Punjab’s Dalits power politics with the purse

Grey monsoon clouds hang low, almost touching the white domes and arched gateways of the Shiromani Shri Guru Ravidass Mandir.

The religious complex, spread across 11.5 acres, marks the skyline along the Grand Trunk Road in Chak Hakim village, Phagwara, in Punjab’s Kapurthala district.

The Guru Ghar, as it is known among followers, is dedicated to the 15th-century saint-poet Guru Ravidass. It serves as a place of worship but has also become a symbol of the Dalit community’s rising economic, religious and political assertiveness, reflecting its gradual shift from historical marginalisation.

Punjab has an agrarian economy, with Jat Sikhs, the dominant landowning community, and Scheduled Castes (SCs) constituting a significant share of its population. According to the 2011 Census, SCs account for nearly 32% of Punjab’s population, the highest proportion among all States. Yet, historically, land ownership has remained concentrated among Jat Sikhs. Most SCs have traditionally worked as agricultural labourers for Jat Sikh landowners, the economically dominant community that has over the years exercised considerable influence over State politics.

For generations, the social hierarchy was reflected in religious and residential architecture, particularly in rural areas. While large gurdwaras were built by the dominant landowning Jat Sikhs at central locations, Dalit communities, historically landless and marginalised, often constructed smaller places of worship. Their homes, too, were typically located on the fringes of villages.

Today, complexes such as the one at Chak Hakim are changing that pattern. Davinder Kultham, president of the Shiromani Shri Guru Ravidass Mandir Prabandhak Committee, which manages the gurdwara’s affairs, says that small landholdings were among the factors that prompted people to migrate in search of better livelihoods. Over time, migration by members of the SC community to Dubai, the U.K., the U.S. and Canada played a significant role in improving the community’s socio-economic status, particularly in Punjab’s Doaba region.

Punjab is broadly divided into the Malwa, Doaba, and Majha regions, and the Dalit population is unevenly distributed across these regions. Its largest concentration is in Doaba, the region between the Beas and Sutlej rivers. Guru Ravidass was born near Varanasi into a Chamar family, a community traditionally engaged in leather work and historically regarded as “untouchable” within the Hindu caste hierarchy. After Independence, the community was accorded SC status as part of the country’s affirmative action policy in education and public employment.

On the land of a guru

“Today, the third and fourth generations of our community are living abroad. Money sent home by non-resident Indians (NRIs) has brought about a marked change in how Dalit families see themselves and what they aspire to,” says Kultham.

He says the Guru Ghar at Chak Hakim has largely taken shape thanks to contributions from NRIs, with nearly 70% of the funds coming from members of the Dalit community settled overseas. Although construction began in the 1960s, it gathered pace only after 2005.

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“The land for this gurdwara was donated decades ago by a Dalit NRI who owned a textile factory in England. We run a school up to Class 10 for underprivileged children, where the fee is nominal,” Kultham says. The complex also has a charitable dispensary, a community kitchen and accommodation for travellers. “Years ago, this would have been unimaginable,” he says, pointing to a section of the complex where a sarovar (sacred pool) is under construction.

Chak Hakim holds deep religious significance for the Ravidassia community. Followers believe Guru Ravidass stayed here for about 70 days and held spiritual gatherings. Across the road from the Guru Ghar stands an older shrine, whose foundation was laid in 1845. Devotees believe it marks the exact spot where Guru Ravidass stayed. It was only in the 19th century that the ascetic Mahant Baba Hira Das, revered as a saint, identified the site as the place where the guru had stayed.

The power of money and mobilisation

Forty-five-year-old Gian Sheel from Dhaddey village near Phagwara traces his family’s story to his grandfather, who worked in the leather industry when it was still thriving in the Doaba region. As larger businesses entered the trade and local units began to decline, his grandfather migrated to England in 1952.

“My grandfather moved to England, where he worked as a factory labourer. Over the years, his earnings helped the family establish a financial footing back home. With that money, he bought around 26 acres of land in Narur village near Hoshiarpur,” says Sheel.

His grandfather also purchased a tractor, sowing and harvesting machinery, and livestock. While Sheel’s uncles and their children eventually settled abroad, his father stayed back to manage the family’s farm and household.

Sheel, who now runs a spice business and is a social activist associated with an informal organisation called Volunteer Indian Social Integration of Nationhood, says that while remittances from the NRI diaspora have contributed, albeit modestly, to the socio-economic empowerment of Dalits, government welfare programmes, both at the Centre and in the State, have largely failed to achieve the same objective.

“These initiatives fall into two categories. One comprises party-specific policies. The other consists of constitutional obligations, which must be fulfilled regardless of which party is in power. These include ensuring representation and implementing reservations in education, employment and politics,” he says.

In Punjab, he adds, the issue of promotions under the 85th Constitutional Amendment remains unresolved. Successive governments have also failed to create awareness among SCs about welfare schemes. “Genuine sincerity is lacking, regardless of which party comes to power.”

Sheel says the Dalit community has long been politically conscious in Punjab, particularly in the Doaba region. “The Ad Dharm movement, which sought dignity and a distinct identity for the “untouchable” castes, began in the Doaba region under Mangoo Ram Mugowalia in the 1920s. Around the same period, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s emergence in public life also contributed to the political mobilisation of Dalits,” he says.

