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JOURAL OF PUJAB STUDIES<br />
Editors<br />
Indu Banga<br />
Mark Juergensmeyer<br />
Gurinder Singh Mann<br />
Ian Talbot<br />
Shinder Singh Th<strong>and</strong>i<br />
<strong>Book</strong> Review Editor<br />
Eleanor Nesbitt<br />
Ami P. Shah<br />
Editorial Advisors<br />
Ishtiaq Ahmed<br />
Tony Ballantyne<br />
Parminder Bhachu<br />
Harvinder Singh Bhatti<br />
Anna B. Bigelow<br />
Richard M. Eaton<br />
Ainslie T. Embree<br />
Louis E. Fenech<br />
Rahuldeep Singh Gill<br />
Sucha Singh Gill<br />
Tejwant Singh Gill<br />
David Gilmartin<br />
William J. Glover<br />
J.S. Grewal<br />
John S. Hawley<br />
Gurpreet Singh Lehal<br />
Iftikhar Malik<br />
Scott Marcus<br />
Daniel M. Michon<br />
Farina Mir<br />
Anne Murphy<br />
Kristina Myrvold<br />
Rana Nayar<br />
Harjot Oberoi<br />
Christopher Shackle<br />
Joginder Singh<br />
Mohinder Singh<br />
Nirvikar Singh<br />
Pashaura Singh<br />
Pritam Singh<br />
Darshan Singh Tatla<br />
Michael Witzel<br />
Tan Tai Yong<br />
Panjab University, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh, INDIA<br />
University of California, Santa Barbara, USA<br />
University of California, Santa Barbara, USA<br />
Southampton University, UK<br />
Coventry University, UK<br />
University of Warwick, UK<br />
University of California, Santa Barbara, USA<br />
Stockholm University, SWEDEN<br />
University of Otago, NEW ZEALAND<br />
Clark University, USA<br />
Punjabi University, Patiala, INDIA<br />
North Carolina State University, USA<br />
University of Arizona, Tucson, USA<br />
Columbia University, USA<br />
University of Northern Iowa, USA<br />
California Lutheran University, Thous<strong>and</strong> Oaks, USA<br />
Punjabi University, Patiala, INDIA<br />
Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, INDIA<br />
North Carolina State University, USA<br />
University of Michigan, USA<br />
Institute of Punjab <strong>Studies</strong>, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh, INDIA<br />
Barnard College, Columbia University, USA<br />
Punjabi University, Patiala, INDIA<br />
Bath Spa University, UK<br />
University of California, Santa Barbara, USA<br />
Claremont McKenna College, CA, USA<br />
University of Michigan, USA<br />
University of British Columbia, CANADA<br />
Lund University, SWEDEN<br />
Panjab University, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh, INDIA<br />
University of British Columbia, CANADA<br />
SOAS, University of London, UK<br />
Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, INDIA<br />
National Institute of Pb. <strong>Studies</strong>, Delhi, INDIA<br />
University of California, Santa Cruz, USA<br />
University of California, Riverside, USA<br />
Oxford Brookes University, UK<br />
Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jal<strong>and</strong>har, INDIA<br />
Harvard University, USA<br />
National University of Singapore, SINGAPORE
JOURNAL OF PUNJAB STUDIES<br />
Volume 16 Number 1 Spring 2009<br />
Articles<br />
Ronki Ram<br />
John C. B. Webster<br />
Lakhwinder Singh,<br />
Inderjeet Singh <strong>and</strong><br />
R. S. Ghuman<br />
Anita Gill<br />
Suneel Kumar<br />
Research Note<br />
<strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
<strong>Reviews</strong><br />
In Remembrance<br />
Contents<br />
Ravidass ,Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan <strong>and</strong><br />
the Question of Dalit Identity in Punjab<br />
Punjabi Christians<br />
Changing Character of Rural Economy<br />
<strong>and</strong> Migrant Labour in Punjab<br />
Punjab Peasantry: A Question of Life<br />
<strong>and</strong> Debt<br />
Human Trafficking in Punjab<br />
Jaswinder Brar<br />
Contents<br />
1<br />
35<br />
57<br />
71<br />
89<br />
113<br />
119<br />
121<br />
147
1 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
Ravidass, Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan <strong>and</strong> the Question<br />
of Dalit Identity in Punjab<br />
Ronki Ram<br />
Panjab University, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh<br />
________________________________________________________________<br />
The 2009 Vienna attack on the lives of the two highest ranking visiting Ravidassia Sants<br />
hailing from Indian Punjab is generally perceived by the followers of Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong><br />
Ballan, one of the most popular Dalit religious centres <strong>and</strong> a symbol of Dalit assertion in<br />
northern India, as an attack on their separate Dalit identity. The question of separate Dalit<br />
identity in Punjab is related to rising Dalit consciousness that emerged among the<br />
followers of Guru Ravidass, an untouchable Sant-poet of the medieval North Indian<br />
Bhakti movement. Ravidass imaginatively chose poetry as the method for non-violent<br />
social protest towards the establishment of a casteless society free from all forms of<br />
structural bindings <strong>and</strong> social dominations. After a gap of couple of centuries, the Sants<br />
of Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan carried forward the legacy of Guru Ravidass by carefully<br />
carving out the markers of a separate Dalit identity in the state. The Vienna incident has<br />
not only brought Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan to the center of the world map, it has also<br />
created a lot of confusion about the Ravidassia panth, the followers of Dera Sachkah<strong>and</strong><br />
Ballan, <strong>and</strong> their distinct identity in the wake of sudden <strong>and</strong> spontaneous repercussions in<br />
the punjabi diaspora <strong>and</strong> in Punjab. Based on ethnographic field study of the Ravidassia<br />
panth, particularly of Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan, this paper discusses at length the question<br />
of Dalit identity in Punjab, which has been hastily hyped into an intra Sikh conflict.<br />
________________________________________________________________<br />
Introduction: Prevalence of Caste in Punjab<br />
The recent Dalit 1 backlash in Punjab in the aftermath of the Vienna attack 2 on<br />
the lives of two spiritual heads (Sant Niranjan Dass <strong>and</strong> his second-in-comm<strong>and</strong><br />
Sant Raman<strong>and</strong>) of Dera 3 Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan, one of the most important Dalit<br />
religious centres <strong>and</strong> a symbol of Dalit assertion in northern India, showed<br />
conclusively as to how caste as a social as well as political category has become<br />
central to assertion of lower caste identity politics in contemporary India. What<br />
is even more significant is that the attack on the Ballan Sants in a Ravidass<br />
temple abroad <strong>and</strong> the subsequent violent repercussions it gave rise to back<br />
home in Punjab has put a big question mark on the prevalence of caste based<br />
discrimination as merely a domestic problem. 4 The resonance of close linkages<br />
between the ghastly shooting in Vienna <strong>and</strong> hierarchical oppressive social<br />
structures in Punjab coupled with tempting political economy of the affluent<br />
religious centres is what made Vienna attack <strong>and</strong> the consequent spontaneous<br />
backlash a unique case of regional caste imbroglio s<strong>and</strong>wiched between global<br />
happenings <strong>and</strong> local connections.<br />
Caste continues to pull strings in Punjab, even though the state has long<br />
boasted of a caste-free society. The dastardly <strong>and</strong> murderous attack on<br />
Ravidassia spiritual leaders of Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan in Vienna, the capital city
JPS: 16:1 2<br />
of Austria, during a religious congregation on Sunday (May 24, 2009),<br />
unleashed spontaneous <strong>and</strong> violent protests amongst the vast number of Dalit<br />
followers across Punjab. This once again brought into prominence the deep<br />
undercurrents of the institution of caste in this northern agricultural belt of<br />
India. The backlash has not only brought forth the dormant contradictions<br />
between the Dalits <strong>and</strong> the dominant caste (read Jat Sikhs) in Punjab, but also<br />
ignited the ‘burning fury’ of the ex-untouchables who seem to have been<br />
struggling hard in translating their newly earned wealth into a viable avenue of<br />
upward social mobility. Surinder Kaur, one of the millions of followers of Dera<br />
Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan is quoted as saying, “[t]his is happening to us because our<br />
community is making attempts to uplift itself”. 5 Another devotee of the Dera<br />
interprets the recent Dalit upsurge as “a fight for equality”. 6 He is quoted as<br />
saying that “[t]he dominated community is attempting to rise <strong>and</strong> the dominant<br />
community is fearful of its rise”. 7<br />
It seems that caste is being deployed to cut the steel frame of caste based<br />
hierarchical social structures incarcerating the lower castes for ages. As<br />
Amartya Sen, argues: “[t]here is a need for caution, however, for those who<br />
believe that invocation of caste in any form in democracy is an evil force. As<br />
long as caste is invoked in speaking for a lower caste or uniting it, it is good”. 8<br />
Such an unorthodox view of caste confronts head on the widely held thesis that<br />
the onset of modernity was to blunt the fangs of the primordial institution of<br />
caste. Modernity apart, the institution of caste, however, has not only entered<br />
into the corridors of power politics in India, but also thrives, rather more<br />
vigorously, among the diverse Punjabi diasporic communities settled in the<br />
post-modern glamorous capitals of Europe <strong>and</strong> North America.<br />
Though the phenomenon of untouchability was never considered so strong<br />
in Punjab as in many other parts of the country, it has also never been alien to<br />
this part of the country as well (Ibbetson, 1883, rpt. 1970:15; Puri, 2004:1).<br />
Dalits in Punjab, like their counterparts in other parts of India, have been the<br />
victims of social exclusion, physical oppression, political neglect <strong>and</strong> economic<br />
deprivations. The repeated references to <strong>and</strong> loud condemnations of caste based<br />
discriminations in the teachings of the Sufis <strong>and</strong> the Sikh Gurus is a case in<br />
point. Moreover, the roots of caste based hierarchies have been so well<br />
entrenched in Punjab that the reformatory measures undertaken by various<br />
social reform movements such as Arya Samaj, Singh Sabha <strong>and</strong> Chief Khalsa<br />
Diwan failed to weed them out. However, what distinguishes caste in Punjab<br />
the most from the rest of the country is the primacy of the material <strong>and</strong> political<br />
factors over the principle of purity-pollution dichotomy. 9<br />
Another feature that further distinguished caste in Punjab from the rest of the<br />
country is the widespread phenomenon of acute l<strong>and</strong>lessness among the Dalits,<br />
on the one h<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong> almost absolute monopoly of the dominant caste on the<br />
agricultural l<strong>and</strong> in the state, on the other. The Sikh empire of Maharaja Ranjit<br />
Singh <strong>and</strong> the subsequent British rule over Punjab helped Jat Sikhs considerably<br />
in establishing their strong hold on l<strong>and</strong> in Punjab (Marenco, 1976: Chps IV-<br />
VII; Liu, 1982:387-95). The Punjab L<strong>and</strong> Alienation Act (1900) had the<br />
unintended consequence of officially depriving Dalits, along with other non-
3 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
agricultural castes, the right to own l<strong>and</strong>. In Punjab, primarily an agricultural<br />
state, l<strong>and</strong> ownership assumes utmost importance in determining social status.<br />
Nowhere in India, are Dalits so extensively deprived of agricultural l<strong>and</strong> as in<br />
Punjab. Despite having the highest proportion of Dalit percentage (about 29 per<br />
cent, census of India 2001) in the country 10 , less than 5 percent of them were<br />
cultivators. They shared only 4.82 percent of the number of operational holdings<br />
<strong>and</strong> 2.34 percent of the total area under cultivation (1991 census). Consequently,<br />
till recently their l<strong>and</strong>lessness, along with the absence of alternate job avenues,<br />
pushed a large number of them (60 percent, 1991 census) into farm labour to<br />
work on the l<strong>and</strong> of l<strong>and</strong>owners, who invariably happened to be Jat Sikhs. The<br />
relationship of Dalits with Jat Sikhs, thus, is that of l<strong>and</strong>less agricultural workers<br />
versus l<strong>and</strong>lords, which in turn led to contradictions between them. The two<br />
communities are engaged in a power struggle over l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> other resources.<br />
A significant change, however, has taken place over the last few decades.<br />
Dalits in Punjab have improved their economic position through hard work <strong>and</strong><br />
emigration abroad. They have entered into a number of professions, which were<br />
traditionally considered to be the mainstay of the business <strong>and</strong> artisan castes<br />
(Ram 2004c:5-6). This has led to a sharp decline in the number of Dalit farm<br />
workers in Punjab. However, the disassociation of Dalits from the menial <strong>and</strong><br />
agricultural work in Punjab <strong>and</strong> their relatively better economic conditions have<br />
not enabled them to get an entry into the local structures of power, almost<br />
totally monopolised by the so-called dominant/upper castes. This is what forced<br />
them to look for alternate ways of social emancipation <strong>and</strong> empowerment giving<br />
rise to all sorts of Deras <strong>and</strong> a growing yearning for a separate Dalit identity in<br />
Punjab. The fast growing popularity of Deras <strong>and</strong> the enormous amount of<br />
wealth they receive in the form of donations from the local as well as diasporic<br />
followings eventually brought them into a sort of direct confrontation with the<br />
long established <strong>and</strong> deeply institutionalised Gurdwaras <strong>and</strong> other dominant<br />
Sikh Panthic organizations resulting in intermittent caste conflicts in Punjab<br />
over the last few years. The Vienna attack <strong>and</strong> its backlash is just another<br />
violent manifestation of this trend.<br />
Although the constitutional state affirmative action programme has been an<br />
important factor behind the uplift of the Dalits, the role of the Ad Dharm<br />
movement 11 <strong>and</strong> of Ravidass Deras has been most crucial in empowering them<br />
<strong>and</strong> forging a separate Dalit identity in Punjab. The Ad Dharm movement is<br />
widely accredited with the task of sowing the seeds of Dalit consciousness in<br />
Punjab. 12 It emphasised that Dalits (Ad Dharmis) are the original inhabitants of<br />
the region <strong>and</strong> are distinguished from caste Hindus <strong>and</strong> Sikhs. It was during this<br />
very movement, that the image of Ravidass, a Dalit Nirguni (devotee of God<br />
without attributes) Sant of the medieval north Indian bhakti (loving devotion)<br />
movement was projected systematically to concretise the newly conceived Dalit<br />
cultural space in Punjab. This movement used his pictures as its emblem, his<br />
poetry as its sacred text <strong>and</strong> legends about him as illustrations of power, pride<br />
<strong>and</strong> glory of the socially excluded sections of the society in the constructed past.<br />
After the historic partition, the movement found its reverberation among the
JPS: 16:1 4<br />
vast followings of Ravidass Deras epitomised by the Sants of Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong><br />
Ballan (Ram, 2009).<br />
Ravidass holds a special place in the heart of Dalits, as he was one who<br />
unleashed a frontal attack on the traditional practice of caste-based social<br />
exclusion <strong>and</strong> oppression. Belonging to one of the lowest castes, his iconic<br />
figure continues to act as a catalyst in the emergence of a separate Dalit identity<br />
in Punjab. Ravidass, as a spiritual figure which Omvedt boldly called “the<br />
bhakti radical”, comm<strong>and</strong>s a massive following among his caste fellows,<br />
especially the Chamars in Punjab, who consider him their Guru (Omvedt, 2008:<br />
7) They have built temples, gurdwaras, bhawans (memorial halls), educational<br />
institutions/chairs, cultural organizations <strong>and</strong> hospitals in his name all over<br />
Punjab. They have also founded several missions 13 to accurately establish facts<br />
about his life, times, works, <strong>and</strong> to disseminate his message of love,<br />
compassion, equality, <strong>and</strong> brotherhood in India <strong>and</strong> abroad (Hawley<br />
1988:270). 14 In fact, the lustrous image of Ravidass has played an instrumental<br />
role in mobilising the outcastes 15 , especially Chamars (leather workers), who<br />
also long joined the Ad Dharm movement in large numbers. 16 Ad Dharmis of<br />
Boota M<strong>and</strong>i were among the early supporters of the Ad Dharm movement.<br />
Seth Kishen Dass of Boota M<strong>and</strong>i, a renowned Dalit leather merchant, financed<br />
the headquarters building of Ad Dhram M<strong>and</strong>al in Jal<strong>and</strong>har. Nowadays, this<br />
building houses Guru Ravidass High School <strong>and</strong> Sewing Centre. Many of the<br />
Chamars <strong>and</strong> Ad Dharmi Chamars are devout followers of Sant Ravidass. Since<br />
Dera Ballan is dedicated to the memory of Ravidass <strong>and</strong> is run by Chamar<br />
saints. Ad Dharmi Chamars who too are devout followers of the faith of<br />
Ravidass feel proud to be associated with the Dera. Consequently, the Chamars<br />
of Punjab in general <strong>and</strong> Punjabi Chamar/Ad Dharmi/Ravidassia diasporas in<br />
particular have organised themselves into various Guru Ravidass Sabhas<br />
(committees) <strong>and</strong> established a large number of Ravidass shrines popularly<br />
known as Ravidass Deras/temples/gurdwara/gurughars both in Punjab <strong>and</strong><br />
abroad. The number of such Deras has been on a steady rise.<br />
Ravidass Deras began emerging in Punjab in the early twentieth century.<br />
According to a field-based study conducted by Som Nath Bharti Qadian, the<br />
number of Ravidass Deras in Punjab has exceeded one hundred over the last<br />
few years (Qadian, 2003). Since the publication of this study many more such<br />
Deras have been established in Punjab: twelve in 2005, eight in 2006 <strong>and</strong> seven<br />
in 2007 (calculated from the various volumes of Begumpura Shaher, trilingual<br />
weekly publication of the Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan).The strength of Ravidass<br />
Deras abroad has also been growing rapidly (Singh, 2003:35-40). The followers<br />
of Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan abroad have established their own separate Ravidass<br />
Deras different from the mainstream Sikh Gurdwaras across the world,<br />
wherever they have settled. The foundation stones of almost all the Ravidass<br />
Deras both in India <strong>and</strong> abroad are laid by the Sants of Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan.<br />
It is pertinent to note that these Deras have come up not merely as centers of<br />
spiritual gatherings for Dalits but have also metamorphosed slowly into<br />
epicenters of social protest (Ram, 2007; Ram, 2008).
5 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
This paper primarily seeks to explore the role of the teachings of Guru<br />
Ravidass <strong>and</strong> the contributions made by the Sants of Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan in<br />
the formation of a separate Dalit identity in Punjab. The paper is divided into<br />
two sections. The first one focuses on the teachings <strong>and</strong> life anecdotes of the<br />
sole deity, Guru Ravidass, of Ravidass Deras, <strong>and</strong> the crucial role they continue<br />
to play in forging a separate Dalit identity in Punjab. It also briefly engages with<br />
the question of who are Ravidassias <strong>and</strong> their religion. It further raises questions<br />
on whether they are distinct from Hindus <strong>and</strong> Sikhs <strong>and</strong> whether they have their<br />
own religious organizations <strong>and</strong> the ways in which they differ from other<br />
mainstream religious organizations. The second section draws heavily on the<br />
evolution of Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan, <strong>and</strong> various discursive practices it has<br />
developed to give shape to a separate Dalit identity in Punjab over the last few<br />
decades.<br />
Ravidass, Ravidassias <strong>and</strong> Dalit Sikhs<br />
Ravidass, one of the famous untouchable Sant-poets of the 15 th -16 th century, as<br />
mentioned at the outset remains a most revered figure among the Scheduled<br />
Castes (SC), especially Chamars/Chambhars/Charmakars of northwest <strong>and</strong><br />
central India. The low castes Chamars <strong>and</strong> other ex-untouchable groups who<br />
worship Guru Ravidass, argues Schaller, “do not passively accept their inferior<br />
status”. Their worship of Ravidass, continues Schaller, “is the manifestation of a<br />
dissident socio-religious ideology” (Schaller, 1996:94). The mere mentioning of<br />
Sant Ravidass evokes a sense of confidence <strong>and</strong> self-respect among them as<br />
evidenced in the fact that a large number of them prefer to be identified as<br />
‘Ravidassia’ rather than to be known by their customary <strong>and</strong> hereditary caste<br />
titles colored with derogatory connotations (Hawley, 1988:272). “Although in<br />
the past Ravidass’s low status may have presented a problem, his present-day<br />
admirers strive to affirm it, not deny it” (Lochtefeld, 2005:201-02). The<br />
followers of Guru Ravidass are popularly known as Ravidassia Dalits or<br />
Ravidassi Adharmis (Ch<strong>and</strong>ra, 2000:49). Though they claim to be different<br />
from both Hindus <strong>and</strong> Sikhs, but, quite often, Ravidassia Dalits are confused<br />
with Dalit Sikhs.<br />
Ravidassias versus Dalit Sikhs<br />
Ravidssias, the followers of Guru Ravidass, are often confused with Dalit Sikhs.<br />
For that the Vienna incidence is presented widely as an ugly outcome of the<br />
protracted ‘doctrinal dispute’ between the upper caste Sikhs <strong>and</strong> Dalits. Though<br />
some of the Ravidassia Dalits sport beard, keep unshorn hair like baptised<br />
Sikhs, <strong>and</strong> revere, worship <strong>and</strong> bow before the Guru Granth Sahib, they still do<br />
not identify themselves as Dalit Sikhs. Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha. Ontario,<br />
Canada, in its recent press release message posted on Sikh Sangat News, a<br />
popular Sikh site, clearly articulates the question of Ravidassia Dalit identity,<br />
sharply brought into world focus by the Vienna shooting. The message reads<br />
straightforwardly:
JPS: 16:1 6<br />
Ravidassias<br />
We, as Ravidassias have different traditions. We are not Sikhs.<br />
Even though, we give utmost respect to 10 gurus <strong>and</strong> Guru<br />
Granth Sahib, Guru Ravidass Ji is our supreme. There is no<br />
comm<strong>and</strong> for us to follow the declaration that there is no Guru<br />
after Guru Granth Sahib. We respect Guru Granth Sahib<br />
because it has our guru Ji’s teachings <strong>and</strong> teachings of other<br />
religious figures who have spoken against caste system, spread<br />
the message of NAAM <strong>and</strong> equality. As per our traditions, we<br />
give utmost respect to contemporary gurus also who are<br />
carrying forward the message of Guru Ravidass Ji. 17<br />
Ravidassias often assert their separate identity <strong>and</strong> are very much particular<br />
about their distinct faith believing in the teachings <strong>and</strong> bani of Ravidass whom<br />
they worship as Guru <strong>and</strong> bow before his portrait. They also touch the feet of<br />
the Sants of Ravidass Deras <strong>and</strong> accept them as living Guru – an anathema in<br />
the mainstream Sikhism. Beyond doubt, however, strong links do exist between<br />
the mainstream Sikh faith <strong>and</strong> the Ravidassia sect – an independent religion in<br />
the making. Ravidassias believe that the founder <strong>and</strong> first Guru of the Sikh faith,<br />
Guru Nanak Dev, interacted with Sant Ravidass, although there are no historical<br />
records of such meetings. Forty shabads (hymns) <strong>and</strong> one shloka (couplet)<br />
composed by Sant Ravidass are included in the ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ the holy<br />
scripture of the Sikhs <strong>and</strong> are considered to be the most authentic (Hawley <strong>and</strong><br />
Juergensmeyer, 1988:12; Callewaert <strong>and</strong> Friedl<strong>and</strong>er, 1992:22). But the fact<br />
remains that despite the existence of some common religiosity between the<br />
Sikhs <strong>and</strong> Ravidassias, the latter have a separate religious code of conduct<br />
tightly woven around the bani (spiritual philosophy composed in the form of<br />
poetry) of Ravidass, their Guru. They are often heard complaining that<br />
irrespective of the popular Sikh belief that the ‘bani is Guru <strong>and</strong> Guru is bani’,<br />
Sant Ravidass is not considered Guru in the mainstream Sikh tradition. He<br />
continued to be a Bhakta <strong>and</strong> his followers, as they often allege, too are not<br />
being considered equal by the upper caste Sikhs 18 .The caste-based<br />
discrimination against Dalits by the upper caste Sikhs is perhaps one of the most<br />
prominent reasons that forced them to build their own separate Ravidass<br />
Deras/gurughars in Punjab <strong>and</strong> abroad. Out of a total number of 12,780 villages<br />
in Punjab, Ravidassia Dalits have their own separate gurughars in about 10,000<br />
villages (Dalit Voice (Banglore), 22:17 (1-15 September 2003), p. 20; Muktsar<br />
2003:21-22). A survey of 116 villages in one tehsil of Amritsar district showed<br />
that Dalits had separate gurdwaras in 68 villages (Puri, 2003:2700).<br />
Dalit Sikhs: Mazhbis/Rangretas<br />
Dalit Sikhs are divided into two segments: Mazhbis/Rangretas <strong>and</strong> Ramdassias.<br />
Mazhbis/Rangretas were Chuhras (sweepers) who later converted to Sikhism.<br />
“The Rangreta are a class of Mazbi apparently found only in Ambala, Ludhiana
7 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
<strong>and</strong> the neighborhood, who consider themselves superior to the rest ... but it<br />
appears that Rangretas have very generally ab<strong>and</strong>oned scavengering (sic) for<br />
leather work, <strong>and</strong> this would at once account for their rise in the social scale”<br />
(Ibbetson, 1883, rpt. 1970:294). Rangretas’ close ties with the gurughar (the<br />
House of Gurus) is evidenced from the fact that when the legendary Bhai Jaita,<br />
rechristened as Jeevan Singh, presented to Guru Gobind Singh the severed head<br />
of the ninth Guru <strong>and</strong> his father, Guru Tegh Bahadar, which he had brought<br />
from Delhi, the young Gobind Rai overwhelmed with emotion pronounced<br />
Ranghrete Guru ke Bete (Ranghrete, the untouchables, are Guru’s own sons).<br />
Bhai Jaita, the fearless Ranghreta, had endeared himself so much to the Tenth<br />
Guru that he was declared as the Panjwan Sahibjada (Fifth Son) in addition to<br />
his own four sahibjadas. Recently a renowned Punjabi writer Baldev Singh<br />
wrote a long novel Panjwan Sahibjada (Chetna Prakashan: Ludhiana, 2005) on<br />
Bhai Jaita alias Jeevan Singh (Hans, 2009).<br />
Mazhbis are mostly inhabited in Majha region (Amritsar, Tarn Taran <strong>and</strong><br />
Gurdaspur districts) of Punjab. They played a crucial role in all the battles<br />
fought by Guru Gobind Singh <strong>and</strong> thereafter. By the mid-eighteenth century<br />
when the Sikhs organised themselves into five dals (warrior b<strong>and</strong>s), one of these<br />
was constituted under the comm<strong>and</strong> of Bir Singh Ranghreta with a force of<br />
1300-horsemen. It was known as Mazhbi/Ranghreta dal. Throughout the 18 th<br />
century, the Mazhbi Sikh militia played a very important role in the Khalsa<br />
army. The soldiers in the Khalsa army were called Akali Nihangs. Most of the<br />
Nihangs came from the Dalit communities <strong>and</strong> were known for their martial<br />
skills. Even Ranjit Singh used to be careful of them. Though initially he used<br />
their power in capturing several places including Srinagar (Kashmir), where<br />
many Dalit Sikhs settled permanently, but eventually he reduced their influence,<br />
probably under pressure from the Jat Sikh aristocracy that could not digest Dalit<br />
Sikhs wielding comm<strong>and</strong>ing positions (Hans, 2009).Thus after the<br />
establishment of the Khalsa rule under the aegis of Maharaja Ranjit Singh,<br />
concerted efforts were made to undermine their influence as the process of<br />
consolidation of the Sikh panth was under way. Sikh identity from then<br />
onwards began yielding to dormant but strong caste tendencies among the Jat<br />
Sikhs (Omvedt, 2008:22).<br />
Dalit Sikhs: Ramdassias<br />
Ramdassias, the second of the two segments of the Dalit Sikhs, are usually<br />
Julahas (Weavers) who converted to Sikhism during the time of the fourth Guru<br />
of the Sikh faith, Guru Ram Dass. Though there is a wide distinction between<br />
the Ramdassias, typical weavers, <strong>and</strong> the Ravidassias, typical leather workers,<br />
“yet they are connected by certain sections of leather working classes who have<br />
taken to weaving <strong>and</strong> thus risen in their social scale”, argued Ibbetson (Ibbetson,<br />
1883, rpt. 1970:296). Many Ramdassias, like Jat Sikhs, do not strictly follow the<br />
Sikh rahit (code of conduct). Babu Kanshi Ram, founder of the Bahujan Samaj<br />
Party, was a clean-shaven Ramdassia Sikh of the Ropar district of the Malwa
JPS: 16:1 8<br />
region of Punjab. Ravidassias as a community differs from Mazhbis <strong>and</strong><br />
Rangretas. Traditionally, they are mostly engaged in weaving.<br />
Ramdassias <strong>and</strong> Ravidassias are probably of the same origin – Chamar.<br />
However, the distinction between them is primarily traced in terms of their<br />
diverse occupations. The leather working sections of the Chamar caste, the<br />
proud occupation of Sant Ravidass whom they also worship <strong>and</strong> revere as a<br />
Guru, has come to be known as Ravidassias. And the weaving occupation<br />
community of the Chamar caste popularly known as Julahas came to be known<br />
as Ramdassias after their conversion to Sikhism. While making a sharp<br />
distinction between these two occupationally distinct classes of the single main<br />
caste of Chamar, Sir Denzil Ibbetson cogently argues, “[t]he Ramdasias are<br />
confused with Raidasi or Rabdasi Chamars. The formers are true Sikhs, <strong>and</strong><br />
take the Pahul. 19 The latter are Hindus, or if Sikhs, only Nanakpanthi Sikhs <strong>and</strong><br />
do not take the Pahul; <strong>and</strong> are followers of Bhagat Rav Das or Rab Das, himself<br />
a Chamar. They are apparently as true Hindus as any Chamar can be, <strong>and</strong> are<br />
wrongly called Sikhs by confusion with Ramdasias” (Ibbetson, 1883, rpt.<br />
1970:300).<br />
Ravidassias, the most upwardly Dalit community, over the last few decades,<br />
have started asserting their separate identity <strong>and</strong> have established their own<br />
Ravidass Sabhas <strong>and</strong> Gurdwaras different from the mainstream Sikh<br />
organizations <strong>and</strong> Gurdwaras across the world. But in official records, they are<br />
still bracketed with Chamars (for details see: Ch<strong>and</strong>ra, 2000:31-33 <strong>and</strong> 49;<br />
Deep, 2001:7; Ram, 2004c:5-7). Since Chamars are counted among the Hindus<br />
in census terms, so are the Ravidassias. But in sociological terms, they are a<br />
group apart <strong>and</strong> are different both from the caste Hindus <strong>and</strong> Sikhs.<br />
Ravidass, Bhakti <strong>and</strong> Protest<br />
Guru Ravidass is known as a leading star of the medieval northern India bhakti<br />
movement, especially the nirguna sampradaya or sant parampara (for a<br />
detailed account of sant parampara of the north Indian bhakti movement see:<br />
McLeod, 1968; Chaturvedi, 1952; Schomar & McLeod [eds.] 1987; Lorenzen<br />
[ed.], 1996; Lele, [ed.] 1981:1-15). He was a cobbler, saint, poet, philosopher<br />
<strong>and</strong> social reformer, all rolled into one. “Together with Namdev <strong>and</strong> Kabir,<br />
Ravidas is one of the few Bhaktas to cross language barriers <strong>and</strong> become<br />
important in several parts of India” (Zelliot, 2003:27). His popularity can be<br />
gauged from a variety of names attributed to him by his followers in different<br />
