Punjab Polls: Deras keep people guessing

The blast at Maur Mandi in Bathinda district, Punjab on Tuesday evening, two days before campaigning was to end in Punjab, took six lives soon after Congress candidate Harminder Jassi had finished addressing an election rally.

Political parties were quick to blame each other. Politicians opposed to the Congress claimed it was engineered in order to evoke sympathy for Jassi. Others saw an Akali plot in the blast, while the Director General of Police Suresh Arora voiced his suspicion that Babbar Khalsa, a Pakistan-based terror group, could have been behind it.

The car in which the explosives were kept bore a fake number plate of a 1996 model scooter registered in Zira, the DGP informed. Adding to the confusion, a social media post put a different spin to the blast. It read, “Tuesday evening: Blast near vehicle of Congress candidate Harminder Jassi, who is father-in-law of Dera Sacha Sauda chief's son. Tuesday night: Dera announces support for SAD-BJP alliance in Punjab.”

While political observers get busy unraveling this speculated link, if any, between the blast and the Dera’s public support to the SAD-BJP alliance in the poll, it is undeniable that Deras in Punjab have grown in size and stature. And though the Election Commission strictly prohibits the use of temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras or any place of worship for election campaigning, these deras are in an entirely different league.

POLITICISATION OF DERAS

The primary mandate of all deras was to spread the word of religion and work for reforming society. Many of them, however, have forged links with political parties and sought political patronage, while political parties too have used them for their own ends.

Several deras are known to issue guidance to vote for or against political parties. But they have remained beyond the reach of the Election Commission. Affiliation with power centres have led to politicisation of deras and often followed by incidents of violence and crime.

All deras are not actively engaged in politics though. Dera Sacha Sauda, based out of Sirsa, Haryana, came into prominence in 2007 elections when it openly supported the Congress. As a consequence, the Akalis suffered a loss in around 21 assembly constituencies.

Before every election, political leaders do line up to meet the dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, whose large following is further expanded by his films and music videos. All leaders are careful to describe their meetings with him as a courtesy call and having nothing to do with politics. But the message goes out loud and clear.

Most deras in the past provided provocation for violence because of the conflict rooted in various practices and rituals of the deras, such as the notion of a living Guru which is strictly opposed in institutionalised Sikhism, the imitation of the imagery of the Sikh Gurus by the dera heads (it triggered a riot-like situation in Dera Sacha Sauda) and the replication of the style or content of the Sikh holy book.

Though desecration of the holy book has come up as one of the issues in this election, it’s not ‘the’ central issue. The interesting factor about the deras is centred around caste. On the face of it, the deras are against any kind of division based on caste and creed.

“Deras in Malwa region have no caste association, barring a few deras of the Doaba region, most deras are free of caste considerations,” says Prof BS Ghuman of Panjab University, Chandigarh.

The six major deras in Punjab are said to be in a position to influence the outcome in around 56 constituencies.

A political observer even claims to put a number to the constituencies where these deras matter. According to him, the Radha Soamis can be decisive in 19 constituencies, Dera Sacha Sauda in 27, Dera Nurmahal in 8, Dera Nirankari in four, Dera Ballan in eight and Dera Namdhari in two constituencies.

The triangular contests in this election has sent many more leaders running to the deras, to exploit the caste card. But there are observers like Dr Ghuman who disagree. “If caste were a factor, Mayawati would find a firm footing in Punjab.”