However, he argues that divisions within the SC community have limited its political empowerment. According to him, the fragmentation of Dalit votes among the major political parties has prevented the community from emerging as a unified political force.

With the Punjab Assembly election due in early 2027, the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are all courting Dalit voters, underlining the community’s growing political significance. Leaders across party lines have been making frequent visits to various deras — socio-religious institutions that have long served as important centres of social and spiritual life, particularly for marginalised communities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Ballan village, Jalandhar, on February 1 this year, to mark Guru Ravidass’s 649th birth anniversary, and his subsequent meeting with dera head Sant Niranjan Dass on July 17 are seen as part of the BJP’s outreach to Dalit voters. Leaders of the ruling AAP, the SAD and the Congress have also been visiting various deras to seek the blessings of their heads.

Poverty behind under-representation

Yash Barna, chairperson of the Guru Ravidass Tiger Force, an organisation that works on issues affecting the Dalit community, recalls how, in the past, hardworking members of the community were often denied fair wages in villages and towns.“During my childhood, I saw this in our village. They were either given basic daily meals by members of the Jat community in exchange for their labour or paid with a small share of the agricultural produce,” he says.

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Barna says that while the Dalit community had intellectuals, poverty remained a major constraint. “As our people gained access to education and employment, those who went abroad also realised the importance of political and religious representation. Today, with the support of intellectuals, working professionals and the NRI diaspora, we feel politically and religiously stronger,” he says.

However, despite the community’s economic and political progress, Barna believes social barriers persist. “The Sri Guru Granth Sahib is installed at the Guru Ghar. Yet, the majority of those who visit are from our community. It is still seen as an SC space,” he says.

On July 25, members of the SC community gathered at Ambedkar Bhawan in Phagwara, which houses a gurdwara and a cultural and literary centre run by the Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha Trust. Most of those present were retired government employees living in the Urban Estate locality. Many have close relatives settled abroad, and a majority of the trust’s nearly 200 members also have children living overseas. Through the trust, they run a dispensary, a charitable laboratory and a computer centre for children. They see these initiatives as a way of giving back to society.

“Most of us are retired government employees. Our parents’ generation lived in nearby villages, and as our economic condition improved, we moved to the town. Many members of our older generation and many of our children and relatives have settled abroad. They help us financially in running these social initiatives,” says Ghanshyam, general secretary of the Sabha.

He says the trust’s expenditure broadly falls into two categories: recurring monthly expenses and infrastructure development. “These efforts have benefited not only the SC community but other marginalised sections of society as well.”

Sharing his experience, Parvinder Raju, who retired earlier this year as a senior manager at a public sector bank and now lives next to Ambedkar Bhawan, recalls how support from relatives abroad made a significant difference during his childhood. “My maternal uncle moved to England in 1977. My father worked in a government job and was particular about our education. There were five siblings, and all of us graduated. But those were difficult times. Whenever there was a need, whether for education or family weddings, my uncle would help us,” he says. Even during periods of illness, he adds, the family knew there was someone they could turn to for financial support.

Socially mobile

The impact of emigration is most visible in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr), the districts in the Doaba region, where an estimated one in three families has at least one member working abroad. Remittances from the Dalit diaspora have contributed to a marked change in the community’s self-image and aspirations.

Dr. Amanpreet Kaur, an Assistant Professor at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, who has extensively researched Dalit issues in Punjab, says international migration among Punjabi Dalits, particularly from the Doaba region, has played an important role in their social mobility.

“They have settled across the world and constitute a significant section of the Punjabi diaspora. They advocate achieved status rather than ascribed status. A large number are employed in the Gulf countries, and their remittances have significantly benefited their families,” she says.

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In her 2019 study, Role of Dalit Diaspora in the Mobility of the Disadvantaged in Doaba Region of Punjab, Kaur argues that these developments have made the community more socially, politically and religiously assertive.

Varun Bangar, the sarpanch of Chak Hakim, where about 80% of the population belongs to the SC community, says the village has prospered over the years. “While the diaspora’s contribution to village development has been limited, remittances have significantly improved the living standards of individual families. The village’s overall development, however, has been driven largely by contributions from residents and government funding,” he says.

Pyare Lal, a former member of the Chak Hakim Block Samiti, agrees.

“At the personal and religious levels, the financial contribution of the SC diaspora has been significant. However, there is scope for greater support for village development,” he says.

Jaswinder Singh, a Phagwara-based social activist, says, “When marginalised communities build institutions of this scale, they send a clear message that their faith, history and identity deserve equal dignity and recognition. However, with a section of the community still disadvantaged, it is important that both the NRI diaspora and governments continue to support efforts to ensure they can live with dignity.”

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who belongs to the SC community, says the State government is implementing several welfare measures for marginalised communities.

“For the first time, the Punjab Government has reserved posts for Scheduled Castes in the appointment of law officers,” he says. He also cites the Mukh Mantri Mawan Dhian Satkar Yojana launched this year, under which women aged 18 and above from the general category will receive ₹1,000 a month, while those belonging to the SC category will receive ₹1,500.

As Punjab prepares to mark Guru Ravidass’s 650th birth anniversary on February 20, 2027, the grand entrance gate at Chak Hakim stands as a symbol of the Dalit community’s growing religious, social and political assertion, and of its continuing quest for an equal place in Punjab’s social fabric.

vikas.vasudeva@thehindu.co.in

Edited by Sunalini Mathew and Amarjot Kaur