regions <strong>and</strong> languages (P<strong>and</strong>ey 1961:7-8). He is known as Raidasa, Rohidasa,<br />
Ruidasa, Ramadasa, Raedasa, Rohitasa, Rahdesa, Rav Das <strong>and</strong> Rab Das (Singh<br />
1996:25; Callewaert <strong>and</strong> Friedl<strong>and</strong>er, 1992:20-1; Ibbetson, 1883, rpt. 1970:<br />
300). His poetry has universal appeal. It is full of radical fervor <strong>and</strong> boundless<br />
love for the formless God. Although the poetry of Ravidass is rich with<br />
references to the adoration of <strong>and</strong> longing for God, it also gives significant<br />
space to the “hope for a better world <strong>and</strong> a fight against exploiters, powerholders<br />
<strong>and</strong> oppression going on under the name of religion” (Omvedt,<br />
2003:33). His poetry reflects his vision of the social <strong>and</strong> spiritual needs of the
9 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
downtrodden <strong>and</strong> underlines the urgency of their emancipation. He, therefore, is<br />
regarded as a messiah of the downtrodden. They revere him as devoutly as<br />
Hindus revere their Gods <strong>and</strong> Goddesses, <strong>and</strong> Sikhs their Gurus. 20 They worship<br />
his image, recite his hymns every morning <strong>and</strong> night, celebrate his birthdays as<br />
a religious event <strong>and</strong> show faith in his spiritual power (Wendy, 1999:910). They<br />
raise slogans such as ‘Ravidass Shakti Amar Rahe’ (may the spiritual power of<br />
Ravidass live forever). Ravidass was born in Chamar caste, also known as<br />
Kutb<strong>and</strong>hla, one of the Scheduled Castes in Uttar Pradesh. Chamars are known<br />
by their profession of leather <strong>and</strong> tanning. 21 They were oppressed <strong>and</strong> their<br />
touch <strong>and</strong> sight were considered polluting by the upper castes. Ravidass revolted<br />
against this inhuman system of untouchability. He adopted bhakti as a mode of<br />
expression for his revolt. His bhakti-based method of revolt was very novel <strong>and</strong><br />
daring. It was novel because of its emphasis on compassion for all <strong>and</strong> absolute<br />
faith in God. The principle of compassion for all reflected the egalitarian traits<br />
of his social philosophy <strong>and</strong> struggle. His concept of the absolute faith in the<br />
formless God showed the apathy of the elite of his time towards the plight of the<br />
downtrodden for whose emancipation he had to seek refuge in no one else but<br />
God. His method was daring in the sense that he chose to imitate the Brahmins<br />
in order to symbolize his revolt which was not only highly objectionable but<br />
was equally deadly for an outcaste of his times. He challenged the tyranny of<br />
the Brahmins <strong>and</strong> defied them by wearing the Dhoti (cloth wrapped around the<br />
waist), Janeue (sacred thread) <strong>and</strong> Tilak (sacred red mark on forehead), which<br />
were forbidden for the untouchables. Though he attired himself like an upper<br />
caste, he did not hide his caste. He continued with his hereditary occupation of<br />
making/mending shoes. He, probably, tried to show that while adopting the<br />
prohibited dress <strong>and</strong> symbols of the upper castes, the lower castes could still<br />
keep their identity intact. Thus Ravidass provided an alternative model for the<br />
emancipation of the Dalits. What made the image of Ravidass a catalyst in the<br />
emergence of Dalit consciousness was his being an outcaste <strong>and</strong> at the same<br />
time a Sant of very high repute who chose poetry as a vehicle of peaceful social<br />
protest against the oppressive Brahminical structures. 22 It is important to note<br />
here that in the popular calendar culture of Punjab, Ravidass is invariably<br />
presented in the above-mentioned dress code. His iconography seems to work as<br />
a suitable pedagogic tool to convey the message of self-respect <strong>and</strong> dignity of<br />
labour to the downtrodden who were not only completely debarred from<br />
entering the spiritual sphere in Hindu society monopolized by the priestly class<br />
of Brahmins, but who were also treated worse than animals because of their low<br />
caste birth <strong>and</strong> the nature of their occupation. It is in this context that his<br />
iconography turns out to be an icon of social protest.<br />
Thus Ravidass gave a new meaning to bhakti by projecting it as a method of<br />
social protest that set the stage for a more secular <strong>and</strong> radical Dalit movement in<br />
India in the late nineteenth <strong>and</strong> early twentieth centuries. He rejected all forms<br />
of religious rituals <strong>and</strong> sectarian formalities. He also commented graphically on<br />
the cursed <strong>and</strong> abject living conditions of millions of fellow downtrodden. Some<br />
scholars were of the opinion that though the devotional songs <strong>and</strong> hymns of<br />
Ravidass reflected the sufferings of the downtrodden, they lack the reformatory
JPS: 16:1 10<br />
zeal <strong>and</strong> the bitter condemnation of Brahminism <strong>and</strong> the caste system that<br />
animated the poetry of Kabir <strong>and</strong> Tukaram (Dasgupta, 1976:162; Omvedt,<br />
2003:191). Though there is a difference in tone between the poetry of Kabir <strong>and</strong><br />
Ravidass, both convey the same message. The poetry of Ravidass is known to<br />
be full of humility <strong>and</strong> devotion. But at the same time it is equally imbibed with<br />
reformatory zeal <strong>and</strong> concern for the downtrodden. Instead of bluntly snubbing<br />
the arrogance of higher castes, he undertook to raise the dignity of his own caste<br />
<strong>and</strong> profession, so that the higher castes could come to realize the shallowness<br />
of their self-imposed superiority (Lal, 1998:7).He advocated self-help for<br />
eliminating sufferings of the Dalits. His vision for self-help is clearly reflected<br />
in one of the legends about his refusal to make use of a Paras (a mythical stone<br />
that turns iron into gold) to get rich (Deep, 2001:11 & 17; Singh, 2000:2-3). He<br />
lent purity <strong>and</strong> respect to kirat (manual work), which also found special mention<br />
in the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikh faith. In fact,<br />
Ravidass’s life <strong>and</strong> poetry provided a vision to the downtrodden to struggle for<br />
their human rights <strong>and</strong> civic liberties in a peaceful <strong>and</strong> non-violent way.<br />
The bhakti approach of Ravidass was a non-violent struggle for the<br />
emancipation <strong>and</strong> empowerment of the socially excluded sections of the society.<br />
Though he combined humility with bhakti, his concept of formless God<br />
reflected an altogether different picture. Ravidass’s God was not humble at all<br />
in the typical sense of the term. He was graceful. He was not indifferent to the<br />
downtrodden. His God was rather bold who was not afraid of anyone. He<br />
elevated <strong>and</strong> purified the so-called untouchables. ‘Aaisee lal tujh binu kaunu<br />
karai. Gareeb niwaaju guseea meraa maathai chhatar dharai… neecho uooch<br />
karai meraa govind kaahoo te na darai’ [refrain My Beloved, besides you who<br />
acts like this? Protector of the poor, my Master. You hold a royal umbrella over<br />
my head] (Adi Granth: 1106, translated as in Callewaert <strong>and</strong> Friedl<strong>and</strong>er,<br />
1992:166). 23 Ravidass further wrote ‘Meri jaati kut b<strong>and</strong>hlaa dhor dhouwanta<br />
nithi baanaarasi aas paasaa. Ab bipar pardhan tihi karih d<strong>and</strong>uouti tere naam<br />
sarnaaie Ravidass daasaa’ [My Caste is Kutabådhalā, I cart carcasses<br />
constantly around Benaras. Now Brahmans <strong>and</strong> headmen bow down before me,<br />
Ravidās the servant has taken refuge in Your Name (Adi Granth: 1293). 24 It is in<br />
this context that his non-violent struggle based on bhakti assumed special<br />
importance for the emancipation of the Dalits. He did not only adopt non–<br />
violence in his struggle against social oppression, but also motivated the<br />
oppressors to ab<strong>and</strong>on the path of violence (Puri, 2006:11). In fact, there is no<br />
place at all for violence in the teachings <strong>and</strong> struggles of Guru Ravidass.<br />
Ravidass’s low caste but high spiritual status, however, posed a serious<br />
challenge to the oppressive Brahminical structures of domination. The<br />
traditional Brahminical institution of varnashrama dharma 25 failed to confront<br />
Ravidass’s pragmatic <strong>and</strong> revolutionary reasoning based on equality, dignity<br />
<strong>and</strong> fraternity. Instead, the Brahmins attempted to undermine his low caste<br />
profile by appropriating him in the Hindu fold. They concocted stories to project<br />
him as a Brahmin in his previous life. 26 Thus challenged by the surging<br />
popularity of Ravidass, among the lower <strong>and</strong> upper castes alike, Brahmins<br />
knitted layers of mythological narratives about his mythical high caste in his
11 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
previous life. This was done, probably, to preclude the lower castes from<br />
rallying around his name (conversation with Karam Singh Raju, a prolific writer<br />
<strong>and</strong> devotee of Ravidass, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh, 9 February 2004).Yet another device<br />
adopted by the twice born to diminish his popularity was to present him as a<br />
Guru of the Chamars only.“This was the final masterstroke to minimize his<br />
influence on the society as a whole” (Chahal, n.d.:4-5). Significantly, though<br />
Ravidass was himself a Chamar, his egalitarian social philosophy has<br />
historically won him many disciples among the upper castes too. Jhali, Queen of<br />
Chittor; Mirabai, Rajput princes <strong>and</strong> daughter-in-law of King of Mewar,<br />
Sangram Singh; Prince Veer Singh Dev Vaghela of Rewa of Madhya Pradesh;<br />
<strong>and</strong> Prince of Kanshi have been among the most prominent ones (Kaul,<br />
2001:48). 27<br />
Dalit activists <strong>and</strong> academics have been condemning the process of<br />
Brahminisation of Ravidass. They ridicule the so-called Brahminical narratives<br />
<strong>and</strong> interpretations about Ravidass <strong>and</strong> also refuse to accept Raman<strong>and</strong> as his<br />
Guru 28 . Ravidass never mentioned the name of Raman<strong>and</strong> in his most authentic<br />
bani recorded in the Guru Granth Sahib. Instead, he mentioned the names of<br />
various Sants such as Jaidev, Namdev <strong>and</strong> Kabir (Muktsar, 2002:70-74; <strong>and</strong><br />
Muktsar, 2004). Some radical Dalits claim “that his Guru was Sardan<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong><br />
emphasize his ability to defeat Brahmins time <strong>and</strong> again in debates” (Omvedt,<br />
2003:192; see also Hawley <strong>and</strong> Juergensmeyer, 1988:15).Thus the process of<br />
Brahminisation has not only failed to assimilate Ravidass in the fold of the<br />
upper castes, it further strengthens the bond between him <strong>and</strong> the exuntouchables.<br />
The latter feel proud of being known as only Ravidassias. They<br />
consider Guru Ravidass <strong>and</strong> his bani as a paragon of their struggle for social<br />
equality, justice <strong>and</strong> dignity.<br />
Ravidass Deras <strong>and</strong> Dalit Consciousness<br />
It is in the above-discussed context that the egalitarian social philosophy of<br />
Ravidass expressed in the mode of poetry became the manifesto of the Dalit<br />
consciousness in Punjab <strong>and</strong> the Punjabi Dalit diasporas. The establishment of a<br />
large number of Ravidass Deras by the Dalits in Punjab <strong>and</strong> elsewhere over the<br />
last few years is a case in point. These Deras are distinguished from both Hindu<br />
temples <strong>and</strong> mainstream Sikh gurdwaras in the sense that they have their<br />
separate patterns of rituals, ceremonies, slogans, ardas (prayer), kirtan (musical<br />
rendering of sacred hymns), religious festivals <strong>and</strong> iconography (Rawat,<br />
2003:589-90).Since the entire gamut of activities in Ravidass Deras revolves<br />
around the teachings <strong>and</strong> life anecdotes of Guru Ravidass, he emerges as a<br />
central figure in the premises of the Deras as well as in the minds of their<br />
followers. The idols of Guru Ravidass are placed in the sanctum sanctorum of<br />
almost all the Ravidass Deras in Punjab <strong>and</strong> elsewhere in India as well as<br />
abroad.<br />
Guru Ravidass has become very popular among the Ravidassia Dalit<br />
diasporas, especially of the Doaba Punjab, home to the highest concentration of<br />
Dalits in the state. A very significant part of the Ravidassia Dalit diaspora from
JPS: 16:1 12<br />
Doaba happen to be the followers of Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan, also located in the<br />
same region. Some of the Ravidassia Dalits abroad are well settled <strong>and</strong> take<br />
active interest in community activities in their host as well as home country.<br />
They have constructed a large number of Ravidass shrines (interchangeably<br />
known as Deras, gurughars, temples <strong>and</strong> gurdwaras) in order to assert their<br />
separate Dalit identity. Some of the most prominent Ravidassia shrines abroad<br />
are in the following cities: Vancouver, Calgary, Brampton, Toronto, Montreal<br />
(all in Canada), New York, Sacramento, Pittsburg, Seattle, Fresno, Houston,<br />
Selma, Fremont, <strong>and</strong> Austin (all in USA), Wolverhampton, Birmingham,<br />
Bradford, Coventry, Derby, Lancaster, Southall, Southampton, Kent <strong>and</strong><br />
Bedford (all in UK). In the last few years many Ravidass Temples <strong>and</strong><br />
Gurdwaras have also come up in Austria, Italy, France, Germany, Spain,<br />
Holl<strong>and</strong>, New Zeal<strong>and</strong>, Greece <strong>and</strong> Lebanon. Sant Niranjan Dass of Dera Ballan<br />
has laid the foundation stones of all these Ravidass Deras. 29 The Sants of Ballan<br />
pay regular visits to these various overseas Ravidass gurughars <strong>and</strong> bless the<br />
vast Ravidass naam leevan sangat (devotees of Guru Ravidass) there.<br />
In additions, Punjabi Dalit diaspora actively participates in various other<br />
community activities in the host countries. They organized an <strong>International</strong><br />
Dalit Conference (May 16-18, 2003) in Vancouver (Canada), which launched a<br />
campaign in North America with a view to lobbying multinationals in India to<br />
honour the principle of diversity for the Dalits in private ventures. The Dalit<br />
diaspora settled in the United States of America took out the float of Baba Sahib<br />
Dr B.R. Ambedkar on the occasion of the 60 th India’s Independence Day Parade<br />
in New York (on 19 August 2007). The float of Dr. Ambedkar organized by<br />
Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha of New York was perhaps the first of its kind in the<br />
history of Dalit diaspora. 30 The Ravidassia community of British Columbia<br />
(Canada) also created history on February 25, 2008 by celebrating Guru<br />
Ravidass Jayanti in the Parliament of British Columbia in Victoria (based on<br />
personal communication from Jai Birdi, Vancouver, Canada, February 26,<br />
2008). It is important to note that the planning for all the community activities<br />
<strong>and</strong> their implementation is chalked out at Ravidass Deras.<br />
The number of Ravidass Deras has been multiplying very fast. This has<br />
taken the form of a sort of a socio-cultural movement for the emancipation of<br />
Dalits. Led by the Sants of Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan, this movement “…is<br />
silently sweeping the Punjab countryside offering a new hope to the<br />
untouchable, particularly the Chamars…” (Rajshekar, 2004:3). It has generated<br />
a sense of confidence in them <strong>and</strong> provided an opportunity to exhibit their<br />
hitherto eclipsed Dalit identity. The movement of Ravidass Deras “…reflects<br />
the fast changing socio-cultural scene of Punjab where the once powerful <strong>and</strong><br />
revolutionary Sikh religion is failing to meet the needs of the oppressed who<br />
discovered the right remedy to cure their wounded psyche in the Ballan<br />
experiment” (Rajshekar, 2004:3). The secret of success of this movement lies in<br />
the strategy of the Sants of Ballan to “…sell Dr Ambedkar’s socio-cultural<br />
revolution packed in an ingenious religious capsule” (Rajshekar, 2004:3).<br />
Ravidass Deras are, perhaps, the only religious centers where religious <strong>and</strong><br />
political figures (Ravidass <strong>and</strong> Ambedkar) are blended <strong>and</strong> projected publicly.
13 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
They thrive on the elements of social protest expressed in the poetry of Ravidass<br />
<strong>and</strong> the teachings of Ambedkar. Ravidass Deras, in fact, have been functioning<br />
as missions to sensitize Dalits <strong>and</strong> facilitate their empowerment (Ambedkari,<br />
2005:5).<br />
Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan <strong>and</strong> the question of Dalit Identity<br />
Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan, also known as Dera Shri 108 Sant Sarwan Dass Ji<br />
Maharaj Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan or simply Dera Ballan, is situated at village Ballan,<br />
seven miles north of Jal<strong>and</strong>har city on the Pathankot road. Other equally famous<br />
Ravidass Deras are ‘Temple Ravidass Chak Hakim’ (Phagwara), 31 <strong>and</strong> ‘Dera of<br />
Sant Jagatjit Giri’ (Pathankot).The Ravidass Deras of Ballan <strong>and</strong> Chak Hakim<br />
shot into prominence during the Ad Dharm movement. They were instrumental<br />
in bringing social consciousness among the Dalits of Punjab (Juergensmeyer,<br />
1988:84-85). Mangoo Ram, the founder of the Ad Dharm movement, visited the<br />
Dera Ballan <strong>and</strong> sought its support in popularizing the image of Ravidass among<br />
the Dalits of Punjab (Juergensmeyer, 1988:85). The association of the Dera with<br />
the Ad Dharm movement becomes further clear from the fact that Sant Sarwan<br />
Dass, the then head of the Dera Ballan (October 11,1928-June 11,1972), offered<br />
juice to Mangoo Ram to open his fast-unto-death undertaken by him as a<br />
counter measure to that of Mahatama G<strong>and</strong>hi’s against the communal award in<br />
1932 (Bawa, 2004:6). Although this movement petered out after the first general<br />
election in independent India, “…Deras such as that of Sarwan Das remain<br />
popular destinations for pilgrimage in the Punjab” (Juergensmeyer, 1988:85).<br />
Dera Ballan also hosted the mammoth Dalit conference (13 th December, 1970)<br />
organised by Mangu Ram Jaspal, namesake of the famous Mangoo Ram, to<br />
revive the Ad Dharm movement. 32 It was during this conference that the<br />
legendary Mangoo Ram <strong>and</strong> many other prominent leaders of the Ad Dharm<br />
movement commended the contribution of Sants of Dera Ballan towards the<br />
emancipation <strong>and</strong> empowerment of Dalits. Sant Sarwan Dass also met Dr. B.R.<br />
Ambedkar in 1948 in Delhi at his residence <strong>and</strong> encouraged him to fight<br />
continuously for the emancipation of the downtrodden. During Dr. Ambedkar’s<br />
visit to Punjab in 1951, Sant Sarwan Dass sent a message wishing him success<br />
in his struggle for the emancipation of the Dalits (Bawa, 2004:6).<br />
Ravidass Mission, Sant Sarwan Dass <strong>and</strong> Dera Ballan<br />
Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan was founded in the beginning of the twentieth century<br />
by Sant Pipal Das, 33 father of Sant Sarwan Das (February 15, 1895-June 11,<br />
1972). Sant Sarwan Dass lost his mother (Shobhawanti) when he was only five<br />
years old. Thereafter, Sant Pipal Dass left home in search of ‘truth’. He took his<br />
child son Sarwan Dass with him on the mission (Bawa, 2003:4). It was during<br />
the course of w<strong>and</strong>ering that the father <strong>and</strong> son reached the place where Dera<br />
Ballan is now situated. Pipal Dass found that place most suitable for spiritual<br />
pursuits. He found a dry Pipal tree at the site. But the tree, as per local narrative,<br />
sprang back into life after he watered it. This convinced Papal Dass that the
JPS: 16:1 14<br />
desired truth could be obtained on this spot. Sant Pipal Dass whose real name<br />
was Harnam Dass came to be known as Pipal (from Pipal tree) Dass after this<br />
incident (conversation with the devotees of Ravidasss <strong>and</strong> the priests of Dera<br />
Ballan, 13-14 April 2004). The place, in the outskirts of village Ballan, was a<br />
thick forest. The father-son duo spent days in the forest <strong>and</strong> took shelter in a<br />
mud house in the village Ballan during nights. Subsequently the mud house was<br />
first converted into a temple, popularly known as Ad M<strong>and</strong>ir, <strong>and</strong> later a new<br />
concrete building was raised in its place (Bawa, 2004:6). Later on, a l<strong>and</strong>lord<br />
(Hazara Singh) of village Ballan donated some l<strong>and</strong> to them in the forest where<br />
they built a thatched hut to begin with. “It soon became the goal of pilgrimage<br />
for lower caste <strong>and</strong> other villagers from all over central Punjab, <strong>and</strong> from its<br />
inception it was a center for the veneration of Ravi Das” (Juergensmeyer,<br />
1988:84-85).<br />
Sant Sarwan Dass received early education from his father <strong>and</strong> learnt Sanskrit<br />
from Sant Kartan<strong>and</strong> of nearby village Kishangarh. He was in his early thirties<br />
when Sant Pipal Das died (1928). By that time he had already become a known<br />
figure not only among the people of Ballan but also in the neighbouring villages<br />
(Bawa, 2004:6-7).However, what distinguished him from other holy men of his<br />
time was his devotion <strong>and</strong> veneration for Sant Ravidass. The dissemination of<br />
Ravidass’s bani <strong>and</strong> teachings became his sole mission. Ravidass appealed most<br />
to the lower castes probably because of his being a Chamar himself <strong>and</strong> a pioneer<br />
in the field of Dalit literature. 34 The fact that Sant Sarwan Dass was himself a<br />
Chamar <strong>and</strong> a devotee of Ravidass contributed to the popularity of his Dera<br />
Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan among the Chamars.<br />
Under the stewardship of Sant Sarwan Dass, a true emissary of Guru<br />
Ravidass, dissemination of the bani of Guru Ravidass <strong>and</strong> the proliferation of the<br />
Ravidassia faith became one of the most important missions of the Dera<br />
Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan. He laid the foundation stones of various Ravidass Deras <strong>and</strong><br />
bhawans. He sponsored construction of rooms in the Shri Guru Ravidass High<br />
School, Jal<strong>and</strong>har; Arts <strong>and</strong> Crafts Training College, Jal<strong>and</strong>har; Shri Guru<br />
Ravidass Technical College, Phagwara; Primary school, Raipur-Rasoolpur;<br />
Bhagwan Ravidass Ashram Nirmala Chowani, Haridwar; <strong>and</strong> High School,<br />
Village Ballan (Bawa, 2004:7). The Sants of Dera Ballan have meticulously kept<br />
Sant Sarwan Dass’s legacy of spreading the mission of Guru Ravidass intact.<br />
They have been spreading the message of the mission to every nook <strong>and</strong> corner<br />
of Punjab <strong>and</strong> elsewhere. The construction of Guru Ravidass Temples in Seer<br />
Govardhanpur (Varanasi), Hadiabad (Punjab), Sirsgarh (Haryana), Pune<br />
(Maharashtra), Haridwar (Uttranchal), <strong>and</strong> Una (Himachal Pradesh) is a clear<br />
indication of the concerted efforts of the Sants of Ballan towards the<br />
dissemination <strong>and</strong> popularisation of the egalitarian philosophy of Ravidass<br />
(Heer, 2005:4). Moreover, they have also generated a sense of cohesive<br />
belongingness among the Punjabi Dalit diaspora as well.<br />
The active participation by the Sants of Dera Ballan in Sant sammelans<br />
(spiritual congregations) organised by the devotees of Guru Ravidass in different<br />
parts of Punjab <strong>and</strong> outside showed their deep concern for the mission of Guru<br />
Ravidass. In the last few years they participated in 52 Sant sammelans in the year
15 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
2005, 70 in 2006 <strong>and</strong> 69 in 2007 (calculated from the various volumes of<br />
Begumpura Shaher [2005, 2006 & 2007], the trilingual weekly publication of the<br />
Dera Ballan). In the sammelans, shabads of the bani of Guru Ravidass are recited<br />
<strong>and</strong> sung, <strong>and</strong> at the end Langer (free food) is served <strong>and</strong> shared by all in the<br />
congregation. Such sammelans have proved very useful in providing a platform<br />
for the propagation of the teachings of Ravidass <strong>and</strong> the missions of Dera Ballan.<br />
Such Sant sammelans are in fact a sort of motivating camps for the inculcation of<br />
values of separate Dalit community among Dalits based on the philosophy of<br />
Guru Ravidass. The Sants of Ballan also visited their devotees abroad regularly<br />
in order to enlighten them of the bani of Ravidass. 35<br />
The Sants of Dera Ballan (especially the slain Sant Raman<strong>and</strong>) have prepared<br />
a number of cassettes, compact discs (CDs), <strong>and</strong> video compact discs (VCDs) of<br />
the bani of Guru Ravidass for wider circulation among their followers (Thind,<br />
2009). Some of the most popular cassettes are: ‘Mission Guru Ravidass Ji’<br />
(Mission of Guru Ravidass), ‘Kanshi wich chan chariya’ (Moon in Kanshi),<br />
‘Begampura Shaher Ka Nau’ (City Named Begumpura), ‘Rabb Dharti Te’ (God<br />
on the Earth), ‘Satguru Da Updesh’ (Sermon of the Guru), ‘Kanshi Ballan Wich<br />
Farak Na Koe’ (No Difference between Kanshi <strong>and</strong> Ballan), ‘Har ke Naam Bin’<br />
(Without the Name of God), ‘Amrit Bani Shri Guru Ravidass Ji’ (Immortal Bani<br />
of Guru Ravidass), ‘Duniya de Loko Nek Bano’ (Become nice, Peoples of the<br />
World), ‘Jai Satiguru Ravidas’ (Victory to Guru Ravidass), ‘Darshan Satguru de<br />
Kar Lau’ (Be face to face with the Guru), ‘Begumpur de Wasia’ (Residence of<br />
the Begumpur), ‘Guru Da Jehrey Nam Japde’ (Those who Remember the Name<br />
of the Guru), <strong>and</strong> ‘Ban ke Messiah Aya’ (Came as a Messiah). ‘Eh Janam<br />
Tumhare Lekhe’ (This Life is for You), ‘Begampure Diyan Raunkan’ (Festivities<br />
of Begumpura), ‘Shri Guru Ravidass Amrit Bani Dohae’ (Couplets of the<br />
Immortal bani of Guru Ravidass), <strong>and</strong> ‘Satsang Mahina Cheet’ (company of the<br />
Sants in first month of the Hindu calendar) are some of the most popular VCDs.<br />
The six-volumes set of ‘Amrit Bani of Guru Ravidass Ji’ is the most popular<br />
among the CDs. They are available at Dera Ballan on nominal rates <strong>and</strong> are also<br />
given as souvenir to the devotees. During one of my visits to the Dera Ballan,<br />
Sant Surinder Dass Bawa was kind enough to gift me a set of these cassettes. 36<br />
The Dera has also composed a Gurbani programme based on the bani of Guru<br />
Ravidass. The program is called ‘Amrit Bani: Shri Guru Ravidass ji’, being<br />
telecast every Friday, 6.00 – 6.15 a.m. <strong>and</strong> every Saturday, 7.15 – 7.30 a.m. on<br />
Jal<strong>and</strong>har Doordarshan since October 13, 2003.The programme is produced in<br />
the newly built hi-tech studio in the premises of the Dera through which live<br />
telecast of the satsang is also beamed to several countries. It has unique<br />
importance for the Dalits who in the past were forbidden to read <strong>and</strong> hear the<br />
sacred text. It has contributed significantly in building their self-esteem <strong>and</strong><br />
confidence that in turn has sharpened their social <strong>and</strong> political consciousness.<br />
Dera Ballan, Social Service <strong>and</strong> Dalit Philanthropy<br />
Primary education <strong>and</strong> healthcare were the two main social service concerns of<br />
Sant Sarwan Dass, which further strengthen the surging popularity of the Dera
JPS: 16:1 16<br />
Ballan among the Dalits. The Sant had encouraged Dalit children to study <strong>and</strong><br />
helped them financially. He opened an informal primary school within the<br />
premises of the Dera. He taught the poor children Panjabi <strong>and</strong> trained them in<br />
reciting Gurbani (sacred text of Guru Granth Sahib) correctly. He used to feed<br />
them with rice pudding <strong>and</strong> fried loafs every Sunday – a diet that was really a<br />
luxury for the poor Dalit. There is a common belief among the followers of Dera<br />
Ballan that whosoever was taught by Sant Sarwan Dass became an officer in<br />
Government service (conversations with the devotees of Ravidass; <strong>and</strong> Sant<br />
Surinder Dass Bawa, priest of Dera Ballan, Ballan, 14 April 2004). He urged the<br />
poor parents to educate their children so that they could earn their livelihood in a<br />
respectful way <strong>and</strong> could lead a dignified life (Jassal, 2005:7).<br />
All the subsequent chiefs of Dera Ballan who followed Sant Sarwan Dass 37<br />
carried on the great task of philanthropy began by him for the uplift of the<br />
downtrodden. In fact, they turned these vital concerns of capacity building into<br />
long-term missions of the Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan. To fulfill one of these<br />
missions, Sants of Dera Ballan founded ‘Sant Sarwan Dass Model School’ at<br />
Hadiabad (Phagwara) in April 2004 to provide quality education to the Dalit<br />
children for a nominal fee. The school is housed in a magnificent building<br />
equipped with modern instruments <strong>and</strong> materials, <strong>and</strong> has its own fleet of buses<br />
for the conveyance of the students. The medium of instruction in the school is<br />
English. What distinguished this school is that along with formal education in<br />
different streams of knowledge, students are also informed about the missions of<br />
Guru Ravidass <strong>and</strong> Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan (S<strong>and</strong>hu, 2005:11; Varghese,<br />
2006:3).<br />
Sant Sarwan Dass also established a small Dawakhana (Ayurvedic clinic) at<br />
the Dera for the benefits of the downtrodden who could not afford exorbitant<br />
costly treatment <strong>and</strong> medicine in the market . The Dawakhana is still in operation<br />
<strong>and</strong> Sant Surinder Dass Bawa runs the clinic. 38 This small beginning at the Dera,<br />
however, eventually flourished into a full-fledged hospital (Sant Sarwan Dass<br />
Charitable Hospital) at Dehpur-Kapoor village Adda Kathar on the Hoshiarpur-<br />
Jal<strong>and</strong>har road (district Jal<strong>and</strong>har). Sant Garib Dass, the then chief of Dera<br />
Ballan, founded the hospital in 1982. A humble beginning was made with a<br />
small dispensary in 1984. Soon after, it exp<strong>and</strong>ed into a two hundred-bed<br />
hospital equipped with latest medical technology. The hospital is famous for its<br />
expertise in surgery in the region. It provided round the clock emergency<br />
services, <strong>and</strong> has its own medical store shop, which provided medicines at<br />
reasonable rates. For the convenience of the patients <strong>and</strong> their attendants, indoor<br />
catering facilities <strong>and</strong> spacious retiring halls are also provided. A small nominal<br />
fee is charged to patients to partially meet hospital expenditure, which is about<br />
2.5 million Indian rupees per month (Kauldhar, 2003: 5 & 8, <strong>and</strong> Heer, 2006:4).<br />
At a time when public health services have almost turned dysfunctional in the<br />
state, the Sant Sarwan Dass Charitable Hospital has come as a great relief to the<br />
downtrodden who are incapable of fending for themselves.<br />
In addition, Sants of Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan have also been regularly<br />
organising free eye operation camps every year, in the month of February, with<br />
the support of Swarn Dass Banger, a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) settled in
17 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
Engl<strong>and</strong>. A team of doctors from U.K. held a 10-day (March 16-25, 2005)<br />
medical camp in Sant Sarwan Dass Charitable Hospital. The camp had the<br />
sanction of the Medical Council of India, Department of Health, UK, <strong>and</strong> the<br />
British Medical Association. The camp received wide coverage in the western<br />
print media that marked the hospital on the international map. The detailed<br />
account of the camp was carried in two publications: ‘Trust News’ of<br />
Calderdale <strong>and</strong> Huddersfield National Health Service (NHS) <strong>and</strong> the ‘Evening<br />
