
religion of the untouchables have been effective in helping them to come to terms with
cultural as well as economic and political aspects of their oppression, radical religion
allowed the untouchables to imagine what a new society might be. 31 It made it possible
for a certain group of untouchables to articulate the nature of their grievances in positive
and non-violent manner and project a vision of the future that is hopeful creative and just.
Veena Dua (1999) explores the mobility of the untouchables through the Arya Samaj.
The essay collected in this book portrays details of the Arya Samaj movement and its
relation with the politics in Punjab from the vantage point of field study conducted by the
author in a scheduled caste neighborhood in the city of lullundhar. It offers intensive
descriptions and analysis of the functioning of the Arya Samaj centers, the SC of Megh
community and the electoral behavior of the local communities. 32 The book provides the
bottom up view of the Arya Samaj-both of its social organization and of its role in the
Punjab politics and concludes that the Arya Samaj began as an urban social movement
appealing mainly to the urban intelligentsia, first in the western India and later in the
North India. In its process of "proselytization", it recruited the members from the lower
classes including the untouchables in the urban areas. The local Arya centers studied by
Veena Dua in the lullundhar city have members mainly belonging to the untouchable's
castes of the Megh. Her study therefore provides an insightful bottom view up of the
Arya Samaj and of its link with the politics in Punjab albeit mainly in the urban context.
Studying movements, Pimpley and Sharma (1985) founded that the Ad-Dharm
movement did not really made any significant difference to the untouchables though it
30
Mark Jurgensmyer (1988): Religious Rebels in Punjab; The Social Vision of untouchables,
Ajanta Publications, Delhi :PgXIV
31
Mark Jurgensmyer (1988): Religious Rebels in Punjab : The Social Vision of untouchables,
Ajanta Publications, Delhi: Pg XIV
32
Veena Dua (1999): The Arya Samaj in Punjab Politics, Picus Books, New Delhi :Pg 11
o
helped Punjabi Hindu elite in consolidating their position in the region. 33. The Punjabi
Hindu elite succeeded in the large measure to retain the untouchable castes in the Hindufold thereby increasing their political strength. As far as the scheduled castes were
concerned, they found that majority of those who went through shuddhi ceremony still
suffered from the stigma of untouchability and poverty-there educational levels were very
low. Occupationally they were engaged in the agricultural labor force or were in low
prestige occupations. Their geographical segregation suggested minimum level of social
interaction with the other castes. Probably even after there shuddhi, they did not gain
anything except for the symbolic right of Vedas and putting on the sacred thread. Further
to the writers despite the criticism of Brahmanism orthodoxy within Hinduism, the
strategy of Arya Samaj for elevating status of the untouchables was worked within the
framework of the purity and impurity. Though they reject and condemned the practice of
untouchability, they did not reject the concept of Varna.
Surinder 10dhka (2001) identified various phases of the Dalit politics in Punjab through a
preliminary historical survey of caste politics in the region. He focuses on different
choices available to the Dalits of Punjab to overcome stigma of untouchability and, in the
process how they negotiated their "traditional" identity particularly in the last century.34.
He in this article provides information as to how the Dalits in Punjab negotiated there
traditional Dalit identities with the dominant communities in their immediate social
context. This article proved to be of great help as it helped to unravel the nature of Dalit
politics in Punjab. As is the case of rest of India, the assertion of the dalits in
contemporary Punjab has to do lot with the economic mobility. As D.L. Sheth notes "[a]
Brahmin dealing in leather or an ex-untouchable dealing in diamonds is no longer looked
upon as a social deviant".35.Recent caste clashes in Punjab in Talhan in lullundhar and a
village near Tam Taran in Amritsar district therefore need to be seen in this context of the
33
P.N.Pimpleyand S.K.sharma (1985): 'De-Sanskritization of the untouchables: Arya Samaj
Movement in Punjab' in P .N.Pimpley and S.K. Shanna (edited) Struggle For Status,
B.R.Publishing Corporation, Delhi: Pp 86- W 1
34
Surinder lodhka (2001): 'Caste in the Periphery in Seminar 508, December, Pp 41-46
35
D.LSheth (1999): 'Secularization of the Caste and making of New Middle Class'
Economic and Political Weekly, 34: Pg 2504.
1()
In
economic change. An important part of this economic change has been the introduction
of the green revolution technology.
Various studies have emerged suggesting the social-cultural impact of the green
revolution in Punjab. Kohli and Singh (1997) , Bhalla and Chadha (1983) Bhalla (1987)
Sidhu etal (1997) B.L. Abbi and Singh (1997), Shinder Purewal (2000), Sucha Singh Gill
(2004) works could be regarded as important work which gives detail account of social
implications of the green revolution in Punjab. 36 • The slightest sign of the protest by
dalits for the betterment of their living conditions provoked the Jats in Punjab to impose
the social boycott on them. 37 • The frequency and the intensity of the conflicts against the
dalits increased manifold during the green revolution as a reaction to the growing dalit
assertion for better working conditions and higher wages. 38.
An important development in the recent years has been the political mobilization of the
scheduled castes in the recent years. Considerable amount of studies have been conducted
on the effect of political mobilization on the status of SC' s.. Some of this example of the
change are Mahars of Maharashtra (Zelliot 1979), 1989), J atavs of Agra (Lynch, 1969)
and more recently with the formation of the political parties of Dalits in Tamil Nadu we
have literature by the Thirumalavan et al
(2003) which speaks about the Dalits
36
D.S Kohli and N. Singh (l997):The Green Revolution in Punjab, India :The economics of
Technological change' in paper presented at a conference on Agriculture of the Punjab at the Southern
Asian Institute, Columbia University, April I 1995 http://econ.ucsc.edulboxjenklgreenrev.pdf; G.S
Bhalla and G.K Chadha (1983): Green Revolution and Small Peasants: a Study ofIncome Distribution
among Punjabi Cultivators, Concept Publishing House :New Delhi; Bhalla, Sheila (1987): 'Trends in
Employment in Indian Agriculture, Land and Asset Distribution', Indian Journal of Agricultural
Economics, Vol 42, (4), October~December. ; Sidhu etal (1997) A Study on Migrant Labour in Punjab,
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.; B.L. Abbi and Singh (1997), Abbi, BLand Kesar Singh
{l997}: Post-Green Revolution Rural Punjab: Profile of Economic and Socio-Cultural Change (196595), Centre for Research in Rural and IndustrialDevelopment, Chandigarh ; Shinder Purewal (2000)
Sikh Ethno-nationalism and the Political Economy of Punjab , Oxford University Press, New Delhi
37 Dwarka Bharti (edited) (2007) Talhan Kand Ke Baad (Beyond Talhan episode), Legal Cell for
Human Rights, Jullundhar
Paramjit Singh Judge (2006) 'Dalit assertion in Punjab: Examining
trends aild Emerging New Dilemmas' in Seminar on Conditions of Marginalized groups organized by
the Centre of Social Studies, Surat , July 5-6.
II
38: Master Hari Singh (1980) Agricultural workers struggle in Punjab, People Publishing House, New
Delhi; H.S. Sidhu (!991) Agricultural Development and Rural Labor: A case study of Punjab and
Haryana ,Concept Publication, New Delhi; Sucha Singh Gill (2000) Agrarian Change and Struggle of
Rural Labor in Punjab in International Journal of Punjab Studies, Vol 7 , No. I Jan-June: Pp 73-91.
experimentation with the politics. 39 The meaning of political mobilization however has
shifted towards empowerment through electoral politics. Myron Weiner (2001) and many
other scholars (see Charsley and Karnath 1998; Mendelsohn and Vicziany (1993, 1998) ;
Dieliege 1999; Seth 2002; Beteille 1997; 2000, Gupta (2004) have rightly pointed to the
fact that the rise of the caste based political mobilizations among the dalits and other
"backward castes" was made possible by the "deconstruction of the ideology underlying
the caste. 40", which itself is the consequence of the modernist consciousness promoted by
the legal structures against the practice of untouchability or caste discrimination
introduced in the constitution of India adopted in 1950.
41
Mayawati and Kansi Ram represent this emerging trend. However literature in Punjab on
the political mobilization of the Dalits is largely absent. The only works that we get to
read are Baldev Raj Nayyar (1966), Myron Weiner (1968), Paul Brass(1974), Kanchan
Chandra (2000,2004) work on the party system of the state which gives us certain idea
why for the untouchables of Punjab the congress emerged as the overwhelming choice.
42
39
Eleanor Zelliot (1979) 'Learning Use ofPolitical Means: The Mahars ofMaharashtra' in Rajni
Kothari (edited) Caste in Indian Politics, Orient Longman, New Delhi; Pp 29-69; Owen Lynch
(1969) Politics of Untouchability Social Mobility and Change in a city of India, Columbia
University Press, Columbia; Thirumalavan and Meena Kandasamy (2003) Talisman; The
Extreme Emotions of Dalit Liberation, Samya Publications, New Delhi
40
Myron Weiner (2001) , The struggle for equality; Caste in Indian Politics' in Atul Kohli
(edited) The success ofIndia's Democracy, Cambridge University Press: Pg 199; S.R.Charsley
and G.K Karnath (1998) Challenging Untouchability : Dalit Initative and experience from
Karnataka , Sage Publications; New Delhi ; 0 Mendelsohn (1993) "The Transformation of
Authority in Rural India", in Modern Asian Studies, Volume 15 (4): 805-42 ; O. Mendelsohn
and M. Vicziany (1998) The Untouchables: Subordination, Poverty and the State in Modern
India, Cambridge University press, Cambridge; Robert Dieliege (1999) The Untouchables of
India, Berg; New York; D.L Seth (2002) 'Caste and Class: Social Reality and Political
Representation in Ghanshyam (ed) Caste and Democratic Politics in India (Pp 209-33),
Permanent Black; Delhi; Andre Beteille (1997) 'Caste in Contemporary India' in c.J Fuller ed.
Caste Today, Oxford India Paperback: 150-79 Dipankar Gupta (ed) (2004): Caste in
question; Hierarchy or Identity, Sage Publications, New Delhi
41
Myron Weiner (2001) "The struggle for equality ; Caste in Indian Politics" in Atul Kohli
(edited) The success ofIndia's Democracy, Cambridge University Press, Delhi: Pg 199
42 Baldev Raj Nayyar (1966) Minority Politics in the Punjab, Princeton University Press, New Jersey;
Myron Weiner (1968) State Politics in India, Princeton University Press; Kanchan Chandra (2000)
'The Transformation of Ethnic Politics in India: The Decline of the Congress and the Rise of Bahujan
Samaj Party in Hoshiarpur'in The Journal ofAsian Studies, 59:1, February; Kanchan Chandra (2004)
; Why Ethnic Parties Succeed: Paul Brass (l974):Language , Religion and Politics in Northern India,
Cambridge University Press;
Baldev Raj Nayyar (1966) provides the details of the strategies of the Congress and Akali
Dal in Punjab that provide explanation as to why the congress emerged as the clear
choice of the SCs in Punjab and why not the Akali Dal or other political formations of
SCF/RPI. He explains the strong position of the Congress by providing two hypotheses.
