The farmer’s protest began, initially, with the sole aim to get the new farm laws repealed. The laws which were bone of contention were the: Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
The farmers perceived these laws as a surreptitious and predatory attempt by crony “capitalism “to take away their lands, their single source of livelihood. But, the government infatuated by the hubris of the parliamentary majority shrugged off the farmers’ demand. They thought that the farmers lacked the capacity to mobilize their minuscule protest into a mass movement. Surprisingly, the farmers across several states, irrespective of their religious beliefs joined the protest, braving Police baton charges and water torrents on elderly farmers, besides inclement weather, sometimes becoming freezing. Farmers’ local and Diaspora sympathizers flooded them with food, fruit and even quintals of American almonds (from US-based toot brethren). The government is trying tooth and nail to sow seeds of discord among the Kisan unions. Formidable Jat Kisan leader, Rakesh Tikait, now on hunger strike, declared to continue the strike until his death.
The altered complexion of the protest
To express solidarity with the farmers, 18 opposition parties decided to boycott the Indian president’s address (January 29, 2021) to a joint sitting of the parliament at the start of the budget session (The Hindu January 28, 2021). They criticised the government for obduracy when 155 farmers, braving water cannons, tear gas and lathi charges, had already lost their lives. The government-sponsored media published stories that the movement was being backed up by Khalistani and Pakistani elements. Pakistani drones allegedly dropped hand-grenade through drones in East Punjab which eerily never exploded or displayed to the media. The government even drooped to filing an affidavit in Supreme Court to affirm its allegation of foreign aid to the peace movement.
The protest went on showing singular interfaith harmony where the non-Muslim human shielded the Muslims offering prayers.
To `strongman’ Modi’s chagrin, the protest assumed an all-Indian dimension as Bhim-army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad, founder of azad samaj party (open-society party) joined the protesters with declaration `ek juth ho kar larna hai’ we have to fight united).
Soon Azad’s harangues became viral on social media. He taunted the government that it prevented the peaceful farmers to reach Delhi, but it could not stop the Chinese from building 110 houses in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The media blacked out pictures of farmers’ martyrs including the Sikh saints (sants) who committed suicides to express solidarity with the protesters.
Emergence of oppressed people’s joint movement
It was a nightmare for Narendra Modi to observe people from all walks of life joining the movement. The 41.73 percent “oppressed-people” wave appeared to have turned against him (Muslim 14.23%, Christians 2.3%, the Scheduled castes (numbering 1108)16.6%, and Scheduled Tribes (744) 8.6%.Modi’s fears were unfounded. despite rhetoric, the protesters could not turn their movement into a future-electoral alliance.
What prevented coalescence of protesters?
The caste factor militated against unity of lower castes with the upper castes. Even sikhs have an iron-clad caste structure. Besides the caste hierarchy, religions, languages and cultures put people’s poles apart. India’s 1.3 billion populations (2014) include Hindus (80 per cent including those who eat beef), Muslims 11 per cent, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Christians, Parsis and Jews seven per cent (combined). Hindi language dominates in Dravidian South India and Indo-European North India that are recognised under India’s constitution, besides 780 minor languages and dialects.
Dalit religion in the Indian Punjab
Most of the protesting farmers hailed from the Indian state of the Punjab or adjoin states. The sikhs are believed to be the most liberal community in India. Yet, even they, like Muslims are not immune from caste influence (arzal, ashraf ajlaf, etc).
Brahmins in the Punjab
Brahmins (priests) are regarded as custodians of religious Hindu traditions in the whole of India. But, so is not the case in the Punjab. They are pejoratively called mang khani jat (a community or caste living simply on alms). But degradation of the traditional Brahmans does not signify elimination of sikh caste hierarchy. Caste based discrimination in the Punjab has a different complexion. Sikh community replaced Brahmins with affluent jat sikhs with material strength possessing agricultural land as and enjoying hegemony over gurudwara and other panths (sikh holy organisations and institutions).
Dalits who convert to Sikhism are disappointed. They are excluded fromthe management of committees and gurudwara. The landowning sikhs dominate landless dalits.
Besides, under the local customary scheme of patron-client relationship popularly known as razat nama, they are even denied ownership rights to the plots of land on which they had built houses in segregated colonies in vicinity of the mainstream villages.
Dalits are the second largest community in the Punjab state. Numerically, they are almost equal to strength of the Jat Sikhs. Yet, their share in the land holdings is just 4.82 per cent. And they occupy only 2.34 per cent of the total area under cultivation. Being landless, dalits are deined their due share in management committees of sikh gurudwaras (shrines). Ravidassia dharma
The frustrated Punjabi dalits tried to seek upward social mobility through religious conversion to a different sikh dharma, Ravidassia Dharma.
This dharma was formally announced by Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia in a declaration made by the Sants of dera Sachkhand Balan on January 30, 2010. The pre-partition Ad Dharam movement has its roots in this dharma. This movement is the only movement of its kind in north western region of India that aimed at securing a dignified place for dalits through religious reformation cultural transformation and political clout rather than seeking emancipation through conversion and sanskritization.
Dalits regard Guru Ravidas as as their savior. His teachings exhort dalits to stand up for themselves.
Concluding remark
The exclusion of dalits in the sikh caste system obstructed amalgamation of sikhs with dalits and other minorities to shape an oppressed people’s joint movement in Indian Punjab.