Courier’ (Heer, 2005a:4). Swarn Dass Banger has also donated 10 million<br />
Indian rupees for the construction of Sant Sarwan Dass Memorial Eye Hospital<br />
near the Dera <strong>and</strong> gave 2.5 acres of prime l<strong>and</strong> adjacent to the Dera where a<br />
mammoth Satsangh Bhawan (religious congregation hall), centrally airconditioned<br />
with a capacity of accommodating 50,000 people at a time, is now<br />
constructed. Sant Niranjan Dass, the present chief of Dera Ballan, laid the<br />
foundation stone of the Eye Hospital on November 10, 2004 (Bawa, 2004:7).<br />
Dera Ballan received a large amount of offerings in the form of money <strong>and</strong><br />
gifts from its Dalit NRI followers in Europe <strong>and</strong> North America. Seth Brij Lal<br />
Kaler of Engl<strong>and</strong> has donated 10 million Indian rupees to Dera Ballan. 39 The<br />
NRI followers of the Dera Ballan in Wolverhampton donated 1.5 million Indian<br />
rupees for the construction of bathrooms <strong>and</strong> an eight feet high wall around the<br />
newly added plot to the Ravidass Temple at Seer Govardhanpur in Varanasi.<br />
The sangat (followers) from Wolverhampton <strong>and</strong> Birmingham donated 2.2<br />
million Indian rupees to the Dera Ballan for the construction of the second story<br />
of the community dining hall at Ravidass Temple at Seer Govardhanpur (Bawa,<br />
2005b:preface). Recently, NRI followers of the Dera from Europe <strong>and</strong> North<br />
America donated 15 Kg. of pure gold for the purpose of making a palanquin of<br />
Guru Ravidass, which the Sants of Dera Ballan carried in the form of a<br />
mammoth procession from the premises of the Dera to Sri Guru Ravidass Janam<br />
Asthan Temple at Seer Govardhanpur (Varanasi). The procession started from<br />
Dera Ballan on February 16 <strong>and</strong> reached Varanasi in the evening of February<br />
20, 2008. 40 The provision of excellent satsang halls <strong>and</strong> modern hospital<br />
medical facilities in the rural areas of Punjab is what made Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong><br />
Ballan an exceptional religious site for the downtrodden where spiritual <strong>and</strong><br />
social services are combined together. Dalit diaspora philanthropy apart, Dera<br />
Ballan also receives rich offerings from its large number of local followers <strong>and</strong><br />
well-wishers.<br />
Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan <strong>and</strong> Dalit Literature<br />
Another important feature of the Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan that brought it to the<br />
forefront of the cause of Dalits’ upliftment was its deep interest in literary<br />
activities. The Dera has a rich library on its premises. The library contains<br />
books on the life <strong>and</strong> philosophy of Ravidass, Babu Mangoo Ram Mugowalia<br />
<strong>and</strong> Dr. Ambedkar, the Bhakti movement, the Ad Dharm movement, <strong>and</strong> on<br />
several projects <strong>and</strong> missions of Dera Ballan (based on participant observation<br />
by the author; see also: Hans, 2006:3-4). The books are made available to the<br />
readers on nominal charges <strong>and</strong> even free of cost. Some of the books are also
JPS: 16:1 18<br />
given to the devotees as a souvenir along with the framed calendar prints of the<br />
Dera Ballan <strong>and</strong> Ravidass temple (Seer Goverdhanpur) with the images of Guru<br />
Ravidass <strong>and</strong> B.R. Ambedkar embossed on them. Religious Rebels in the<br />
Punjab: The social Vision of Untouchables (1988), a pioneer study of the Ad<br />
Dharm movement in Punjab authored by Mark Juergensmeyer, is one of the<br />
most popular book that is distributed among the devotees (based on participant<br />
observation by the author).<br />
The Dera Ballan also publishes, <strong>and</strong> sponsors books on Dalit literature. In<br />
addition, it also confers honors on Dalit scholars as an acknowledgement of<br />
their literary contributions towards the uplift of the downtrodden. Till now, it<br />
has honoured twenty Dalit scholars with gold medals (Bawa, 2005b: XXX). In<br />
addition, the Dera has also been publishing a 12 page trilingual (Panjabi, Hindi,<br />
<strong>and</strong> English) weekly ‘Begumpura Shaher’ since August 15, 1991.This weekly<br />
was founded by Sant Garib Dass, fourth head of the Dera Ballan, to highlight<br />
the problems of the downtrodden <strong>and</strong> to educate them about the mission of Guru<br />
Ravidass. ‘Begumpura Shaher’, the sole mouthpiece of the Dalits who were<br />
highly under-represented in the mainstream print <strong>and</strong> electronic media, has<br />
become an important source for raising social consciousness <strong>and</strong> a symbol of<br />
self-respect among them. 41 The Bharatiya Dalit Sahitya Academy (Indian Dalit<br />
Literary Academy) honoured its chief editor, Sant Raman<strong>and</strong>, recently killed in<br />
the Vienna shooting, with the 20 th National Dalit Literary Award (2004) for the<br />
contribution it made in the field of journalism <strong>and</strong> Dalit consciousness. The<br />
Academy also organized a two days National Dalit Introspection Camp (9-10<br />
June 2006) at Dera Ballan to discuss the commonalities among the thoughts,<br />
missions, <strong>and</strong> objectives of Buddha, Ravidass <strong>and</strong> Ambedkar. Among the<br />
prominent participants who attended the Camp were Dr. Mata Parsad, former<br />
Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Babu Parman<strong>and</strong>, former Governor of<br />
Haryana, Dr. Satya Narayan Jatiya, former central minister of social justice <strong>and</strong><br />
Member of Parliament, Ch<strong>and</strong>erpal Sallani, former Member of Parliament,<br />
Bavanrao Gholap, former social welfare minister of Maharashtra <strong>and</strong> member of<br />
the State Legislative Assembly, <strong>and</strong> Dr. J. S. Sabar, Chair Guru Ravidass, Guru<br />
Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (Sumanakshar, 2006:1). The participation by<br />
such a large number of renowned personalities in the Dalit Introspection Camp<br />
– a rare occasion of its kind at a religious site – lend credence to the missions of<br />
Dera Ballan for the upliftment of the Dalits. In a hierarchically structured<br />
society of Punjab, the literary chapter of the Dera Ballan has proved to be of<br />
immense importance in raising awareness <strong>and</strong> building confidence among the<br />
downtrodden masses, who have been on the margin in the mainstream literary<br />
circles.<br />
Seer Goverdhanpur: The Mecca of Dalits<br />
Of all the major contributions made by Dera Ballan, the construction of a<br />
mammoth ‘Shri Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan M<strong>and</strong>ir’ (Temple of Shri Guru<br />
Ravidass’s Birthplace) at Seer Goverdhanpur, a locality in the city of Varanasi<br />
is the most significant. The Sants of Ballan traced the birthplace of Ravidass to
19 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
a location in the village Seer Goverdhanpur, on the outskirts of Varanasi, near<br />
the Banaras Hindu University (BHU). Sant Hari Dass of Dera Ballan had laid<br />
the foundation stone of the temple on June 14, 1965. Dalits from India <strong>and</strong><br />
abroad contributed enormously towards the construction of the temple. Giani<br />
Zail Singh, the President of India (July 25 1982-July 25, 1987), visited the Shri<br />
Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan Temple Seer Govardhanpur on May 25, 1984<br />
(Sachhi Kahani, 2007:11-12). The construction of the temple was completed in<br />
1994. Babu Kanshi Ram, the BSP supremo, performed the ceremonial<br />
installation of the golden dome atop the temple. KR Narayanan, the then<br />
President of India, performed the opening ceremony of the huge monumental<br />
entry gate to the temple, on July16, 1998.<br />
Shri Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan M<strong>and</strong>ir at Seer Goverdhanpur has<br />
acquired perhaps the same importance for Dalits as the ‘Mecca’ for Muslims<br />
<strong>and</strong> the ‘Golden Temple’ for Sikhs (based on conversations at Deras). Every<br />
year during birth anniversary of Guru Ravidass, the M<strong>and</strong>ir attracts millions of<br />
devotees from India <strong>and</strong> abroad. The Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan made special<br />
arrangements for the pilgrimage of Ravidass devotees to their Mecca at Seer<br />
Goverdhanpur (Varanasi). Special trains were arranged from Jal<strong>and</strong>har city in<br />
Punjab to Varanasi especially to participate in the celebrations of the birth<br />
anniversary of Ravidass. This temple serves an important purpose in reminding<br />
Dalits of the silent ‘social revolution’ led by Ravidass in Varanasi, the<br />
headquarters of Hindu religiosity. Its unique contribution lies in symbolising a<br />
vision for the future <strong>and</strong> the forgotten history of the Dalit struggle for equality<br />
<strong>and</strong> dignity in medieval India. Amidst the erstwhile headquartes of the<br />
oppressive Hindu social order, ‘Temple of Shri Guru Ravidass’s Birthplace’ has<br />
become an important cultural <strong>and</strong> religious site for the assertion of distinct<br />
identity where the ex-untouchables can move around with their heads held high<br />
<strong>and</strong> without the fear of being measured on the scale of caste hierarchy – in a<br />
way Begumpura in the making. In fact, this temple has turned out to be a<br />
repository of separate Dalit identity.<br />
Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan, Dera Sants <strong>and</strong> Markers of a Separate Dalit<br />
Identity<br />
Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan became a paragon of the Ravidass movement in<br />
northwest India. It made concerted efforts for the construction of a separate<br />
Dalit identity, independent of both Sikhism <strong>and</strong> Hinduism – the two main<br />
religious traditions of the region. The architecture of Dera Ballan is unique in its<br />
outlook. It resembles both a temple <strong>and</strong> a Gurdwara at the same time. Though<br />
the Guru Granth Sahib is placed in the Dera but unlike a Gurdwara, the idols of<br />
Guru Ravidass <strong>and</strong> the late heads of the Dera Ballan are also installed in its<br />
premises <strong>and</strong> are worshipped along with the Guru Granth Sahib. 42 The<br />
membership of the management committees of the Ravidass Deras is strictly<br />
confined to Ravidassia Dalits only. No upper caste Sikh is allowed to become a<br />
member of the managing committees of the Ravidass Deras <strong>and</strong> Sabhas.
JPS: 16:1 20<br />
In Ravidass Deras, Ravidass is worshipped as Guru. Moreover, Gaddi<br />
Nashins (heads) of the Ravidass Deras are also considered as Gurus. Sant<br />
Niranjan Dass is the fifth Gaddi Nashin in the line of individual Gurus in the<br />
Dera Ballan. However, in Sikh religion, Ravidass is known as Bhakta. In Sikh<br />
religion only the ten Gurus <strong>and</strong> Guru Granth Sahib are considered the legitimate<br />
Gurus. The issue of Bhakta versus the Guru has not only pitted the Ravidassia<br />
community <strong>and</strong> Jat Sikhs against each other in Punjab <strong>and</strong> elsewhere, but has<br />
also led to communal polarization between the Sikh <strong>and</strong> Dalit diasporas. 43 The<br />
recent Vienna incident is a violent escalation of this chronic communal<br />
polarisation. Another factor that distinguishes Sants of Ballan from the priests of<br />
Sikh religion (especially since the formation of the Khalsa in 1699) has been<br />
their nomenclature. The titles of their last names are ‘Dass’ (humble). Perhaps,<br />
they inherited the tradition of suffixing ‘Dass’ from the very name of their Guru<br />
Ravi (Dass). The titles of the last names of the Sikhs are invariably ‘Singh’. 44<br />
Though Sants of Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan also don a turban, keep unshorn hair<br />
<strong>and</strong> a flowing beard like that of the Sikh priests, still they do not consider<br />
themselves Sikhs. One of the heads of the Dera Ballan, Sant Garib Dass, was<br />
clean-shaven. It is in this context that the Dera Ballan has emerged as an<br />
alternative religious site for the Dalits, separate from Hindus <strong>and</strong> Sikhs, with its<br />
own code of conduct that paved the way for a separate Dalit identity.<br />
The religious insignia of Dera Ballan <strong>and</strong> of all other Ravidassia Deras is<br />
‘Har’ (Supreme Being). 45 This insignia is also known as the ‘Koumi Nishan’ of<br />
the Ravidassia samaj. The religious symbol of the Sikh Gurdwaras is ‘Kh<strong>and</strong>a’<br />
(Two-edged sword over a quoit with two crossed sabers below the quoit).The<br />
insignia ‘Har’ is composed of a Sun-like circle with an image of forty rays on its<br />
circular edge. The forty rays round the circle of the insignia signify forty hymns<br />
of Guru Ravidass. Within the circle, there is another smaller circle within which<br />
‘Har’ is inscribed in Gurmukhi script with a sign of flame on the top of it. The<br />
flame represents the ‘Naam’ (word) that would illuminate the entire world. The<br />
sign of flame crosses over into the bigger circle. In between the bigger <strong>and</strong><br />
smaller circles is written a couplet Naam tere kee jot lagayi, Bhaio Ujiaaro<br />
Bhawan saglaare (Your Name is the flame I light; it has illuminated the entire<br />
world). This inner circle couplet is taken from one of the forty hymns of Guru<br />
Ravidass. The insignia ‘Har’ represents the very being of Ravidass <strong>and</strong> his<br />
teachings. The insignia Har is chosen after the name of their Guru [Ravi-Sundass-servant]<br />
(servant of the sun). The Dalits, especially the Chamars of Punjab,<br />
proudly hoist flags with the print of insignia ‘Har’ on top of their religious<br />
places, <strong>and</strong> on vehicles during processions on the occasion of Guru Ravidass’s<br />
birth anniversaries <strong>and</strong> other festivities. The insignia ‘Har’ has become a symbol<br />
of a separate Dalit identity.<br />
The format of the Ardas (a formal prayer recited at most Sikh rituals)<br />
performed in the Ravidass Deras also differentiates them from that of Sikh<br />
religion. It is comprised of a Shloka (couplet) <strong>and</strong> one of the forty hymns of<br />
Guru Ravidass. It closes with the utterance: Bole So Nirbhay, Sri Guru Ravidass<br />
Maharaj Ki Jai (Fearless is the one who utters: Victory to Shri Guru Ravidass).<br />
Whereas, in the Sikh religion the Ardas concluded with: Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri
21 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
Akal (Blessed is the one who utters: True is the Immortal One).The reference to<br />
Nirbhay (fearless) in the conclusion of the Ardas of the Ravidass Deras has<br />
become a central motif of Dalit consciousness. The inclusion of the word<br />
‘Nirbhay’ in the Ardas of Ravidass Deras is thus not only symptomatic of the<br />
historical oppression of the Dalits at the h<strong>and</strong>s of the upper castes, but is also<br />
reflective of their determined willingness to confront it head on.<br />
Like the Ardas, the Aarti (a Hindu ceremony of adoration which consists of<br />
waving round the head of an idol on a platter containing five burning wicks) that<br />
Ballan Sants perform in front of the sanctum sanctorum of their Dera<br />
differentiate them from that of Hindu temples. 46 The Ballan Sants do not wave a<br />
platter of burning wicks. They blow a conch-shell <strong>and</strong> rattle gong, which is<br />
followed by recitation of a hymn from the bani of Ravidass (based on<br />
participant observation).The salutations in the Ravidass Dera are also<br />
formulated selectively in order to project their unique <strong>and</strong> independent religious<br />
identity. Every religious community has its own way of greeting. Sat Shri Akaal<br />
(True is the Immortal One) is the greeting of the Sikhs; Jai Ram Ji Ki or Jai<br />
Sita-Ram (Victory to Ram or Victory to Sita-Ram) is of the Hindus; Ravidass<br />
Deras adopted the greegting Jai Gurudev or Jai Guru Ravidass (Victory to the<br />
divine Guru or Guru Ravidass) to which the reply was Dhan Guru Dev (blessed<br />
the divine Guru).The short version of the greetings is Jai Santan Di (Victory to<br />
the Saints). The forms of Ardas, Arati, <strong>and</strong> salutations adopted by the Sants of<br />
Dera Ballan have thus become distinct markers of the separate identity of the<br />
Dalits of the region. In other words, the Dera Ballan has evolved into a nursery<br />
for the cultivation of symbols, icons, signifiers, <strong>and</strong> narratives to shape a<br />
separate Dalit identity.<br />
Despite the fact that Ravidassias <strong>and</strong> Ravidass Deras have emerged as a<br />
separate community <strong>and</strong> distinct Dalit religious space respectively, the former<br />
continued to be confused with Dalit Sikhs <strong>and</strong> the latter with gurdwaras<br />
probably because of the physical appearances of some of the Ravidassias, on the<br />
one h<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong> the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib within the premises of<br />
Ravidass Deras, on the other. Not only that, it has further led to a sort of<br />
contradiction between the long established Sikh rahit maryada (code of<br />
conduct) <strong>and</strong> observance of non-Sikh rituals <strong>and</strong> traditions within Ravidass<br />
Deras such as touching the feet of the Heads of the Deras <strong>and</strong> worshiping the<br />
idols <strong>and</strong> calendar images of Bhakt Ravidass revered as Guru. This<br />
contradiction is considered to be one of the several main reasons behind the<br />
ghastly shooting incidence that took place at the Ravidass temple in Vienna on<br />
May 24, 2009. The Sants of Dera Ballan took strong objection to the gross<br />
misrepresentation of their mission <strong>and</strong> the dilution of their separate Ravidassia<br />
Dalit identity as clubbed with the mainstream Sikh religion in national as well<br />
as international print <strong>and</strong> electronic media.<br />
It was against this crucial backdrop that the Ballan Sants decided to<br />
completely detach themselves from a long preserved tradition of reciting the<br />
holy bani from the Guru Granth Sahib on the important occasions of birth <strong>and</strong><br />
death anniversaries of the Sants of Dera Ballan <strong>and</strong> of Guru Ravidass. This was<br />
perhaps for the first time in the 109-year-old existence of the Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong>
JPS: 16:1 22<br />
Ballan that on June 11, 2009 (death anniversary of Sant Sarwan Dass) <strong>and</strong> again<br />
on June 13, 2009 (antim ardas, the last condolence concluding ceremony of<br />
Sant Raman<strong>and</strong>, the deputy chief of Dera Ballan, who died in the Vienna<br />
shooting) the religious ceremonies were organised without the ‘parkash’ of the<br />
Guru Granth Sahib. “The palanquin or canopy, under which Sikhs’ holy book is<br />
usually placed for reading scriptures, instead held the portrait of Sant Sarwan<br />
Dass in whose name the Ballan dera was established nearly a century ago”<br />
reported the Times of India (June 14, 2009). Dera spokesperson SR Heer called<br />
this deviation a “reaction to Vienna incident’ <strong>and</strong> “decision of Sants of the dera”<br />
(Times of India, June 14, 2009). The deviation <strong>and</strong> the strategic silence about it,<br />
however, is intended to sharply focus on the separate Ravidassi Dalit identity<br />
than on distancing from close ties with mainstream Sikhism. Moreover, the<br />
deviation has also been widely perceived by the large followers of the Dera as a<br />
permanent solution to the blown up communal issue of the violation of the Sikh<br />
code of conduct at Ravidass Deras.<br />
Conclusions<br />
Dalit consciousness in Punjab emerged against the backdrop of the bani of Guru<br />
Ravidass who inventively chose poetry as a vehicle of non-violent, peaceful<br />
social protest for the establishment of a casteless society, free from all sorts of<br />
bindings <strong>and</strong> structures of dominations. The bani of Guru Ravidass set the tenor<br />
of social protests among Dalits, who started contesting their forced subjugation.<br />
It empowers them with enough strength to raise their voice against historical<br />
injustice <strong>and</strong> oppression perpetrated on them for no other reason but for low<br />
caste birth. After the gap of couples of centuries, the Sants of Dera Ballan<br />
carried the torch of the great mission of Guru Ravidass. Various spiritual <strong>and</strong><br />
community development projects meticulously undertaken by the Sants of Dera<br />
Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan have been inching towards the great mission. It is the<br />
ingenuity of the Sants of Dera Ballan who have been able to blend successfully<br />
the egalitarian teachings of Guru Ravidass with the rational <strong>and</strong> critical<br />
philosophy of Dr. Ambedkar that consequently evolved into a powerful sociocultural<br />
movement for the cultural transformation <strong>and</strong> spiritual regeneration of<br />
the Dalits in the region. If Guru Ravidass is considered the prophet of the Dalit<br />
consciousness during the medieval north Indian bhakti movement, the Sants of<br />
Dera Ballan can be credited with the task of relocating <strong>and</strong> re-invigorating Dalit<br />
consciousness <strong>and</strong> identity in the contemporary Punjab. They have provided<br />
Dalits with concrete <strong>and</strong> tangible identity markers that help them in sharpening<br />
the ‘we’-‘they’ dichotomy. Ravidass Deras in Punjab <strong>and</strong> in other parts of the<br />
country, especially Dear Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan (Punjab) <strong>and</strong> ‘Guru Ravidass<br />
Birthplace Temple at Seer Govardhanpur’ (Varanasi), the insignia of ‘Har’,<br />
rituals of Ardas <strong>and</strong> Aarti, slogan of Bole So Nirbhay, <strong>and</strong> the salutation of Jai<br />
Guru Dev have become the key signifiers of the emerging distinct Ravidassia<br />
Dalit Identity in north India <strong>and</strong> among the Dalit diaspora across the globe.<br />
The Vienna incident is allegedly interpreted as an attack on this fast<br />
emerging distinct Ravidassia Dalit identity in Punjab <strong>and</strong> abroad. Since the
23 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
Vienna incident is connected with the violation of the Sikh code of conduct<br />
during the spiritual preaching by the Sants of Dera Ballan in a Ravidass temple<br />
over there, the latter retaliated silently in exhibiting their separate social <strong>and</strong><br />
religious identity by deviating from their long established tradition of devoutly<br />
reciting the holy bani from Shri Guru Granth Sahib at the antim ardas ceremony<br />
of the slain Sant Ramanad of the Dera Ballan. In other words, the spontaneous<br />
violent reaction <strong>and</strong> the subsequent deviation from the tradition of the ‘Prakash<br />
of Guru Granth Sahib’ at Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan underline deeply the question<br />
of a separate Dalit identity in Punjab rather than what unfortunately <strong>and</strong> also<br />
wrongfully projected as an issue of intra-Sikh communal divide.<br />
[Acknowledgements: This essay has long been in the making. It draws heavily<br />
on extended conversations I had over many years with the devotees of Guru<br />
Ravidass, Sants <strong>and</strong> followers of Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan, Dalit leaders <strong>and</strong><br />
writers as well as the priests <strong>and</strong> followers of various other Ravidass Deras in<br />
Punjab <strong>and</strong> abroad. Earlier drafts of the paper were presented at various fora in<br />
India (JNU, IIAS, Panjab University, Himachal Pradesh University, Dalit Chetna<br />
Manch (Mohali), Ambedkar Memorial Bhawan (Jal<strong>and</strong>har), Canada (Montreal,<br />
Toronto, <strong>and</strong> Vancouver), US (New York, Sacremanto, Pittsburg, Fresno,<br />
Fremont, Salma, Bay Area <strong>and</strong> Yuba City) <strong>and</strong> Pakistan (Sir Ganga Ram<br />
Heritage Foundation, Lahore). My thanks to P.S. Verma, Ashutosh Kumar <strong>and</strong><br />
Amit Prakash for carefully reading the earlier draft <strong>and</strong> to Autar S. Dhesi <strong>and</strong><br />
Shinder Th<strong>and</strong>i whose sharp observations helped me to improve the narrative.<br />
This essay is dedicated to Seema for her patience <strong>and</strong> unstinted support<br />
throughout my numerous long field trips <strong>and</strong> extended hours in study. The usual<br />
disclaimers apply.]<br />
Notes<br />
1 The term Dalit (literally, grounded/oppressed/broken) is the “politically<br />
correct” nomenclature, which came to be used by the Mahar community in the<br />
late twentieth century for the untouchables (the people who have traditionally<br />
been placed at the lowest rung of the Hindu caste hierarchy – see notes 15 <strong>and</strong><br />
25 below). The term includes Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes <strong>and</strong><br />
Backward Castes. However, in current political discourses, Dalit is mainly<br />
confined to Scheduled Castes.<br />
2 The attack was launched on the two topmost Sants of the Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong><br />
Ballan during the sermon ceremony on May 24, 2009 at Guru Ravidass Temple<br />
situated in Vienna-Rudolfsheim, the capital’s 15 th district near Westbahnholf,<br />
one of Vienna’s main train stations. The number of the persons involved in the<br />
attack was reportedly six, who were overpowered by around 200 devotes<br />
gathered at the occasion. In the melee around two 16 people were reportedly<br />
injured. Sant Raman<strong>and</strong>, the second-in-comm<strong>and</strong> of Dera Ballan later on<br />
succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
JPS: 16:1 24<br />
(http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/05/24/world/AP-EU-Austria-Temple-<br />
Shooting.ht). Downloaded on 5/25/2009.<br />
3 Dera literally mean a holy abode free from the structural bindings of<br />
institionalised religious orders <strong>and</strong> is the headquarters of a group of devotees<br />
owing allegiance to a particular spiritual person, who is reverently addressed as<br />
Baba, Sant or Maharaj. A Dera thrives on a distinct philosophy, rituals <strong>and</strong><br />
symbol, which are inspired by the teachings <strong>and</strong> philosophy of a particular holy<br />
person after whom it has been established.<br />
4 Cf. Economic <strong>and</strong> Political Weekly, Editorials ‘Caste Out, Yet Again’, May<br />
16, 2009:5.<br />
5 Mishra, V<strong>and</strong>ita, “Inside Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong>”, The Sunday Express, May 31,<br />
2009, 5.<br />
6 Ibid.<br />
7 Ibid.<br />
8 The Hindu, December 16, 2005.<br />
9 For a detailed theoretical underst<strong>and</strong>ing of this point in a broader context refer<br />
to: Srinivas, 1956: 481-496.<br />
10 The proportion of the SC population is going to increase further rather<br />
significantly, as Mahatam, Rai Sikh, another downtrodden community, has<br />
recently been included in the Scheduled Castes list of the Indian constitution [(f)<br />
in part XIV] wide Constitution (Scheduled Castes) order (Amendment) Act,<br />
2007, No 31 dated 29 th August, 2007 (Punjab Government Gazette, Regd. No.<br />
CHD/0092/2006-2008, No. 45, November 9, 2007).<br />
11 The Ad Dharm movement came into existence in 1925 to fight against the<br />
system of untouchability. It was one of the earliest Adi movements of India that<br />
brought the downtrodden together to fight for their cause. It exhorted them to<br />
come forward to assert for their rights (for details see: Juergensmeyer, 1998;<br />
Juergensmeyer, 2000:221-37; Ram, 2004a:323-49).<br />
12 The Scheduled Castes Federation (SCF), the Republican Party of India (RPI),<br />
<strong>and</strong> the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have subsequently carried on the legacy of<br />
this movement. For details see: Ch<strong>and</strong>ra, 2000:51; Ram, 2004b:895-912.<br />
13 The two most important missions are All India Adi-Dharm Mission (New<br />
Delhi), <strong>and</strong> Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan (Punjab). For details see: Schaller,<br />
1996:111-6; Hawley, 1988: 271; Hawley <strong>and</strong> Juergensmeyer, 1988:19-20;<br />
Juergensmeyer, 1988.<br />
14 Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong> Ballan has established the following international charitable<br />
trusts abroad for dissemination of the bani of Ravidass amongst the Dalit<br />
diaspora: Shri 108 Sant Sarwan Dass Charitable Trust [U.K.]; Shri 108 Sant<br />
Sarwan Dass Charitable Trust [Vancouver] Canada; <strong>and</strong> Shri 108 Sant Sarwan<br />
Dass Charitable Trust [U.S.A.].<br />
15 The outcastes were beyond the Varna (literally color) <strong>and</strong> were known as<br />
Achhuts, Ati shudras, Ch<strong>and</strong>alas, Antyajas, Pariahs, Dheds, Panchamas,<br />
Avarnas, Anariyas, Namashudras, Harijans etc. They were placed at the bottom<br />
of the social hierarchy <strong>and</strong> were meant to serve the Varna categories - Brahmin,
25 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
Kshatriya, Vaishya <strong>and</strong> even the Shudras. The British regime in the country<br />
clubbed them first under the legal category of Depressed Classes <strong>and</strong> then the<br />
term Scheduled Castes. And in independent India the term Scheduled Castes<br />
became a constitutional category. They performed hereditary menial occupation,<br />
such as scavenging, shoe-making <strong>and</strong> animal carcass removing. Some of them<br />
embraced Christianity, Islam, Sikhism <strong>and</strong> Buddhism in order to evade the<br />
oppression of untouchability. However, even their conversion to other religions<br />
could not protect them from the ruthless onslaughts of untouchability. (For<br />
details see: Ambedkar, n.d.; Chopra, 1982:121-2; Gokhale, 1986:270;<br />
Juergensmeyer, 1988:84; Puri, 2004:190-224; Beltz 2005:39; Ram, 2001:146-<br />
170).<br />
16 Though the founders of the Ad Dharm movement appealed to all the<br />
untouchables in the state, the response of the Chamars was tremendous.<br />
Majority of the total of 418,789 Ad Dharmis who joined the movement within<br />
the four years of its origin, belonged to the Chamar caste (Juergensmeyer, 1988:<br />
77; see also Mendelsohn <strong>and</strong> Vicziany, 2000:102). Chamar is an umbrella caste<br />
category that clubs together “Chamar, Jatia Chamar, Rehgar, Raigar, Ramdasi<br />
<strong>and</strong> Ravidasi” (Census of India 1981, Series 17 Part IX. They<br />
comprise about twenty six percent (1991 census) of the total Scheduled Caste<br />
population of the state. If clubbed with Ad Dharmis, they together comprised<br />
forty two percent of the total Scheduled Caste population in Punjab (Gosal,<br />
2004:23). Since majority of the Ad Dharmis are Chamars, they are popularly<br />
known as Ad Dharmi Chamars. Chamars <strong>and</strong> Ad Dharmi Chamars are mostly<br />
concentrated in the Doaba sub-region of the state. Mazhbis (Sweepers who<br />
embraced Sikhism) is another top ranking caste among the Scheduled Castes in<br />
Punjab. They constitute about 30 percent of the total Scheduled Castes<br />
population in the state (1991 census). Their Hindu counterpart Chuhras<br />
(Balmikis <strong>and</strong> Bhangis) constitutes 11.1 percent of the total Scheduled Caste<br />
population. Thus out of the total 38 Scheduled castes the two major groupings<br />
of Chuhras <strong>and</strong> Chamars together constitute 80 percent of the total Scheduled<br />
Caste population. (See also: Deep, 2001:7; Puri, 2004:4).<br />
17 http://www.sikhsangat.com/index.php?showtopic=44560.<br />
18 Based on conversations with L.R. Balley, a veteran Ambedkarite Dalit leader,<br />
Jal<strong>and</strong>har, 16 January 2003; K.C. Sulekh, a senoir Ambedkarite <strong>and</strong> prolific<br />
writer, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh, 2 December 2004.<br />
19 Baptism into the Khalsa, the order instituted by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699,<br />
by offering sweetened water stirred with a doubled-edged sword.<br />
20 Based on conversation with Sant Prem Dass Jassal, President, All India<br />
Satguru Ravi Dass Mission, Vancouver, 17 May 2003.<br />
21 However, there is an alternate version about the etymological origin of the<br />
term Chamar. This version believes that the Chamar community is Buddhist in<br />
origin, <strong>and</strong> that the term Chamar is derived from the Pali word Cigar [bhikku’s<br />
robes] <strong>and</strong> not from Charm [leather]. (For details see: Prasad <strong>and</strong> Dahiwale,<br />
2005:254-56; <strong>and</strong> Lochtefeld, 2005:208-12).