Nayyar argued that the congress as a broadly aggregative and secular political party has
deliberately attempted both to accommodate different religious, language and caste
groups in the Punjab and to avoid accommodating one group at the expense of the other,
by the strategy of the political coalitions which did not lasted long.
To quote him: "During 1952 elections the congress party firmly opposed the demand for
the Punjabi Suba and was able to win considerable Hindu and Harijan support. Prior to
the 1957 elections the congress conceded the regional formula to the Akali Dal and
allowed the Dal to merge politically into the congress party; in this manner it was able to
secure larger support from that part of the Sikh community which was under the
influence of Akali Dal, but in the process also lost a large amount of Hindu votes. Before
the 1962 elections the congress party firmly opposed the Akali demand for the Punjabi
Suba and refused to be intimidated by the Akali agitations and was consequently able to
count on Hindu and Harijan votes to a greater extent than would have been possible if it
would have made further concessions to the Akali Da1. 43 •
The second hypothesis by Nayar supports his first argument. This hypothesis is called as
the hypothesis of the minority support. This suggests that congress gets "the votes of all
those groups which fear the domination by an opposing group. Thus in a Sikh-majority
constituency, it is likely to get the votes of the Hindus and the Harijans who would not
like to see an Akali or the Communist Sikh candidate as getting elected. On the other
hand in a Hindu-majority constituency in the Punjabi-speaking region Congress party is
likely to get the votes of Sikhs and the Harijan who would not like to see a Jan Sangh
candidate elected. Thus the congress party may tum out to be the beneficiary of a
situations in which the groups do not like the congress party so much as the distrust the
43 Baldev Raj Nayyar (1966) Minority Politics in the Punjab, Princeton University Press, New Jersey:
Pg 300-01.
1":1
other political parties and groups they represent. 44
Paul Brass (1974) makes us
understand the kind of identity choices faced by the individual voters in the Punjab. An
agricultural labor for instance choose his occupational identity, assert his status as a
member of the scheduled castes, express his religious identity or announce that he is first
and the foremost the Punjabi. Brass focuses upon the behaviors of the political parties
themselves: there electoral appeals, their electoral alignments and the kinds of the
coalition they enter.45
An important development in Punjab has been the emergence of BSP. An important work
in this regard is that of the Kanchan Chandra (2000), based on field work in Hoshiarpur
provides reason as to why BSP succeeded in replacing congress in this district. Chandra
gives detail account of the caste composition of the district and the political strategies
applied by both the parties i.e. congress and the BSP. In the end of her article she
provides the factors that work in the advantage of the congress and subsequently for the
disadvantage of the BSP. Chandra's more recent work (2004) provides interesting
reasons as to why the ethnic parties succeed in getting votes from the targeted groups. In
this work she provides analysis as to why BSP succeeds in certain states and why not in
other states. 46
44
Baldev Raj Nayyar (1966): Minority Politics in the Punjab, Princeton University Press, New
Jersey: Pg 460.
45
Paul Brass (1974): 'Ethnic Cleavages in the Punjab Party System (1952-1972)' in Myron
Weiner and John Osgood Field (edited) Electoral Politics in the Indian States, Manohar Book
Service, Pp 3-62
46
Kanchan Chandra (2004): Why Ethnic Parties Succeed; Patronage and Ethnic Headcounts in
IndiaCambridge: Cambridge University Press: Pg 368
14
II. Theoretical framework of the Study
Despite the presence of caste as an important force in Punjab, rarely there have been any
formulations discussing the impact of the caste on the recent dalit assertion in the region.
While much of the literature on Punjab emerges on the political economy, green
revolution, communal politics and terrorism, the region despite having the largest
proportion of the scheduled castes population in the Indian federation, has not been
studied for understanding the working of the caste system and changes taking place
therein, with much of the literature has emanated from western and southern Indian
experiences or in the North from Up.47 .
. Though never viewed as a representative case' for understanding the essence of the
caste, the caste question in Punjab has some interesting features that leads me to take it as
a part of my research thesis .
.As already said among all Indian states, Punjab has the highest proportion of the
Scheduled Castes. The proportion of the Scheduled Castes to the total population of the
state was 28.3 percent in2001, which is only highest among all the Indian states, but also
higher than the all India average of 16 percent. 48 According to the 1961 census ofIndia,
of the entire scheduled caste population of India, 98.56 percent were returned as Hindus
and the remaining· 1.44 percent as Sikhs. 49 Among the Sikhs the scheduled caste
constituted 29.2 percent. 50 • As elsewhere in India, the Scheduled Castes of Punjab are not
a homogeneous category. In Punjab they are divided into 37 different caste communities.
Though historically they have all been the victims of caste oppression and have
experienced the stigma of being untouchable, their current status is not similar.
47
48
Surinder Jodhka (2001): 'Caste in the Periphery' in Seminar, No. 508:Pg 41
Census ofIndia 2001
49 K.S Singh (1995) A History of Sikhs, Volume II, Princeton University Press, Princeton :Pg 10
50 C.K. Purandare (1995) 'People of India: Some Prima Facie inferences with reference to the SCs and
STs in P.C. Jogdand edited Dalit women in India: Issues and perspectives, Gyan Publishing house,
New Delhi: Pg 45.
The different caste communities differ not only in terms of their level of social and
economic development. The numerical strength of the individual caste groups also varies
considerably.
51
Chamars and the Mazhabhis together constitute nearly three-fourth of the
total scheduled castes population of the Punjab. Most other groups are much smaller and
their position remains rather bleak. Being small in size they are unable to act as an
effective pressure groups within the state politics.
A study of the depressed classes
reported that the number of those living below poverty line could be as high as 96 percent
of their population. Literacy rates among them were also quite low.
52
Although
untouchability has apparently been less a problem in Punjab, the scheduled castes
population in the region has been comparatively more vulnerable in the economic
structure of the village-their ownership of the agricultural land is among the lowest in the
51
52
Surinder Jodhka (2000): 'Prejudice without Pollution' in Journal ofIndian School of Political Economy, Vol 12
, No 3 and 4 :Pg 394
. Vinod
Kumar and Ashok Kumar (1996): Upward Mobility of the Depressed Scheduled Castes in Punjab
(unpublished report) ,Institute For Development and Communication, Chandigarh
country. 53 A large number of the menials supplemented their incomes from their
traditional occupation by working on the land, particularly the harvesting season. 54
The populace of Punjab has been predominantly composed of the Muslims, Hindus and
Sikhs, in the numerical order. Neither Muslims who numbered slightly more than half of
the total population nor Sikhs who were one-eighth of the population believed in chuuth
chatth, the vernacular substitute of untouchability used in the province.
55
In its
ideological self image Sikhism is a religion without caste. Not only were the Sikh gurus
"beyond all doubt", vigorous and practical denouncers of the caste56, Sikh reformers in
the late 19th century
also used its anti-caste message
to establish Sikhism's
distinctiveness from Hinduism. Thus from the broader perspective Sikhism and Punjab
53
Unlike in some other states, the scheduled. castes of Punjab rarely worked as cultivating peasants on
their own holdings. As per the official figures, only OA per cent of all the land holdings occupying 0.72
per cent of the total cultivated area in the state were being cultivated by the scheduled castes. This was
in stark contrast to some other states where despite the proportionate number of scheduled castes being
lesser in the total population, the number of those cultivating land was much higher. In Uttar Pradesh,
for example, the scheduled castes, consisting of 21.06 per cent of the total population, held as many as
24.5 per cent of the land holding occupying 14.31 per cent of the total cultivated land in the state.
Similarly in Bihar and West Bengal, they cultivated 12.11 and 10.89 per cent of the total land holdings
respectively. Similarly, as against the all India average of 25.44 per cent, only 4.80 per cent of the main
workers among the scheduled castes in Punjab were employed as cultivators as per the 1991 figures.
This percentage was as high as 42.63 per cent for Uttar Pradesh and 67.67 per cent for Himachal
Pradesh (Statistical Abstract, Punjab 1999:206-07) Explanation for such a low incidence of land
ownership and cultivation among the scheduled caste could perhaps be traced to the colonial policies.
The most critical in this context was perhaps the passing of the Punjab Alienation of Land Act in 1901,
which clubbed the dalits with the "non-agriculturists" castes. Consequently, they were legally not
allowed to own agricultural land. The act seemed to have been passed keeping in view the interests of
the dominant land owning castes exclusively. Even though a large majority of the dalits worked on land
as laborers, and in some cases also as tenants and owner cultivators, the 1901 Act would have obviously
made them di5possess their holdings [Prasad 2000:35-37].
N. Bhattacharya (1985) 'Agricultural Labor and Production: Central and South-East Punjab' in
K.N.Raj et al (edited) Essays on the commercialization ofIndian Agriculture, Oxford University Press,
New Delhi: Pg 113.
54
55 S.K .Gupta (1985) The Scheduled Castes in Modem Indian Politics, Munshiram Manoharlal
Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi : Pg 121
56 W.H.Mc Leod (1986) Punjabis in the New Zealand: A History of Punjab Migration 1890-1940,
Guru Nanak Dev University Press, Amritsar: Pg 87
17
provides interesting peripheral locations for looking critically the relationship between
the caste in religion. Apart from the influence of the Sikh movement, one must also not
forget that until 1947 Punjab was a Muslim majority province. Islamic and Sufi ideas of
inequality had a significant impact on the overall social structure in the region, including
the practice of the caste.
The most important feature of SC s in Punjab is that untouchables to the varying degrees
have pursued all the three options-Sikhism, Hinduism and Islam and at times have also
tried to assert their own cultural, religious identity that has been a more difficult strategy
to maintain with the exception of the AD-Dharm movement.
57
Perhaps most importantly, though caste or Brahminical ideology was weak in Punjab,
social relations in the village community and the political economy of agriculture have
been closely structured around caste. As was the case in some other parts of the
subcontinent, different servicing castes were tied to the landowning cultivators within the
framework of the jajmani system.
