While the deras, being a poor cousin of religion, address a psychological need of the people to sap their energies, they become centres of political exploiation as well
Dr Pramod Kumar
In many ways, religion finds its poor cousins in Deras and “religious Babas”. Babas are more like the schoolmasters of subaltern poor and middle class, who have emerged as messengers between the people and God. No wonder, Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh went to the extent of declaring himself “Messanger of God”.
Historically, the evolution of “Deras” has been intermeshed with the evolution of Sikh religion in the region. The prominent deras which evolved in response to the consolidation of Sikh religion have been Nanakpanthis, Sewapanthis, Nirmalas, Udasis, etc.
The contemporary Deras, however, are not exactly the offshoot of Sikhism. They have, in a transformed form, are a congregation of followers transcending religious, caste and class divisions and reverence for the living Guru.
An immediate fallout has been that these “Babas” tend to liberate people from vices like drugs, drunkenness, wife-beating, and fulfil their basic survival needs, ensure security and dignified existence. Having experienced indignities, indifference, and neglect in the society, the followers of these deras repose greater faith in the institution of the dera and babas.
As a consequence, even if these self-styled godmen are convicted in criminal cases by the Courts, the devouts would invariably consider them “innocent” and “victims of political conspiracy”.
The storm and fury that the followers of the Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of Dera Sacha Sauda demonstrated in the wake of his conviction should be understood in this background.
Subverting Law
These Deras use the political space so acquired to get state patronage and, coupled with the blind faith of their followers, even subvert the rule of law. Blind faith perpetuates ignorance and garnishes it with moral arrogance, thereby making it convenient to overlook the misdeeds of these powerful “babas.”
Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim, head of Sirsa-based Sacha Sauda has been convicted in two cases of rape against two sadhvis. He is still facing charges of murder of dera follower Ranjit Singh and journalist Ram Chander Chattarpati, and charges of castration of the followers.
In the face of the storm and fury of the dera followers, the institutions of the state were also pushed into the compromised position. The importance of deras and “religious Babas” acts as an active antidote to the frustration caused in the neoliberal economy by income stagnation, expanding inequality and rampant unemployment in a highly competitive electoral politics. In such a situation, these “religious Babas” emerge as traders of blind faith in a complex neoliberal economy, politics and technologically-driven communication system.
Moral Superiority
The faith of the dera devotees acquires moral superiority as, compared to other institutions, it sweeps them away from the governments, political class, judiciary and even the market. And it works to the advantage of self-styled Godmen, even if convicted by the courts, their devotees consider them victims of competing vested interests. The blind faith of these devotees is traded. The devotees are paraded as voters, private army, donors of labour, body organs, blood, skills etc. It is their reservoir of power which empowers these Godmen and makes them acquire a larger-than-life image. The conglomerate of the devotees becomes a clan — irrespective of their caste, religion or creed they marry amongst themselves, appropriate social capital to acquire jobs and multiply their businesses. The dera chiefs act as arbitrators to facilitate these alliances. This inter-dependent relationship leaves the political class with no choice but to woo the Godmen and their followers to garner support in elections. The appeal of these “Babas” is a heady tonic which political leaders partake flamboyantly.
All political parties try to outcompete each other in warming up to the dears during the election times. The deras issue diktats to induce people to vote according to their faith rather than their conscience. The Dera Sacha Sauda exercises influence in around 27 assembly constituencies in Punjab. The deras have made it a practice to venture into the electoral Mandi to enhance power. The devotees not only justify their being traded in politics but consider it empowering. In turn, these deras and religious “Babas” are provided a shield against the rule of law to allow them to promote their commercial enterprises and personal leisure.
It is the constitutional obligation of the political class, and other institutions responsible for promoting and protecting the rule of law to counter the unreasonable claims of these “Babas” which have been accepted blindly by their followers and accommodated by the political class.
Trading Votes
From cultural adaptation to the formation of exclusive socio-religious sites, politics continue to provide bargaining space to these deras. For instance, deras including Sacha Sauda could not carve out an exclusive space for its lower caste followers to emerge as a dominant factor in the electoral politics. These deras together have influence in around 56 constituencies. The Radha Soami in 19, Dera Sacha Sauda in 27, Dera Nurmahal in 8, Dera Nirankari in 4, Dera Ballan in 8 and Dera Namdhari in 2 constituencies.
Not all the Deras actively engage in politics. However, Sacha Sauda 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. In subsequent elections in 2012, they supported Akali Dal. All the political parties try to out-compete each other to woo deras. To invoke their authority is to violate the secular principles of the Constitution. But, political parties are actively engaged in appropriating religious symbols with impunity and deras are issuing the diktat to induce people to vote according to their faith rather than their conscience.
Deras use their appeal to make the conditions of exploitation bearable by preaching morality of austerity, thrift and healthy life for the poor and sap their will to transform the system. The government instead of changing conditions responsible for people’s misery finds it convenient to blur them and use these deras to garner support.
(The writer is Director, Institute of Development and Communication, Chandigarh)
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