JPS: 16:1 26<br />
22<br />
Based on conversation with Arun Kumar, an Ambedkarite activist,<br />
Vancouver, 18 May 2003.<br />
23 Henceforth translations of the quotations from the poetry of Ravidass are<br />
taken from Callewaert <strong>and</strong> Friedl<strong>and</strong>er (1992) <strong>and</strong> the Panjabi couplets<br />
(romanized) of his poetry with the page numbers of the Adi Granth are taken<br />
from Jassi <strong>and</strong> Suman (2001).<br />
24 This hymn seems to testify one of the legends in which the bewildered<br />
Brahmins were shown prostrating before him after they found his bodily image<br />
appear between each <strong>and</strong> every one of them during a feast thrown by Queen<br />
Jhali at Chittorgarh.<br />
25 Varnashram dharma divided Hindu society into four Varnas (occupational<br />
categories): Brahmina (priest), Kshatriya (soldier), Vaishya (trader), Shudra<br />
(menial worker). Originally somewhat flexible, this division became rigid with<br />
the passage of time <strong>and</strong> got further degenerated into castes <strong>and</strong> sub-castes.<br />
Broadly speaking, Varna system constituted the very basis of the hierarchically<br />
graded caste system in India, where Brahmina (priest) occupied the highest<br />
position to be followed by Kshatriya (soldier), Vaishya (trader) <strong>and</strong> the Shudra<br />
(menial workers) who were placed at the lowest rung <strong>and</strong> were hence<br />
considered as impure <strong>and</strong> polluted.<br />
26 Ironically, even some Dalits also feel comfortable with such concoctions<br />
about his life. Being his caste fellows, the elevated status of Ravidass serves as a<br />
facilitator in their attempt to move up the social hierarchy of the Hindu caste<br />
system (Hawley <strong>and</strong> Juergensmeyer, 1988:13). For a detailed account of such<br />
stories see the following sources in English: (Zelliot <strong>and</strong> Mokashi-Punekar,<br />
[eds] 2005, esp. section on Ravidass; Callewaert <strong>and</strong> Friedl<strong>and</strong>er, 1992; Hawley<br />
<strong>and</strong> Juergensmeyer, 1988:9-32).<br />
27 As far as Mirabai is concerned, different scholars hold different views<br />
regarding the belief of her being a disciple of Ravidass. For details see:<br />
Chaturvedi, 1952:239-40.<br />
28 Based on conversation with K. C. Sulekh, an Ambedkarite <strong>and</strong> prolific writer,<br />
Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh, 2 December 2004.<br />
29 Based on conversations with the priests of Dera Ballan, 14 April 2004;<br />
Virinder Kumar Banger, a devotee of Guru Ravidass <strong>and</strong> follower of the Dera<br />
Ballan, Vancouver, 17 May 2003.<br />
30 As reported in one of the most polpular Dalit web site:<br />
httop://www.ambedkartimes.com/about_Ambedkar.htm [November 11, 2007].<br />
31 Sant Hiran Dass of this Dera established Ravidass Sabha in 1907 <strong>and</strong><br />
published a collection of Ravidass's poems under the title Rae Das Ki Bani,<br />
Allahabad: Belvedere Press, 1908.<br />
32 Mangoo Ram Jaspal is an NRI Ad Dharmi of village Haryana near<br />
Hoshiarpur, Punjab. He returned from Engl<strong>and</strong> in 1970 <strong>and</strong> settled in Jal<strong>and</strong>har.<br />
He took a active interest in reviving the Ad Dharm movement in Doaba region<br />
of Punjab <strong>and</strong> convened a conference on December 13, 1970 at Dera Sachkh<strong>and</strong>
27 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
Ballan <strong>and</strong> revived the Ad Dharm M<strong>and</strong>al as the Ad Dharm Scheduled Castes<br />
Federation.<br />
33 For biographical details see: (Bawa, 2005:2 <strong>and</strong> Bawa, 2005a:5 &2).<br />
34 Based on conversations with Ajit Ch<strong>and</strong> Nimta, a poet <strong>and</strong> devotee of<br />
Ravidass, Jal<strong>and</strong>har, 14 April 2003; Chaman Lal, a follower of Dera Ballan,<br />
Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh, 17 August 2002.<br />
35<br />
In year 2005, the present head of Dera Ballan, Sant Niranjan Dass<br />
accompanied by late Sant Raman<strong>and</strong>, visited Greece, Italy, Spain, Holl<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong><br />
Germany from March 20 to May 31; <strong>and</strong> U.S., Canada <strong>and</strong> U.K. from July 1 to<br />
August 31. During April-May 2006 he paid visits to Europe (Italy, Greece<br />
Germany, Holl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> Engl<strong>and</strong>). This was his 4 th international religious visit to<br />
Italy <strong>and</strong> probably 14 th to U.K. (Madahar, 2006:1, 9 & 5). In 2007 Sant Niranjan<br />
Dass along with Sant Raman<strong>and</strong> paid visits to their followers in Europe <strong>and</strong><br />
North America during the months of September <strong>and</strong> October (Madahar, 2007).<br />
Sant Garib Dass, predecessor of Sant Niranjan Dass, also visited Engl<strong>and</strong> six<br />
times, America four times, <strong>and</strong> Canada two times (conversation with Sant<br />
Surinder Dass Bawa, priest of Dera Ballan, Ballan, 14 April 2004).<br />
36 Based on field notes.<br />
37 Sant Hari Dass (June 11, 1972-February 7, 1982), Sant Garib Dass (February<br />
7, 1982-July 23, 1994), <strong>and</strong> Sant Niranjan Dass (July 23, 1994 – Continuing).<br />
38 Based on participant observation by the author.<br />
39 Based on conversation with Som Nath Bharti Qadian, Dera Ballan, 14 April<br />
2004.<br />
40 Based on personal communication with one of the participants in the<br />
procession; see also Rozana Spokesman, February 17, 2008.<br />
41 In the first-ever statistical analysis of the social profile of more than 300<br />
senior journalists in 37 Hindi <strong>and</strong> English newspapers <strong>and</strong> television channels in<br />
New Delhi, the capital of India, it was found that Dalits <strong>and</strong> Adivasis (tribals,<br />
designated as Scheduled Tribes [ST] in the constitution of India) “…[were]<br />
conspicuous by their absence among the decision-makers. Not even one of the<br />
315 key decision-makers belonged to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled<br />
Tribes” (The Hindu, [Delhi Edition], June 5, 2006).<br />
42 Based on participant observation by the author.<br />
43 “In 1980, a Punjabi Dalit went to a Sikh Gurudawara in Vancouver to pay his<br />
respectful tribute. While speaking on the podium, he mentioned the name of<br />
Sant Ravidas as “Guru” Ravidass. The moment he mentioned this name, he<br />
faced sharp objections <strong>and</strong> reactions from the preachers <strong>and</strong> the members of the<br />
management committee. This grave sense of grave humiliation of a Dalit in<br />
Sikh Gurudwara triggered a mass mobilization of Dalits in Canada. These Dalits<br />
collected donations from Dalits living in all over Canada <strong>and</strong> bought a piece of<br />
l<strong>and</strong> to build their own Gurudwara. Later Shri Guru Ravidas Sabha of<br />
Vancouver built a huge beautiful Shri Guru Ravidas Gurudwara in Vancouver.
JPS: 16:1 28<br />
Later these Ravidassis decided to commemorate the birth anniversary of<br />
their Guru Shri Guru Ravidass. They requested a local Punjabi Newspaper to<br />
carry a paid advertisement about the birth anniversary of Shri Guru Ravidass.<br />
That newspaper not only refused to publish their advertisement, even ridiculed<br />
them for adding prefix “Guru” with the name of Sant Ravidass. The newspaper<br />
made an issue out of it <strong>and</strong> managed to create disharmony <strong>and</strong> antagonism<br />
between Ravidassia community <strong>and</strong> Jat-Sikhs. Nevertheless another Punjabi<br />
newspaper the Indo-Canadian Times not only agreed to publish the add with<br />
prefix “Guru” with Sant Ravidas, it also wrote an editorial why should Sant<br />
Ravidas be called as “Guru” <strong>and</strong> why should Dalits have rights <strong>and</strong> freedom to<br />
call Sant Ravidass as Shri Guru Ravidass” (Singh 2003:39). I came across a<br />
similar case study during my visit to Shri Guru Ravidass Temple Sacramento<br />
(Rio Linda), California on 30 May 2008.<br />
44 The title ‘Singh’ became popular among the Sikhs after the formation of the<br />
Khalsa in 1699. Before that the names of all the Sikh Gurus were not followed<br />
by the title ‘Singh’.<br />
45 However, the earlier insignia of the Ad Dharm M<strong>and</strong>al of 1926 as well as of<br />
the All India Adi Dharam Mission (Regd.) of 1960 was Sohang. The Sants of<br />
Dera Ballan changed it into Har with the approval of the Ravidass Sadhu<br />
Sampradaya of Punjab, Ravidass Deras, <strong>and</strong> the various Guru Ravidass Sabhas<br />
(Committees) both within India <strong>and</strong> abroad. It was registered under the<br />
Copyright Act 1957, Government of India, registration no. A48-807/87/CO,<br />
dated March 6, 1987. Later on, the change of the insignia became a bone of<br />
contention between the All India Adi Dharm Mission (Regd.) <strong>and</strong> the Dera<br />
Ballan. The Sants of Dera Ballan justified the change on the ground that Guru<br />
Ravidass did not use the word Sohang in his sacred poetry at all. On the<br />
contrary, he used the word Har as many as 24 times. Moreover, it is alleged that<br />
the word Sohang, being an article of spiritual faith, cannot be used casually <strong>and</strong><br />
publicly in the form of an insignia. The All India Adi Dharm Mission (Regd.)<br />
refused to buy this logic of the Dera Ballan <strong>and</strong> continued to adhere to the<br />
original insignia of Sohang (Sachhi Kahani [The True Story] 2007: 50-66).<br />
Though the insignia Har has become an acceptable symbol of the entire<br />
Ravidassia community in Punjab <strong>and</strong> abroad, but some of the temples abroad<br />
(Shri Guru Ravidass Temple Pittsburg [California]) still adhered to the old<br />
insignia of Sohang or display both of the insignia on their (Shri Guru Ravidass<br />
Sabha, New York) letter pads (based on field observation on May 25 –June 3,<br />
2008). For a detailed account of the frequency of the word Har <strong>and</strong> other similar<br />
sacred names of the Nirankar (formless God) used by Guru Ravidass in his<br />
poetry recorded in the Adi Granth (Guru Granth Sahib) of the Sikh faith see:<br />
Singh, 2001:45-46).<br />
46 In Sikh Gurdwaras, however, Aarti is not performed. Guru Nanak referred to<br />
Aarti in the hymn Dhanasari 3 (Adi Granth: 13). The entire cosmos, said he, is<br />
performing the Aarti of a single God. The whole sky is the platter <strong>and</strong> all the<br />
stars are its burning wicks (for details see: Deep, 2001:44-46).
29 Ronki Ram: Dalit Identity<br />
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35 John Webster: Punjabi Christians<br />
Punjabi Christians<br />
John C. B. Webster<br />
Union Theological Seminary in New York City<br />
________________________________________________________________<br />
Christianity entered the Punjab to stay in 1834. Its initial adherents were largely urban,<br />
literate, <strong>and</strong> socially diverse. A mass conversion movement of rural Dalits transformed<br />
the community into a larger but far more homogenous <strong>and</strong> backward community.<br />
Christian influence in the Punjab reached its peak in the late nineteenth century, but<br />
when politics replaced socio-cultural reform as the dominant elite concern, Christians<br />
became marginalized, even though their institutional presence remained significant <strong>and</strong><br />
relations with neighbors of other faiths good. Punjabi Christians have been<br />
overwhelmingly Protestant, but since 1973 Catholic missionaries from Kerala <strong>and</strong> a<br />
growing Pentecostalism have made Punjabi Christianity more diverse.<br />
________________________________________________________________<br />
Recently two different but complementary profiles of Punjabi Christians have<br />
appeared in important public documents, which challenge commonly accepted<br />
images of Indian Christians. The first was the volume on the Punjab published<br />
by the Anthropological Survey of India. This volume, like the others in the<br />
series, is based on the premise that India is a jati-based society <strong>and</strong> that the<br />
Christians, although defined by their religion, are for all practical purposes one<br />
jati among many in the Punjab. 1 The description takes note of differentiation<br />
within the community in terms of occupation, income, education, denomination,<br />
<strong>and</strong> to a lesser degree caste background as “most original converts are from<br />
lower castes in the state.” 2 Caste is not pronounced within the community, but<br />
the community is conscious of its low status <strong>and</strong> recognizes that conversion has<br />
improved their status. The community is also described as speaking Punjabi,<br />
eating all types of locally available food, practicing communal endogamy <strong>and</strong><br />
village exogamy, granting women a generally low but better status than women<br />
have in other communities, <strong>and</strong> having “free exchange with other<br />
communities.” 3 The community has its own forms of worship <strong>and</strong> religious<br />
festivals, but does share in those of other communities. Thus, while not a caste,<br />
Punjabi Christians are caste-like <strong>and</strong> have not been able to escape from the<br />
Punjabi caste hierarchy.<br />
The other profile is found on the Tables on Religion of the 2001 Census of<br />
India. The profile these tables present is not that of a community but of an<br />
aggregate of 292,800 individuals placed within a single category labeled<br />
“Christians.” Of these individuals 47.2 per cent were women, 27.9 per cent were<br />
listed as urban, <strong>and</strong> 45.8 per cent were literate. Among those classified as<br />
“workers” an unusually high proportion (32.5 per cent) were listed as<br />
“agricultural laborers.” When one compares these statistics to those for the<br />
Punjabi population as a whole, it turns out that Christians make up a mere 1.2<br />
per cent of the state population, are less urbanized, less literate, have only a
JPS: 16:1 36<br />
slightly more favorable sex ratio than the Punjabi population as a whole, <strong>and</strong><br />
thus could well be considered a backward community within the Punjab. 4 When<br />
compared to Indian Christians in general, Punjabi Christians are less urbanized,<br />
far less literate (47.2 per cent vs. 80.3 per cent), <strong>and</strong> are much less progressive<br />
on at least two indicators of women’s status (female literacy <strong>and</strong> sex ratio) than<br />
is the Indian Christian population as a whole. 5 They thus represent, in a very<br />
“forward” state, a very backward portion of the Christian community in India.<br />
Both profiles, provided by outside sources, are very provocative, calling for<br />
both explanation <strong>and</strong> more information. The purpose of this essay is therefore to<br />
provide some historical background <strong>and</strong> a somewhat fuller, more integrated<br />
picture of present day Punjabi Christians, particularly from inside sources. 6 It<br />
begins with an account of origins <strong>and</strong> of the kinds of Christianity which came to<br />
<strong>and</strong> spread within the Punjab. It then goes one to describe within an historical<br />
framework the converts to Christianity, the institutions Christians created, the<br />
relationships between Christians <strong>and</strong> Punjabis of other faiths, religious<br />
organization <strong>and</strong> leadership within the Christian community, <strong>and</strong> finally Punjabi<br />
Christians <strong>and</strong> Punjabi culture. This survey covers all of the Punjab up to 1947,<br />
but confines itself to the Indian Punjab after Partition. Of special concern will be<br />
the issue of distinctiveness. In what sense have Punjabi Christians been<br />
distinctive vis-à-vis both other Punjabis <strong>and</strong> other Christians elsewhere in India?<br />
I<br />
There is a tradition that the Apostle Thomas, one of the original twelve disciples<br />
of Jesus, visited the Punjab. This tradition is based on the story of Thomas<br />
visiting King Gondophorus in India told in The Acts of Thomas, a third century<br />
Gnostic composition originating most probably in Edessa. There was a Parthian<br />
ruler by a similar name ruling in the Punjab at or near the time when Thomas<br />
could have visited the Punjab (the dates of his rule are uncertain), <strong>and</strong> so the<br />
critical choice has been either to consider the plainly fictional story to have been<br />
based on the historical fact of a visit or to see the reference to Gondophorus as a<br />
mere literary device inserted to give the story’s strong Gnostic message some<br />
link to history. 7 In the unlikely event that such a visit did in fact occur, there is<br />
no evidence of any continuing Christian community in the region resulting from<br />
it, even though The Acts of Thomas says that Thomas converted not only<br />
Gondophorus himself but others as well. If the visit to Gondophorus is ruled out<br />
as most unlikely, then it is safe to conclude that Christianity came to India not<br />
overl<strong>and</strong>, as Islam <strong>and</strong> Vedic religion had, but by sea, which would account for<br />
its late arrival in the Punjab.<br />
An historically more reliable starting point might be May 5, 1595 when the<br />
third Jesuit mission to the Mughal Emperor Akbar visited him at his court in<br />
Lahore. While the three members of this mission directed most of their attention<br />
to the Emperor <strong>and</strong> his court, Fr. Emmanuel Pinheiro also sought to evangelize<br />
the local population (with the Emperor’s permission).The first converts,<br />
described as persons of humble birth, were baptized on September 15, 1595. 8<br />
The Jesuits also opened a school at which children of the court might learn
37 John Webster: Punjabi Christians<br />
Portuguese <strong>and</strong> in 1597 built a large church under court patronage. From that<br />
point on the congregation grew. It included a few well-born Muslim converts,<br />
but the vast majority were Hindus <strong>and</strong> from “a low grade of society,” many of<br />
whom were in economic distress. 9 However, in 1614 when war broke out<br />
between Akbar’s successor, Jahangir, <strong>and</strong> the Portuguese, the church in Lahore<br />
was forcibly closed <strong>and</strong> the congregation migrated to Agra. 10<br />
The Emperor Shah Jahan in 1632 ordered the Lahore church to be destroyed<br />
<strong>and</strong> there is no information about it after that. 11 References to Christians in<br />
Lahore after 1614 do exist, but remain very sketchy throughout the seventeenth<br />
<strong>and</strong> eighteenth centuries. At least some of the Christians were Armenians, <strong>and</strong><br />
the bulk of them seem to have been soldiers, 12 but it is unclear whether or not<br />
there were any Punjabis among them. Maharajah Ranjit Singh’s armies included<br />
some Christians who were not Punjabis but Europeans <strong>and</strong> other outsiders. A Fr.<br />
Adeodatus visited Lahore to perform marriages for some of Ranjit Singh’s<br />
European officers in 1829 <strong>and</strong> stayed for two years looking after the families of<br />
about fifty Christian soldiers. 13 Thus, until the 1830s Christianity seems to have<br />
been the religion of a very small number of commercial <strong>and</strong> military transients<br />
from outside the Punjab <strong>and</strong> had yet to take root among the Punjabis themselves<br />
or show signs of becoming a continuing religious community there.<br />
This changed with the arrival of the Rev. John C. Lowrie at Ludhiana in<br />
November 1834. Lowrie had set sail from the United States with his wife <strong>and</strong><br />
another couple with instructions to start a mission in North India. 14 On advice<br />
from Christians in Calcutta, he chose to go to the Punjab, in part because of its<br />
healthy climate <strong>and</strong> strategic location for “spreading the gospel” elsewhere; in<br />
part because the Punjab was not “occupied” by any other mission society; in<br />
part because of the presence there of the Sikhs “who are described as more free<br />
from prejudice, from the influence of Brahmins, <strong>and</strong> from caste, than any other<br />
people in India”; 15 <strong>and</strong> in part because he had received an invitation from<br />
Captain Wade, the British Political Agent in Ludhiana, to take over a school he<br />
had already started there. Lowrie’s stay in the Punjab lasted only fourteen<br />
months <strong>and</strong> he baptized no converts, but he did lay the foundations for what was<br />
to follow. When he left in January 1836, he was replaced by two missionary<br />
couples <strong>and</strong> he met another contingent on the way before sailing home. The first<br />
three converts in Ludhiana, two Bengalis <strong>and</strong> an Anglo-Indian from a Roman<br />
Catholic family, were baptized on April 30, 1837. Punjabi converts were to<br />
come later.<br />
Lowrie was a missionary of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. His<br />
successors formed its Lodiana (later Punjab) Mission <strong>and</strong> exp<strong>and</strong>ed their work<br />
to include major “mission stations” at Jullundur, Ambala, Lahore, Hoshiarpur,<br />
Ferozepore, <strong>and</strong> Moga. The next mission to arrive in the Punjab was that of the<br />
Church Missionary Society, which the Evangelical wing of the Church of<br />
Engl<strong>and</strong> had organized back in 1799. Both its Himalayan Mission <strong>and</strong> Punjab<br />
Missions were created not by a decision in London but at the initiative of<br />
Evangelical British civil <strong>and</strong> military officers posted in the region. In 1852 the<br />
Society’s first missionary, Robert Clark, arrived in Amritsar which was to<br />
remain the mission’s headquarters. It later established mission stations at
JPS: 16:1 38<br />
J<strong>and</strong>iala, Narowal, Batala, Tarn Taran, at Peshawar <strong>and</strong> along the northwest<br />
frontier, as well as in Kashmir. It also created Christian villages at Clarkabad,<br />
<strong>and</strong> in the canal colonies of the western Punjab. The third mission to enter the<br />
Punjab was that of the Associate Presbyterian Synod of North America, which<br />
in 1858 joined with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church to form the<br />
United Presbyterian Church of North America. Its first missionary arrived in<br />
Sialkot in 1855. From there it was to exp<strong>and</strong> to include Gujranwala, Gurdaspur,<br />
Jhelum, Zafarwal, Pathankot, Pasrur, <strong>and</strong> Rawalpindi. The last of the early<br />
missions was that of the Church of Scotl<strong>and</strong>, whose missionaries arrived in<br />
Sialkot late in 1856 only to be killed in 1857. The mission began again at<br />
Sialkot soon afterward <strong>and</strong> grew to include Gujrat, Wazirabad, Chamba,<br />
Jammu, <strong>and</strong> Jalalpur. These four missions worked in cooperation with one<br />
another, dividing the region up geographically in such a way as to prevent<br />
competition between them. Together they put a distinctively Protestant stamp<br />
upon Christianity in the Punjab, which was to last until close to the end of the<br />
twentieth century.<br />
A striking feature of these early missions was that in three out of the four<br />
cases they were drawn to the region by the presence of the Sikhs. Lowrie’s<br />
reasons for going to the Punjab have already been mentioned above. The Punjab<br />
Mission of the Church Missionary Society was also to be a mission amongst the<br />
Sikhs. As the Society’s Proceedings for 1850-51 indicated,<br />
The Sikhs, on account of their being a religious sect into which<br />
anyone can be initiated - Hindus, Mohammedans, <strong>and</strong> even<br />
Europeans, <strong>and</strong> all of them being of one caste - are the more ready<br />
to be influenced by our preaching <strong>and</strong> those of them who have<br />
been converted to Christianity at Cawnpore <strong>and</strong> Benaras are very<br />
highly spoken of <strong>and</strong> being far superior to the Hindu converts.<br />
The Punjab Mission, therefore, as being a thank-offering to<br />
Almighty God for the victory He has given us over that warlike<br />
nation, ought to be planted in the midst of the Sikhs, that is, in<br />
Umritsar, <strong>and</strong> from thence branch out… 16<br />
The Church of Scotl<strong>and</strong> received a bequest in 1855 for the explicit purpose of<br />
establishing a mission to the Sikhs. 17 Yet once these three missions actually<br />
arrived in the Punjab, there is no evidence that they specifically “targeted” the<br />
Sikhs in their evangelistic <strong>and</strong> educational work, even though they considered<br />
the Sikhs to be the group most receptive to the Christian message. In fact, as<br />
their misperceptions indicate, they made little effort to study Sikhism in any<br />
depth, not even to challenge or refute it. Whatever Christian-Sikh polemics<br />
existed during the nineteenth century were very mild in comparison to the<br />
polemics between representatives of these two communities <strong>and</strong> their Hindu <strong>and</strong><br />
Muslim counterparts. 18<br />
A second wave of Protestant missions arrived in the Punjab towards the end<br />
of the nineteenth <strong>and</strong> beginning of the twentieth centuries under very different<br />
circumstances. These included the Salvation Army, the Seventh Day Adventists,<br />
the American Methodists, the Zenana Bible <strong>and</strong> Medical Mission, <strong>and</strong> the
39 John Webster: Punjabi Christians<br />
Church of Engl<strong>and</strong> Zenana Missionary Society. The last two societies were<br />
exclusively for women <strong>and</strong> were part of a major influx of single women<br />
missionaries from Protestant societies which began in the 1870s. At this time<br />
the Roman Catholics - who had hitherto confined their efforts to the European,<br />
Anglo-Indian, <strong>and</strong> other Roman Catholics in the British military <strong>and</strong> civil<br />
services in the Punjab - also began work among the local Punjabi population.<br />
Following its concordat with the Portuguese Padroado in 1886, the Sacred<br />
Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in Rome created the Lahore<br />
Diocese, appointed its first bishop, <strong>and</strong> in 1888 entrusted its development to the<br />
Belgian Capuchins. Soon afterwards, some disgruntled Protestants approached<br />
one of the priests, expressing a desire to become Roman Catholic. They were<br />
admitted after proper instruction, but soon left when they did not get what they<br />
wanted. 19 Yet, despite this setback, the diocese set aside sufficient people <strong>and</strong><br />
funds to sustain steady evangelistic work among the Punjabis. By 1931, the last<br />
census in which denominational affiliations among Christians were recorded,<br />
about 11.6 per cent of the Christian population of the Punjab was Catholic. 20<br />
In the years following independence <strong>and</strong> partition, there have been five<br />
important developments that have altered the ecclesiastical patterns established<br />
in the nineteenth century. The first of these was the completion of the transfer of<br />
power from the overseas missionary societies to Indian churches under Indian<br />
leadership. These transfers of power varied in nature, with some speedy <strong>and</strong><br />
others gradual, some earlier <strong>and</strong> others later, some involving structural change<br />
<strong>and</strong> others only placing Indians in positions formerly occupied by Europeans or<br />
Americans. The second consisted in a series of adjustments in ecclesiastical<br />
boundaries among virtually all denominations following Partition so that the<br />
Indian churches became completely separated from the Pakistani churches on<br />
the other side of the border. A third development was the significant change in<br />
the position of the Catholic Church in the Punjab. In that church foreign<br />
personnel were replaced by a far larger number of priests <strong>and</strong> nuns from Kerala.<br />
In 1973 the Jullundur Diocese was created with the Rt. Rev. Symphorian<br />
Keeprath OFM Cap. as bishop. Since then it has exp<strong>and</strong>ed rapidly both<br />
numerically (largely at the expense of the Protestants) <strong>and</strong> in institutional<br />
presence. A fourth development paralleling the third was the arrival of<br />
Evangelical <strong>and</strong> Pentecostal missionaries belonging to Indian (Protestant)<br />
missionary societies based largely in the South. Their work has been devoted to<br />
evangelism <strong>and</strong> the creation of new churches. Some of them have worked<br />
independently of, <strong>and</strong> others in cooperation with, the older Protestant<br />
denominations in the Punjab. Finally, this period has also witnessed the<br />
emergence <strong>and</strong> growth of a number of indigenous Punjabi churches which have<br />
been independent of all formal ecclesiastical ties with larger denominations<br />
inside or outside the Punjab. As a result of all these developments, the<br />
ecclesiastical picture <strong>and</strong> the church loyalties of Punjabi Christians are far more<br />
Indian, more diverse, <strong>and</strong> more complex than they were one hundred years ago.<br />
The largest Christian denominations in the Punjab at present are the Catholic<br />
Church, the Church of North India (successor in 1970 to the Presbyterian,<br />
Church of Scotl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> C.M.S. missions), <strong>and</strong> the Salvation Army, while the
JPS: 16:1 40<br />
number of independent Pentecostal churches have been growing <strong>and</strong> winning<br />
most of the converts from other faiths. 21 II<br />
Christianity got off not only to a late start but also to a slow start in the Punjab.<br />
The missionaries took time to become familiar with the languages <strong>and</strong> with the<br />
people. One sees in their reports <strong>and</strong> correspondence a reliance on stereotypes<br />
which were products more of conventional European wisdom about Punjabis<br />
than of their own personal experience with the Punjabi people themselves. The<br />
result was that the number of initial converts was very small; probably by 1857<br />
there were no more than two hundred of them. As Table I suggests, after 1857<br />
the pace of growth picked up somewhat, so that by 1881 the Census recorded a<br />
total of 3912 Indian Christians in the province, which at that time included both<br />
Delhi at one end <strong>and</strong> the northwest frontier at the other. 22<br />
These converts came from very diverse backgrounds, as indicated in Table I<br />
which provides data on the converts of the earliest mission in the Punjab. 23 This<br />
table does not represent the proportion of converts from various caste <strong>and</strong><br />
religious backgrounds found in the other three missions as well, but it does<br />
show that at this stage the Christians in the Punjab were not a homogeneous<br />
community. The community was also, from what data can be gathered, quite<br />
diverse occupationally as well. Many of its members were mission employees;<br />
the missions needed evangelists <strong>and</strong> teachers to carry out their work, while<br />
conversion often cut the converts off from their former sources of livelihood.<br />
Some were government servants of various kinds, a few were still engaged in<br />
agriculture or trade, some were in domestic service, <strong>and</strong> others had entered the<br />
emerging modern sector of the economy. 24 One thing virtually all Punjabi<br />
Christians had in common at this time was that they were urban, if not before<br />
conversion then almost certainly afterwards, as social boycotts against converts<br />
were so effective that a convert could not survive in his village. 25<br />
Table I<br />
Background of Lodiana Mission Converts, 1834-1880<br />
Background 1834-1857 1858-1880<br />
Number Percent Number Percent<br />
Muslim 15 32% 57 43%<br />
Brahmin 5 11% 11 8%<br />
Other High Caste 3 6% 14 11%<br />
Hindu<br />
Hindu (caste 15 32% 29 22%<br />
unspecified)<br />
Low Caste Hindu 2 4% 12 9%<br />
Sikh 7 15% 9 7%<br />
TOTAL 47 100% 132 100%
41 John Webster: Punjabi Christians<br />
These conversions came in almost all cases either one-by-one or by nuclear<br />
families. There were only two conversion “movements” during this period, both<br />
of which were quite small <strong>and</strong> limited. The first occurred among some Mazhabi<br />
Sikh sepoys in the 24 th Native Infantry who had come across some Christian<br />
literature during the sack of Delhi in 1857. They became interested <strong>and</strong><br />
approached their Christian officers for instruction early in 1859. The officers not<br />
only responded but also called in a C.M.S. missionary who formed an inquirers<br />
class <strong>and</strong> baptized a few of the sepoys. When the regiment shifted to Peshawar<br />
where there was no missionary to call in, the officers continued Christian<br />
worship <strong>and</strong> instruction with the sepoys until General Birch was informed <strong>and</strong><br />
effectively put a stop to it. In the end only about fifty people, including sixteen<br />
sepoys, were baptized. 26 The other was a movement that developed very slowly<br />
among some Meghs in several villages near Zafarwal in Sialkot district. The<br />
first converts were baptized in 1866. The next was converted five years later <strong>and</strong><br />
gradually other family members <strong>and</strong> friends joined them so that by 1884 there<br />
were 59 Megh converts in those villages. After 1884 conversions among Meghs<br />
stopped <strong>and</strong> in due time thous<strong>and</strong>s joined the Arya Samaj. 27<br />
During the fifty years following the 1881 census the number of Punjabi<br />
Christians increased very rapidly, as indicated in Table II. As far as can be<br />
determined, the annual number of urban converts did not change markedly<br />
during that period. What changed the statistics so dramatically was a major<br />
conversion movement among rural Chuhras, a caste of menial laborers<br />
considered untouchable because they were engaged in scavenging <strong>and</strong> sweeping<br />
in the villages where they lived. This movement began in the 1870s, making<br />
some impact upon the 1881 census figures, <strong>and</strong> tapered off during the 1920s.<br />
Since the 1930s the population growth rate among Christians has been about the<br />
same as among other Punjabis.<br />
Table II<br />
Increase of Indian Christian Population Relative to the General Population<br />
of Punjab, 1881-1931<br />
Year Indian Christians Increase of<br />
Christians<br />
Increase in<br />
General<br />
Population<br />
1881 3,912<br />