Historically speaking, despite its differences in social composition, Punjab has been an
important centre of anti-caste politics in whole of North India. It was in Punjab that B.R.
Ambedkar, on an invitation from the Jat Pat Todak Mandai, was to deliver his famous
lecture on the annihilation of caste 58 (which he eventually could not because the
invitation was withdrawn by the organizers). The establishment of the British colonial
rule also opened Punjab to the activities of the Christian missionaries who came with the
intention of spreading the message of the Church. S9 Unlike the other Hindu Reform
movements, the Arya Samaj not only attacked "foreign" religions
which had been
converting locals into their fold, but also severely criticized many of the existing
,
practices of the Hindus, including the practice of untouchability. The militant assertions
57
D.C. Ahir (1992) Dr. Ambedkar in Punjab, B.R. Publishing Corporation, Delhi :Pg 54
58 D.C. Ahir (1992) Dr. Ambedkar in Punjab, B.R. Publishing Corporation, Delhi :Pg 54
59 Harish K Puri (2003) 'The scheduled castes in the sikh community: A Historical Perspective "
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 38, NO. 26, June 28-July 4: Pp 2693-2701.
IR
of the Hindutava identity by the Arya Samaj had already sparked off a debate on the
question of the Sikh identity. Sikhs began to assert that their was a separate religion and
they should not be clubbed with the Hindus. 6o
The practice of the untouchability or discrimination against the low castes among the
Sikhs was attributed to the continued influence of the Hinduism on the community. Thus
I
the struggle against the caste and untouchability, which were seen as the core of the
Hindu values, came to be implicated in the movement for a separate Sikh Identity. In
other words, the Singh Sabha movement for the liberation of the gurudwaras from the
Hindu Mahants during the 1920's also became a movement for the de-hinduisation of the
Sikh religion. One of the main demands of the movement was "unquestioned entrance to
the Sikh places of worship" for all. 61 Some members of the Sikh Khalsa Diwan tried to
create their own 'depressed classes' movement' to encourage the scheduled caste support.
While the Sikh reformers attacked caste, the Sikh leadership; having become aware of the
significance of numbers, did not deny existence of caste among the Sikhs or that the low
castes among Sikhs face disabilities due to their birth. The Sikh leadership infact had to
lobby a great deal with the national leadership so that certain Sikh castes could also be
included in the along with the Hindus in the list of the scheduled castes
for the
provisions of special benefits and reservations. Nayar reports that the "concession was
achieved in return for an agreement by the Sikh leaders that no further political demands
would be made in the future on behalf of the Sikh Community.62
However while all the Hindu untouchable castes were given the special privileges, only
four sub-castes of the "untouchable" Sikhs were included in the list. The sub-castes
excluded from the scheduled showed little reluctance in abandoning the Khalsa (Sikh
60 H. Oberoi (1994) The Construction of the Religious Boundaries : Culture, Identity and diversity in
the Sikh tradition, Oxford University Press, Delhi
61 Mark Jurgensmyer (1988) Rdigious Rebels in Punjab: The Social Vision Of the Untouchables,
Ajanta Publications, Delhi; Pg 28
62 Baldev Raj Nayyar (1966) Minority Politics in Punjab, Princeton University Press, New Jersey; Pg
238
1Q
tradition) and declaring themselves Hindus in order to claim benefits.
63
.
For our interests,
perhaps the most important social and political movement witnessed in Punjab during the
colonial period was the Ad-Dharm movement that initiated the beginning of the
autonomous dalit politics in the region. This mobility was particularly evident in the
Doaba sub-region of Punjab, where the dalits have emigrated abroad.
The changes taking place in the institution of caste and untouchability in the rural Punjab
could be best explained what lodhka calls as "disassociation, distancing and
autonomy".64 The economic change has led them to disassociate themselves from the
agricultural labor -perhaps because of their acute dislike of the dependency relationship
with the farmer than the nature of the work itself. This disassociation has accompanied
itself with their distancing of themselves from Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam and have
there own saints and gurus who are themselves from the dalit background. These could
hence be looked as strategies of social and cultural assertion and resistance at the local
level. While all these strategies helped the Dalits in Punjab in providing a better social
position than there
count~rparts
elsewhere, however Punjab's traditionally pro-congress
(I) Dalits had little political power. Given the SAD-81P's upper caste biases has led to
the growing deprivation among the Dalits. Thus there is a need to not merely establish the
fact that caste and caste conflicts do exist in Punjab, though different in nature, but
equally to uncover the reasons for the lack of creative response from the middle class
Dalit elite. The BSP forays into the state have so far had little success and the Congress
(I) has emerged as the overwhelming choice of the Dalits in Punjab. Thus, there is a
need, while talking about caste in the periphery, to not merely establish the fact that caste
and caste conflicts do exist in Punjab, though different in nature, but equally to uncover
reasons for the lack of a creative response from the local middle class dalit elite.
Although the desire of the leaders become directly involved in the social action is high
there stance is more prudent and the untouchables organization in the Punjab are largely
in the semi-reclusive state. The region also provides interesting site to study the
63 K.S Singh (1995) A History of Sikhs, Volume II, Princeton University Press; Pg 304
64 Surinder Jodhka ( 2004): 'Disassociation, Distancing and Autonomy: Caste and Untouchability in
Rural Punjab' in Harish K .Puri (edited) Dalits in the Regional Context, Rawat Publications, New
Delhi: Pi> 64-99
20
orientation of the scheduled castes towards the dalit politics. Mobilization of the
Scheduled Caste of Punjab by different reform movements during the early 20th century
not only impelled them to change their occupations but also made them conscious of their
political rights. The active opposition by the scheduled castes to the Akali demand for a
separate Punjabi Suba clearly reflects their astute political sense. The first autonomous
political formation of the scheduled castes of Punjab had emerged in the form of ADDharm movement that was latter merged with Ambedkar SCF and subsequently
transformed to RPI. However it was only in the 1980's that with the rise of BSP that
Dalits began to matter as a distinct political formation in Punjab. However Dalits in
Punjab have not been able to forge a distinct political identity and although there have
been political parties (SCF, RPI,) appealing to the Scheduled castes yet their support to
these parties was short-lived.
The decade of the 1980' s was an extremely critical phase in the contemporary history in
India and for Punjab too. It saw the emergence of the new social movements which
questioned the hitherto sacred idea of development, the Nehruvian agenda of
modernizing India's economy and society. New identity movements too appeared on the
Indian scene, and acquired a degree of legitimacy.65.Caste re-emerged as an important
question in the Indian politics during the 1980's, this time, however from below. Gaining
political power was seen as the key towards overcoming all disabilities. Unlike the old
Congress politics, the new political formations like the Bahujan Samaj Party mobilized
dalits on the issue of historical experience of humiliation and deprivation.66 .Punjab is no
exception the rule. Despite the presence of the Bahujan Samaj Party in some pockets of
the state and its occasional electoral success, Punjab has not seen many dalit
mobilizations during the recent decades.
Rooted in this context, the study brings out important reasons as to why orientation of the
dalits (referred here as the Ad-Dharmis and Mazhabhis) remained rather bleak towards to
65 Surinder lodhka (2001) (edited) Community and Identities :Contemporary Discourses on Culture and
Politics in India, Sage Publications, New Delhi
the political parties. In Punjab while the untouchables continue their cultural assertion
through separate Gurudwaras, Ravidas and Ad-Ohann associations, maintain there own
cultural and religious symbols, yet what is important to examine is that whether the
assertion at the grassroots have been translated into the electoral assertion at all.
What has not been adequately studied are the reasons for their failure to emerge as a
broader identity, despite the fact that Oalits have been the third force in detennining the
political fortunes of the larger parties like that of the Congress and Akali Oal. The focus
of the study is thus on the electoral politics since the late 1980' s, as the decade of the
1980's with the fonnation of the BSP has been extremely vibrant period for the politics
of identity in India and Punjab has been no exception to it. The BSP entered Punjab
politics for the first time during 1985 elections to the legislative assembly. In 1989
elections although it could not win any seats, it was able to wean away a certain percent
of SC votes away from the Congress that indirectly facilitated the victory of the Akalis.
However over the subsequent year party has lost the political ground. The overall
emerging pattern of India suggests that wherever the SC s found a viable alternative they
prefer it to the congress- BSP all over India has become their first choice, in its absence
the Left front and Regional parties are preferred in the states where they have
dominance. 67 .However Punjab in this sense is unique as while all these options i.e. BSP,
Left front are available yet the Congress continue to be their first choice and their
preference for the BSP still carries the status of third force.
Apart from electoral politics, mobilizations at the grassroots levels have been an
important channel of empowennent among the Oalits all over the country. Punjab yet
again needs to be distinguished. While in some of the states such as that of the Tamil
Nadu the major trend has been the shift from the grassroots level movements to the
fonnal political participation in the elections, in Punjab the route has been reverse as
when all the efforts to forge the political identity failed Oalits resorted to the grassroots
level lIlobilization to ascertain their autonomous position. In Punjab as elsewhere the
assertion has not only been through the local ·.level institutions such as those of
67 Pushpendra (2001) : 'Dalit Assertion Through Electoral Politics' in Ghanshyam Shah (edited) Dalit
Identity and Politics, Sage Publications, New Delhi :Pp 311-334
22
Panchayats, but also through cultural and religious symbols. For instance soon after the
political decline of the AD-Dhann movement-they shifted their allegiances to the
Valmiki Sabha and in the vacuum created by the political forces the deras, construction
of separate Gurudwaras and Radahasaomi Satsang have been important instruments of
articulating their grievances. 68 For instance, the Ad-Dhannis project Guru Ravidas as
their spiritual master that is presented in their slogans like Ravidas Shakti Amar Rahe.
The figure of Ravi Das has become the icon of Dalit assertion in Punjab and has provided
new cultural space to the Ad-Dhannis. His popularity has been kept alive among the AdDhannis by the construction of the deras constructed in his name, e.g. Dera Sach Khand,
at Ballan and other Ravidas Deras. Similarly among the Mazhabhis the construction of
the large scale Gurudwaras parallel to the ones controlled by the Jats has become a
frequent exercise as a means of asserting at the local level. Apart from the construction of
separate Gurudwaras there has been increase involvement of the Mazhabhis in the
Radahasaomi Satsang.
