In a little over two years, sectarian violence has engulfed Punjab and certain areas of Haryana for the second time. Hopefully, like the previous incident, this incident too would be brought under control. Yet, this once again underlines the explosive nature of the caste divide that permeates Punjab. Recurrence of such incidents at frequent intervals bring back horrendous memories of the late 1970s when sectarian violence concerning Nirnkari sect spiraled a bloody phase of terrorism in the border state.
While two years ago, it was Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda which was at the centre of the controversy, this time it is the 109-year old Dera Sachkhand Ballan. The provocation for the violence in Punjab was the armed attack on the dera head, Sant Niranjan Dass and his deputy, Sant Ramanand in Vienna (Austria) on May 24, 2009. The two leaders who were in Austria to conduct a special service were attacked by persons reportedly affiliated to another Sikh gurdwara in Austria. While Ramanand succumbed to his injuries the following day, Niranjan Dass is recuperating from gunshot wounds in a Vienna hospital.
Though full details of the incident and details of the identity of the attackers is not known, the incident does reflect a failure on the part of the Indian diplomatic mission in Austria, which should have been alive to the simmering differences between Sikh groups in that area. Moreover, in the wake of the possible fall out in Punjab, it should have sounded an alert back home as soon as the incident took place. Had the Government in Punjab been alerted well in time, the people could have woken up on Monday morning with curfew in the affected areas. Failure to do resulted in government property running into several crores having been damaged in Punjab alone.
Although the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh, who founded the Khalsa, having included all sections of the society, including the Dalits into the Sikh fold, sectarian divide is most pronounced in Sikhism today. There are more than two dozen sects and nearly a 100 deras in the region, who owe allegiance to Sikhism in some form of another, but have their own distinguishing characteristics. Many of them have living Gurus, which is anathema to mainstream Sikhs, who consider the holy book, Guru Granth Sahib as the Guru ordained.
One such sect is Dera Sachkhand, which was originally called Dera Shri 108 Sant Sarwan Dass Ji Maharaj Sachkhand. Its followers (Ravidassi Sikhs) adhere to the teachings of Sant Ravidas, a 15th century untouchable preacher, whose “bani” (teachings), like that of many other preachers cutting across different religions of that time, form a part of the Guru Granth Sahib. Yet, when discrimination against the dalits continued in Sikh gurdwaras, separate Ravidas gurdwaras started surfacing in the middle of the 20th century, where portraits of Guru Ravidas are also displayed. According to one estimate there are as many 75 gurdwaras of Ravidassias abroad.
Mainstream Sikhs, especially the radical elements among them, are piqued with Dera Sach Khand on a number of counts. Most Ravidassias, who don’t sport a turban, refer to most of their religious places as “gurdwaras”, where the Guru Granth Sahib is worshipped. The first time, tension between Ravidassias and others cropped up was in Tallan village in Jalandhar district of Punjab in 2003.
Earlier, ideological differences cropped up when dera followers started believing in a living Guru - Sant Niranjan Dass enjoys that status now – an issue on which Sikhs are extremely touchy. Earlier, differences with Dera Sacha Sauda came to the fore when its head, Ram Rahim Singh was accused by Sikh groups of trying to copy Guru Gobind Singh in dress and form.
Incidentally, the mainstay of most of the other deras and sects that have cropped up in Sikhism are either the dalits or the poorer sections of people. Dalits form nearly 30 per cent of the population in Punjab. Among the reasons for mass appeal of these deras are the charitable institutions like hospitals and schools being run by them. Since these deras also lay emphasis on education of children and condemn child marriage and drug abuse, they are seen by the poor as a panacea for their misfortunes. Properties of these sects dot not just Punjab but almost all states in North India. Moreover, they are liberal on the form of Sikhism that they practice.
Political observers in Punjab feel that the recent incident should act as a wake up call to the government and religious organizations like the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) to not just take remedial measures but start the process of social reconstruction in the state. If today it is Dera Sachkhand that is at cross roads, tomorrow it could be another sect.
Sikh scholars for long have argued on the need to take all sects into the wider fold of Sikhism. However, there were few takers on his advice. Later, when the Nirankari sect clashed with the Sikh groups in late 1970s, efforts were initiated to bring about reconciliation. But these efforts did not fructify.
SGPC has been cagey on initiating reforms for the fear of drawing flak from the radical elements. Also, SGPC leaders feel that any relaxation of norms on Sikh identity and form could weaken the identity of the Khalsa and would result in more people opting out of the form of Sikhism as ordained by the 10th Guru.
Another underlying reason for the SGPC dillydallying on introducing reforms and providing acceptability to other sects is the fear that it could drastically alter the power equation within the SGPC, which is acting as a handmaiden of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) in Punjab. In this they see power slipping out of their grips. SGPC is already out of reckoning in the Sikh gurdwara politics in Delhi and the demand to have a separate gurdwara body in Haryana is growing. As Sikhs settle down in different parts of the world, independent streaks are becoming more pronounced. For example, a gurdwara in Europe has decided to make alterations in the ardas (daily Sikh prayer), which is being resented by the SGPC leaders.
Another factor which could further widen the schism is continuing separatist tendency among powerful sections of the Sikh Diaspora abroad. In many places abroad, especially Canada, gurdwaras are controlled by radical Sikhs. Some of them left the Indian shores long ago and have failed to keep track of developments back home. Many left Punjab at the height of militancy when there was a crackdown by the security forces, forcing them to seek political asylum abroad. This includes a number of countries in Europe. This has a great destabilizing factor, especially when there is comparative peace back home in Punjab, as in the recent case.