1891 19,750 405% 10.7%<br />
1901 38,513 95% -1.5%<br />
1911 163,994 326% -2.3%<br />
1921 315,031 92% 3.8%<br />
1931 395,629 25.6% 13.5%<br />
Source: Punjab Census<br />
The Chuhra conversion movement is generally traced back to the 1873<br />
conversion of Ditt, an illiterate <strong>and</strong> lame dealer in hides <strong>and</strong> skins from the<br />
village of Shahabdike, about thirty miles east of Sialkot. Ditt subsequently<br />
brought friends <strong>and</strong> relatives for baptism as well as encouraged fellow Chuhras
JPS: 16:1 42<br />
to become Christians as he went about his business. The United Presbyterian<br />
mission initially held back, allowing this movement to develop on its own <strong>and</strong><br />
limiting their own involvement to responding to Chuhra requests for instruction<br />
<strong>and</strong> baptism. Meanwhile, other Chuhras independently initiated similar<br />
conversion movements in Gujranwala <strong>and</strong> Gurdaspur districts. By the mid-<br />
1880s, as these movements continued to spread, other neighboring missions<br />
became involved <strong>and</strong> rural Chuhras could begin to see the kind of<br />
“demonstration effect” which conversion <strong>and</strong> its concomitant life-style changes<br />
were having upon those individuals <strong>and</strong> families who had been baptized. This<br />
did give the movement added momentum, but at the same time it also made the<br />
evangelists’ <strong>and</strong> missionaries’ task of discerning the motives behind each<br />
conversion far more difficult. P<strong>and</strong>it Harikishan Kaul, the Punjab Census<br />
Commissioner in 1911, was probably right in attributing the movement to a<br />
generalized Chuhra desire for enhanced dignity <strong>and</strong> social status. 28 By the 1920s<br />
the momentum behind the movement was largely spent. The missions simply<br />
did not have the human resources necessary to respond to all the requests that<br />
kept coming in <strong>and</strong> the missionaries found it increasingly necessary to give<br />
priority, when touring the villages, to nurturing the baptized in their new faith<br />
rather than to evangelizing those who had not converted. Moreover, the political<br />
context was changing <strong>and</strong> new Dalit movements were emerging alongside this<br />
one, thus offering Dalits more alternatives than they had had before. 29<br />
The impact of this conversion movement, which accounted for virtually all<br />
of the Christian population growth above the Punjabi average, was considerable.<br />
Not only did it greatly increase the number of Christians in the Punjab <strong>and</strong><br />
attract new missions to the central Punjab, but it also altered the Punjabi<br />
Christians’ public image <strong>and</strong> identity from that of a tiny, literate, progressive,<br />
<strong>and</strong> social diverse urban community to that of an overwhelmingly poor,<br />
illiterate, rural Dalit community. Equally importantly, it drew public attention to<br />
the plight of Dalits in general <strong>and</strong> of rural Dalits in particular. Others, especially<br />
the Arya Samaj, realized that they had to address Dalit needs <strong>and</strong> involve<br />
themselves in Dalit struggles in meaningful ways in order to stem the tide of<br />
conversion or perhaps turn it in their own direction. 30 Their sense of urgency<br />
about this was heightened in 1906 when the Aga Khan deputation to the<br />
Viceroy not only requested separate electorates for Muslims but also argued that<br />
the Dalits should not be included in the Hindu population totals when<br />
determining proportional representation, on the grounds that Hindus do not<br />
recognize Dalits as fellow Hindus. The grant of separate electorates to Muslims<br />
in 1909 <strong>and</strong> then to the Sikhs as well in 1919 in effect politicized religious<br />
conversion, as conversion came to involve not just a change of religious<br />
allegiance <strong>and</strong> affiliation but of political constituency as well.<br />
The social profile <strong>and</strong> public image of Punjabi Christians produced by the<br />
Chuhra conversion movement in the late nineteenth <strong>and</strong> early twentieth<br />
centuries has not changed substantially, despite all that has happened in <strong>and</strong> to<br />
the Punjab since then. That Dalit conversion movement goes a long way in<br />
explaining the relatively low literacy rate <strong>and</strong> high proportion of agricultural<br />
laborers among Punjabi Christians found in the 2001 Census as well as the low
43 John Webster: Punjabi Christians<br />
status of the Christian community reported in the recent description of it made<br />
by the Anthropological Survey of India. This data is confirmed by post-<br />
Independence micro-studies of Punjabi Christians. 31 Conversations with<br />
Pentecostal pastors indicate that some of their new converts come from diverse<br />
caste <strong>and</strong> religious backgrounds, whereas others report that the new converts are<br />
almost entirely from Dalit backgrounds. 32 The social profile inherited from the<br />
past may thus be changing somewhat, but not very much.<br />
III<br />
Jeffrey Cox, in his study of Protestant missionaries in colonial Punjab, made the<br />
point that “Alongside the gospel of the spoken word, <strong>and</strong> the gospel of the<br />
printed word, was the gospel of institutional presence.” 33 From the very outset,<br />
when Lowrie took over for the Presbyterian mission the school that the British<br />
Political Agent had started in Ludhiana, the missionaries were inveterate<br />
institution-builders. Mrs. Newton started a small girls’ school there in<br />
conjunction with the orphanage that she had opened during the 1837-38 famine.<br />
When Rev. Goloknath established a mission in Jullundur following the first<br />
Anglo-Sikh war, he immediately started a school there. Charles Forman did the<br />
same thing in Lahore following the conclusion of the second Anglo-Sikh war.<br />
When the Church Missionary Society arrived in Amritsar they opened a school<br />
there, even though there was already a government school in that city.<br />
Since those beginnings the mission school in the Punjab has found itself in<br />
four quite different educational contexts. At the outset each school was<br />
autonomous, choosing its own medium of instruction, curriculum, textbooks,<br />
<strong>and</strong> modes of student assessment. The mission schools <strong>and</strong> those set up by the<br />
government during this period were quite similar, except that the mission<br />
schools not only had compulsory Bible classes <strong>and</strong> Christian worship but also<br />
introduced English at an earlier stage than did the government schools. 34 The<br />
Wood Despatch of 1854 introduced st<strong>and</strong>ardization of curriculum <strong>and</strong> of<br />
examination as well as grants-in-aid for schools that submitted to government<br />
inspection <strong>and</strong> gained “recognition” from the Education Department. During<br />
this period, when the educational “system” was taking shape in the Punjab, not<br />
only were mission schools the only schools offering a western, “governmentrecognized”<br />
education in the cities of Ludhiana, Jullundur, Sialkot, Gujranwala,<br />
Rawalpindi <strong>and</strong> Peshawar, but also their heads played influential roles in<br />
educational circles. 35 In addition, mission schools played a pioneering role in the<br />
education of both women <strong>and</strong> Dalits. 36<br />
The educational context shifted once again when the Government of India<br />
appointed an Educational Commission in 1882. The Commission’s hearings<br />
provided an important stimulus to the Punjab’s newly formed religious<br />
associations - the Arya Samaj, the Singh Sabhas, the Muslim anjumans - to<br />
establish their own schools <strong>and</strong> gain recognition for them. Within a very short<br />
period of time mission monopolies in “recognized education” came to an end<br />
<strong>and</strong> inter-religious competition for cultural influence through education became<br />
stronger than ever. What distinguished the mission educational institutions from
JPS: 16:1 44<br />
the newer ones was not only their continued quality but also the non-communal<br />
character of their faculties <strong>and</strong> student bodies. It was also during this period that<br />
the stated aims of mission education began to change. Initially that aim had<br />
been primarily evangelistic, with a secondary interest in disseminating a broader<br />
Christian cultural influence. However, in the 1920s <strong>and</strong> 1930s Christian<br />
educators placed less emphasis upon evangelism <strong>and</strong> more upon character<br />
building based on Christian ideals. To cultural influence they now added the<br />
development of educated leadership for the Christian churches <strong>and</strong><br />
community. 37 Their most noteworthy innovation was in the area of rural<br />
education, primarily through the highly creative <strong>and</strong> influential work of the<br />
Training School for Village Teachers at Moga, which drew national as well as<br />
international attention.<br />
Independence <strong>and</strong> Partition in 1947 changed the educational context yet<br />
again. All the Christian colleges at the apex of the Punjab educational system -<br />
Forman Christian College <strong>and</strong> Kinnaird College in Lahore, Gordon College in<br />
Rawalpindi, Murray College in Sialkot, <strong>and</strong> Edwardes College in Peshawar -<br />
ended up in Pakistan. In the reorganization that followed, Baring College in<br />
Batala was raised from an intermediate to a degree college (<strong>and</strong> later introduced<br />
post-graduate courses), but it did not cater to the urban elites as its predecessors<br />
had done. 38 Perhaps more significantly, the Punjab government invested more<br />
heavily than ever before in popular rather than just urban elite education by<br />
opening a school in every village. As a result, Protestants closed many of their<br />
village schools <strong>and</strong> consolidated their educational efforts in a much smaller<br />
number of urban boarding schools. This trend was counter-balanced to some<br />
extent after 1973 when the Roman Catholics began opening a large number of<br />
new (most often English-medium) schools in villages as well as towns <strong>and</strong><br />
cities. 39 Both Protestants <strong>and</strong> Roman Catholics treated their educational<br />
institutions as Christian contributions to national development <strong>and</strong> national<br />
integration, as the chief means for the educational advancement of the Christian<br />
community, <strong>and</strong> as disseminators of value education within the wider society.<br />
The other major Christian institutional presence in the Punjab has been the<br />
mission or Christian hospital. The evolution of medical missions in the Punjab<br />
is difficult to trace in any detail, but the issue did come up at the Punjab<br />
Missionary Conference on December 27, 1862. In the discussion of a resolution<br />
that “Medical Missionaries would prove very valuable auxiliaries to the direct<br />
work of propagating the Gospel” John Newton of the Lodiana Mission provided<br />
this testimony in favor of the resolution.<br />
When I came to India, almost 30 years ago, thinking that I might<br />
be stationed where medical advice could not be had, I brought with<br />
me a number of medical books; some of which I read on the<br />
voyage. I had not been long in the country, before I found myself<br />
engaged in a small practice; having sometimes 20, 30, <strong>and</strong> even 40<br />
patients, in a day. Cases being sometimes brought to me, which I<br />
was utterly unable to treat, I recommended their being taken to the<br />
Native Doctor, at the Government Dispensary. But, instead of<br />
following this advice, the sick often begged me, with importunity,
45 John Webster: Punjabi Christians<br />
to do what I could; saying that my medicine would do them far<br />
more good than the Government Doctor’s; because he gave it as an<br />
official duty; whereas I gave it for God’s sake. A medical<br />
missionary, therefore, may find a sphere of usefulness almost<br />
anywhere. 40<br />
The sense of the meeting appeared to be that medical missions would help “win<br />
the affections <strong>and</strong> confidence of the people, in imitation of the Great Physician,<br />
‘who went about healing all manner of diseases’.” 41<br />
From that time on there was a kind of progression, which varied in its timing<br />
from mission to mission, from recruiting missionary doctors <strong>and</strong> nurses who not<br />
only set up urban dispensaries <strong>and</strong> clinics but also joined in winter itineration<br />
through the villages, to the creation of hospitals, <strong>and</strong> finally to developing a<br />
training center for Indian medical personnel to service those hospitals. A most<br />
significant feature of early Christian medical work in the Punjab was that most<br />
of it was done by women for the benefit of women, because virtually all of the<br />
doctors practicing western medicine in government or private medical facilities<br />
were men. In fact, medical work became a top priority, along with education<br />
<strong>and</strong> evangelism, for the large number of single women missionaries entering the<br />
Punjab from the 1880s onward. The Church of Engl<strong>and</strong> Zenana Missionary<br />
Society was responsible for St. Catherine’s hospital in Amritsar <strong>and</strong> an Indian<br />
woman doctor, Dr. K. M. Bose, was in charge of a small general hospital in the<br />
village of Asrapur. 42 The first United Presbyterian medical missionaries were<br />
both women <strong>and</strong> the mission’s hospitals in Sialkot <strong>and</strong> Sargodha were created<br />
for women. 43 The Lodiana Mission’s two hospitals in Ambala <strong>and</strong> Ferozepore<br />
were also women’s hospitals.<br />
However, the most important Christian medical institution in the Punjab has<br />
been what is now Christian Medical College <strong>and</strong> Hospital, Ludhiana. Begun in<br />
1894 as the North India School of Medicine for Christian Women with<br />
representatives of seven mission societies on its governing board, it received<br />
government recognition as a medical school in 1902. In 1909 the Punjab<br />
Government asked that it admit non-Christian students <strong>and</strong> in 1915 transferred<br />
to it all the students in the Women’s Department of the Lahore Medical College.<br />
It was then renamed Women’s Christian Medical College. The first time the<br />
hospital admitted men as patients was during the 1947 Partition riots. In 1951<br />
the college took steps to be upgraded to the M.B.B.S. level, a condition for<br />
which was that it become co-educational <strong>and</strong> an All-India institution. It also<br />
changed to its present name. Since then it has built a new hospital (1957),<br />
upgraded nursing education to the B.Sc. (1973) <strong>and</strong> M.Sc. (1985) levels, <strong>and</strong><br />
added a Dental College in 1991. 44<br />
These educational <strong>and</strong> medical institutions have provided not only<br />
employment for many urban Punjabi Christians but also opportunities for their<br />
upward social mobility, which might otherwise have been denied them. Their<br />
schools <strong>and</strong> colleges played a significant, <strong>and</strong> in places a dominant role in the<br />
development of education in the Punjab <strong>and</strong>, in the years prior to World War I<br />
when socio-cultural reform was high on the agenda of the Punjabi elites,
JPS: 16:1 46<br />
exercised considerable cultural influence. That influence declined after the war<br />
when those elites turned their attention away from the socio-cultural to the<br />
pursuit of political power <strong>and</strong> influence. However, Christians, <strong>and</strong> especially<br />
Christian women, managed to maintain a position of considerable importance in<br />
the teaching <strong>and</strong> medical professions in the Punjab, until overwhelmed by the<br />
large number of people from other communities entering these professions in<br />
the years following Independence.<br />
IV<br />
The Christian message was new <strong>and</strong> different in nineteenth century Punjab. It<br />
challenged not only the established orthodoxies <strong>and</strong> pervasive religious<br />
eclecticism but also the social hierarchies of the period. It was met with varying<br />
mixtures of curiosity, resistance, hostility, <strong>and</strong> indifference. Those Punjabis who<br />
accepted it <strong>and</strong> underwent baptism were labeled as scoundrels, a disgrace to<br />
family <strong>and</strong> community, <strong>and</strong> were socially boycotted by friends <strong>and</strong> kin. Yet its<br />
foreign missionary <strong>and</strong> Indian proponents persisted in spreading the message<br />
through the preached <strong>and</strong> written word as well as through a growing<br />
institutional presence which served the needs <strong>and</strong> aspirations of the urban<br />
middle class in particular. It was their successes in winning occasional converts<br />
from among this section of Punjabi society that made Christians <strong>and</strong><br />
Christianity appear to be such a threat to the socio-religious foundations of<br />
Punjabi society. This perceived “Christian threat” has been viewed as directly<br />
responsible for the rapid growth of the Arya Samaj in the Punjab, 45 for the<br />
creation of the Amritsar Singh Sabha 46 <strong>and</strong> for generating the religious<br />
competition reflected in the pamphlet literature, religious debates, educational<br />
developments, <strong>and</strong> social service endeavors of the time. 47 On the other h<strong>and</strong>,<br />
there were also members of the Punjabi middle class who genuinely appreciated<br />
what the Christian were doing for the betterment of Punjabi society. Two<br />
examples, one urban <strong>and</strong> one rural, illustrate the kind of ambivalent<br />
relationships between Christians <strong>and</strong> members of other communities of caste<br />
<strong>and</strong> religion during the late nineteenth century.<br />
In 1880 the Church of Engl<strong>and</strong> Zenana Missionary Society began its work in<br />
Amrtisar by visiting zenanas for both evangelistic <strong>and</strong> educational purposes,<br />
opening schools for girls, <strong>and</strong> starting St. Catherine’s hospital for women. They<br />
won a few converts from among the middle class women they visited <strong>and</strong> one,<br />
who did not convert, reportedly told her husb<strong>and</strong>, “Well, one thing you will<br />
allow: whatever Christianity may be for men, it’s a good religion for women.” 48<br />
In 1885 both the Arya Samaj <strong>and</strong> some Muslims organized a joint campaign to<br />
boycott the mission’s girls’ schools <strong>and</strong> close the zenanas to mission visitors.<br />
This campaign was a temporary <strong>and</strong> partial success, but some men defied the<br />
organizers <strong>and</strong> the missionaries reported that the campaign had stimulated<br />
greater interest in education among the women. 49 When another campaign was<br />
launched in 1900 there were women <strong>and</strong> girls who were actually subverting it! 50<br />
As Anshu Malhotra has shown, the Arya Samaj <strong>and</strong> Singh Sabha reformers had<br />
a very different agenda for the women in their lives. 51 However, while the
47 John Webster: Punjabi Christians<br />
C.E.Z.M.S. activities posed a clear threat to their domestic ideals, the women<br />
themselves seemed to see the Christians as opening options to them that they<br />
did not have before. 52<br />
Missionaries, when itinerating through the villages surrounding their urban<br />
mission stations during the winter months, often reported being well received by<br />
members of the dominant groups in the villages they visited. However, it was<br />
not the l<strong>and</strong>owners but the Dalit menials who worked for them that took a<br />
serious interest in Christianity <strong>and</strong> converted in large numbers. Almost<br />
invariably those who were baptized faced harassment <strong>and</strong> persecution, not from<br />
their caste fellows, who unlike the upper castes rarely brought sanctions against<br />
converts, but from the l<strong>and</strong>owners who saw in conversion the possibility of<br />
revolt. Mission reports are full of stories of converts losing wages <strong>and</strong> work,<br />
being unable to use village shops <strong>and</strong> village wells, being singled out to perform<br />
forced labor (begar) for the government, being reported to the police for theft or<br />
other trumped up charges. The missionaries were not of one mind about whether<br />
to intervene with the district authorities on behalf of converts who had been<br />
wronged in these ways or to insist that the converts work things out with their<br />
l<strong>and</strong>lords as best they could. The C.M.S. missionaries seemed to be the most<br />
willing to intervene, whereas the United Presbyterians seemed most adamantly<br />
committed to restraint. 53 Persecution <strong>and</strong> harassment lasted until the l<strong>and</strong>lords<br />
became convinced that their dominance was no longer threatened.<br />
Some studies conducted since Independence indicate that relations between<br />
Christians <strong>and</strong> members of other religious communities in rural Punjab were<br />
shaped far more by the village hierarchies of caste status <strong>and</strong> power than by<br />
explicitly religious considerations. A 1977 study of six villages in Gurdaspur<br />
district, which has the highest concentration of Christians in the Punjab,<br />
revealed that religion <strong>and</strong> religious values played a very minor role in Christian-<br />
Sikh relations. The two religious groups had little to do with each other either at<br />
the explicitly religious level or at the social level. Relationships were defined<br />
socio-economically, as l<strong>and</strong>lords <strong>and</strong> laborers, who happened to be of different<br />
religions. Where this hierarchy was accepted, relationships were cordial; where<br />
it was not, as in one village with a Christian majority which controlled the<br />
village panchayat, they were not. 54 These conclusions were confirmed by two<br />
later studies that found little social integration; Christians were seen as <strong>and</strong><br />
functioned as a Dalit caste which was low in the village hierarchy <strong>and</strong> whose<br />
members were treated accordingly. 55<br />
In urban Punjab the picture is pretty much the same, except among the<br />
educated elites. Christians, like others, tend to live in their own mohallas <strong>and</strong><br />
confine their social relationships to neighbors <strong>and</strong> those with whom they work.<br />
Educated Christians in white-collar jobs are more spread out <strong>and</strong> have<br />
friendships with educated people of other communities. 56 A major Christian<br />
initiative in inter-faith relations at the educated elite level was the creation of the<br />
Christian Institute of Sikh <strong>Studies</strong> at Baring Union Christian College in 1966.<br />
Unlike the preaching <strong>and</strong> debates of the past, it sought not to score points over<br />
opponents but to promote underst<strong>and</strong>ing of one’s neighbors. It promoted a series<br />
of major inter-faith dialogues on such subjects as popular religion, the nature of
JPS: 16:1 48<br />
guruship, rituals <strong>and</strong> sacraments, death <strong>and</strong> suffering. 57 Following the example<br />
of its second director W. H. McLeod, it also brought modern critical scholarship<br />
to bear upon its study of historical <strong>and</strong> contemporary Sikhism, 58 which in some<br />
Sikh academic circles was considered to be a hostile act. The Institute had to<br />
curtail these dialogues following Operation Bluestar <strong>and</strong> to change its name to<br />
the Christian Institute of Religious <strong>Studies</strong>.<br />
What this brief sketch suggests is that relations between Christians <strong>and</strong><br />
members of other social groups in the Punjab have been shaped over the past<br />
two centuries initially by the evangelistic aims of the Christian missions;<br />
secondarily by changing political contexts, agendas, <strong>and</strong> power imbalances; <strong>and</strong><br />
always by the particular social demographics of the Christian community<br />
relative to other communities of religion <strong>and</strong> caste within Punjabi society.<br />
Communal prestige <strong>and</strong> respect in the Punjab has been accorded less on the<br />
basis of right doctrine or notions of purity <strong>and</strong> pollution than on the basis of<br />
power, wealth, education <strong>and</strong> access to other resources. Christians in the Punjab<br />
have long borne the “scoundrel” <strong>and</strong> especially the Dalit image. This is to some<br />
extent countered by a progressive, enlightened, service-oriented image, but the<br />
Dalit image has come to dominate more <strong>and</strong> more, <strong>and</strong> has given Christians<br />
their “place” from which they have related to others in the social hierarchy of<br />
the Punjab. 59<br />
V<br />
It was not just the Christian message that was new <strong>and</strong> challenging to early<br />
nineteenth century Punjab. Christian patterns of religious leadership <strong>and</strong><br />
organization also proved to be innovative as well. Stanley Brush has shown how<br />
the Protestant mission society, based as it was on the principles of voluntarism,<br />
cooperation, purposefulness <strong>and</strong> rationality, 60 presented quite a contrast to<br />
prevailing Punjabi patterns of religious organization <strong>and</strong> leadership, whether<br />
orthodox or sectarian. He went on to argue that the Protestant mission society<br />
provided an organizational model, which the western educated religious<br />
reformers of the late nineteenth century used both to face the “Christian threat”<br />
<strong>and</strong> to change religious beliefs <strong>and</strong> social practices within their own<br />
communities. The Arya Samaj, the Singh Sabhas, <strong>and</strong> the Muslim anjumans are<br />
examples of this organizational revolution, which Brush called the<br />
“Protestantization of the Punjab.” One can see the “mission model” at work not<br />
only in the organizational patterns of these new reform bodies but also in their<br />
chosen agendas <strong>and</strong> modes of operation. 61<br />
How well did this innovative pattern of organization <strong>and</strong> leadership suit<br />
Punjabi Christians? Initially leadership within the Christian churches was vested<br />
in the foreign missionaries. John C. Lowrie’s successors organized themselves<br />
into the Lodiana Mission in 1837. All male missionaries sent out by the<br />
Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions to the Punjab belonged to that mission.<br />
The churches they formed became part of a presbytery, in which all foreign <strong>and</strong><br />
Indian clergy as well as elected representatives of the presbytery’s churches<br />
were full <strong>and</strong> equal members. In this parallel structure the totally foreign
49 John Webster: Punjabi Christians<br />
mission, which reported directly to the Board of Foreign Missions in New York,<br />
made all the important decisions, including the allocation of funds <strong>and</strong><br />
personnel, while the powers of the more egalitarian presbytery were limited to<br />
ordaining <strong>and</strong> disciplining clergy. Exceptional Indian clergy, like Rev.<br />
Goloknath <strong>and</strong> Rev. Kali Charan Chatterjee, were invited to attend mission<br />
meetings but they were not mission members. The United Presbyterian <strong>and</strong><br />
Church of Scotl<strong>and</strong> missions in the Punjab had the same kind of parallel<br />
structure. The Church Missionary Society structure was also parallel but far<br />
more complex. Their “mission” or Missionary Conference reported to a<br />
Corresponding Committee in India, made up of Evangelical Anglican civil <strong>and</strong><br />
military officers, which then reported to the C.M.S. in London. Their churches<br />
became part of the Calcutta Diocese, <strong>and</strong> after 1877 the Lahore Diocese, of the<br />
Church of Engl<strong>and</strong>. Since these dioceses were dominated, not by missionaries<br />
but by the chaplains <strong>and</strong> churches of the British ecclesiastical establishment, the<br />
“mission churches” <strong>and</strong> their representatives were treated somewhat separately.<br />
Early converts were absorbed into this structure, but by the 1870s the<br />
educated elite clergy <strong>and</strong> laity were challenging the pattern of foreign<br />
dominance inherent in it. Two proposals for change competed for acceptance.<br />
One was to transfer power <strong>and</strong> responsibility gradually from the missions to the<br />
church bodies like the presbytery. The other was to include Indians in the<br />
membership of the missions. In many respects what followed was a nationalist<br />
movement within the churches that closely paralleled the broader Indian<br />
nationalist movement. By 1898 the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. had<br />
committed itself to a gradual transfer of power from the missions to the<br />
churches <strong>and</strong> in 1935 this transfer was virtually completed in India. 62 The<br />
United Presbyterians did not complete a similar transfer until after<br />
Independence. The C.M.S. tried the same course of action by creating in the<br />
Punjab a Native Church Council in 1877, but when this failed to take hold<br />
(more responsibility than power was transferred), they amalgamated the<br />
Corresponding Committee, Missionary Conference, <strong>and</strong> Native Church Council<br />
into the Punjab Mission Council in 1905. 63 In 1931 Canon John Bannerji was<br />
consecrated Assistant Bishop of Lahore. When the ecclesiastical establishment<br />
departed in 1947, the mission council structure merged into the diocesan<br />
structure. The Roman Catholics simply replaced foreign with Indian personnel<br />
within the same diocesan structure, as did the Salvation Army. However,<br />
whereas the Salvation Army had a South Indian Territorial Comm<strong>and</strong>er in<br />
Lahore by 1930, the Roman Catholics had no Indian clergy in the Punjab until<br />
after 1947. Following Independence the missions gradually ceased to exist <strong>and</strong><br />
the missionaries who continued on had no power base independent of the church<br />
bodies now totally dominated by Indians. Then the foreign missionaries<br />
themselves slowly disappeared as Indian church <strong>and</strong> institutional leadership<br />
emerged <strong>and</strong> the Government of India became more unwilling to grant<br />
missionary visas.<br />
What this brief survey suggests is that Punjabi Christians accepted the<br />
Christian ecclesiastical structures which the missionaries brought with them, but<br />
objected to the fact that foreign dominance was built into the functioning of
JPS: 16:1 50<br />
those structures. Once foreign domination was gone the structures were retained<br />
<strong>and</strong> even extended. 64 As a result this more modern pattern of religious<br />
organization <strong>and</strong> leadership prevails in the Punjabi churches today. The most<br />
famous Punjabi Christian of pre-Independence days to insist upon operating<br />
outside those structures was Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929) who followed a<br />
more traditional role but at the same time made a significant impact upon urban<br />
educated Christians both in India <strong>and</strong> in the West. 65 More recently, it is some of<br />
the new, independent Pentecostal churches emerging from within the Punjab<br />
that have followed the more traditional, guru-centered sampradaya model, 66 but<br />
these are still very much the exception rather than the rule.<br />
VI<br />
The vast majority of Christians in the Punjab have always been Punjabis, born<br />
in the Punjab, speaking the languages <strong>and</strong> sharing in the culture of the Punjab.<br />
The nineteenth century exceptions were the foreign missionaries, many of<br />
whom lived for decades in the Punjab, as well as a small number of migrant<br />
Hindustanis <strong>and</strong> Bengalis, some of whom rose to considerable prominence. To<br />
them might be added an influx of South Indians since Independence, staffing<br />
Protestant institutions <strong>and</strong> providing, since 1973, the very backbone of the<br />
Roman Catholic presence in the state. The presence of these outsiders has<br />
involved at least the educated elites among Punjabi Christians in an engagement<br />
not only with a more cosmopolitan Indian <strong>and</strong> even global culture but also, in<br />
turn, with their own Punjabi culture. One sees this engagement most obviously<br />
in Christian institutions as well as in English language services of Christian<br />
worship. However, the vast majority of Christians remain rural laborers who<br />
are immersed in the culture, <strong>and</strong> especially the Dalit culture, of the rural Punjab.<br />
What distinguishes them from other rural Punjabis is not a distinctive set of<br />
cultural or political loyalties, but a somewhat distinctive religious focus.<br />
Christians have made important contributions to Punjabi culture. The<br />
earliest of these was producing the first grammars <strong>and</strong> dictionaries of the<br />
Punjabi language. 67 Christians also translated the Bible <strong>and</strong> some western<br />
religious classics, like Pilgrim’s Progress, which modeled new literary forms<br />
that other Punjabis later used in their own writing. Christian cultural influence<br />
reached its apex during the second half of the nineteenth century when their role<br />
in education was so strong <strong>and</strong> they were able to influence the reform agendas<br />
within other religious communities. At the same time Punjabi culture has made<br />
its impact upon Christian worship. A major milestone in this regard was the<br />
Rev. Imam-ul Din Shahbaz’ setting the psalms to fit the meter of popular<br />
Punjabi tunes. The Punjabi zaburs (psalms) added greatly to the vitality of both<br />
rural <strong>and</strong> urban Christian worship. Some Punjabi religious forms have also been<br />
followed during worship in most Punjabi churches. Worshippers leave their<br />
shoes outside the church door. They usually sit on the floor, with men on one<br />
side of the central aisle <strong>and</strong> women on the other. Men who wear turbans have<br />
generally kept them on during worship.