By construction of their own gurudwaras, joining non-sikh deras, the Mazhabhis are
stating their independence from Sikhs as there has been no commensurate improvement
in the social status of dalits even after their conversion to Sikhism, as caste inequities in
the fonn of dominant cultural patterns still persists in Punjab. 69 It is to be noted in
Amritsar district it is not the construction of separate Gurudwaras but the involvement of
the Mazhabhis in Radahasaomi Satsang that is leading to the clash and conflicts among
the Jats and the SC's at the local level. The field seems to be wide open for the political
forces to address the issue that has led to the political marginalization and exclusion of
the scheduled castes. This seems to have pushed them towards the deras and other nonSikh socio-religious organizations that promise dignity and social equality. As a result
68
Dalits have separate gurudwaras in about 10,000 villages out of a total of 12,780 villages in
Punjab (Dalit Voice, Vol 22, No 17, and September 1-15,2003: 20). A survey of 116 villages in
one Tehsil of Amritsar district showed that dalits had separate gurudwaras in 68 villages [Puri
2003: 2700]. Yet another field study of 5 1 villages selected from the three sub-regions of Punjab
found that dalits had separate gurudwaras in as many as 41 villages {Jodbka 2004:79].
. 69
Ronki Ram (2007) 'Social Exclusion, Resistance and Deras : Exploring the Myth of casteless
Sikh society in Punjab' in Economic and Political Weekly: Pp 4066-4074
21
there has been growth of deras primarily as the centers of the dalit mobilization. They are
infact a signs of an emerging dalit assertion against social exclusion that have all the
possibilities of the snow-balling into the violent conflicts if left unresolved. The study
therefore examines important questions why both Ad-Dharmis and the Mazhabhis are
seen to be shifting towards Deras? How do these deras overcome exclusion of the
communities and how its has strengthened the identity formation among the scheduled
castes.
24
III. Objectives of Studv
Against the above background, the main objectives of the study are discussed below:
First, it is well known that Punjab has been a witness to a good number of the religious
reform movements against untouchability. Strategies for social mobility and participation
in political and social reform movements have also been quite varied among them.
Analyzing the historical perspectives that lead to identity formation therefore becomes
important in this context. As its first objective the thesis examine the significance of the
social religious structure and the role played by the social and political reform
movements among the Ad-Dharmis and the Mazhabhis in pre-independence in
consolidating the identity formation among the scheduled castes in Punjab.
This is
achieved by identifying historical specificities of and focus on the diverse strategies
adopted by selected groups to ameliorate their status. This objective is fulfilled by
studying the understand the nature of the caste system in Punjab, location of the AdDharmis and the Mazhabhis in the caste hierarchy, reasons for the emergence of the
political consciousness among the Ad-Dharmis and the Mazhabhis, participation in the
J
politics and emergence of movements among the selected groups in pre-independence
period leading to identity formation.
The 1990' s experienced an acceleration of the ongoing processes of democratization and
development since independence, introducing substantial change. Economic development
and mobilization have been tools whereby the disadvantaged groups have been able to
unite for the political action and to upset the traditional relationships. While there has
been lot of literature dealing with agrarian change, there has been lesser attention given to
the caste and related social dimensions of the change being experienced as a result of
economic development in Punjab. The process of the green revolution transformed the
traditional subsistence character of the agriculture into commercial farming leading to
further marginalization of dalits.
70
In fact, it was during this very phase of transition in
70 Sucha Singh Gill (2004) 'Socio-Economic Transformation and Scheduled Castes in Punjab' in
Harish K Puri (ed), Dalits in Regional Context, Rawat, New Delhi
the agrarian economy of Punjab that the process of dalit immigration to Europe, North
America, and the Gulf assumed great importance. It may also be pointed out in the
passing that the emergence of the process of dalit immigration from Punjab coincided
with the phenomenon of the influx of migrant labor from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh
into Punjab. 71. It is in this context that the second major objective is to understand the
socio-economic conditions of the Ad-Dharmis and Mazhabhis in lullundhar and Amritsar
District of Punjab: under the impact of the green revolution. and related to it the growing
politicization among the scheduled castes in Punjab. This is done with the help of the
secondary data literature as well as the field work that collected data on economic
conditions of the Ad-Dharmis and the Mazhabhis. Although the period does not
correspond to the green revolution period, yet the present economic conditions of the AdDharmis and the Mazhabhis do have a bearing of the economic development created in
the past due to the advent of the green revolution.
In this light the aspects of the economic development related to educational advancement,
immigration, government job holders, status of the living conditions etc has been the
focus of data collection .With the economic advancement, perhaps what has happened
over the last century has been (a) legal de-recognition of the practice and (b) a near
change in the consciousness of those receiving end of the hierarchy. 72 It therefore
becomes the objective of the study to understand the practice of untouchability against
the selected groups. Based on field work the chapter understands the position of the AdDharmis and Mazhabhis in present day Punjab. It tries to understand their economic
position-sources of economic mobility, level of caste discrimination against them not
only in day to day working but also in the educational institutions, religious places, cases
of caste conflicts, causes of caste atrocities, modes of protest that suggests their identity
in making.
71 Sidhu, M S et al (1997): A Study on Migrant Labor in Punjab, Punjab Agricultural University,
Ludhiana
72 Surinder .SJodhka (2002) 'Caste and Untouchability in Rural Punjab' in Economic and Political
Weekly, May] 1 : Pg 1813
Dalits have almost everywhere become much more assertive about their human and political
rightS. 73 As a third objective the thesis attempts to study the strategies of assertion among
the Ad-Dharmis and the Mazhabhis -electoral and cultural and how these strategies have led
to identity formation among the groups. Autonomous dalit movements and dalit parties
have also begun to play a much more influential role in the electoral politics, both at the
regional as well as national level. Mobilization of the scheduled caste of Punjab by different
reform movements during the early 20th century not only impelled them to change their
occupations but also made them conscious of their political rights. The active opposition by
the scheduled castes to the Akali demand for a separate Punjabi Suba clearly reflects their
astute political sense.
The first autonomous political formation of the scheduled castes of Punjab had emerged in
the form of AD-Dharm movement that was latter merged with Ambedkar SCF and
subsequently transformed to RPI. However it was only in the 1980's that with the rise of
BSP that Dalits began to matter as a distinct political formation in Punjab. However Dalits
in Punjab have not been able to forge a distinct political identity.
What has not been
adequately studied are the reasons for their failure to emerge on a broader All India Identity,
despite the fact that Dalits have been the Third Force in determining the political fortunes of
the larger parties like that of the Congress and Akali Dal.
The focus will be thus on the electoral politics since the late 1980' s, as the decade 1980's as
with the formation of the BSP has been extremely vibrant period for the politics of identity
in India and Punjab has been no exception to it. The BSP entered Punjab politics for the first
time during 1985 elections to the legislative assembly. In 1989 elections although it could
not win any seats, it was able to wean away a certain percent of SC votes away from the
Congress that indirectly facilitated the victory of the Akalis. However over the subsequent
year party has lost the political ground. The overall emerging pattern of India suggests that
wherever the SC s found a viable alternative they prefer it to the congress- BSP all over
India has become their first choice, in its absence the Left front and Regional parties are
730 Mendelsohn. and M Vicziany (1998) The Untouchables: Subordination, Poverty and the State in
Modem India, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge: Pg 1.
preferred in the states where they have dominance. However Punjab in this sense is unique
as while all these options i.e. BSP, Left front are available yet the Congress continue to be
their first choice and their preference for the BSP still carries the status of third force. The
thesis thus try to understand the reasons for this by studying the electoral behaviors in the
selected villages (both rural and urban). The thesis is thus conceptualizes the Ad-Dharmi
and Mazhabhi voting-i.e. whom are they voting for? Why they continue to support the
Congress? What relation do they bear to BSP? The thesis thus tries to understand the
reasons for this by studying the electoral behaviors in the selected villages (both rural and
urban).
The thesis tries to conceptualize the SC voting-i.e. whom are they voting for? Why they
continue to support the Congress? What relation do they bear to BSP? In addition to find
state specific factors that influence the mobilizations and identity formation the thesis also
attempts to provide answer to the question did the scheduled castes in this state not
experience the exclusion, discrimination and oppression in the same ways as they did in
other parts of India? Did they not experience caste atrocities? Is their lack of participation
because they did not suffer in the same way as the others did? Does the explanation lies in
the social-specific histories of these regions and/ or in the nature of political mobilization?
With political marginalization and improved social consciousness the Ad-Dharmis and the
Mazhabhis have started demanding the social status that has pushed them to the deras and
brought them into direct confrontation with the non-scheduled caste groups. The spiritual
space of these Deras and Satsang has been utilized for the creation of cultural orientations
and social consciousness among the Dalits. They not only provide for a spiritual life but also
functioned as low caste centers as wen. The thesis thus raises important questions on the
nature of these organizations- are they only religious in character or are political in nature
also? What ideology do they have? What relation do these organizations bear with the
political parties? Will be important questions that are going to be analyzed? Lastly, the
thesis aims to make a comparative assessment of the two communities with regard to their
socio-economic conditions, political preferences and cultural affiliations.
1V. Field and the Field work: Methodological Issues
The study is historical (as it seeks to understand the roots of dalit assertion among the
scheduled castes in Punjab), sociological (as it attempts to understand the dynamics of
inter-caste relations between the lats and the Scheduled castes; forms and extent of
discrimination against the scheduled castes; emergence and causes of the caste -conflicts
among the scheduled castes and the lat, how does caste operates in the politics of Punjab;
pattern of mobilization of the scheduled castes) and analytical ( as it seeks to provide a
broader understanding as to why the dalits of Punjab are not seen to be mobilizing for the
broader identity as compared to the other states of Uttar Pradesh, how does the caste
operates in the politics of Punjab, how) . The study uses both analytical and empirical
tools. The former will be used to understand the development of low caste identity in
Punjab its distinctive characteristics and the historical dimensions. The latter will be used
to study the assertion at the grassroots levels and patterns of political mobilizations
among the Ad-Dharrnis and Mazhabhis Sikhs in the cities of lullundhar and Amritsar.
The study attempts to provide answer to the above by looking the patterns of
mobilizations of two communities: Ad-Dharmis and Mazhabhis, the largest of two
scheduled castes groups in the districts of lullundhar and Amritsar. There exists manifold
reasons for the selection of the two groups -First, these are two largest scheduled castes
groups. Secondly, these two caste groups have a longer history of reform movements.
Third, occupational shift has taken place amongst all the caste groups . However it has
been much more among those who had been part of the reform movements such as the
I
Ad-Dharmis and the Mazhabhis. A recent study reported that while 81 percent of AdDharmis were employed in jobs other than the leather tanning. Similarly only four
percent of the Mazhabhis were engaged in traditional occupation and scavenging. 74.
