Punjab's Assembly elections have been postponed untilFebruary 20, highlighting the importance of the Ravidassia population in thestate. Several political parties had petitioned the Election Commission topostpone the election since the original date of February 14 would have clashedwith Guru Ravidas Jayanti, an annual pilgrimage to Varanasi by Ravidassiyas.Many of them travel by rail, which is organized by the Dera Sachkhand Ballan inJalandhar, the Ravidassias' main dera.
Over the previous few decades, political parties have takeninto account the vast numbers of Ravidassias and the influence of the DeraSachkhand Ballan in every election.
Also, out of the 23 Doaba seats, Jalandhar has 9 seats, 6 ofwhich are owned by Congress, and 3 by Akali Dal Kapurthala, all of which areowned by Congress.
Hoshiarpur has 7 seats, 6 of which are held by Congress andone by the AAP.
Nawanshahr has 3 members, 2 of whom are affiliated with theCongress party and one with the Akali Dal.
In the end, we can see that 19 of the 23 are with Congress,which can be considered a spotless move of the Doaba region by Congress. We canalso say that 41% of the people in Doaba are Dalits.
This algorithm states a lot and leans heavily towards theDalit side, particularly in the Doaba region.
It is also worth noting that CM Punjab Charanjit SinghChanni is a member of the Dalit community.
What exactly are the Ravidassias?
The Ravidassias are a Dalit community, the majority of whomlive in the Doaba region (almost 12 lakh). Baba Sant Pipal Das founded the DeraSachkhand Ballan, the community's largest dera, with 20 lakh members globally,in the early twentieth century. The dera, which had been strongly associatedwith Sikhism for decades, stated in 2010 that they would now join theRavidassia religion.
The statement was made on Guru Ravidas Jayanti in Varanasiby the dera. Guru Ravidas was a mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti Movement whoformed the Ravidassia religion in the 15th and 16th centuries. In Ravidassiatemples and gurdwaras, the Dera Shackchand began replacing the Guru GranthSahib with its own Granth, Amritbani, which contains 200 hymns of Guru Ravidas,beginning in 2010.
How did the Dera Sachkhand Ballan come into being?
Baba Sant Pipal Das, the organization's founder, was born inthe Bathinda village of Gill Patti. He and his son Sarwan Das left home whenhis wife died. Their journey took them to Sarmastpur near Jalandhar, and thento Ballan village in 1895, where they resided.
According to Dera officials, Baba Pipal Das and his sonbegan to live under a dried pipal tree. The tree gradually flourished as theynurtured it, giving the Baba the moniker Sant Pipal Das. Dera claimed to befluent in the Guru Granth Sahib bani and Punjabi, and he began to gaindisciples, especially those who followed Guru Ravidass' teachings. He then wenton to found the Dera Ballan.
After Baba Pipal Das, who has been in charge?
Sant Pipal Das's son, Sant Sarwan Das, led the dera from1928 to 1972 after his father's death. Since then, three more spiritual Santshave emerged, none of whom were chosen through inheritance.
Sant Hari Das, the third Sant, was born in Jalandhar's Garhavillage and spent his entire life in Dera Ballan. Sant Garib Das of Jalbhevillage in Jalandhar, the next dera chief (1982-94), likewise spent his life atthe dera, where he left an indelible impression on Sant Sarwan Das.
Sant Niranjan Das, the current dera head, was born onJanuary 5, 1942, in Ramdaspur village, Jalandhar, to a couple who were SantPipal Das devotees and presented their son to Sant Sarwan Das, who gave him thename "Hawaigar" for the speed with which he accomplished his tasks.
What is Guru Ravidas Jayanti's significance?
During his time in Varanasi, Sant Sarwan Das worked on theconstruction of a memorial temple. The dera purchased land in Seer Goverdhanpurvillage near Banaras Hindu University after discovering Guru Ravidas'birthplace, and the foundation stone for a temple was placed in June 1965, withthe first phase finished in 1970. It was aided by NRI Dera disciples as well.
Several of Ballan's followers began to visit the shrine, andit became customary to celebrate Guru Ravidas Jayanti in Varanasi over time.Dera Ballan grew to become the Ravidassias' largest dera over time. Every yearon Guru Ravidas' birthday, the Dera Ballan has taken devotees on the BegampuraTrain from Jalandhar to Varanasi.
What political significance does the dera have?
Thousands of deras, both tiny and large, can be found inPunjab. Political leaders have begun attending deras in recent electionsbecause of the large numbers they command. Party leaders have gone and met withthe head of the Dera Sachkhand Ballan, Sant Niranjan Das.
The Dera Sachkhand Ballan has never officially endorsed anypolitical party but has always welcomed visiting political leaders. PunjabChief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal(AAP), Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu, Shiromani Akali Dal chiefSukhbir Badal, and prominent BJP officials were among those who paid a visitthis time.
Around 15 lakhs of the dera's 20 lakh followers dwell inPunjab, especially in the Doaba region, which has 23 Assembly seats (out ofPunjab's 117). Dalits make up over 32 percent of Punjab's population, withDoaba having the greatest proportion at 37 percent (19.48 lakh Dalits out of aregional population of 52.08 lakh). The Ravidassia community accounts for 61percent (11.88 lakh) of Doaba's Dalits. Doaba is home to hundreds of deras, thelargest of which being Dera Sachkhand Ballan.
That explains why various political parties petitioned thePoll Commission for a postponement of the election due to Guru Ravidas Jayanti.CM Channi, a Dalit Sikh from the Ramdassia community, had written to the ECIrequesting a postponement, and his elevation had lifted all Dalit groups,including the Ravidassias.
What is the Ravidassias' level of assertiveness?
Following a deadly attack by fundamentalists on Shri GuruRavidas Temple in Vienna on May 24, 2009, they have become increasinglyassertive. When the attackers struck, some 400 devotees had assembled for areligious service, murdering the Dera Sachhkhand Ballan's thensecond-in-command, Sant Ramanand, and injuring 30 others, including the dera'sSant, Niranjan Das. The suspected assailants were said to be associated with agurdwara in Vienna.
The Vienna incident sparked rioting throughout Doaba,primarily in Jalandhar, and a 15-day curfew was imposed. Because of the rift,it created between Sikhs and Ravidassias, the Dera severed its decades-longlinks with Sikhism and declared that they would follow the "Ravidassiareligion." Ravidassias have now asked for a distinct religion column inthe 2021 Census. Ravidassia artists produced new songs centered on their casteand religion after the Vienna attack so that members of the community may playthem at celebrations instead of songs composed by upper-caste Jat Sikhs. Lastyear, for the first time, Jat Sikhs and Ravidassias observed Guru RavidasJayanti jointly, as it was critical for both communities to stand togetherduring the protests against the Centre's three farm legislation.
Punjab's Assembly elections have been postponed untilFebruary 20, highlighting the importance of the Ravidassia population in thestate. Several political parties had petitioned the Election Commission topostpone the election since the original date of February 14 would have clashedwith Guru Ravidas Jayanti, an annual pilgrimage to Varanasi by Ravidassias.Many of them travel by rail, which is organized by the Dera Sachkhand Ballan inJalandhar, the Ravidassias' main dera.