51 John Webster: Punjabi Christians<br />
Christians have not fared so well in Punjabi political culture. Prior to<br />
Independence the Christian leadership, in their opposition to the rampant<br />
communalism all around them, refused to organize politically as a community.<br />
This, plus the community’s small size <strong>and</strong> generally low status, has effectively<br />
marginalized Christians in the political life of the state. No Christian has been<br />
elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly since 1947, although there are a<br />
surprising number who have been elected to, <strong>and</strong> even served as sarpanch of<br />
their village panchayats. At higher levels they have simply been the clients of<br />
political patrons belonging to other communities, getting a few patronage posts<br />
for their loyal service. On the other h<strong>and</strong>, Punjabi political culture is alive <strong>and</strong><br />
well inside the democratically governed churches in the Punjab, so that the style<br />
<strong>and</strong> functioning of “church politics” is far more profoundly Punjabi than<br />
western, or distinctively Christian.<br />
VII<br />
Perhaps the best key to underst<strong>and</strong>ing Punjabi Christians is provided by the<br />
social profiles given at the outset of this essay. Christians are a small minority<br />
within the state population <strong>and</strong>, given their social backgrounds, are now more<br />
influenced by than influencing the society around them. The community has<br />
produced some outst<strong>and</strong>ing individuals who have served the Punjab <strong>and</strong> India<br />
well in their respective professional fields. They, like some of the better<br />
Christian institutions, have been a source of community pride. However, the<br />
ongoing struggles of Punjabi Christians for individual <strong>and</strong> family survival <strong>and</strong><br />
dignity, as well as for respect as a religious minority, have been shaped far more<br />
by their own social profile <strong>and</strong> community image than by exceptional<br />
individuals.<br />
Notes<br />
1<br />
It is perhaps significant that the small number of other communities identified<br />
in this volume by a religious rather than a caste label (e.g., Ad Dharmis,<br />
Balmikis, Jains, Kabirpanthis, Mazhabis, Nav-Buddhists, <strong>and</strong> Rai Sikhs) are<br />
also treated as castes. K. S. Singh, general editor, People of India. Volume<br />
XXXVII: Punjab (New Delhi: Manohar, 2003).<br />
2<br />
Virinder Singh, ‘Christians’, in ibid., 150.<br />
3<br />
Ibid., 152<br />
4<br />
The Punjabi population as a whole was 33.9 per cent urban, 46.7 per cent<br />
female, <strong>and</strong> 60.6 per cent literate. The figures given above, <strong>and</strong> those from<br />
which percentages are calculated, are provided in Census of India. The First<br />
Report on Religion Data (New Delhi: Registrar General & Census<br />
Commissioner of India, 2001).<br />
5<br />
The female literary rate among Punjabi Christians was 39.5 per cent, whereas<br />
for Indian Christians as a whole it was 76.2 per cent (only the Jains had higher
JPS: 16:1 52<br />
general literacy <strong>and</strong> female literacy rates), while the sex ratio for the entire<br />
Christian population is by far the highest in the country, 50.2 per cent. Ibid.<br />
6<br />
Although drawing heavily upon the research done for my A Social History of<br />
Christianity: North-West India since 1800 (New Delhi: Oxford University<br />
Press, 2007), I have consciously sought to avoid making this essay a summary<br />
of its contents.<br />
7<br />
Bornkamm viewed The Acts of Thomas as “a Christian-Gnostic variety of<br />
the Hellenistic-Oriental romance,” the main elements of which were the hero’s<br />
journey to a far l<strong>and</strong>, links with historical figures, fantastic works, erotic scenes,<br />
<strong>and</strong> an inclination toward the tendentious. G. Bornkamm, ‘The Acts of<br />
Thomas’, in Edgar Mennecke, New Testament Apocrypha, edited by Wilhelm<br />
Schneemekher <strong>and</strong> translated by R. McL. Wilson (Philadelphia: Westminster<br />
Press, 1965), II:428. A good discussion of this tradition is found in A. Mathias<br />
Mundadan, History of Christianity in India. Volume I: From the Beginning up<br />
to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century (Bangalore: Theological Publications of<br />
India, 1984), 12, 25-26.<br />
8<br />
Akbar <strong>and</strong> the Jesuits: An Account of the Jesuit Missions to the Court of<br />
Akbar by Father Pierre Du Jarric, S.J. Translated with Introduction <strong>and</strong> Notes<br />
by C.H. Payne (London: George Routledge & Sons, 1926), 71.<br />
9<br />
Edward Maclagan, The Jesuits <strong>and</strong> the Great Mogul (London: Barns Oates &<br />
Washbourne Ltd., 1932), 274-285.<br />
10<br />
Joseph Thekkedath, History of Christianity in India. Volume II: From the<br />
Middle of the Sixteenth to the End of the Seventeenth Century, 1542-1700<br />
(Bangalore: Theological Publications of India, 1982), 430-432.<br />
11<br />
Edward Maclagan, The Jesuits <strong>and</strong> the Great Mogul, 320.<br />
12<br />
Maclagan says that in 1735 there was a report that there were many<br />
Christians in Lahore who were not in the military. Op. cit., 287.<br />
13<br />
John Rooney, On the Heels of Battles: A History of the Catholic Church in<br />
Pakistan 1780-1886 (Rawalpindi: Christian Study Centre, 1986), 35.<br />
14<br />
Mrs. Lowrie died in Calcutta <strong>and</strong> the Reeds returned home on medical<br />
advice. He died at sea.<br />
15 ‘Mission to Northern India’, The Foreign Missionary Chronicle (April 1834),<br />
201.<br />
16<br />
Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society for Africa <strong>and</strong> the East, Fifty-<br />
Second Year, 1850-1851, clv. [Hereafter referred to as C.M.S. Proceedings with<br />
the years added.]<br />
17<br />
Report to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotl<strong>and</strong> by the Committee<br />
for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, Especially in India, 29 th<br />
May, 1855, 13.<br />
18<br />
Two examples of Sikh tracts concerning Christianity are given in John C. B.<br />
Webster, “The Christian Mission to the Sikhs in Punjab,” Dharma Deepika, 2<br />
(June 1998), 7-8.<br />
19<br />
‘Pauperes Evangelizantur’, Collectanea Lahorensia (October-December,<br />
1938), 162-164.
53 John Webster: Punjabi Christians<br />
20<br />
Punjab Census 1931. Report, 313-314.<br />
21<br />
It is virtually impossible to determine the present proportion of Christians in<br />
the Punjab who are Protestant or Catholic, as this must be based on church<br />
records which are widely scattered <strong>and</strong> not all that reliable.<br />
22<br />
Punjab Census 1881. Part I: Report, 151.<br />
23<br />
This information is drawn from references to converts found in the mission’s<br />
annual reports as well as in articles its missionaries wrote for The Foreign<br />
Missionary Chronicle, The Foreign Missionary, <strong>and</strong> The Home <strong>and</strong> Foreign<br />
Record, all of which were publications of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.<br />
24<br />
John C. B. Webster, The Christian Community <strong>and</strong> Change in Nineteenth<br />
Century North India (Delhi: Macmillan, 1976), 50 & 75.<br />
25<br />
The one extraordinary exception to this was the village of Ghorawaha in<br />
Hoshiarpur district, where eight Muslim Rajput families managed to survive the<br />
boycott following their conversion, thanks to government intervention.<br />
‘Monthly Concert India’, The Foreign Missionary (April 1875), 335-338.<br />
26<br />
C.M.S. Proceedings 1859-69, 116-118; 1860-61, 117-119.<br />
27<br />
Frederick <strong>and</strong> Margaret Stock, People Movements in the Punjab with special<br />
reference to the United Presbyterian Church (South Pasadena: William Carey<br />
Library, 1975), 33-47.<br />
28<br />
Punjab Census 1911. Part I, Report, 192.<br />
29<br />
For more detailed analyses of this movement, see John C. B. Webster,<br />
‘Large-Scale Dalit Conversion to Christianity in Late Nineteenth Century<br />
Punjab as an Early Dalit Movement’, in Chetan Singh, ed., Social<br />
Transformation in the Punjab During the Twentieth Century (forthcoming); The<br />
Dalit Christians: A History (third edition; Delhi: ISPCK, 2009), 56-63; <strong>and</strong><br />
‘Christian Conversion in the Punjab: What has Changed?’ in Rowena Robinson<br />
<strong>and</strong> Sathianathan Clarke, eds., Religious Conversion in India: Modes, Methods,<br />
<strong>and</strong> Meanings (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2003), 351-380.<br />
30<br />
Bhagat Lakshman Singh was present in 1900 when the Arya Samaj<br />
performed shuddhi on thirty low caste (Rahtia) Sikhs <strong>and</strong> shaved their heads.<br />
The Rahtia Sikhs told Lakshman Singh that if they could be assured that other<br />
Sikhs “would inter-marry <strong>and</strong> inter-dine with them they would not even dream<br />
of going out of the Sikh fold. The dem<strong>and</strong> was only in keeping with the promise<br />
made at the time of Pahul (baptismal) ceremony which was honoured more by<br />
its breach than by observance. I had nothing to say.” Bhagat Laskshman Singh,<br />
Autobiography, edited <strong>and</strong> annotated by G<strong>and</strong>a Singh (Calcutta: The Sikh<br />
Cultural Centre, 1965), 162.<br />
31<br />
See, e..g., E. Y. Campbell, The Church in the Punjab: Some Aspects of its<br />
Life <strong>and</strong> Growth (Nagpur: National Christian Council of India, 1961); Clarence<br />
O. McMullen, John C.B. Webster, <strong>and</strong> Maqbul Caleb, The Amritsar Diocese: A<br />
Preliminary Survey (Batala: Christian Institute of Sikh <strong>Studies</strong>, 1973); John C.<br />
B. Webster, ‘Christians <strong>and</strong> Sikhs in the Punjab: The Village Encounter’,<br />
Bulletin of the Christian Institute of Sikh <strong>Studies</strong>, VI (December 1977), 2-27;<br />
Philip Dayal, Level of Social Integration of Ethnic Minorities: A Case Study of
JPS: 16:1 54<br />
the Christians of Gurdaspur District in the Punjab (Unpublished Ph. D. Thesis,<br />
Panjab University, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh, 1982); Vidya Sagar J. Dogar, Rural Christian<br />
Community in Northwest India (Delhi: ISPCK, 2001).<br />
32<br />
Meeting with Pastors, Carmel Church, Jullundur, October 26, 2002;<br />
Interviews with Sant Harbhajan Singh <strong>and</strong> newly baptized converts, Khojewala<br />
village, Kapurthala district, October 27, 2002; Meeting with Pastors, Bethsaida<br />
Prayer Tower, Ludhiana, October 28, 2002; Interview with Reginald Howell,<br />
Amritsar, August 31, 2005.<br />
33<br />
Jeffrey Cox, Imperial Fault Lines: Christianity <strong>and</strong> Colonial Power in India,<br />
1818-1940 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2002), 52.<br />
34<br />
John C. B. Webster, The Christian Community <strong>and</strong> Change, 154.<br />
35 This is based on the annual reports of the Punjab’s Director of Public<br />
Instruction. See also John C. B. Webster, The Christian Community <strong>and</strong><br />
Change, 177-178.<br />
36<br />
Mrs. Newton’s was the first girls’ school in the Punjab <strong>and</strong> other missions<br />
followed her lead. When the Presbyterians admitted a Dalit into their school at<br />
Lahore, other parents withdrew their children in protest, but the mission<br />
remained firm; the Dalit student remained <strong>and</strong> the others gradually returned.<br />
‘Monthly Concert’, The Foreign Missionary (April 1877), 377. To educate their<br />
Megh <strong>and</strong> Chuhra converts the United Presbyterians created village schools<br />
which other villagers, Dalit <strong>and</strong> non Dalit, also attended. See Robert Stewart,<br />
Life <strong>and</strong> Work in India: An Account of the Conditions, Methods, Difficulties,<br />
Results, Future Prospects <strong>and</strong> Reflex Influence of Missionary Labor in India<br />
Especially in the Punjab Mission of the United Presbyterian Church of North<br />
America (New edition; Philadelphia: Pearl Publishing Co., 1899), 267-270.<br />
37 This can be seen by comparing the aims listed in the Survey of the<br />
Educational Work of the Three India Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the<br />
United States of America 1926 (pp. 61, 90, 136, 137) with those in the later<br />
Reports <strong>and</strong> Recommendations of the Deputation of the Board of Foreign<br />
Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Modified <strong>and</strong> Approved by<br />
the Final Conference with the India Council <strong>and</strong> Other Regional<br />
Representatives, March 22-25, 1939 (pp. 25-26).<br />
38<br />
Vinod K. Khiyale, Hundred Years of Baring’s Mission to Batala: Christian<br />
Education <strong>and</strong> Social Change in a Punjab Countryside (Delhi: ISPCK, 1980),<br />
79.<br />
39<br />
Diocese of Jal<strong>and</strong>har Punjab, India. Directory 1999, 107-130.<br />
40<br />
Report of the Punjab Missionary Conference held at Lahore in December<br />
<strong>and</strong> January, 1862-63 (Lodiana: American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1863),<br />
109-110.<br />
41<br />
The discussion is in ibid., 107-110 <strong>and</strong> the quotation is on page 108.<br />
42<br />
Kheroth Mohini Bose, The Village of Hope or The History of Asrapur,<br />
Punjab (London: Church of Engl<strong>and</strong> Zenana Missionary Society, n.d.).<br />
43<br />
A Century for Christ in India <strong>and</strong> Pakistan 1855-1955 (Lahore: United<br />
Presbyterian Church, n.d.), 14, 15, 32, 35.
55 John Webster: Punjabi Christians<br />
44<br />
A longer version of this history, with full documentation, is provided in<br />
chapters 4, 5 <strong>and</strong> 6 of my forthcoming Christianity in Northwest India since<br />
1800: A Social History.<br />
45<br />
Kenneth W. Jones, Arya Dharm: Hindu Consciousness in 19 th -Century<br />
Punjab (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976), 48-49.<br />
46<br />
Both Harbans Singh <strong>and</strong> Harjot Oberoi mention that the public declaration<br />
of four Sikh boys in the mission school at Amritsar of their intention to convert<br />
to Christianity was a precipitating cause for the organization of the Amritsar<br />
Singh Sabha, without naming the sources from which this information was<br />
derived. Harbans Singh, The Heritage of the Sikhs (New Delhi: Manohar,<br />
1983), 232-233 <strong>and</strong> Harjot Oberoi, The Construction of Religious Boundaries:<br />
Culture, Identity <strong>and</strong> Diversity in the Sikh Tradition (Delhi: Oxford University<br />
Press, 1994), 235.When examining the records <strong>and</strong> correspondence of the<br />
C.M.S. missionaries at Amritsar, I found no reference to this incident. Had the<br />
boys actually converted, this would surely have been reported; either the<br />
missionaries did not know about the public declaration or did not consider it<br />
important enough to mention.<br />
47<br />
John C. B. Webster, The Christian Community <strong>and</strong> Change, 93-186.<br />
48<br />
‘Umritsar’, India’s Women (July-August 1881), 175.<br />
49<br />
‘Sowing <strong>and</strong> Reaping’, India’s Women (May-June 1886), 119.<br />
50<br />
Twenty-first Annual Report of the Church of Engl<strong>and</strong> Zenana Missionary<br />
Society for the Year Ending 31 st March 1901, 54.<br />
51<br />
Anshu Malhotra, Gender, Caste <strong>and</strong> Religious Identities: Restructuring<br />
Class in Colonial Punjab (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002).<br />
52<br />
John C. B. Webster, “The Women of Amritsar through Missionary Eyes,” in<br />
Reeta Grewal <strong>and</strong> Sheena Pall, eds., Precolonial <strong>and</strong> Colonial Punjab: Society,<br />
Economy, Politics <strong>and</strong> Culture (New Delhi: Manohar, 2005), 265-288 <strong>and</strong> A<br />
Social History of Christianity, 155-167.<br />
53<br />
See John C. B. Webster, “Christian Conversion in the Punjab,” 358.<br />
Examples of C.M.S. missionary intervention may be seen in C.M.S.<br />
Proceedings 1891-92, 113-14; 1892-93, 121.<br />
54<br />
John C. B. Webster, “Christians <strong>and</strong> Sikhs in the Punjab: The Village<br />
Encounter,” Bulletin of the Christian Institute of Sikh <strong>Studies</strong>, 6 (December<br />
1977), 2-27.<br />
55<br />
Philip Dayal, Level of Social Integration of Ethnic Minorities: A Case Study<br />
of the Christians of Gurdaspur District in the Punjab (Unpublished Ph. D.<br />
Thesis, Panjab University Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh, 1982); Vidya Sagar, “The Christian<br />
Community in Punjab: An Analogy,” Religion <strong>and</strong> Society, XXXVIII (June<br />
1991), 3-17.<br />
56<br />
Philip Dayal, op. cit., 306.<br />
57<br />
All of these have been published by the ISPCK in Delhi.<br />
58<br />
McLeod prepared his Guru Nanak <strong>and</strong> the Sikh Religion for publication<br />
while connected with the Institute. Other books in a modern critical vein by<br />
McLeod’s two successors were John C. B. Webster, The Nirankari Sikhs (New
JPS: 16:1 56<br />
Delhi: Macmillan, 1979) <strong>and</strong> Clarence Osmond McMullen, Religious Beliefs<br />
<strong>and</strong> Practices of the Sikhs in Rural Punjab (New Delhi: Manohar, 1989).<br />
59<br />
The Christian Institute of Sikh <strong>Studies</strong> organized two conferences to address<br />
this image issue <strong>and</strong> its meaning for Punjabi Christians. “The Gospel for the<br />
Punjab,” Bulletin of the Christian Institute of Sikh <strong>Studies</strong>, 4 (July 1975), 14-16;<br />
Clarence O. McMullen, “The Self-Image of Christians in the Punjab,” ibid., 6<br />
(January 1977), 16-23.<br />
60<br />
Stanley Elwood Brush, Protestants in the Punjab: Religion <strong>and</strong> Social<br />
Change in an Indian Province in the Nineteenth Century (Unpublished Ph.D.,<br />
Dissertation: University of California, Berkeley, 1971), 38-39.<br />
61<br />
Ibid., 264-333.<br />
62<br />
A detailed account of this may be found in John C. B. Webster, The<br />
Christian Community <strong>and</strong> Change, 208-23 <strong>and</strong> John C. B. Webster, “American<br />
Presbyterian Missionaries <strong>and</strong> Nationalist Politics in the Punjab, 1919-1935,”<br />
Indian Church History Review, XXXIV (June 2000), 51-73.<br />
63<br />
H. U. Weitbrecht, “The Punjab Mission Council,” Church Missionary<br />
Intelligencer (September 1905), 664-68; H. G. Gray, “Native Church<br />
Organization in India,” ibid. (August 1909), 476-81.<br />
64<br />
A good example of this was the creation of the Church of North India in<br />
1970, which brought together the Anglican <strong>and</strong> Presbyterian churches in the<br />
Punjab.<br />
65<br />
Two good biographies of him are A. J. Appasamy, Sundar Singh: A<br />
Biography (Madras: Christian Literature Society, 1966) <strong>and</strong> Friedrich Heiler,<br />
The Gospel of Sadhu Sundar Singh, abridged translation by Olive Wyon<br />
(Lucknow: Lucknow Publishing House, 1970).<br />
66<br />
The best example of this that I have seen is Sant Harbhajan Singh <strong>and</strong> the<br />
Open Door Church in the village of Khojewala, located in Kapurthala district.<br />
See John C. B. Webster, A Social History of Christianity, 299-300, 350-351.<br />
67<br />
John Newton produced the first grammar of the Punjabi language in 1851,<br />
the first Punjabi vocabulary book in 1854, <strong>and</strong>, with Levi Janvier, the first<br />
dictionary of the Punjabi language also in 1854. James Massey, ‘Presbyterian<br />
Missionaries <strong>and</strong> the Development of the Punjabi Language <strong>and</strong> Literature,<br />
1834-1984’, Journal of Presbyterian History, 62 (Fall 1984), 259.
57 Lakhwinder Singh et al: Migrant Labour<br />
Changing Character of Rural Economy <strong>and</strong> Migrant<br />
Labour in Punjab<br />
Lakhwinder Singh, Inderjeet Singh <strong>and</strong> Ranjit Singh Ghuman<br />
Punjabi University, Patiala<br />
________________________________________________________________<br />
Rural economy of Punjab has been undergoing structural transformation. But the<br />
dependence of rural population in general <strong>and</strong> rural labour in particular for earning<br />
livelihood from the rural economy continues. This process of rural transformation has<br />
perpetuated the distress among the rural workforce. It is a strange phenomenon that<br />
migrant labour continues to pour into the rural areas. The rural economy of Punjab, due<br />
to a wage gap, does attract huge inflow of people from other poorer states of India.<br />
Rural-rural migration is largely seasonal <strong>and</strong> the stay of workers in most cases is less<br />
than six months. Therefore, the official statistics on migration grossly under record the<br />
rural-rural migration. Attempt has been made in this paper to fill this gap. Despite the<br />
fact that the rural real wage rate has declined between the period 1990 <strong>and</strong> 2000 ruralrural<br />
migration has increased during the same period. The majority of the migrants (more<br />
than 90 per cent) are able to find work in agriculture for only up to 50 days in a year. It<br />
has wide ranging implications for the rural-rural migration <strong>and</strong> on the level of living of<br />
migrant families.<br />
_______________________________________________________________<br />
Introduction<br />
Migration <strong>and</strong> economic development are intimately linked. Dualistic<br />
development literature viewed internal migration as natural process in which<br />
surplus labour can gradually be withdrawn from the agriculture sector to fulfil<br />
the increasing dem<strong>and</strong> in the urban industrial sector. This process of economic<br />
transformation has been considered socially beneficial because of human<br />
resources can be shifted from low paid economic activities (marginal product<br />
nearly zero) to rapidly growing economic activities where marginal product is<br />
positive (Todaro <strong>and</strong> Smith, 2004).Thus, economic theory of migration suggests<br />
that migration takes place in response to urban-rural differences in expected<br />
income. Contrary to this, Jolly (1970) argued that most of these concern looks<br />
irrelevant today. The rates of rural-urban migration in less developed countries<br />
continue to exceed rates of urban job creation. Dualistic theory of economic<br />
development <strong>and</strong> migration has been criticized that it completely ignored the<br />
empirical realities of most of the developing economies where the rural-rural<br />
migration is the dominant form than rural to urban. It is being generally<br />
observed from empirical literature on migration that the skill levels required for<br />
urban migration have increased over time. The skill requirements in urban areas<br />
<strong>and</strong> skill possessed by the agricultural workers have widened substantially.
JPS: 16:1 58<br />
Therefore, the people of poorest areas do not have access to the most rewarding<br />
activities in the urban areas.<br />
They migrate to activities, which are seasonal agriculture <strong>and</strong> also less<br />
rewarding. Another important factor that contributes to the flow of rural to rural<br />
migration is the improvement of agricultural productivity due to technological<br />
progress, which resulted into the improvements in mean income in such regions.<br />
The people of the less developed areas are likely c<strong>and</strong>idates for such migration<br />
(Haan, 2007). The rural economy of Punjab do attract huge amount of flow of<br />
people from other poorer states of India. These workers do engage themselves<br />
into low paid agriculture sector related activities both regular <strong>and</strong> seasonal. The<br />
real wage rate in the rural economy of Punjab has declined at the rate of 0.8 per<br />
cent per annum between the period 1990 <strong>and</strong> 2000 (Deshp<strong>and</strong>e, Mehta <strong>and</strong><br />
Shah, 2007). Rural to rural migration, which is largely seasonal <strong>and</strong> the stay of<br />
workers in most of the cases is less than six months, therefore, excluded from<br />
the official records. The place of residence of migrant workers is usually at the<br />
place of work, that is, farm <strong>and</strong> thus is not being recorded during the period of<br />
conduct of census. Therefore, the official statistics on migration grossly under<br />
record the rural to rural migration. In this paper, an attempt has been made to<br />
examine the changing character of rural economy of Punjab <strong>and</strong> inflows of<br />
migrant labour. The paper is organised into seven sections. Section two deals<br />
with the changing character of rural economy of Punjab <strong>and</strong> situates the migrant<br />
labour pouring in from other states. The structure of migrant inflows <strong>and</strong> growth<br />
pattern is presented in section three. Fourth section provides state-wise analysis<br />
of inflows of migrant labour in urban Punjab. The trends of rural-rural migration<br />
are presented in section five. Section six contains discussion regarding the<br />
estimated number of migrant workers in the rural economy of Punjab. The<br />
concluding remarks are presented in section seven.<br />
Changing Character of the Rural Economy of Punjab<br />
The rural economy of Punjab ushered into the era of economic prosperity with<br />
the advent of green revolution in the mid-sixties. The share of agriculture sector<br />
in the state domestic product was nearly 53 per cent in the year 1966-67. In the<br />
early green revolution period, the rapidly growing agriculture sector increased<br />
its relative importance in terms of generating income, the share of this sector in<br />
the SDP further increased to 54.27 per cent in the year 1970-71.The rising<br />
production <strong>and</strong> productivity of agriculture sector not only increased the<br />
contribution of this sector to the state’s economy but also provided number one<br />
position in terms of per capita income in the country. The fast rate of growth of<br />
productivity <strong>and</strong> value addition during green revolution period in the agriculture<br />
sector has given big push to raise the level of living in the rural economy of<br />
Punjab. The most important impact of green revolution on the rural economy of<br />
Punjab was a dramatic reduction of the proportion of people living below<br />
poverty line. This has happened mainly because of the fact that the available of<br />
employment opportunities in the rural areas of Punjab have dramatically<br />
improved. The estimated dem<strong>and</strong> for labour (based on cost of cultivation data)
59 Lakhwinder Singh et al: Migrant Labour<br />
was 443.3 million man-days for the crop sector in the year 1971-72. It further<br />
increased to 502.85 million labour man-days in the year 1985-86 (Sidhu <strong>and</strong><br />
Johl, 2002). During the period of early green revolution, the all along<br />
development of rural areas <strong>and</strong> other sectors of the economy generated huge<br />
employment opportunities in Punjab. The higher wage rate <strong>and</strong> higher level of<br />
living conditions also attracted labour force from other states, which was<br />
looking for survival. This has led to increase in the inflows of labour force from<br />
other states to both rural <strong>and</strong> urban locations in Punjab.<br />
The green revolution in Punjab dramatically altered the cropping pattern.<br />
During the seventies <strong>and</strong> eighties, the diversified rural economy of Punjab<br />
turned towards predominantly wheat-paddy rotation. The number of crops sown<br />
in Punjab was 21 in the year 1960-61 <strong>and</strong> was declined to 9 in 1990-91 <strong>and</strong><br />
remained so thereafter. The area sown under crops other than wheat declined<br />
from 62.74 in 1960-61 to 17.12 per cent in 2004-05. The area under rice<br />
increased from merely 6.05 per cent in 1960-61 to 63.02 per cent in 2004-05.<br />
Crop diversification index for the winter season declined from 0.79 in 1960-61<br />
to 0.303 in 2004-05 <strong>and</strong> this index for summer crop season declined from 0.98<br />
in 1960-61 to 0.58 in 2004-05 (Toor, Bhullar <strong>and</strong> Kaur, 2007). This indicates<br />
that there has occurred a clear “reversal” of diversification of the rural economy<br />
of Punjab. The assured market <strong>and</strong> prices of two crops (wheat <strong>and</strong> Paddy)<br />
provided by the state agencies facilitated this transformation. The rate of growth<br />
from the agriculture sector proper (crop) income has grown at a nearly 5 per<br />
cent per annum during the eighties. The growth rate of state domestic income,<br />
during the same period, from dairy sector was higher than the income from<br />
agriculture proper (Singh <strong>and</strong> Singh, 2002).The predominant two cropping<br />
pattern of agriculture has governed the technological changes which<br />
significantly affected the employment opportunities in the rural economy of<br />
Punjab. A rise in the income of rural households, particularly of farmers,<br />
increased the capacity of the farm households to employ innovations to further<br />
exploit the potential of yields. Thus, the new technological innovations of<br />
threshing, tractor, use of pesticides <strong>and</strong> insecticides, diesel pump sets <strong>and</strong><br />
electric tubewells increased the use of mechanical power for tilling <strong>and</strong><br />
harvesting operations (Gill <strong>and</strong> Singh, 2006). The biological innovations for<br />
making crops free from weeds <strong>and</strong> pest attack started decreasing the dem<strong>and</strong> for<br />
labour in most of the operations earlier done by the labour. This kind of<br />
technological progress has reversed the early green revolution’s peculiar<br />
characteristic, that is, the increased labour intensity in Punjab agriculture. The<br />
man-days of labour use declined after the mid-eighties in both the wheat <strong>and</strong><br />
paddy crops. The requirement of man-days per hectare for wheat crop declined<br />
from 52.35 to 38.9 from 1985-88 to 1998-2000. For paddy crop, the decline of<br />
man-days per hectare was dramatic, that is, 103.60 to 56.32. Mechanical <strong>and</strong><br />
biological technologies were mainly responsible for the decline in intensity of<br />
labour use in the major crops of Punjab agriculture (Sidhu <strong>and</strong> Singh, 2004).<br />
The capitalist pattern of agricultural economic development has increased the<br />
share of hired labour. In fact, the Punjab farmers have turned from peasant to<br />
managers of agriculture activities. The pattern of technological progress has
JPS: 16:1 60<br />
reduced the sowing <strong>and</strong> harvesting operation time dramatically that has<br />
impinged upon reduction of family labour <strong>and</strong> spurt in the hired labour. This is a<br />
paradoxical situation of Punjab agriculture, on the one side, during the peak<br />
season an acute shortage of labour is being met by seasonal migration from<br />
other states <strong>and</strong> on the other, surplus of local labour during the lean season (Gill,<br />
2002).<br />
During the period of 1990s, the green revolution technology has shown signs<br />
of fatigue. Productivity growth stagnated along with near freeze of prices, which<br />
resulted into the decline of agriculture sector’s contribution to the state income.<br />
Growth rate of income generated in the agriculture (crop) proper was less than 1<br />
per cent during the nineties <strong>and</strong> early years of twenty first century. This has<br />
created imbalance in the structure of Punjab state’s economy, whereas share of<br />
agriculture sector’s (Crops <strong>and</strong> dairying) income has sharply declined in the<br />
state domestic product from 54.27 per cent in 1970-71 to 33.70 per cent in<br />
2005-06. But the proportion of workforce engaged in agriculture sector of<br />
Punjab continue to be very high, that is, 48 per cent in the year 2004-05. This<br />
comes out to be 66.9 per cent of the total rural workforce of Punjab in the year<br />
2004-05. It needs to be noted here that agricultural workforce was as high as<br />
82.5 per cent of the total rural workforce of Punjab in the year 1983. The<br />
workforce engaged in the agricultural sector of Punjab has declined to 74.6 per<br />
cent of the total rural workforce in the year 1993-94 compared with 1983. It<br />
further declined to 66.9 per cent in the year 2004-05 (NCEUIS, 2007).<br />
Furthermore, the 90.9 per cent of workforce in Punjab is engaged in the<br />
unorganized sector where the wage rate is very low. The workforce working in<br />
the agriculture sector, especially agriculture labour, small <strong>and</strong> marginal farmers,<br />
are earning below Rs 20.3 per capita per day, which is called vulnerable by the<br />
National Commission on Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector. The low<br />
growth of agriculture sector <strong>and</strong> high dependence of workforce are expected to<br />
further worsen the working <strong>and</strong> living conditions of the rural workforce. This<br />
will act as a disincentive for the migratory workforce usually comes to rural<br />
areas of Punjab for finding much-needed livelihood. This will either divert these<br />
flows to other fast growing states of India or will suffer because of nonavailability<br />
of necessary skills required to be absorbed in the urban areas.<br />
Migration Inflows in Punjab<br />
There was a dramatic improvement in agricultural productivity with the advent<br />
of green revolution, which resulted into rise in per capita income. Intensive<br />
agriculture has also increased the dem<strong>and</strong> for labour. The high yielding variety<br />
of seeds, irrigation network of canals <strong>and</strong> tubewells have given big push to<br />
multiple cropping pattern. This process of agricultural development created<br />
shortage of labour force required for intensive agriculture. The successful <strong>and</strong><br />
sustained agricultural transformation widened the the gap of per capita income<br />
of Punjab compared to other states of India. The poor people of poorer states<br />
have started gradually flowing in the state of Punjab.