Similarly Abbi and Singh point found: "An almost total occupational change among the
scheduled castes, clean artisans and other non-agricultural castes, de-linking their
74
Bhupinder Yadav
and
Anand Mohan Sharma: Economic Uplift of the scheduled castes
,Unpublished Report, Institute for development and Communication.: Pg 18
livelihood pattern from agriculture and agricultural labor. Further the increasing taking
over of the agricultural labor and minor supervisory work by migrant laborers commute
for grain loading, construction work, and tailoring, technical, mechanical and other
skilled work" 75 • Fourth while the Ad-Dharmis have been socially and educationally
mobile, Mazhabhis being the largest scheduled caste group have enjoyed some clout in
the state politics. Although sharing many similarities, these groups differ to the extent
that the sense of autonomy is high among the Ad-Dharmis than the Mazhabhis and they
continue to remain absent larger mobilization movement among the Mazhabhis. On the
other hand while the sense of autonomy among the Ad-Dharmis is high they have also
been not able to assert their identity as the Chamars of Uttar Pradesh. It was therefore
agreed to select both the communities to look into these insights.
IV.a: Reasons for selecting the Jullundhar and Amritsar Districts
Traditionally Punjab has been divided into three main regions-Doaba, Majha and Malwa.
As is well known that the lullundhar lies in the Doaba region. And it is also the area of
the highest concentration of the scheduled caste population. The Ad-Dharmis that
constitute the second largest SC group in Punjab are heavily concentrated in lullundhar.
Infact among aU the districts and amongst all the SC groups the sense of autonomy is
greatest amongst the Ad-Dharmis and lullundhar traditionally has been and is till present
the hotbed of Dalit activities. The sense of autonomy among the Ad-Dharmis in the
lullundhar can be attributed to the several factors:
First, the social reform movements in the region made them politically conscious and
many among them took to higher education. Historically Doaba region and more
particularly lullundhar has been the most important place or center for anti-caste politics.
It was in lullundhar only that in early 1920's a handful of young educated untouchables
activists began serious discussions about developing a circle of communication and
political strength that led to the birth of Ad-Dharm movement. The Ad-Dharm movement
75
RL Abbi and Kesar Singh (1997) Post Green Revolution Rural Punjab: Profile of Economic and
Socio-Cultural change (1965-1995), Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development,
Chandigarh : Pg 91
by stressing on the notion that untouchables constituted a "qaum", a distinct religious
community similar to those of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. As Mangoo Ram stated partly
by expressing the hope that "the untouchables have three powers: communal pride
(qaumiat), religion (mazhab) and the organization (majlis).76 The Ad-Dharm movement
thus helped to transform the rude experiences of the untouchables very early on in the
Doaba region of lullundhar.
So great was the impact of Ad-Dharm movement that
during the 1931 census nearly 80 percent of the lower castes of the lullundhar district
reported themselves as the Ad-Dharmis. The Ad-Dharm movement by stressing upon the
education further created the potential for a larger network of associations among the
educated and aroused sections of the lower castes.
Second, over the years the Ad-Dharmis in lullundhar have occupationally diversified
themselves so significantly that only a small proportion of them remain dependent on
agricultural labor. lullundhar has been an important center of upward mobility for the
Dalits. Boota Mandi a town in the vicinity of the lullundhar city on the Nakodar Road is
a vivid example of Dalit upward mobility from the adjoining villages. Boota Mandi was
brought on the map of Dalit politics by the Ad-Dharmis of two main sub-castes-Kaler
and Mahey-who were forced to leave there ancestral village under hostile social and
economic conditions. The Kaler and Mahey sub-castes of the Ad-Dharmis came to this
place that provided them access to military contracts in the lullundhar cantonment for
supplying leather for Boots. The name "Boota Mandi" cropped up from the leather trade
established by Seth Kishan Das, a Chamar turned Ad-Dharmis. Later many other sub
castes of Dalits from various villages in the lullundhar migrated to Boota Mandi .. Since
then lullundhar has become an important center for Dalit activities. The Ad-Dharm
movement by emphasizing on education contributed to the high literacy rate among the
Ad-Dharmis which created greater political consciousness among them. What is also of
greater importance is that among all the sc groups the Ad-Dharmis have made best use of
the reservation policy which has enabled them to get a jobs in the government
departments, which has led to the emergence of small elite among them which can further
76
Ad-Dharm Mandai Report ,1926-1931
11
carry there demands. Thus on the whole occupationally the Ad-Dharmis have overcome
their poverty and do not remain dependent as agricultural laborers.
Thirdly, the process of the politicization of the Dalits in lullundhar and their
empowerment has been promoted by the social, cultural, spiritual and literary activities
undertaken by the Ravidas deras, especially Dera Sach Khand, at BalIan in lullundhar
district. It is one of the area where Ambedkar had significant following as seen in the
establishment of the Ambedkar Bhawan and naming of the streets community centers,
religious places, education centers in the name of Ambedkar, Buddha and Ravidas.
lullundhar is also a focal point for the publication of Dalit journals like Adi-Danka,
Ujjala, Bheem Patrika, and Ravidas Patrika that brought about an awakening among
Dalits consciousness through publicizing Ambedkar philosophy and views other
prominent Dalit personalities. Further the case of community violence in Talhan should
be seen in this context. Why did the caste violence emerge only in Talhan in 2003 and
why did the caste violence of in Talhan spill over to the Boota Mandi? And why not to
the other districts in Punjab? This requires a detail study account of Ad-Dharmis in
lullundhar district and their patterns of assertion. Despite having the largest percent of
Ad-Dharmis population that is economically prosperous, politically conscious and
culturally organized it is interesting to note that the efforts to renew the Ad-Dharrn
movement in the post independence period have met continuous failure.
Another important feature of Jullundhar districts is the strong presence of BSP. This
thesis will thus examine the patterns of assertion and mobilization of the Ad-Dharmis and
within the political arena more specifically in the electoral politics.
At the other end we have Amritsar, falling in Majha region, with a Sikh majority
population. Toe first obvious reason for choosing the Amritsar is that it contains largest
percent of Mazhabhis Sikh population. Amritsar was the first place where the Mazhabhis
settled in large numbers. The term Mazhabhis is applied to those untouchables from the
sweeper castes, who have become Sikhs. The term literally means those who are faithful,
and Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth guru in the Sikh lineage is said to have signaled out
Mazhabhis for their loyalty. A number of Mazhabhis continued to show their loyalty by
joining religious orders such as the Nihangs and although some of them did not sided
with the activists, others have. Among them some have been the more fanatical followers
of Jemail Singh Bhindarwale and many of them were killed alongside him in the
Operation Blue Star. In all these cases the Mazhabhis have demonstrated that they were
as true to the Sikh cause as any Jat might may be and in that way stated that although
untouchables, they were not as marginal to Punjab society as their status might consign
them to be. Further after independence one of the major demands put forward
unanimously by all the 22 Sikh members of East Punjab Legislative Assembly in 1948
related to the securing for the former untouchables castes converted to Sikhism the same
recognition and rights as would have been available to them if they had not been the
Sikhs 77 • In 1953 after the demand for the Punjabi Suba had been raised, Master Tara
Singh and the Shiromani Akali Dal asked for the inclusion of all the "untouchable castes"
converted to the Sikhism in the list of the scheduled castes and the demand was granted.
Further by an amendment made in 1953 to the Punjab Sikh Gurudwara Act 1925, a
provision was made for the reservation of 20 seats for scheduled castes Sikhs out of total
of 140 seats in SGPC. All this institutionalized the recognition of the lower castes in the
Sikh religion and the Sikh community.
However it was the political logic of Hum Hindu Nahin Hain which swayed the minds of
the Sikh political class and schism became a key factor in the elevation of Jats to the
higher caste status and the social and political domination of the Jats in the Sikh
community contributing to the consolidation and expansion of Sikhism. Each reinforced
the other. The Green Revolution added to the economic and political clout of the Jat
landowning classes in general, further widening the social inequalities. Infact it has been
argued that most of the Sikh values are the Jat Values and Jats assert that they occupy the
highest position among the Sikh castes. This together with the increasing cases of caste
atrocities by Jats on the Sikh Dalits has led Mazhabhis to distance themselves from the
Sikhs struggles. A most significant marker of the resistance against the sense of
discrimination among the scheduled castes Sikhs is the hirge scale construction of
77 Harish K Puri (2003): 'The Scheduled Castes in Sikh Community: A Historical Perspective',
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 38, No 26, June 28-July 4; Pp 2693-2701
separate Gurudwaras by the Mazhabhis. In fact a survey in 2001 points out that in about
68 villages in one Tehsil of Amritsar district had separate Gurudwaras. Another
important significant dimension of the Dalit search for an alternative cultural space to
overcome the
experience of indignity and humiliation
IS
reflected in large-scale
movement of the Sikh Dalits towards the Radahasaomi Satsang.
Secondly, Arnritsar is a Sikh majority district. It will be therefore useful to, look into the
conditions of Mazhabhis in the land where a reformist religion was prevalent. Besides
this the recent Dera Sacha Sauda event where a large number of Mazhabhis were
involved and had major impact in Arnritsar district, a Mazhabhis dominant district. But
unlike the Ad-Dharmis in Jullundhar, the Mazhabhis in Arnritsar are not as well
organized, although a small proportion of the have enjoyed some political clout in the
state politics. In spite of the reservation of seats for the for the Mazhabhis an educated
class like that of Ad-Dharmis , which could promote a movement is yet to emerge
among them. Their weak economic position makes them continuously dependent upon
the landowning dominant Jat castes. Literacy rates among them is also quite low not only
when compared to the Ad-Dharmis but also when compared to the other untouchable
castes in Punjab (The Mazhabhis also suffer a greater number of atrocities than the AdDharmis , yet there has been no effort on the part of the community to organize and
mobilize.
\.
While Ad-Dharmis depending upon the situation make choices between the Congress and
\
BSP, for Mazhabhis the Congress has emerged as the overwhelming choice as they
identify the Akali Dal and Communist Party as the party of Jats. In short the selection of
these two districts with different Scheduled Caste groups in the in the Hindu-majority
district and other in Sikh majority district with different economic, educational and
occupational backgrounds; different affiliation to religious communities will enable me to
compare the basic dimensions, degree of assertion, identity and political consciousness
among two different and largest SC groups in Jullundhar and Amritsar districts.