Fortunately, Punjab has come a long way since the earlier phase of violence when politics – both at the Centre and in the state – added fuel to the fire, unmindful of the suicidal consequences. Now, the Congress/ UPA Government at the Centre and the SAD/BJP Government in Punjab appear to be wise to the dangerous consequences if they play with fire.
While two years ago, it was Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda which was at the centre of the controversy, this time it is the 109-year old Dera Sachkhand Ballan. The provocation for the violence in Punjab was the armed attack on the dera head, Sant Niranjan Dass and his deputy, Sant Ramanand in Vienna (Austria) on May 24, 2009. The two leaders who were in Austria to conduct a special service were attacked by persons reportedly affiliated to another Sikh gurdwara in Austria. While Ramanand succumbed to his injuries the following day, Niranjan Dass is recuperating from gunshot wounds in a Vienna hospital.
Though full details of the incident and details of the identity of the attackers is not known, the incident does reflect a failure on the part of the Indian diplomatic mission in Austria, which should have been alive to the simmering differences between Sikh groups in that area. Moreover, in the wake of the possible fall out in Punjab, it should have sounded an alert back home as soon as the incident took place. Had the Government in Punjab been alerted well in time, the people could have woken up on Monday morning with curfew in the affected areas. Failure to do resulted in government property running into several crores having been damaged in Punjab alone.
Although the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh, who founded the Khalsa, having included all sections of the society, including the Dalits into the Sikh fold, sectarian divide is most pronounced in Sikhism today. There are more than two dozen sects and nearly a 100 deras in the region, who owe allegiance to Sikhism in some form of another, but have their own distinguishing characteristics. Many of them have living Gurus, which is anathema to mainstream Sikhs, who consider the holy book, Guru Granth Sahib as the Guru ordained.
One such sect is Dera Sachkhand, which was originally called Dera Shri 108 Sant Sarwan Dass Ji Maharaj Sachkhand. Its followers (Ravidassi Sikhs) adhere to the teachings of Sant Ravidas, a 15th century untouchable preacher, whose “bani” (teachings), like that of many other preachers cutting across different religions of that time, form a part of the Guru Granth Sahib. Yet, when discrimination against the dalits continued in Sikh gurdwaras, separate Ravidas gurdwaras started surfacing in the middle of the 20th century, where portraits of Guru Ravidas are also displayed. According to one estimate there are as many 75 gurdwaras of Ravidassias abroad.
Mainstream Sikhs, especially the radical elements among them, are piqued with Dera Sach Khand on a number of counts. Most Ravidassias, who don’t sport a turban, refer to most of their religious places as “gurdwaras”, where the Guru Granth Sahib is worshipped. The first time, tension between Ravidassias and others cropped up was in Tallan village in Jalandhar district of Punjab in 2003.
Earlier, ideological differences cropped up when dera followers started believing in a living Guru - Sant Niranjan Dass enjoys that status now – an issue on which Sikhs are extremely touchy. Earlier, differences with Dera Sacha Sauda came to the fore when its head, Ram Rahim Singh was accused by Sikh groups of trying to copy Guru Gobind Singh in dress and form.
Incidentally, the mainstay of most of the other deras and sects that have cropped up in Sikhism are either the dalits or the poorer sections of people. Dalits form nearly 30 per cent of the population in Punjab. Among the reasons for mass appeal of these deras are the charitable institutions like hospitals and schools being run by them. Since these deras also lay emphasis on education of children and condemn child marriage and drug abuse, they are seen by the poor as a panacea for their misfortunes. Properties of these sects dot not just Punjab but almost all states in North India. Moreover, they are liberal on the form of Sikhism that they practice.
Political observers in Punjab feel that the recent incident should act as a wake up call to the government and religious organizations like the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) to not just take remedial measures but start the process of social reconstruction in the state. If today it is Dera Sachkhand that is at cross roads, tomorrow it could be another sect.
Sikh scholars for long have argued on the need to take all sects into the wider fold of Sikhism. However, there were few takers on his advice. Later, when the Nirankari sect clashed with the Sikh groups in late 1970s, efforts were initiated to bring about reconciliation. But these efforts did not fructify.
SGPC has been cagey on initiating reforms for the fear of drawing flak from the radical elements. Also, SGPC leaders feel that any relaxation of norms on Sikh identity and form could weaken the identity of the Khalsa and would result in more people opting out of the form of Sikhism as ordained by the 10th Guru.
Another underlying reason for the SGPC dillydallying on introducing reforms and providing acceptability to other sects is the fear that it could drastically alter the power equation within the SGPC, which is acting as a handmaiden of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) in Punjab. In this they see power slipping out of their grips. SGPC is already out of reckoning in the Sikh gurdwara politics in Delhi and the demand to have a separate gurdwara body in Haryana is growing. As Sikhs settle down in different parts of the world, independent streaks are becoming more pronounced. For example, a gurdwara in Europe has decided to make alterations in the ardas (daily Sikh prayer), which is being resented by the SGPC leaders.
Another factor which could further widen the schism is continuing separatist tendency among powerful sections of the Sikh Diaspora abroad. In many places abroad, especially Canada, gurdwaras are controlled by radical Sikhs. Some of them left the Indian shores long ago and have failed to keep track of developments back home. Many left Punjab at the height of militancy when there was a crackdown by the security forces, forcing them to seek political asylum abroad. This includes a number of countries in Europe. This has a great destabilizing factor, especially when there is comparative peace back home in Punjab, as in the recent case.
Fortunately, Punjab has come a long way since the earlier phase of violence when politics – both at the Centre and in the state – added fuel to the fire, unmindful of the suicidal consequences. Now, the Congress/ UPA Government at the Centre and the SAD/BJP Government in Punjab appear to be wise to the dangerous consequences if they play with fire.