61 Lakhwinder Singh et al: Migrant Labour<br />
Table 1: Trends of migration in Punjab: 1981-2001<br />
1981 1991 2001 Growth rate<br />
Year<br />
(Per cent per annum)<br />
State<br />
1981-<br />
91<br />
1991-<br />
01<br />
1981-<br />
01<br />
Bihar 50235 90732 267409 6.09 11.42 8.72<br />
(06.43) (09.20) (17.01)<br />
Haryana 248043 298192 361766 1.85 1.95 1.90<br />
(31.74) (30.41) (23.02)<br />
Himachal 112289 136134 165158 1.94 1.95 1.94<br />
Pradesh (14.37) (13.80) (10.51)<br />
Rajasthan 91879 110853 136168 1.90 2.08 1.99<br />
(11.76) (11.24) (8.66)<br />
Uttar 220216 280350 517351 2.44 6.32 4.36<br />
Pradesh (28.18) (28.42) (32.92)<br />
Madhya 15556 15717 30559 0.10 6.87 3.43<br />
Pradesh (01.99) (1.58) (1.95)<br />
West 12970 18635 45902 3.69 9.43 6.52<br />
Bengal (01.66) (01.89) (2.92)<br />
Jammu & 30223 36108 47349 1.80 2.75 2.27<br />
Kashmir (03.87) (03.66) (3.01)<br />
Total of 781411 986621 1571662 2.36 4.77 3.56<br />
eight states (95.02) (87.61) (89.67)<br />
Total 822377 1126149 1752718 2.59 4.52 3.55<br />
(100.00) (100.00) (100.00)<br />
Source: Government of India, Census (various issues).<br />
Note: Figures in parentheses are percentages.<br />
The total migrants reported in the census 1981 were of the order of 8,22,377<br />
persons (table 1). This was increased to 11,26,149 persons in 1991. The annual<br />
rate of growth of migrants in Punjab during the period 1981 to 1991 was of the<br />
order of 2.59. The inflow of migrants increased sharply during the decade of<br />
1991 to 2001. The total number of migrants increased from 11,26,149 in 1991 to<br />
17,52,718 persons in 2001. The rise in flows of migrants in Punjab during the<br />
period 1991-2001 was quite sharp. The annual rate of growth comes out to be<br />
4.52 per cent, which is higher than the previous decade.<br />
The compound growth rate of migrant inflows to Punjab was 3.55 per cent<br />
per annum during the period 1981 to 2001.The overall growth rate is higher than<br />
the first decade that is 1981 to 1991 compared with the 1991 to 2001.This<br />
implies that the migrant flow to Punjab was higher in the decade of 1991 to<br />
2001 than that of the 1981 to 1991.However, the similar trends can also be seen<br />
from table 1 so far as the growth rates of migrants coming from other important<br />
states are concerned.<br />
The perusal of Table 1 reveals an important fact that the compound rate of<br />
growth of migrant inflows from Bihar was the highest compared to other states.
JPS: 16:1 62<br />
There was a sharp rise in the migrant inflows from Bihar state to Punjab. When<br />
we compare the structure of migrant inflows, Haryana tops in the year 1981<br />
with 31.74 per cent migrants recorded in Punjab were from Haryana. Uttar<br />
Pradesh with 28.18 per cent of the migrant inflows to Punjab was ranked<br />
number two. Himachal Pradesh <strong>and</strong> Rajasthan ranked number 3 <strong>and</strong> 4 recorded<br />
migrant inflows shares 14.37 <strong>and</strong> 11.76 per cent respectively. Bihar state comes<br />
at number 5 so far as migrant inflow proportion in 1981 is concerned. The eight<br />
important states in terms of migrant inflows together covered nearly 90 per cent<br />
of migrant inflows to Punjab. The analysis of the changing structure of migrant<br />
inflows presented in Table 1 clearly shows that Uttar Pradesh has emerged as<br />
the most important state that sends migrants to Punjab. This is contrary to the<br />
widely held belief that the majority migrant inflows are from Bihar (Singh,<br />
2006). However, the proportion of Bihar migrants in total migrants from other<br />
states to Punjab has sharply increased <strong>and</strong> Bihar is now ranked at number 3 rd in<br />
2001 <strong>and</strong> improved its rank from 5 th in 1981.On the whole, the higher growth<br />
rate than the average of all states of India was recorded by four states, that is,<br />
Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh <strong>and</strong> Uttar Pradesh during the period 1991<br />
to 2001. The relative shares of migrant inflows in Punjab from these four states<br />
improved, but the share of migrants declined for rest of the states included in the<br />
analysis.<br />
Migration Inflows in Urban Punjab<br />
The structure <strong>and</strong> growth rates of migration inflows to urban Punjab from rest of<br />
the states are presented in table 2.The perusal of the table 2 reveals that the<br />
highest proportion of migrant inflows in the year 1981 was from Uttar Pradesh.<br />
The share of Uttar Pradesh was 38.02 per cent among the eight states. Haryana,<br />
Himachal Pradesh <strong>and</strong> Rajasthan occupied 2 nd , 3 rd <strong>and</strong> 4 th position in terms of<br />
migrant inflows to urban Punjab in the year 1981. Bihar state having its share of<br />
urban migrants only 6.41 per cent in 1981 <strong>and</strong> was ranked number 5 th .<br />
However, the average annual growth rates for the two decade period under<br />
consideration clearly shows that the migrant inflows to urban Punjab took place<br />
from Bihar has grown at a fast rate. West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh <strong>and</strong> Madhya<br />
Pradesh have recorded higher annual compound growth rates compared with the<br />
overall average of all the states.<br />
Table 2: Structure <strong>and</strong> trends of urban migration in Punjab: 1981-2001<br />
1981 1991 2001 Growth rate<br />
Year<br />
(per cent per annum)<br />
State<br />
1981-<br />
91<br />
1991-<br />
01<br />
1981-<br />
01<br />
Bihar 26039 58348 184992 8.40 12.23 10.30<br />
(06.41) (10.88) (19.42)<br />
Haryana 101607<br />
(24.99)<br />
117582<br />
(21.92)<br />
162931<br />
(17.10)<br />
1.47 3.32 2.39
63 Lakhwinder Singh et al: Migrant Labour<br />
Himachal 58719 70812 93063 1.89 2.77 2.33<br />
Pradesh (14.44) (13.20) (09.77)<br />
Rajasthan 38092 45603 59632 1.82 2.72 2.27<br />
(09.37) (08.50) (06.26)<br />
Uttar 154568 206480 381625 2.94 6.39 4.62<br />
Pradesh (38.02) (38.49) (40.05)<br />
Madhya 6125 9537 16749 4.53 5.79 5.16<br />
Pradesh (01.51) (01.78) (01.76)<br />
West 6297 10255 30553 5.00 11.53 8.22<br />
Bengal (01.55) (01.91) (03.21)<br />
Jammu & 15092 17822 23265 1.68 2.70 2.19<br />
Kashmir (3.71) (03.32) (02.44)<br />
Total 406539 536439 952810 2.81 5.91 4.35<br />
Note: Figures in parentheses are percentages.<br />
The structure of migrant inflows has changed dramatically during the period<br />
1981 to 2001. Uttar Pradesh not only retained its first position rather improved<br />
its share in urban migrants. It is important to note that nearly 40 per cent of the<br />
urban Punjab migrants just came from the state of Uttar Pradesh as per the<br />
census of 1991. Bihar emerged as the second largest so far as migrant inflows to<br />
urban areas of Punjab are concerned. Haryana <strong>and</strong> Himachal Pradesh relegated<br />
to third <strong>and</strong> fourth position.<br />
The West Bengal state has improved its relative position from 1.55 per cent in<br />
1981 to 3.21 per cent in 2001 <strong>and</strong> recorded 8.22 per cent per annum growth rate<br />
between the period 1981 <strong>and</strong> 2001. The growth rate of migrant inflows from West<br />
Bengal to urban areas of Punjab is comparable to Bihar during the period 1991 to<br />
2001.<br />
Rural Migration in Punjab<br />
Rural economy of Punjab received 4,04,657 persons from other states of India<br />
in the year 1981. Rural migrants registered increasing trend between the period<br />
1981 <strong>and</strong> 1991. However, the rate of growth was 2.08 per cent during the same<br />
period. Rural migrants registered fast growth between the period 1991 <strong>and</strong><br />
2001 <strong>and</strong> the growth rate was nearly 3 per cent per annum. Among the eight<br />
states, which cover nearly 93 per cent of the total rural inflow of migration from<br />
other states, have been selected for analysis. Haryana occupies first position<br />
from where largest migrants came from. The proportion of migrants from<br />
Haryana was 39.06 per cent in 1981, which increased 40.10 per cent in 1991<br />
<strong>and</strong> dwindled to 32.13 per cent in 2001. It is important to note here that Haryana<br />
state occupied rank one during the period of analysis. The rate of growth of<br />
migrant inflows from Haryana to rural Punjab was more than 2 per cent during<br />
the period 1981-1991 which was higher than overall as well as of the eight<br />
states average growth rate. However, the growth rate of migrant inflows<br />
declined to nearly one per cent during the period 1991 to 2001. This increase
JPS: 16:1 64<br />
was lower than overall growth rate as well as of the eight states average growth<br />
rate.<br />
The total number of migrants, which came to rural areas of Punjab from<br />
rural areas of Uttar Pradesh was of the order of 65,648 in the year 1981.The<br />
proportion comes out to be 17.51 per cent. According to the proportion of<br />
migrants, Uttar Pradesh was ranked number two among the eight important<br />
states under consideration. The rate of growth of migrants from Uttar Pradesh to<br />
rural areas of Punjab was nearly one per cent during the period 1981 to 1991,<br />
which was below the overall as well as combined eight states growth rate.<br />
Therefore, the proportion of migrants declined to 16.41 per cent in 1991 (Table<br />
3).<br />
There was a sharp rise in the growth rate of migrants from Uttar Pradesh to<br />
rural areas of Punjab during the period 1991 to 2001, which was 6.62 per cent<br />
per annum. Therefore, the relative share of Uttar Pradesh dramatically improved<br />
to 21.93 per cent, which is more than 5 percentage point shift. Rajasthan <strong>and</strong><br />
Himachal Pradesh occupied ranks 3 rd <strong>and</strong> 4 th in the year 1981 lost to the state of<br />
Bihar where the rate of growth was very high during both the decades. Bihar<br />
rose to the 3 rd position in the year 2001 so far as relative shares of migrant<br />
inflows to rural areas of Punjab are concerned. Another important source, which<br />
has been sending substantial number of migrants to rural Punjab, was the state<br />
of Jammu <strong>and</strong> Kashmir. However, the rate of growth of migrants from J&K<br />
remained slightly below average of other states. Thus, the relative share of<br />
migrants from Jammu <strong>and</strong> Kashmir declined marginally in 2001 compared with<br />
1981 <strong>and</strong> 1991. The growth rate of migrant inflows from West Bengal to rural<br />
areas of Punjab was 2.30 per cent per annum between 1981 <strong>and</strong> 1991.This<br />
growth rate dramatically increased during the period 1991 to 2001 <strong>and</strong> was of<br />
the order of 6.24 per cent per annum. The structure of rural migrants from other<br />
states remained quite stable except that the relative share of Bihar improved<br />
dramatically. Rural to rural migration from other states to Punjab has increased<br />
during the period of analysis but the growth was slow compared with the<br />
migrant inflows to urban areas of Punjab.<br />
Year<br />
State<br />
Table 3: Structure <strong>and</strong> tends in rural migration in Punjab: 1981-2001<br />
1981 1991 2001 Growth rate<br />
(Per cent per annum)<br />
Bihar 24196<br />
(06.45)<br />
Haryana 146436<br />
(39.06)<br />
Himachal 53570<br />
Pradesh (14.29)<br />
Rajasthan 53787<br />
(14.35)<br />
32375<br />
(07.19)<br />
180519<br />
(40.10)<br />
65322<br />
(14.51)<br />
65250<br />
(14.49)<br />
82417<br />
(13.32)<br />
198935<br />
(32.15)<br />
72095<br />
(11.65)<br />
76536<br />
(12.37)<br />
1981- 1991- 1981-<br />
91 01 01<br />
2.95 9.79 6.32<br />
2.11 0.97 1.54<br />
2.00 0.99 1.50<br />
1.95 1.61 1.78
65 Lakhwinder Singh et al: Migrant Labour<br />
Uttar<br />
Pradesh<br />
Madhya<br />
Pradesh<br />
West<br />
Bengal<br />
Jammu &<br />
Kashmir<br />
Total of<br />
eight states<br />
Total<br />
Punjab<br />
65648<br />
(17.51)<br />
9431<br />
(02.52)<br />
6673<br />
(01.78)<br />
15131<br />
(04.04)<br />
374872<br />
(92.64)<br />
404657<br />
(100.00)<br />
738701<br />
(16.41)<br />
6181<br />
(01.37)<br />
8380<br />
(01.86)<br />
18286<br />
(04.07)<br />
450182<br />
(90.52)<br />
497312<br />
(100.0)<br />
135726<br />
(21.93)<br />
13810<br />
(02.23)<br />
15349<br />
(02.48)<br />
24084<br />
(03.87)<br />
618852<br />
(93.13)<br />
664468<br />
(100.00)<br />
1.19 6.62 3.70<br />
-4.14 8.37 1.92<br />
2.30 6.24 4.25<br />
1.91 2.79 2.35<br />
1.85 3.23 2.54<br />
2.08 2.94 2.51<br />
Estimates of Migrant Labour in Rural Punjab<br />
The pattern of migrant inflows in rural economy of Punjab as ascertained from<br />
36 sampled villages is presented in table 4.The analysis of the table 4 reveals<br />
that there are two types of migrant workers working in the agrarian economy of<br />
Punjab. One, the workers engaged in regular kind of activities being done by<br />
agriculture households <strong>and</strong> enter into a contract for one year or beyond are<br />
called attached or regular workers. Two, the workers hired by the farm<br />
households during the peak season, that is, harvesting <strong>and</strong> sowing are called<br />
casual workers. The highly developed villages of Punjab hire major proportion<br />
of both types of migrant workers, that is, regular <strong>and</strong> casual. The hiring pattern<br />
of casual workers across village development levels clearly shows that level of<br />
development of village <strong>and</strong> hiring practices are positively correlated. This<br />
pattern also holds true across farm size classes. Region wise distribution of<br />
regular/attached migrant workers <strong>and</strong> casual migrant workers brings out the fact<br />
that more than 75 per cent of migrant workers work in Malwa region. Majha<br />
region attracted more than 16 per cent of the migrant workers both regular <strong>and</strong><br />
casual. The migration inflows in rural areas of Doaba region are quite low.<br />
Table 4: Migratory attached <strong>and</strong> casual labour in sampled villages across the<br />
regions <strong>and</strong> development levels in Punjab<br />
Labour<br />
Characteristics<br />
Number of attached<br />
labourers<br />
Number of casual<br />
labourers<br />
Village development Total Per village Total Per village<br />
levels<br />
1. Low 146 12.17 618 51.50<br />
2. Medium 80 6.67 793 66.08<br />
3. High 162 13.50 841 70.08<br />
Total 388 2252<br />
Size of Holdings Total Per Total Per
JPS: 16:1 66<br />
operational<br />
holding<br />
operational<br />
holding<br />
1. Upto 2.5 13 0.03 51 0.10<br />
2. 2.5-5.0 101 0.18 305 0.55<br />
3. 5.0-10.0 99 0.17 455 0.79<br />
4. 10.0-15.0 51 0.22 343 1.48<br />
5. 15 <strong>and</strong> above 124 0.40 1095 3.54<br />
Total 388 2252<br />
Regions Total Per village Total Per village<br />
1. Majha 62 6.89 375 41.67<br />
2. Doaba 33 5.50 117 19.50<br />
3. Malwa 293 13.95 1760 83.81<br />
Total 388 10.78 2252 62.56<br />
Source: Field survey.<br />
On the basis of inflows of migrant workers in the 36 villages of Punjab, we have<br />
estimated total number of migrants from other states to rural Punjab <strong>and</strong> the<br />
same are presented in table 5. Total estimated number of migrant workers<br />
working in rural areas of Punjab comes out to be 8,19,254 persons. This is 23.04<br />
per cent of the agricultural workforce engaged in the agriculture sector<br />
activities. It comes out to be 58.35 per cent of the rural agricultural labour in<br />
Punjab. The casual migrant workers working in agriculture sector of Punjab<br />
were 6,95,615 persons. The casual or seasonal migrant workers alone come out<br />
to be 19.57 per cent of the total agricultural workers of Punjab. Their proportion<br />
in rural agriculture labour comes out to be 49.54 per cent. The higher migrant<br />
inflows were recorded in Malwa region of Punjab.<br />
This region has hosted 6,01,944 persons both regular <strong>and</strong> causal. Majha<br />
region is ranked 2 nd as far as the migration inflows are concerned. The total<br />
number of migrant workers which came to Majha region were 1,32,236 persons<br />
in the survey year. The proportion of the estimated number of migrant workers<br />
of Majha region comes out to be more than 16 per cent. The incidence of casual<br />
migrant inflows of workers is quite low in the Doaba region. The proportion of<br />
regular migrant workers hired by the Doaba region was 15.14 per cent of the<br />
total estimated number of regular/attached migrant workers. This proportion is<br />
nearly equivalent to the Majha region. The perusal of the table 5 shows that the<br />
high degree of concentration of migration inflows in the Malwa region. This is<br />
because of the fact that the size of villages, farm size <strong>and</strong> geographical area is<br />
large. Therefore, the inflows of migrant workers are also higher.<br />
Table 5: Estimated number of migrant workers across the regions in Rural<br />
Punjab<br />
Types of<br />
workers<br />
Regular/attached<br />
workers in numbers<br />
Casual/seasonal<br />
workers in<br />
Regions<br />
numbers<br />
Majha 19.019 1,13,217
67 Lakhwinder Singh et al: Migrant Labour<br />
(15.38) (16.28)<br />
Doaba 18,716<br />
(15.14)<br />
66,358<br />
(09.54)<br />
Malwa 85904<br />
(69.48)<br />
5,16,040<br />
(74.18)<br />
Total 1,23,639<br />
(100.00)<br />
6,95,615<br />
(100.00)<br />
Note: Figures in parentheses are percentages.<br />
The estimates of number of migrant workers are based on the actual data<br />
collected from 36 sampled villages spread over to 12 districts of Punjab. From<br />
the actual number of migrant workers, we have derived the average number of<br />
migrant workers employed in a village in each region of Punjab. This derived<br />
average, then was multiplied with the total number of villages of each region to<br />
arrive at the estimated number of total migrant workers employed in Punjab. It<br />
needs to be mentioned here that the mechanization, new variety of seeds <strong>and</strong> use<br />
of herbicides have squeezed the peak period of employment of farm labour in<br />
Punjab.<br />
Our study shows that peak season employment of casual labour in a year is<br />
at the maximum between 50 to 75 days, across the operational holdings. More<br />
than 90 per cent of the casual workers can only get employment up to 50 days in<br />
rural Punjab. Another study (Rangi, Sidhu <strong>and</strong> Singh, 2004) also shows nearly<br />
the same results. The study of the migrant workers from other states of India is<br />
being continuously reduced due to the shrinkage of the peak period work in<br />
rural Punjab. This fact needs to be taken care of when one views the<br />
implications of the influx of migrant farm labour in Punjab.<br />
Concluding Remarks<br />
It is a widely held view that migration <strong>and</strong> economic development are closely<br />
connected. The workforce, especially of poorer households <strong>and</strong> relatively poorer<br />
regions, migrates in search of better employment opportunities. Punjab state has<br />
been continuously receiving substantial amount of migrant work force since the<br />
ushering in of green revolution. The total number of migrants increased from<br />
8,72,377 in 1981 to 17,52,718 persons in 2001.The growth rate of migrant<br />
population during the period 1981-2001 was 3.55 per cent per annum. The<br />
inflow of migrants increased at a fast rate during the 1990s compared with the<br />
eighties. Uttar Pradesh <strong>and</strong> Haryana were the major sources, which have<br />
supplied migrants to Punjab state. The growth of migrants also increased in<br />
Punjab from Bihar but still their proportion remained quite less compared with<br />
the proportion of migrants from Uttar Pradesh <strong>and</strong> Haryana. However, the urban<br />
migrants are predominantly from Uttar Pradesh <strong>and</strong> Bihar. The proportion of<br />
Uttar Pradesh, among the eight major sender states, migrants in urban areas of<br />
Punjab was 40 per cent <strong>and</strong> that of Bihar was only 19.42 per cent in the year<br />
2001.Haryana <strong>and</strong> Uttar Pradesh remained predominant so far as rural-rural
JPS: 16:1 68<br />
migrants from other states to Punjab are concerned. The rural to rural migration<br />
has increased but at a lower pace compared with influx of migrants to urban<br />
areas of Punjab. It is generally believed that Census do not record migrants<br />
whose stay in the state is less than six months. Therefore, this leads to an under<br />
estimation of migrant inflows.<br />
The study has attempted to provide estimates related to regular/attached <strong>and</strong><br />
casual workforce coming to Punjab in search of earning livelihood. The total<br />
estimated number of migrant labourers working in agriculture sector in Punjab<br />
comes out to be 8,19,254 persons. This is 23.04 per cent of the agricultural<br />
workforce in the state. The regular/attached labourers were just 1,23,639<br />
persons. However, the large chunk of migrant workforce comes to Punjab as<br />
casual labourers. The estimated number of casual migrant labourers is 6,95,615<br />
persons. The majority of these migrant workers (more than 90 per cent) are able<br />
to find work in agriculture only up to 50 days in a year. There are three peak<br />
seasons - wheat harvesting, paddy sowing <strong>and</strong> paddy harvesting – when the<br />
migrant workers are most needed in Punjab <strong>and</strong> after the peak season they<br />
usually go back to their respective native places. Some of them shift to urban<br />
areas of Punjab, during the lean season of agriculture.<br />
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Tadaro, M.P. <strong>and</strong> S.C. Smith (2003), Economic Development, Delhi: Pearson<br />
Education.<br />
Toor, M.S., A. S. Bhullar <strong>and</strong> Inderpreet Kaur (2007) ‘Agriculture-Led<br />
Diversification <strong>and</strong> Labour Use in Punjab: Potentials <strong>and</strong> Constraints’, Indian<br />
Journal of Labour Economics, Vol.50, No. 4.