IV.b. Selection of the Rural-Urban localities within the districts
Another important aspect of the demographic composition of the religious communities
in the Punjab is their uneven rural-urban distribution. Since the caste system and practice
of untouchability are much more pronounced in the village settings a sociological
exercise at understanding of the changing caste status of contemporary scheduled castes
should begin from the village. On the other hand the technological development in
agriculture and growing commercial orientation of the farmers had led to the growth of
the closely spaced marketing and industrial towns almost all over the state that has led to
scheduled castes to move out of the village while some have permanently migrated to the
urban areas, many others commuted for work to these towns and they have become
important centre for dalit politics. In this context it was decided to study both the rural
and urban areas.
The study is partly rural and urban. The demographic pattern of the Punjab suggests that
the scheduled castes are widely spread over the state, with hardly any village or town
without a noticeable cluster of their households. Given the fact that the scheduled caste in
the Punjab are less urbanized than their counterparts non-scheduled caste population
there are many villages in the state where they constitute the majority78.The selection of
the rural villages will help us to ascertain the pattern of mobilization at the grassroots
level and the urban areas will help us to ascertain the pattern of mobilization through
electoral politics. In order to conceptualize the identity formation among the Ad-Dharmis
and the Mazhabhis; in both the districts the localities where these castes are dominant
were selected. Since the groups do not follow any clear cut pattern and are widely spread
in rural and urban areas, it was decided to select one rural and one urban locality, based
on certain criteria's: .
a)
Areas where the Ad-Dharmis and the Mazhabhis outnumber the other scheduled
castes groups. Talhan and Boota Mandi in Jullundhar district and Verka and Kot
78
I.P Singh (1975) 'A Sikh Village', in M. Singer (edited) Traditional India: Structure and change,
Rawat Publications; Jaipur: Pg 276.
35
Khalsa are localities where the population of the Ad-Dharmis and Mazhabhis is
dominant as compared to other scheduled castes and non-scheduled caste
groups.
b)
These localities have been historically or sociologically important localities.
Wider parts of Boota Mandi and Talhan fall in the Doaba area that is an
important region where the major dalit movements have emerged. Verka and
Kot Khalsa have been also important as these have historically been the centers
where the Mazhabhis originally settled and converted to Sikhism. Also the
Christianity movement in the early colonial period was strong here. Historical
background of these areas in terms of early mobilization and early emergence of
the movements among the selected communities therefore will help us to
understand the nature of present day assertion.
c)
Politically and strategically the areas are important as the support of these
groups have determined the pattern of party competition in the districts. Major
parties have won or lost in these areas as the result of the support and
withdrawal of the support either to the Congress or the Akali Dal. Rise and
decline ofBSP in Punjab has been attributed to its performance especially in the
selected localities.
d)
Due to the spread of education and significant changes in the occupational
structure, a new socially aware and politically mobilized generation has risen
within both the groups in all these localities and villages. Economically the
areas are under change and have impacted upon the identity formation and
assertion of the selected communities.
e)
Cultural Assertion on the part of dalits is mainly restricted to these areas.
These factors collectively make the selected villages and localities a useful
sample for a study of the emerging relationship between the electoral politics
and cultural assertion.
36
IV.c. Data Collection
The basic methods of the data collection were direct personal observation during the
course of stay in the localities, supplemented by the interviews and focus group
discussions with different sections of people of the village community. Before starting off
the field work an informal visit was made to the selected localities and a list of
observation sites where majority of the people from both these communities gather were
selected ( such as gurudwaras, village teashops, recreation centers) etc were identified to
spend time during the course of the field work to directly the observe the practice of
untouchability in the selected localities.
A list of specific forms of
practice of
untouchability was made (for practices that were not only restricted to nay one site, and
could be observed in one or the more site). A set of questionnaire was prepared to be
filled up with the interview of the respondents from both the communities. The
•
questionnaire included set of questions addressed to know the economic status, political
affiliation, extent of the social discrimination, cultural affiliations. The data collected was
analyzed by drawing tables using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)
software
In order to inquire a comprehensive picture of the social and economic life in rural
Punjab, a structured interview schedule covering close-ended questions relating to the
issues such as the landholdings, employment, migration, caste relations, untouchability
and political participation etc. was administered to the households in both rural and urban
areas. The field survey also included meeting important people in the surveyed localities
to get important insights and relevant information on the selected localities. Such groups
"
included Panchayats members of the villages (both in lullundhar and Amritsar) ; dalit
sarpanches, local groups, if they exist, prominent families located in the areas selected. It
was also decided to meet as many MLAs possible from each of the major political
formation in Punjab (SAD, INC and BSP) to know how important is the issue of caste in
the politics of Punjab, there strategies of mobilization and voting behavior of the selected
communities. The interviews with MLAs , PRIs etc were based on the open-ended
7
questions.
Besides this important stakeholders in the field of literature, culture were
identified and the questions related to the scheduled caste mobilization were discussed. In
addition an important dera -Dera Sach Khand, in case of the Ad-Dharmis was visited
and an attempt was made to find out what kind of the practices have been developed by
these deras, how do they mobilize, do they continue sikh practices or do they identify
themselves with the non-sikh practices are important questions that are looked into. In
case of Mazhabhis although no specific dera could be located but an attempt was made to
visit the Radahasaomi Satsang at Beas to look into the same inquires as in the case of
Mazhabhis ..
The selection of villages in two different set ups -rural and urban will help us to compare
the basis, dimensions and
degre~
of assertion, identity among two major SC
communities. The study will be based on both primary and secondary data. For the
primary data an interview schedule would be administered and equal number of
respondents from both the SC communities. The sample would be equally distributed in
both the villages. The secondary sources of data includes gazetteers, census reports etc.,
besides relevant rep()rts, articles, magazines, newspapers and clippings will be looked
into. The secondary-sources will help us to formulate the problem related the subject. To
have an in depth and more qualitative data we have primary collection techniques such as
interview schedules, unstructured interviews, and informal talks. Apart from interviewing
the respondents, an effort has been made to take information from all the office-bearers
of the several organizations, functioning in the villages and at the level of district level
such as Panchayats, cooperatives. In addition community leaders community leaders,
government officials and important leaders of the political parties will be interviewed
related to the problems involve to cross check the respondent versions.
IV.d. Limitations of Study
The thesis has certain shortcomings. The main shortcoming of the thesis is its inability to
produce data with respect to the patterns related to Ad-Dharmi and Mazhabhi voting, In
chapter 4 Ad-Dharmi and Mazhabhi voting patterns are discussed without data
suggesting the swing of the Ad-Dharmis and the Mazhabhi voting in favor of the party.
This partly could be attributed to the fact the data providing information on caste and
electoral politics is not available. 79 Due to lack of data , the electoral politics has been
studied with the help of secondary literature. Another important limitation of the study
concerns the membership of dera politics. The visit to Deras -Dera Sach Khand BalIan,
Satsangs suggests that they are important sites of Ad-Dharmis and Mazhbhi
Radahasaomi
,
assertion , yet the inability to get the data on the size of membership of these deras
constitutes major limitation of study.
79
lnfonnation given by the State Election Commission of Punjab.
v. The Chapters -Overview of the Thesis
The aforementioned arguments are laid out in the chapters of the study. Examining the
growth of dalit consciousness and movements in the colonial period, the first chapter
provides a background for the present day assertion among the Ad-Dharmis and the
Mazhabhis. While discussing the nature of the caste system and reasons for the
emergence of the caste hierarchy among the Sikhism, the chapter discusses the various
reasons for the emergence of the movements among both the communities. The chapter
shows early emergence of the movements among the Ad-Dharmis and the Mazhabhis in
Punjab as compare to other parts of north India, in the colonial period. Two stages were
visible in the dalit movement in the colonial period. An early stage where the dalits
resistance was mainly through the cultural idioms to rise up in the caste hierarchy
followed up by a second stage in the 1940's, when these attempts were abandoned and
there was an attempt to make use of the political means by the emergence of the
Scheduled Caste Federation, Republican Party of India. However the compulsions of the
politics and desire to attain political power led major scheduled castes leaders to enter
into opportunistic alliances first with the Unionist and later the failure of the major
political formation exclusively appealing to dalits -the scheduled caste federation, RPI
were absorbed by the Congress. Hence, the dalit movement in the colonial period, as
compared to parts of Uttar Pradesh, western and southern India emerged early but was
limited in its scope to cultural sphere, to selected groups.
Three important legacies can be derived from the study of the colonial period that has an
iinportant bearing on the present day assertion. First is the early emergence of the identity
due to the numerical preponderance of 1ats in the Sikh religion, the passing of the land
alienation act, improved economic conditions of the scheduled castes, educational
opportunities presence of large number religious and communal organizations made
scheduled castes aware of their growing importance and shaped their identity that was
consolidated in the movements like Ad-Dharm, Ravidas movement, conversions to
chrisatnity and adhering to new religions like Radahasaomi The second important legacy
has been the preoccupation with the cultural movements for introducing the social
L1()
change, rather than orgamzmg radical struggles at the grassroots and political
movements.. This strategy on one hand was designed out of their desire to be attached to
Sikhism on the other hand the cultural model led them to design models of qaum that
<
granted them benefits to climb up in the social order and lastly relatively less interest on
the part of Ad-Dharmis and Mazhabhis to carve out a separate political identity.. In
politics the identity was initially consolidated in opportunistic alliances with the parties
emerging alternative to the congress, although the experiment was short-lived. The lure
that the Congress held for the lower castes succeeded in providing the retreats from the
cultural traditions and religion of the untouchables and ultimately most of the movements
were co-opted under the leadership of the Congress. The RPI, SCF and other communist
movement failed to attract the scheduled castes due to the lack of clear self-identity and
divided leadership.
In order to understand the assertion of Ad-Dharmis and Mazhabhis in Punjab it is
important to appreciate the nature and scope of the exclusion, as well as the socioeconomic, cultural and political realities in which Ad-Dharmis live in Talhan and Boota
Mandi. Chapter 2 based on the 352 household survey in both Talhan and Boota Mandi
studies the socio-economic profile that correspondingly shape their assertion, It tries to
understand their economic position?-sources of economic mobility? Level of caste
discrimination against them not only in day to day working but also in the educational
institutions, religious places? The chapter attempts to understand whether there exist
caste conflicts or not what are the causes behind the caste conflicts? What modes of
protest do the Ad-Dharmis adopt to encounter the caste conflicts? What political
preferences do they have? What are the factors that shape their political preferences?
How politically active the Ad-Dharmis are in terms of attending the election meetings,
whether they are active party members or are widely seen campaigning for any particular
party? What relation do they bear to the Bahujan Samaj Party? The chapter also attempts
to understand the cultural symbols of the Ad-Dharmis - what cultural symbols represent
there claim? Whom are they worshipping?
