CHANDIGARH: The punishement meted out to 39 political leaders in Punjab for seeking the support of the deras has brought to the fore the significance of these religious congregations in the politics of the border. In a state with 32 per cent Dalit population, the deras wield massive influence but accessing that influence is always a controversial issue in the state.
Last week, the high seat of the Jat Sikhs in Punjab, the Akal Takth, decided to punish 39 Akali leaders with the tankhiaya tag for seeking the support of religious deras before the recent Assembly elections.
Faced with a strong anti-incumbency wave, the government of Parkash Singh Badal had desperately sought the support of some deras like the Dera Radha Soami Beas to fend off the assault of the congress. It failed at the hustings, but the ripples from the development continue to rock Sikh society in Punjab.
Other political leaders have also visited these deras to seek their votes and support when elections approach. With just a week to go for the Punjab elections, Rahul Gandhi visited Dera Radha Soami Beas and spent a night there along with Capt Amarinder Singh. AP’s national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had visited many deras in Punjab.
Currently, there are around 9,000 deras in Punjab and the number is increasing. Some of these deras are influential enough to swing an election.
Interestingly, the babas heading the deras are normally good communicators. Their followers, mostly belonging to socially and economically marginal groups, find their counsel easier to grasp than the sermons from gurudwaras. The deras also form a protective buffer between the administration and the individual, since local leaders follow them. With politicians visiting these deras, they have also come to be recognised as power centres.
The deras usually communicate their support indirectly a few days before polling through religious sermons. Days before the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections, Dera Sacha Sauda extended their supported to SAD-BJP candidates across the state. Despite all speculations that the SAD-BJP will get less than ten seats, the alliance won 18 seats. The Congress bagged 77 seats while the AAP got only 20 seats in the 117-strong Assembly.
It is estimated there are 9,000 deras in Punjab. About 80 per cent of the state’s population patronises these deras which are believed to pocket 90 per cent of the religious donations.
Biggest deras in Punjab
- The biggest dera in Punjab is the Dera Radha Soami Satsang Beas. It has followers all over the Doaba and Majha regions of Punjab. Like other deras, it has never openly supported any particular party though it did show a tilt towards the Congress. RSSB was established in India in 1891 and gradually began spreading to other countries. Today RSSB holds meetings in more than 90 countries worldwide. It is a non-profit organization with no affiliation to any political or commercial organizations.
- In the Malwa region, Dera Sacha Sauda is the most influential one with five crore followers worldwide. Of this, 50 lakh are in Punjab and Haryana and almost half of them have voting rights. The dera holds significant influence in at least 40 of the 117 Assembly constituencies in the State. The main centre of the ashram is located in Sirsa (northern India). The dera has been embroiled in a number of controversies. A case of blasphemy was registered against the head of the dera—Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh—for hurting Sikh sentiments.
- In the Doaba region, Sachkhand Ballan has a large following among the Ravidassia community. Others include Dera Nurmahal, Dera Nirankari and Dera Namdhari.
FAQs
What is a dera?
A dera is place or a religious congregation where a self-proclaimed religious head or saint lives and recites sermons to the public.
How much Dalit vote bank does Punjab have?
Punjab has the highest Dalit vote bank in the country at 32 per cent. Dalit Sikhs are inclined towards the Akalis while Hindu dalits mostly vote for the Congress. In the Dalit stronghold of Doaba where the scheduled-caste community has more than 40 per cent votes in each of the 23 seats, the Congress won 14 seats and AAP got only two seats.
Why were 39 Sikh leaders punished?
Thirty-nine sikh leaders, both from the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal, who presented themselves before the Akal Takht (highest temporal body of the Sikhs) recently were awarded religious punishment (tankhah) for going to the Dera Sacha Sauda to seek votes during the recent Assembly elections. These leaders had violated the 2007 directive of the Akal takht (hukumnama) in which it had excommunicated the Dera head, Gurmeet Ram Rahim for impersonating Guru Gobind Singh.
Why did the leaders approach the dera?
Deras are unavoidable for many political parties in the State considering the influence they wield among the public. With considerable influence in more than 56 Assembly constituencies, the dera always influences voters in Punjab and has the ability to sway votes.
Dera chiefs who were in the news
Ashutosh Maharaj
Ashutosh Maharaj chief of the the Nurmahal-based Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan (DJJS) died on January 29, 2014 due to cardiac arrest and since then his body has been kept in a freezer. Reports also indicate, the body has been shifted to a glass room. The dera has been assuring his followers that he has gone into a samadhi or a deep meditation and would come back very soon. The reason behind the dera not admitting to his death is the issue of succession.
Baba Piara Singh Bhaniarawala
In 1998, Baba Piara Singh Bhaniarawala wrote his own granth, which he called the Bhavsagar Samundar Granth. He encouraged followers to burn copies of the Guru Granth Sahib (the holy book of Sikhs) which angered the sikhs. He was excommunicated from the faith by the Akal Takht.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh
In 2007, police registered a case of blasphemy against the head of Dera Sacha Sauda for hurting Sikh sentiments. However, in September 2015, the Akal Takht accepted his apology and pardoned him. This sudden grant of pardon to the dera chief by the Akal Takht was seen as too much of a coincidence. In 2007, the dera extended support to the Congress candidates in Punjab. Later, in the 2014 Haryana Assembly elections, the dera supported the BJP. The party swept the polls forming the government in the State for the first time by itself having won 47 seats out of 90. In the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections, the Dera Sacha Sauda supported the SAD-BJP candidates in Punjab.