Historical Mistake

Not long ago, fears were being expressed after the Vienna incident that Punjab is set for a caste conflict and that it could lead to a communal divide between dalits and mainstream Sikhism. While such fears may be a little bit exaggerated, the fact remains that the parting of ways by one sect of the Ravidassias has underlined certain flaws in the way Sikhs have been administering their religion.

On the face of it, these flaws seem sort of an oxymoron. We have been too accommodating towards many malpractices and misuse of our religious symbols, salutations and idiom. And we have not addressed issues of caste discrimination that continue to prevail in the face of the great ideal of castelessness preached by our Gurus.

Historically, a large number of Ravidasias did revere Guru Granth Sahib but not all of them identified with the Sikh religion in any case. They have chosen to remain an autonomous caste-religious community.

They have over the years evolved their own symbols and practices of worship which distinguish them from the Sikhs, and much is being made of their latest move to announce separation. What is important is that while earlier, as scholar Surinder Jodhka had brought out, they did not see their faith as being in an antagonistic relationship with contemporary Sikhism, the latest move will inculcate in the younger generations of the sect a reality which did not exists at all.

One can trace back the phenomenon to the rise of the Ad Dharm movement that took off with the arrival of Mangoo Ram, the son of an enterprising Chamar of village Mangowal of the Hoshiarpur district of Doaba subregion of Punjab, on the scene, but while initially the Ad Dharm movement did see itself as a religious movement, it later remained only a social statement.

Now, the Ravidassia sect leaders have even nullified the meager gains of the Ad Dharm that was propagated as the religion of the dalits.

In the very first conference of the organization, they had declared decades ago: We are not Hindus. We strongly request the government not to list us as such in the census. Our faith is not Hindu but Ad Dharm. We are not a part of Hinduism, and Hindus are not a part of us. Now, unfortunately, the sect has pushed its followers closer to Hinduism, without even saying so.

The emphasis on Ad Dharm being a separate religion, a Quam, was to undermine the identity of caste. By having this so called new religion, the caste identity has been solidified. Is that what Bhagat Ravisdass would have been happy about?

Mangoo Ram had expected to bring other untouchable communities into the fold of Ad Dharm but if that movement could not maintain its momentum for very long, and did not survive long after its grand success in 1931, for how long will a bunch of self-styled sect leaders continue to have their hold on the gullible masses?

If it was during the Ad Dharm movement that the Ravi Dasi identity had begun to take shape, this was the time that the sect should have aligned itself with progressive forces. If they are indeed the lot that was oppressed by the caste structure and brahamanical hold on power of certain forces, then why not join the forces which are fighting against this power system? Across India, democratic forces and those representing the people’s movements are fighting against the tyranny of the nation state. The marginalized, the tribals, the dalits, the minorities are coming together and playing force multipliers in a paradigm in which the only way the Indian government can deal with them is through operations like Operation Green Hunt.

In such a scenario, the Dera Sach Khand Ballan has emerged as a sect that is moving away from a progressive ideology to the regressiveness of state protection. At a time whne Dalit forces are fighting on thee forefront to stem the tide of brahamnism, anyone casting his or her lot with the oppressive system will be held as an accused by forces of history.

The sect leaders in Ballan dera may not know much history, but is the truth not simple enough for those who claim to understand the message of Bhagat Ravidass?