Have they constructed their own
gurudwaras? What are the factors behind the construction of the gurudwaras? What
alternative symbols of worship do they have develop? Do they visit deras? What role
these deras have played in influencing the level of assertion and identity formation
41
among the Ad-Dhannis ? The chapter looks into Talhan conflict as an important case of
assertion.
The chapter concludes that Ad-Dhannis, irrespective of rural -urban distinction are in the
change and this change is an important cause of their recent assertion. The chapter
concludes that Ad-Dhannis, irrespective of rural -urban distinction are in the change.
This change is witnessed both at the social, economic and cultural levels. Overall the
filed survey suggests that lesser of caste discrimination in social relationships as there
were only minute rules with regards to the practice of untouchability confined to the rural
Talhan. Economically, the community's advancement could be attributed to its early
distance from the traditional occupation, migration and educational advancement that has
provided them opportunity to pick up the jobs in the service sector. Also they are the best
to make use of reservation policy that has led to the emergence of a small elite class that
has emerged as the vanguard of their new assertion. Politically though BSP has not
become a fore to be reckon with, but it's a potential force among the Ad-Dhannis. If the
successes of the BSP were due to the Ad-Dharmis the decline of BSP can also be clearly
be related to the disillusionment on the part of Ad-Dharmis. This disillusionment has led
them to identify themselves with Indian National Congress., as the field work
demonstrates that INC continues to be their party preference. Culturally also the AdDhannis have well defined symbols that have sharpened their identity-Ravidas Deras,
Ravidas Jayantis, Ambedkar Jayantis, Ambedkar statues, Dera Sach Khand Ballan ,
Ravidasi gurudwaras, where instead of guru granth and sikh gurus picture of Ravidas is
worshipped and Ravidas verses are cited to depict their newly emerging identity.
In the similar vein Chapter 3 Based on the field work in Amritsar work this chapter
understands the position of the Mazhabhis in present day Punjab. It tries to understand
their economic position?-sources of economic mobility? Level of caste discrimination
against them not only in day to day working but also in the educational institutions,
religious places? The chapter attempts to understand whether there exist caste conflicts
or not what are the causes behind the caste conflicts? What modes of protest do the
Mazhabhis adopt to encounter the caste conflicts? What political preferences do they
have? What are the factors that shape their political preferences? How politically active
the Mazhabhis are in terms of attending the election meetings, whether they are active
party members or are widely seen campaigning for any particular party? What relation do
they bear to the Bahujan Samaj Party?
The chapter also attempts to understand the cultural symbol of the Mazhabhis - what
cultural symbols represent there claims? Whom are they worshipping?
Have they
constructed their own gurudwaras? What are the factors behind the construction of the
gurudwaras? What alternative symbols of worship do they have developed? 00 they visit
deras? What role these deras have played in influencing the level of assertion and identity
formation among the Mazhabhis? The chapter concludes, although converted to Sikhism
yet they still continue to face caste based discrimination in certain spheres. This can be
attributed to certain reasons. Being less educated, they are unable to diversify into other
sectors for occupational opportunities and therefore remained dependent on the nonscheduled castes as unskilled labor less paid. Politically the field survey highlights that
the community's main preferences are divided within the Indian National Congress or the
Shiromani Akali Oal (out of their desire to be associated with Sikhism). Culturally also
the desire to remain associated with Sikhism can be seen in their attachment towards the
Radahasaomi, which they mainly regard as an offshoot or a variant of Sikhism. Although
a large number of them visit deras based in the Malwa region and Patiala yet affiliations
to Radahasaomi remained more strong. Besides this their cultural assertion was also seen
in the construction of their separate gurudwaras where they primarily worship guru
granth.
Whether the differences in the socio-economic conditions and different cultural affiliation
of the Ad-Oharmis and the Mazhabhis have an effect on the electoral politics is the theme
studied in chapter 4 . An important feature that distinguishes Punjab from rest of the
Indian states concerns the political behavior of these groups. While BSP has merged as
their first choice in Uttar Pradesh, Pudhiya Tamizgham in Tamil Nadu in Punjab the
Indian National Congress polled the largest share of the scheduled castes votes of all
major political alternatives available to the scheduled castes-RPI in the colonial period,
Left Parties and the BSP. With this as the background this chapter conceptualizes the
scheduled caste assertion through the electoral politics -by exploring the questions whom
are they voting for?, has their improved economic status and educational advancement
led to shift in the party preferences?, their general support to the left of the centre parties,
rise of BSP, what relation do they bear to BSP, Why BSP has not been able to
consolidate itself as a major political force among both the Ad-Dharmis
and the
Mazhabhis, , the efforts of the scheduled castes to emerge as a political bloc despite the
internal class differentiation are some of the questions examined in this chapter.
In order to understand the assertion of the Ad-Dharmis and the Mazhabhis three distinct
phases have been discerned: Phase one from 1947 till 1980 when the political
consciousness and participation in the politics by the both the communities remained low
due to the initial period of accommodation and co-option with the dominant congress
party. The second phase concentrates the on the formation of DS-4 and the emergence of
the BSP in Punjab. The phase examines the rise of BSP among the Ad-Dharmis. It also
studies the decline of BSP among both the communities. The last and the continuing
phase discusses the decline of the BSP and the shifts in the party preferences of the
scheduled castes either in favor of Congress or Akali Dal in the vacumm created due to
the decline of BSP.
The chapter while focusing on three phases argues that a third force has always been
present in Punjab politics and had initially appeal to the dalits but the support of the
scheduled castes to the third force has been short-lived. By discussing the decline of the
political forces appealing to the scheduled castes the chapter examines the reasons as to
why the dalits of Punjab are not seen to be mobilizing for the broader all-India identity.
The Chapter argues that political consciousness and participation by the Ad-Dharmis and
the Mazhabhis remained traditionally low till 1977 due to the dominant position of the
Indian National Congress. Both the groups saw congress as the secular, neutral party
among the major contenders, since the Akalis were in close alignment with the rural
Sikhs, and Jan Sangh served the cause of the Hindus. This support was hastened by the
radical image and the populist policies such as the "Garibi Hatao and the 20-point
programme" that strengthened the Congress base among the rural poor. The principal of
reserved constituencies, scheduled caste leadership in the Congress, mobilization of the
scheduled caste organization and its sponsors-the Harijan league, the depressed classes
league, the Bharat dalit sevak Sangh and Harijan sevak sangh, fear of opposition group
due to the election of the Akali Dal or any other party.
Although the Ad-Dharm
Scheduled caste federation and the RPI adopted the well-tried out formulae of dalit
mobilization they could not succeed in eliciting the same level of response as the
Congress, owing divisions between them. and lack of strong leadership, divisions among
the leadership over the strategy to be followed.
Although by its populist policies the Congress was able to capture and integrate the
scheduled castes within its patronage and production system, yet due to the dominant
position of the backward caste peasantry the benefit from these policies for the scheduled
caste perforce was limited. Their share in political and economic power remained limited.
Coupled with this important changes within the scheduled caste community most notably
the Ad-Dharmis -introduction of the new farm technology in the form of green revolution
had far reaching implications for the scheduled caste communities in the Punjab
countryside making older forms of occupation redundant, occupational shifts, migrations
and related to it economic advancement of the Chamars. The Mazhabhis being unskilled
workers were and belonging to slightly backward areas were not bale to reap the benefits
of the new emerging technology. Improvement in the literacy rates of the Ad-Dharmis
led to the emergence of the small urban elite primarily among the Chamars, in the post
independence period who were the vanguard of the new "dalit assertiveness" in the
1980's and the 1990's who saw little opportunities of raising their political status within
the existing political formations and turned to BSP. Although during an early phase the
BSP could win no seats but its base among the Ad-Dharmis grew. Yet unlike in Uttar
Pradesh, BSP failed to make a significant impact on the political configuration of Punjab.
It began system of alliances that proved to be short lived, failed to expand its support
among other larger groups of the scheduled castes, the Mazhabhis, lack of mobilization
on the part of BSP, divisions within the BSP, failure of emergence of the local
leadership, its inability to· capitalize on the Talhan issue, bck of funds, led to the
disiUusionment among the already existing support of the BSP in Punjab that marks the
third and the continuing phase where the scheduled castes have preferred to vote either
for the Congress (2002) or Akali Oal (2007) elections based on their policies and
agendas; and have confined themselves to the cultural assertion.
45
Based on the discussion of the previous chapters 5 presents comparative analysis of AdDharmis and the Mazhabhis with respect to their present day assertion. The Chapter
attempts to bring out important differences with regard to the extent of discrimination,
economic conditions, political preferences and cultural affiliations of both the
communities and summarizes reasons of how these holds for present day assertion among
the Ad-Dharmis and Mazhabhis. In other words it explains the reasons for high sense of
autonomy among the Ad-Dharmis as compared to the Mazhabhis.
VI. Main Findings of the Thesis
The thesis attempts to summarize that in the absence of strong political force to represent the
interest of Dalits, cultural/grassroots activism has become an important form of assertion
leading to greater conflicts in the rural areas. Political marginalization of the scheduled castes
(Ad-Dharmis and Mazhabhis in this case) -comparatively less rigid caste structure of Punjab,
economic mobility, lack of leadership, desire on the part of the scheduled castes to remain
associated with Sikhism, absence of the violent caste conflicts over the display of identity as in
other parts of India; absence of dominant community ,for example in the case of the Jatavs in
Uttar Pradesh; lack of grassroots organizations/ local organizations to mobilize, decline of BSP
are some of the important factors that hinders their broader identity in making.
An important finding that emerges from this study is that mere numbers do not matter. It
becomes evident in the study, although Punjab has highest percentage of the scheduled caste
population, yet they have not been able show the strength of these numbers or forge an identity
or make their presence on the national scene as compared to the scheduled castes of the states
of Uttar- Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, which are states with considerable less
percentage of scheduled caste population. This suggests that 'mere numbers' are not important
and do not themselves generate movements and greater assertion. In fact the states with the
high percentage of the scheduled castes population-Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,
north east are the ones that are less talked about in terms of consolidation of the identity and
assertion on the part of the scheduled castes. On the other hand southern and western states are
examples of strong wave of dalit assertion despite the fact these are the states with less than 20
percent of the scheduled caste population. These numbers matter if there is considerable
mobilization at the grassroots level not only by
~he
political parties but extra-non-political
organizations facilitated by the economic strong leadership. The combined impact of education,
development programmes, socio-cultural movements and politicization has led the lower castes
orders to open assertion. The case of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu fit in this
framework where the political assertion of the scheduled castes has been a consequence of the
mobilization at the grassroots level and mobilization on the part of the emergence of the
organization, that were initially wary of joining the electoral politics, but later on realizing
strength of their constituency whose support to them have been built due to the strong
mobilization strategies , they entered the electoral arena that had an important impact on the
pattern of the coalition formation, party system of the state as a consequence of the
participation of the dalit political formations.
Second, economIC advancement, literacy and mobilization play
an important role in the
generating the movement The thesis clearly suggests that Ad-Dharmis being economically
prosperous are more assertive as compared to the Mazhabhis, who also do play an important
role on determining the political outcomes of the SAD in Amritsar, but their low economic
status altogether is the main factor that makes them dependent on patron-client relations, that
further limits the assertion on their part. The case of Ad-Dharmis suggests that although they
have been able to gain control over the positions of power, strike at the power of the landed
castes by collective identity assertion, that owes much to educational and economic
advancement and establishing their control over local panchayat politics and demanding their
rightful share in the management of gurudwaras. These developments have been possible due
to the rapid democratization of the polity leading to the questioning of the power of
traditionally dominant groups in rural society. The emergence of BSP and the support of the
Ad-Dharmis to the BSP at least in the initial years of its formation have undoubtedly an
important factor encouraging the younger generation to unite against the dominant castes.
Faster economic development, International Migration among the Ad-Dharmis have aided the
process of assertion and provided them some political leverage in village politics. The political
fortunes of the scheduled castes have been governed not only by the presence of an educated
47
middle class but also by the level of political mobilization in the region. Political mobilization
might take place even in the absence of rapid or extensive economic deVelopment. This is what
has happened in Uttar Pradesh. As Dr Pai writes "it is in the political field that the greatest
change has taken place in the position of the scheduled castes in recent years in Uttar
Pradesh.,,8o In Punjab the political mobilization of the scheduled castes remain limited. In UP
with the fonnation of the BSP in 1984; the scheduled castes entered to the centre stage of
politics; unlike anything that has happened in Punjab. BSP in Punjab has been viewed as the
party of Chamars and has been unable to overcome the increasing economic differentiation
that unequal development has created among the scheduled castes.
Third, the decline of Congress as a broad aggregative party in rest of Indian states has also been
an important factor to influence the level of assertion of the scheduled castes. While the
Congress declined in rest of the Indian states, its strong presence in Punjab has been an
important factor for the shaping dalit identity. The rise of the identity politics during the 1990's
and the simultaneous decline of Nehruvian project of development and nation building have
had far reaching implications for the Indian politics. 81 In the sphere of electoral politics one
could argue that it was around this time that the domination of the Congress and the charisma
of its leadership began to wear thin. The 4edine of the congress system brought about a virtual
shift in the grammar of Indian politics. The political fonnations that emerged in the place of
Congress were of a different nature. Mostly regional in character, they generally mobilized
specific communities and sections of the Indian population. Their leadership too mostly came
from the below. This change, conceptualized by the Indian political scientists as a move from
the "politics of ideology" to the "politics of representation".82 also brought the Indian political
process closer to the realities and aspirations of the common people. At a time when paradigm
80
Sudha Pai (2006) 'Changing socio-economic and political profile of the scheduled castes in
Uttar Pradesh' in Journal ofIndian school of Political Economy, Vol 12 No.3 and 4 :Pg 415
81
S. Jodhka (2001) (edited) Community and Identities: Contemporary Discourses on Culture and
Politics in India, Sage Publications, New Delhi;
82 Yogendra Yadav (1999) , Electoral Politics in the Time of Change : India's third Electoral
System, 1989-99' , Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 34 (34-35) Pp 2393-2399 ; Palishkar
Suhas (2004): 'Revisiting State level politics' ,Economic and Political Weekly, Volume XXXIX
(14-15), pp 1477-80.
48
shift was taking place in the rest of the country, Punjab experienced a very different trajectory.
. Three features of the Congress electoral strength and seat-winning capacity should be noted.
First, Congress has consistently been the strongest political party in the Punjab in tenns of
electoral support. The second feature to note however is that the congress fortunes in the
electoral arena have varied profoundly over time in the Punjab. The Congress in Punjab
emerged after independence as the weakest organization in any of the major Indian regions. Its
proportion of the popular vote in 1952, 31.3%, is the lowest proportion of the votes won by nay
congress organization in any of the 15 major states since independence. 83. The Congress found
itself in this position because it has not been a major political force in the pre-independence
Punjab; second it was divided into two bitterly opposed factional groups; and third, because it
lacked an authoritative leader who transcended the factional divisions in the party. 84
Yet two important factors radically transfonned the position of Congress in Punjab. A single
dynamic leader, Pratap Singh Kairon took control of both the party organization and the
government, transfonning bi-factional cleavage into single group dominance
85..
The
consequence was the dramatic increase in the electoral strength of the Congress in 1957, which
was largely maintained through 1962 despite the withdrawal of the Akali Dal from the-Congress before the 1962 elections. Secondly Mrs. Gandhi re-built the strength of the Congress
throughout most of the country under the leadership of Gianni Zail Singh who in alliance with
central minister, Swaran Singh, established a new dominant group in the state party. The
increased cohesion in the Punjab congress came at a time when non-congress parties were
divided and unstable and were unable to fonn electoral coalitions. These changes in both innerparty and inter-party relations, led to the emergence of the popular support for the Congress
among the scheduled castes but also among the other sections of the society in Punjab. The
congress alone occupies the centre position in party system in both communal and ideological
83
Craig Baxter (1969): District voting trends in India: A Research Tool, Columbia University
Press, New York.
84
Paul Brass (1969) 'Political Participation, Institutionalization and Stability in India',
Government and Opposition, Winter 1969, (Vol 4, No.1): Pp 29-31.
Nayyar in Weiner's state politics in India, Pp 458-480
8S
49
aspects. 86
••
Political Analysts have been arguing that there has been a paradigmatic shift in the
very nature of the electoral politics ofPunjab.
87
•
One of the most interesting dynamics occurring in Punjab between 1992 and 2007 is the
increasing regionalization of the identity and politics. According to Pritam Singh Rajput "the
process of the transformation from the Akali Dal from a Sikh Party to the regional party seems
to be taking place".88 .For the first time in its history, the Akali Dal has put up a substantial
number, seven of the Hindus as its candidates. Not only has it opened its gate to the Hindus but
also to the dalits some of whom were included in the political affairs committee and given
electoral tickets. The broadening of the base of the sectarian parties by inclusion of all the
sections of the society irrespective of the religion or the caste. The inter-related trend towards
the 'unionization' of the Akali Daland the Punjabisation of the Congress party to be fully
understood has led scheduled castes to identify their interests with the above trends and identify
themselves with the general Punjabiyat system thereby leading to the absence of the movement.
The post 1997 assembly elections have shown a distinct shift of focus from 'religio-political'
to political -economic' policies veering around the issues of 'performance' 'development' and
governance. 89 In tenns of the political parties, the Akalis during their rule though catered more
to their traditional class base, the agrarian rich, general issues concerning the Sikh community
as a whole or regional politics of Punjab were relegated to the background. No longer had the
Akalis pursued a Panthic agenda alone. And perhaps Congress was not seen as an anti-Sikh
party because religious identity was no longer the governing issue in electoral politics of the
state. The subsequent elections in Punjab reinforced this trend, and were all fought on the
&6
Paul Brass (1975) 'Party System and Cleavage's in Myron Weiner and John Osgood Filed (edited)
Electoral Politics in the Indian States, Volume IV, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Pg 17
87
S.P Singh (2002) 'Basic Point :Congress wants to come back, SAD won't go' , Indian Express,
February 2
88
Pritam Singh Rajput (2007): 'Punjab's Electoral Competition' in, Economic and Political Weekly,
February 10; Pp 406-07.
89
PS. Verma (1999) 'Akali-B1P debacle in Punjab: Wages of Non -Performance and fragmentation', in
Economic and Political Weekly December lI,:Pg 3523
50
secular issues that led the scheduled castes (Ad-Dhannis and the Mazhabhis) to. suppo.rt either
Co.ngress o.r Akaii Dalleading to. a stable bi-party system in state.,
Lastly as already stated dalit assertio.n has taken two. fo.nns in the recent years -, i.e. vo.ting
and suppo.rting the BSP and seco.nd new fo.nns o.f so.cio.-po.litical activities visible at the
grassroo.ts. The significance o.r the success o.fthe failure o.fthe BSP in the state electio.ns lies
in the fact that as in o.thers parts, the scheduled castes have begun to. o.perate as po.litical vote
banks. Ho.wever perhaps unlike o.ther states where dalits have been
able to. fo.rge the
po.litical identity the scheduled castes in .punjab remain divided o.n the po.liticallines. As Dr
10.dhka argues "the divisio.n are no.t o.nly amo.ng different caste o.r sub-caste co.mmunities
within the scheduled castes but also. o.n the basis o.f their religio.us lo.yalties. Mo.re generally
their invo.lvement with the sikh religio.us po.litics has also. been gro.wing".9o
Based o.n o.ur analysis, the thesis argues that these new fo.nns are no.t a product o.f the
mobilizatio.n activities o.f the BSP rather they are the product o.f disillusio.nment fro.m the
po.litical system and have an independent existence. Our analysis suggests that no.ne o.f
the po.litical party in Punjab is interested in enco.uraging assertio.n at the grassroo.ts by the
dalits to. improve their so.cio.-eco.no.mic po.sitio.n, protest against the upper castes
do.minatio.n, o.r against the unequal so.cial o.rder. This is well evident fro.m the fact that
Talhan, the first incident o.f large scale caste vio.lence in Punjab, never appeared in the
manifestoes of the major political fonnations and even the BSP failed to mobilize and
capitalize on the situation. BSP as a party is more interested in the competitive electoral
po.litics, political empo.wennent o.f the dalits and capture the state power. Even tho.ugh the
party is interested in political empowennent, in Punjab the party has not taken a clear
stand against the caste system as a whole. This attitude enables the BSP to be ambivalent
towards atrocities on Dalits by the dominant castes -it highlights the harassment of the
dalits but also ignores it co.nveniently, when it suits the party. The recent assertion of
dalits through the constructio.n of separate gurudwaras, attending deras in the large
numbers and worshipping their own gurus is quantitatively a new phenomenon and is a
product of deep and increasing discontent with the failure of the state and political parties
to. address the situation.
90
Surinder Jodhka (2000): 'Prejudice without Pollution' in Journal of Indian School of Political
Economy, Vol 12 No.3 and 4 :Pg 398
51