71 Anita Gill: Punjab Peasantry<br />
Punjab Peasantry in Life <strong>and</strong> Debt<br />
Anita Gill<br />
Punjabi University, Patiala<br />
________________________________________________________________<br />
The agrarian crisis engulfing the country is bankrupting the farming communities. The<br />
euphoria that began with the green revolution, making India self-sufficient in food grains<br />
<strong>and</strong> increasing the incomes of farmers across the board, was eroded within a matter of<br />
decades, so plunging the agrarian economy into deep gloom. Facing low yields, spiraling<br />
costs of cultivation, a near stagnant technology <strong>and</strong> dipping incomes, farmers are now<br />
struggling for survival. Their heavy borrowing to meet their day-to-day expenditure on<br />
subsistence <strong>and</strong> farming, coupled with their inability to repay back loans, have brought<br />
them to a stage where they are choosing death rather than debt. The state’s apathy, <strong>and</strong><br />
the failure of institutions to provide adequate, timely <strong>and</strong> cheap credit, has aggravated the<br />
problem. Punjab’s economy is no exception, although the media <strong>and</strong> policy makers alike<br />
have largely ignored the crisis in this grain bowl of India. The present paper attempts to<br />
highlight the agrarian crisis <strong>and</strong> its manifestations in indebtedness <strong>and</strong> suicides in the<br />
state of Punjab. The widely held misconception that indebtedness is a result of<br />
unproductive expenditure has been refuted by our analysis of the empirical evidence. The<br />
study points out that the problem is multidimensional <strong>and</strong> attempts to curb this crisis<br />
would require both short-term as well as long-term measures.<br />
________________________________________________________________<br />
Introduction<br />
“A debt-ridden farmer of Tumbhanbar village (in Ferozepur) committed suicide<br />
by consuming some poisonous substance…. A suicide note written by the<br />
deceased said he owed Rs. 8 lakh to five persons… they were harassing him”<br />
(Hindustan Times, 2007).<br />
“Char<strong>and</strong>as could not take the burden of debt anymore, so he wrote to the most<br />
famous person from his district, Amravati – President Pratibha Patil –<br />
requesting mercy killing. When no help came, the farmer committed suicide”<br />
(Maitra, 2007).<br />
The above are just two of the numerous media reports of farmers deeply<br />
indebted, unable to bear the burden. Between debt <strong>and</strong> death, they are choosing<br />
the latter. Farmers’ suicides are being reported from different parts of the<br />
country, but the underlying story is more or less the same – the agrarian crisis<br />
engulfing the country is bankrupting farming communities. Low yields,<br />
spiraling costs of cultivation <strong>and</strong> living, <strong>and</strong> dipping incomes have eroded the<br />
euphoria of attaining green revolution <strong>and</strong> self-sufficiency in food grains.<br />
Punjab’s case is not much different. But it is certainly ironical in the sense that<br />
this state was the forerunner in green revolution, the grain bowl of the country,<br />
contributing as much as 75 per cent of wheat <strong>and</strong> 34 per cent rice to the central
JPS: 16:1 72<br />
pool (Rangi <strong>and</strong> Singh, 2007). The farmers of even this prosperous state could<br />
not escape the crisis, <strong>and</strong> when they could no longer fight it out, they simply<br />
ended their life.<br />
The present paper is an attempt to examine the ongoing crisis in the agrarian<br />
economy of Punjab. An effort is made here to diagnose factors that have led to<br />
the problem of indebtedness <strong>and</strong> suicides. The paper is divided into four<br />
sections. The first section examines the agrarian crisis in the state. The<br />
manifestation of this crisis into indebtedness <strong>and</strong> farmer suicides is taken up in<br />
the second section. Possible solutions for this crisis are suggested in the third<br />
section, while the fourth section provides a brief conclusion of the paper.<br />
I<br />
Punjab State has turned from a leader of economic development to a laggard<br />
state. It was ranked fourth in terms of per capita income at 1993-94 prices<br />
(Rs. 16756) in the year 2004-05 whereas Maharashtra, Gujarat <strong>and</strong> Haryana are<br />
ahead of Punjab. If we include the union territories <strong>and</strong> the smaller states like<br />
Delhi, Punjab’s rank has slipped to seventh. The rate of growth of Punjab<br />
economy has continuously decelerated in the nineteen-nineties (Ahluwalia,<br />
2002; Singh <strong>and</strong> Singh, 2002) <strong>and</strong> early years of the present century. The<br />
average annual growth rate of Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) of Punjab<br />
economy during the period 2000-01 to 2005-06 was 3.7 per cent per annum<br />
(Table 1) which is surprisingly lower than the national average growth rate<br />
(Govt. of India, 2007). 1<br />
Economic growth of Punjab state since the ushering in of green revolution<br />
remained higher than the national average up to the late nineteen eighties.<br />
Punjab State, because of its agricultural development, has been projected as a<br />
successful model of economic development worth emulating elsewhere.<br />
However, the agriculture sector of Punjab state has grown at a rate of 0.9 per<br />
cent per annum during the period 2000-01 to 2005-06 (Table 1).The value<br />
addition of agriculture proper (cropping sector) has grown at a rate of less than<br />
one per cent per annum <strong>and</strong> is so meager that it has threatened the livelihood of<br />
those who have remained dependent on this sector. This is a crisis like situation,<br />
which needs explanation.<br />
The structure of the economy of Punjab state was predominantly agrarian<br />
especially after the ushering in of green revolution. The share of agriculture<br />
sector (agriculture <strong>and</strong> livestock) in the NSDP was 54.27 per cent in the year<br />
1970-71 (Table 2). Agriculture proper (cropping sector) contributed 38.51 per<br />
cent of the NSDP whereas income share of livestock was nearly 16 per cent in<br />
the same year. Trade, hotel <strong>and</strong> restaurants, construction <strong>and</strong> manufacturing<br />
contributed 10.96, 9.21 <strong>and</strong> 8.04 per cent respectively to the NSDP in the year<br />
1970-71. A perusal of Table 2 reveals that share of agriculture sector in NSDP<br />
declined nearly 6 percentage points between the period 1970-71 <strong>and</strong> 1980-81.<br />
This share remained stagnant between the period 1980-81 <strong>and</strong> 1990-91. The<br />
rising sector, which emerged during the decades of 1970s <strong>and</strong> 1980s was the<br />
manufacturing sector. This sector consistently improved its relative share in the
73 Anita Gill: Punjab Peasantry<br />
NSDP, which, however, remained meager compared with the agriculture sector.<br />
It is important to note here that during the decade of 1990s there has occurred a<br />
sharp decline in the relative share of agriculture sector in the NSDP. The decline<br />
between the periods 1970-71 to 2005-06 was 20.57 percentage points. It is<br />
surprising to note that both the sectors (agriculture <strong>and</strong> manufacturing) have<br />
shown relative decline in importance so far as the contribution to state income is<br />
concerned. However, the services sector seems to have progressed during the<br />
1990s <strong>and</strong> early years of the 21 st century. The deceleration of growth rate has<br />
reduced relative income share dramatically of the agricultural sector proper<br />
(cropping sector).<br />
This structural shift has occurred in sharp contrast to the high degree of<br />
dependence of majority of population of Punjab on agriculture. The workforce<br />
engaged in the agriculture sector (cultivators <strong>and</strong> agriculture workers) in the<br />
year 1971 was nearly 62.67 per cent. This share of workforce declined at a slow<br />
pace between the period 1971 <strong>and</strong> 1991, that is, 6.6 percentage points during<br />
two decades. However, the share of workforce engaged in agriculture sector<br />
declined sharply between the period 1991 <strong>and</strong> 2001, that is, 17.12 percentage<br />
points. 2 Given that nearly 39 per cent of the workforce is still engaged in the<br />
agriculture sector points to the fact that Punjab is still predominantly an agrarian<br />
economy (Table 3). A perusal of Table 3 indicates that the gain of the workforce<br />
in the services sector was quite dramatic during the decade of the 1990s.<br />
However, in the earlier period, there was a slow increase in the relative share of<br />
workforce in the services sector. It is important to note that the division of<br />
agricultural workforce between cultivators <strong>and</strong> agriculture workers shows that<br />
the share of agricultural workers increased between 1971 <strong>and</strong> 1991, but<br />
dwindled between the period 1991 <strong>and</strong> 2001 (Table 3). The share of cultivators<br />
declined continuously throughout the period under consideration though more<br />
sharply between the period 1991 <strong>and</strong> 2001. This structural transformation of the<br />
economy of Punjab state has created a crisis of its own kind. The income share<br />
of agriculture has declined sharply compared with high dependence of the<br />
workforce on the agriculture sector of Punjab.<br />
The changing structure of an economy from a agricultural to nonagricultural<br />
one has been viewed in economic development literature as a<br />
healthy sign. But the economic transformation of the developed <strong>and</strong> recently<br />
fast growing economies of East Asia has shown that industrial sector had played<br />
a lead role. Industrial sector not only provided gainful employment to labour<br />
force released by the agriculture sector but also remained highly dynamic <strong>and</strong><br />
centre of gravity of the economy. However, the transformation of Punjab<br />
economy has bypassed the usual path of structural transformation <strong>and</strong> has<br />
prematurely become service oriented. It needs to be noted here that the strategy<br />
of economic transformation adopted by the policy makers has squeezed<br />
agricultural income without lifting the work force engaged in agriculture. This<br />
strategy is indicative from the fact that the terms of trade between agriculture<br />
<strong>and</strong> non-agricultural activities remained unfavourable to the agricultural sector<br />
throughout the period of 1980s <strong>and</strong> 1990s (Table 4). The agriculture sector<br />
received prices lower than the prices paid by agriculture sector, which amply
JPS: 16:1 74<br />
speaks of the bitter truth that an agricultural squeeze policy continued<br />
throughout the decade of 1980s <strong>and</strong> 1990s. This has not only resulted in loss of<br />
income of Rs. 3944 crores (Ghuman, 2002) but also plunged the agrarian<br />
economy of Punjab into a crisis of unprecedented scale. The minimum support<br />
prices recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs <strong>and</strong> Prices<br />
(CACP) during the 1980s <strong>and</strong> 1990s presented in Table 5 clearly brings out the<br />
fact that the real rise of minimum support prices for wheat <strong>and</strong> paddy (the two<br />
major crops of Punjab) was negative. The average annual growth rate of wheat<br />
Minimum Support Price (MSP) was negative (-0.69 per cent) during the period<br />
1980-81 to 2005-06.The growth of MSP for paddy during the same period was -<br />
0.33 percent per annum. This implies that agricultural income is continuously<br />
being squeezed in terms of adverse prices given to this sector. This process has<br />
reduced per hectare return on l<strong>and</strong> to such a low (Table 6) that the farmers<br />
dependent on agricultural income have no other option but to borrow to fulfill<br />
both productive <strong>and</strong> consumption needs. Further, this process has provided<br />
circumstances where their capacity to service debt has decreased dramatically<br />
during the post reform-period. Therefore, there is an unprecedented rise in<br />
indebtedness across the board <strong>and</strong> widespread distress, manifesting itself in<br />
suicides.<br />
II<br />
Punjab economy’s agrarian distress, outlined in the previous section, has pushed<br />
the peasantry deeper <strong>and</strong> deeper into a trap of indebtedness. Increasing costs,<br />
declining productivity <strong>and</strong> shrinking incomes have left farmers with no other<br />
option but to borrow heavily from any <strong>and</strong> every source. Borrowings by itself<br />
would not have posed any serious problem but for the fact that farmers simply<br />
are not attaining sufficient repaying capacity <strong>and</strong> the burden of debt kept on<br />
becoming heavier. Malcolm Darling’s famous observation made as far back as<br />
in 1925 is a ground reality nearly a century later too, with only slight<br />
modifications: the Punjab peasant, even if not born under debt, lives under debt<br />
<strong>and</strong> dies under debt, or more aptly, commits suicide under debt (Darling, 1947).<br />
In this section we will examine the extent <strong>and</strong> other aspects of indebtedness,<br />
which will lead us to its most destructive consequence- suicides.<br />
The enormity <strong>and</strong> gravity of the problem of indebtedness in Punjab has been<br />
amply captured by a number of surveys (Sukhpal et al., 2007; NSSO, 2005; Gill<br />
<strong>and</strong> Kaur, 2004; Kaur, 2000; Iyer <strong>and</strong> Manick, 2000; Shergill, 1998) both at the<br />
macro <strong>and</strong> micro level. The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data<br />
has been used mainly in the present study, which is supplemented by other<br />
studies <strong>and</strong> surveys as <strong>and</strong> where considered appropriate. As per NSSO, in<br />
Punjab, 65.4 per cent of farmer households were found to be indebted (Table 7)<br />
as against the All India figure of 48.6 per cent in 2002-03. Punjab was only<br />
behind Andhra Pradesh (82 per cent) <strong>and</strong> Tamil Nadu (74.5 per cent). However,<br />
in terms of average outst<strong>and</strong>ing loan per household, Punjab was at the top: the<br />
grain bowl state of the country also ‘boasted’ of the biggest loan bowl! The<br />
green revolution state of Punjab carries out farming more intensively than other<br />
states, hence requiring greater input expenditure, which itself is not declining
75 Anita Gill: Punjab Peasantry<br />
while incomes are declining. According to l<strong>and</strong> size (Table 8), it was,<br />
underst<strong>and</strong>ably, the marginal farmer (upto 1 hectare of l<strong>and</strong>) households, which<br />
showed the highest percentage (53.3 per cent of indebted households, although<br />
average loan outst<strong>and</strong>ing per household normally increased with increase in<br />
l<strong>and</strong> size, presumably because expenditure on farming rises with rise in l<strong>and</strong><br />
size.<br />
Table 9 provides greater details on the picture of indebted Punjab. Of the<br />
loans taken, 62.4 per cent was for current <strong>and</strong> capital farm expenditure, while<br />
nearly 4 per cent was for non-farm business – all conventionally classified as<br />
productive loans. Section I has amply demonstrated that returns from agriculture<br />
are meager, while expenditure on it is not mitigating, hence the need for<br />
borrowing. Other studies, (Shergill, 1998; Gill, 2000; Chahal, 2005; Sukhpal<br />
et.al., 2007) corroborate the fact that a greater percentage of loans are for<br />
productive purposes. L<strong>and</strong>-size wise, except for the marginal farmers, all<br />
categories took 60 per cent or more of the loans for productive purposes. Again,<br />
barring marginal farmers, not more than 12-13 per cent of the loans were for<br />
consumption, education <strong>and</strong> medical purposes. This category of loans justifiably<br />
cannot be classified as unproductive, as spending for maintaining/enhancing<br />
one’s productive capacity is currently recognized as being highly productive<br />
expenditures (Strauss <strong>and</strong> Thomas, 1995).Hence this percentage, ideally, should<br />
be deducted from the total of unproductive loans.<br />
The expenditure on marriages <strong>and</strong> other ceremonies, conventionally labeled<br />
as ‘unproductive’, was below 10 to 11 per cent of the loans; even for marginal<br />
farmers, it was barely 20 per cent. Compared to other states, nine states were<br />
ahead of Punjab so far as marriage <strong>and</strong> other ceremonies was the purpose of<br />
loan, whereas two states had the same percentage as Punjab (NSSO, 2005, p.<br />
20). Even the All-India percentage (11.1 per cent) was greater than Punjab’s<br />
(10.2 per cent). The continuous <strong>and</strong> convenient explanation of indebtedness of<br />
the Punjab peasantry as mainly due to loans taken for unproductive purposes or<br />
conspicuous consumption does not hold much ground. This has been established<br />
in other studies carried out at micro level also (Gill, 2000); Gill <strong>and</strong> Kaur, 2004;<br />
Bhangoo, 2006). Even the small percentage actually spent on marriages will be<br />
justified in an economy where demonstration effect forces even the poorest<br />
farmer to make some minimum expenditure on a marriage (even the educated,<br />
elite, ‘reformist’ elements of society succumb to social <strong>and</strong> family pressures <strong>and</strong><br />
spend lakhs on marriages) or else face the social ‘shame’ of not being able to<br />
find a groom for his daughter, or let his daughter bear the consequences after<br />
marriage. A total change in the mindset of the society at large, beginning from<br />
the educated class, against the evil of lavish marriages can be the only solution<br />
for this.<br />
A distressing aspect of indebtedness of the farmers is the source of loan<br />
(Table 10). The non-institutional sources account for nearly the same percentage<br />
of loans as the institutional sources (government, cooperative societies <strong>and</strong><br />
commercial banks taken together). This is a clear indication of the inefficiency<br />
of the institutional set up in meeting the credit needs of an important sector of<br />
the economy. The inadequacy of formal loans <strong>and</strong> the highly exploitative set up
JPS: 16:1 76<br />
of the informal loans, mainly the commission agents, has been underlined by the<br />
author time <strong>and</strong> again (Gill, 2000; Gill <strong>and</strong> Kaur, 2004; Gill <strong>and</strong> Singh, 2006).<br />
Other studies (Sukhpal et al., 2007; Chahal, 2005; Shergill, 1998) have also<br />
pointed to the dominance of informal lenders <strong>and</strong> also established that a major<br />
percentage of loans even from these informal sources are for productive<br />
purposes (as expenditure on farming is ever increasing) even though incomes<br />
are dipping) <strong>and</strong> less for conspicuous consumption. These informal sources, the<br />
commission agents, being the dominant lenders, entrap the hapless farmers into<br />
interlinked contracts, forcing them to sell their produce to the lender-agent in<br />
return for easy loan (easy in terms of availability, not rate of interest) with the<br />
result that farmers are left with meager incomes when their produce is sold to<br />
the commission agent, who deducts the loan amount first <strong>and</strong> then pays the<br />
farmer. Another round of an interlinked credit-crop contract, thus, begins. The<br />
exorbitant rates of interest - often around 36 per cent per annum or more -<br />
charged by these lenders only enhance the misery of farmers, who, not being<br />
able to get adequate institutional credit, have no option but to turn to<br />
commission agents. And the farmer continues to live a life of debt. When they<br />
can no longer bear this burden, they attempt to end their misery by taking their<br />
own lives.<br />
Suicides by farmers began to be reported in the late 1980s <strong>and</strong> 1990s. It<br />
became a public issue because these were not occasional or stray incidents, but<br />
were increasing both in total numbers as well as the states in which where they<br />
were occurring - Andhra, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, <strong>and</strong> then<br />
surprisingly, the prosperous grain rich state of Punjab. The media was joined in<br />
by the economists, political scientists, sociologists, social workers, <strong>and</strong> farmer<br />
organizations in drawing attention towards this tragic situation.<br />
As per the state government, 2116 suicides have taken place in Punjab since<br />
1986, while as per a survey conducted by kisan organizations in some villages<br />
of Malwa, 2870 suicides had taken place between 1990 <strong>and</strong> 2006. The figures<br />
are for eight districts. It was claimed that the figure would shoot up to 46000 if<br />
all 12,400 villages of Punjab were to be considered (Sidhu, 2006) The<br />
Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh based Institute for Development <strong>and</strong> Communication (IDC) quotes<br />
the figure as 2000 per year (IDC, 2006).<br />
In Punjab, as elsewhere, analyses of suicide victims were carried out in an<br />
attempt to find the root cause of suicides (IDC, 1998); Iyer <strong>and</strong> Manick, 1999;<br />
Association for Democratice Rights (AFDR), 2000; IDC, 2006; Bhangoo,<br />
2006). Indebtedness as a prime cause of suicide figured prominently in the<br />
studies carried out by Iyer <strong>and</strong> Manick <strong>and</strong> the Ludhiana based AFDR (78 per<br />
cent <strong>and</strong> 52 per cent) <strong>and</strong> Bhangoo, although IDC’s 1998 study focused on<br />
social issues like alcohol <strong>and</strong> drug addiction (18 per cent) family discord (36 per<br />
cent) as the main determinants besides indebtedness (18 per cent) as the causes<br />
of the tragedy. This was also the institution’s stance in its second report (IDC,<br />
2006) too although now it attributed 30 percentage points (the highest) to<br />
indebtedness as a single cause of suicides, <strong>and</strong> also a higher percentage to<br />
causes where indebtedness also figured as one of multiple causes (IDC, 2006:
77 Anita Gill: Punjab Peasantry<br />
50). Other micro-level studies (Jaijee, 1999; Bhangoo, 2006) as well as several<br />
media reports point towards indebtedness as a major cause of suicides.<br />
In fact, Bhangoo’s field survey carried out in December 2006 on 50 suicide<br />
victims in Bathinda district of Punjab revealed that per household <strong>and</strong> per<br />
hectare debt was very high in the case of the suicide victims, as compared to<br />
Punjab farmers in general, <strong>and</strong> indebted farmers in particular. The same is also<br />
true when the debt is considered l<strong>and</strong>-size holding wise (Table 11). His study<br />
also revealed that over 80 per cent of the households of victims attributed high<br />
costs of inputs <strong>and</strong> implements <strong>and</strong> low prices of farm products accompanied by<br />
low yield <strong>and</strong>/or crop failure as the reasons for indebtedness. A very low<br />
percentage (12 per cent) put the blame on excessive expenditure on social<br />
ceremonies, <strong>and</strong> a still lower percentage (2 per cent) attributed alcohol <strong>and</strong> drug<br />
abuse as the reason behind suicides of their kin. This corroborates our st<strong>and</strong> that<br />
indebtedness is the single most important cause of suicides, <strong>and</strong> indebtedness is<br />
mainly attributable to the crisis in agriculture, not to the lavish life style that the<br />
Punjabi culture is (in) famous for.<br />
The phenomenon of debt-to-death in particular <strong>and</strong> agrarian crisis in general,<br />
thus, needs to be studied, analysed <strong>and</strong> solved together. Borrowing is not to be<br />
considered as a sign of weakness, nor a stigma. It is only when the repaying<br />
capacity of the borrower is eroded <strong>and</strong> farmers in distress prefer to commit<br />
suicide rather than be faced with the humiliation that comes with indebtedness,<br />
that the serious problem arises. The need is to find ways to make farming more<br />
remunerative, to enhance repaying capacity <strong>and</strong> to strengthen the institutional<br />
credit set up to prevent exploitation at the h<strong>and</strong>s of informal lenders.<br />
III<br />
The problem is multi-dimensional - agrarian crisis in the form of rising<br />
expenditures <strong>and</strong> falling incomes, necessity to borrow to meet this crisis, eroded<br />
the repaying capacity leading to indebtedness, public shame, harassment at the<br />
h<strong>and</strong>s of lenders, <strong>and</strong> the only ‘succour’ available in the form of suicides. The<br />
remedy too, thus, has to be multi-pronged. It should begin with immediate relief<br />
to the kith <strong>and</strong> kin of suicide victims <strong>and</strong> move on to long-term measures aimed<br />
at addressing the problem of agrarian crisis.<br />
As part of relief measures to help the physical survival of the families of<br />
victims, monetary assistance needs to be provided immediately. 3 To rehabilitate<br />
the family, the eldest child/wife of the victim should be provided with suitable<br />
employment, especially if the victim was the sole earning member of his family.<br />
Rescheduling the repayment of a loan could also be considered, but only after<br />
the family gains financial strength through employment/pension, so that it could<br />
live a life of honour, not having to bear the shame of having to beg for a loan<br />
waiver. NGOs can also do a lot by helping such families both financially <strong>and</strong><br />
emotionally.<br />
The long-term measures would have to tackle the problem of agrarian crisis<br />
at large. It has been suggested that a section of farmers could be shifted to the<br />
non-agricultural secondary <strong>and</strong> tertiary sectors so as to improve income levels
JPS: 16:1 78<br />
(Gill, 2007). Diversification of agriculture from the existing wheat-paddy<br />
cropping pattern as suggested by Johl Committee (Govt. of Punjab, 1986) is also<br />
desirable <strong>and</strong> will be highly beneficial, but only if the Taiwan model is strictly<br />
followed – that is, process agricultural produce at the farm gates <strong>and</strong> plough<br />
back surpluses to exp<strong>and</strong> rural industrial activities – <strong>and</strong> that private firms as<br />
middlemen in the process are discouraged from operating. The state too, will<br />
have to play its role by providing essential institutional infrastructure <strong>and</strong><br />
investment. A strategy which is not purely private <strong>and</strong> market based but one<br />
which leads farmers to organize themselves to carryout production, processing<br />
<strong>and</strong> marketing, is, thus, strongly recommended. Also, diversification will be a<br />
success “only if an equivalent mechanism for MSP <strong>and</strong> procurement is in place”<br />
(Satish, 2006).The state also has to focus attention on R & D in agriculture <strong>and</strong><br />
allied sectors. Information relating to new technologies in farming, inputs etc.<br />
should be made available to the farmers continuously. Equally necessary is the<br />
quality control on inputs – seeds, fertilizers, pesticides – so that farmers do not<br />
waste their resources in purchasing subst<strong>and</strong>ard or fake inputs <strong>and</strong> suffer losses<br />
in productivity too. Provision of subst<strong>and</strong>ard inputs by trader-lenders through<br />
interlinked contracts is a major menace. The state agencies can play a pro-active<br />
role in curbing such practices.<br />
To address the specific problem of credit, remedy lies in the provision of<br />
institutional credit at the right time, in the right quantity <strong>and</strong> at a low rate of<br />
interest. Informal lenders are so deeply entrenched in the credit system of the<br />
country that it will be difficult to ouster them, but the credit institutions can gear<br />
up to provide a formidable competition to these informal lenders, so that their<br />
business is reduced to a minimum. To do so, institutions would do well if they<br />
took a tip or two on lending practices of the informal lenders – how to reduce<br />
transaction costs <strong>and</strong> make credit readily available. The ICICI Bank’s example<br />
of micro-financing can be cited here: in order to tackle the unorganized<br />
moneylenders (read arhtiyas), the ICICI Bank is giving unsecured loans to<br />
farmers at 12.5 per cent, using local distributors who are prominent people of<br />
the area. A loan is thus given at ‘hi-speed’, <strong>and</strong> since farmers are known to local<br />
distributors, chances of bad debts are rare (Sally, 2007). Direct payment to<br />
farmers for food grains brought by the Punjab Agriculture Department (TNS,<br />
2006) instead of through commission agents concerned will be a step in the<br />
right direction. Although this is bound to earn the wrath of commission agents,<br />
strengthening of institutional credit set up can save farmers from the fury <strong>and</strong><br />
clutches of these informal lenders.<br />
There is, therefore, much that can be done to mitigate the misery of farmers,<br />
<strong>and</strong> this has to be done both at the level of the government as well as civil<br />
society institutions. The real problem is not a dearth of ideas <strong>and</strong> solutions,<br />
rather it is of implementing a solution in the right measure, at the right time. On<br />
this account, the policy towards Punjab is a glaring example of the callous<br />
attitude of the Central Government. When a Rs. 3750 crore relief package was<br />
announced for distressed farmers of Vidarbha as part of a central package that<br />
would also cover Andhra, Kerala <strong>and</strong> Karnataka, Punjab was left out of this<br />
relief measure. However after much lobbying <strong>and</strong> six months later, the union
79 Anita Gill: Punjab Peasantry<br />
government announced for Punjab a financial package of Rs. 1044 crore, which<br />
included Rs. 500 crore as one time settlement (OTS) of loans of commercial<br />
banks, <strong>and</strong> Rs. 210 crore as compensation to the cooperative banks for the OTS<br />
benefit extended, as well for the interest subsidy. However, none of the relief<br />
measures were given towards relieving farmers from the debt incurred from<br />
informal lenders. There is an urgent need to look into this aspect, because it is<br />
the informal lenders who are the dominant sources of finance, especially in<br />
Punjab.<br />
IV<br />
A desirable structural transformation of an economy would require a<br />
diminishing importance of its agricultural sector, both in terms of reduction of<br />
workforce dependent on agriculture, as well as transfer of surpluses from the<br />
agricultural to the industrial sector of the economy. In the case of Punjab, while<br />
surpluses are being extracted, a big percentage of the workforce still continues<br />
to depend on agriculture. The burden of this heavily dependent workforce is<br />
aggravated by the fact that the benefits of the green revolution – sharp increases<br />
in income, production <strong>and</strong> productivity for all classes of cultivators – are being<br />
eroded with declining productivity, increased costs of production <strong>and</strong> living, a<br />
near freeze in minimum support prices <strong>and</strong> declining real incomes. With<br />
alternative opportunities for employment being low, a crisis like situation has<br />
gripped the agricultural sector, so much so that even bare survival needs are<br />
difficult to meet. Farmers have been left with no option but to borrow heavily,<br />
to meet both cultivation as well as living expenses. But their limited repaying<br />
capacity due to low incomes has led to them being heavily indebted. A very<br />
distressing manifestation of this economic crisis is mental trauma, which is<br />
being demonstrated through a large number of farmers committing suicide. The<br />
magnitude of indebtedness, the purpose of loans, as well as the sources of loans<br />
pointedly underline that farmer suicides are result of their rising burden of debt.<br />
Other causes might be there, but they emerge largely from this single malaise.<br />
Attempts to curb this crisis, <strong>and</strong> hence indebtedness, would have to be in the<br />
form of short term relief measures like putting the families of suicide victims on<br />
a strong financial footing, as well as long term measures ranging from arresting<br />
the decline in agricultural production <strong>and</strong> productivity through improved<br />
technologies <strong>and</strong> greater R & D, through diversification <strong>and</strong> by revamping the<br />
institutional credit set up. The only point common to both short-term <strong>and</strong> longterm<br />
remedies should be the sincerity in efforts at the implementation stage.<br />
And this task of implementation should not be left to the state alone, but also<br />
taken up by civil society at large.
JPS: 16:1 80<br />
Table 1<br />
Average Annual Growth Rates of NSDP <strong>and</strong> Agricultural NSDP of Punjab at<br />
1999-2000 Prices (per cent per annum)<br />
Year Agricultural NSDP NSDP<br />
2000-01 0.69 3.40<br />
2001-02 -0.18 1.32<br />
2002-03 -5.79 2.57<br />
2003-04 7.79 4.94<br />
2004-05 1.78 5.24<br />
2005-06 1.11 4.52<br />
2000-01 to 2005-06 0.90 3.66<br />
Source: Estimated from NSDP at Factor Cost by sectors in Punjab; Economic<br />
<strong>and</strong> Statistical Organisation, Govt. of Punjab, 2006 (Statistical Abstract of<br />
Punjab)<br />
Table 2<br />
Sectoral Distribution of NSDP at Factor Cost in Punjab<br />
(Figures in percentages)<br />
Year 1970- 1980- 1990- 1999- 2005-<br />
Sector<br />
71 81 91 00 06<br />
1. Agr. & Livestock<br />
(a) Agriculture<br />
(b) Livestock<br />
54.27<br />
38.51<br />
15.76<br />
48.46<br />
32.22<br />
16.24<br />
47.63<br />
30.69<br />
18.94<br />
39.34<br />
27.62<br />
11.72<br />
33.70<br />
22.87<br />
10.83<br />
2. Manufacturing 08.04 11.00 16.27 13.50 11.71<br />
3. Electricity, gas <strong>and</strong><br />
water supply<br />
00.84 01.31 02.45 02.12 01.66<br />
4. Construction 09.21 06.15 03.74 04.69 06.72<br />
5. Trade, hotel <strong>and</strong><br />
restaurants<br />
10.96 14.58 11.33 13.07 17.68<br />
6. Transport, storage<br />
<strong>and</strong> communication<br />
01.73 02.05 02.32 04.07 05.63<br />
7. Banking &<br />
Insurance<br />
01.80 02.55 04.67 04.74 05.52<br />
8. Real estate <strong>and</strong><br />
business services<br />
04.79 04.26 03.20 03.97 03.14<br />
9. Public<br />
Administration<br />
01.79 02.81 03.28 04.52 04.47<br />
10. Others 06.57 06.81 05.11 09.98 09.77<br />
Source: Economic <strong>and</strong> Statistical Organization, Statistical Abstract of Punjab<br />
(various issues), Govt. of Punjab.
81 Anita Gill: Punjab Peasantry<br />
Year<br />
2001<br />
1991<br />
1981<br />
1971<br />
Agriculture<br />
35,54,928<br />
(38.95)<br />
34,19,333<br />
(56.07)<br />
28,59,511<br />
(58.02)<br />
24,51,858<br />
(62.67)<br />
Table 3<br />
Changing Structure of Workforce in Punjab<br />
(b)<br />
(a)<br />
Industrial<br />
Agricultural<br />
Cultivators<br />
Workers<br />
workers<br />
20,65,067<br />
(22.62)<br />
19,17,210<br />
(31.44)<br />
17,67,286<br />
(35.86)<br />
16,65,153<br />
(42.56)<br />
14,89,861<br />
(16.32)<br />
15,02,123<br />
(24.63)<br />
10,92,225<br />
(22.16)<br />
7,86,705<br />
(20.11)<br />
7,69,047<br />
(08.43)<br />
7,49,136<br />
(12.28)<br />
6,65,442<br />
(13.50)<br />
4,42,070<br />
(11.30)<br />
Other<br />
Workers<br />
48,03,499<br />
(52.63)<br />
19,29,905<br />
(31.65)<br />
14,02,806<br />
(28.47)<br />
10,18,664<br />
(26.03)<br />
Source: Economic <strong>and</strong> Statistical Organization, Statistical Abstract of Punjab,<br />
(various issues), Government of Punjab.<br />
Note: Figures in parentheses are percentages<br />
Table 4<br />
Terms of Trade between Agricultural <strong>and</strong> Non-Agricultural Sector<br />
Year Terms of Trade<br />
(Prices paid <strong>and</strong><br />
prices received<br />
CACP) at 1971-72<br />
= 100<br />
Net barter terms of<br />
trade between food<br />
grains <strong>and</strong><br />
manufacturing<br />
(1970-71 = 100)<br />
Estimated<br />
loss/gain to<br />
Punjab farmers<br />
(Rs. Crores)<br />
1981-82 82.9 87.65 -127<br />
1982-83 84.7 91.51 -121<br />
1983-84 86.3 92.57 -161<br />
1984-85 86.0 86.25 -240<br />
1985-86 82.4 86.30 -278<br />
1986-87 85.3 83.29 -373<br />
1987-88 86.9 86.16 -267<br />
1988-89 86.2 94.21 -111<br />
1989-90 86.5 85.37 -427<br />
1990-91 90.0 85.48 -467<br />
1991-92 92.7 93.09 -236<br />
1992-93 86.6 93.62 -259<br />
1993-94 90.9 93.92 -310<br />
1994-95 91.8 95.20 -280<br />
1995-96 80.2 93.10 -354<br />
1996-97 92.7 101.57 +83<br />
1997-98 88.8 99.7 -16<br />
Total -3944<br />
Source: Bhatia, M.S. (2002) <strong>and</strong> Ghuman, R.S. (2002)<br />
Total<br />
91,27,44<br />
(100.00)<br />
60,98,37<br />
4<br />
(100.00)<br />
49,27,75<br />
9<br />
(100.00)<br />
39,12,59<br />
2<br />
(100.00)
JPS: 16:1 82<br />
Year<br />
Table 5<br />
Minimum Support Price for Wheat <strong>and</strong> Paddy (Values in Rs.)<br />
MSP of<br />
Wheat<br />
at<br />
Current<br />
prices<br />
MSP of<br />
Wheat<br />
at 1993-<br />
94 prices<br />
Growth<br />
Rate<br />
per cent<br />
per<br />
annum<br />
MSP<br />
of<br />
Paddy<br />
at<br />
Curren<br />
t prices<br />
MSP<br />
of<br />
Paddy<br />
at<br />
1993-<br />
94<br />
prices<br />
Growth<br />
Rate<br />
per cent<br />
per<br />
annum<br />
1980-<br />
322.78 -<br />
130 399.63 - 105<br />
81<br />
1985-<br />
294.54 -1.81<br />
162 336.06 -3.41 142<br />
86<br />
1990-<br />
279.75 -1.02<br />
225 307.04 -1.79 205<br />
91<br />
1995-<br />
301.13 1.48<br />
380 317.86 0.69 360<br />
96<br />
2000-<br />
328.71 1.77<br />
610 393.17 4.34 510<br />
01<br />
2005-<br />
296.21 -2.06<br />
640 332.59 -3.29 570<br />
06<br />
Overall Average<br />
-0.33<br />
Annual Growth<br />
-0.69<br />
rate<br />
Source: 1.Estimates are based on statistics made available by Rangi <strong>and</strong> Singh<br />
(2007); 2. Bhatia, M.S. (2002).<br />
Table 6<br />
Per Hectare Return in Rupees on L<strong>and</strong> at A 1 , B 2 , <strong>and</strong> C 2 Costs (at 1970-71<br />
prices)<br />
Year<br />
Wheat<br />
Paddy<br />
A 1 B 2 C 2 A 1 B 2 C 2<br />
1980-81 843 162 80 1457 672 501<br />
1985-86 1732 773 612 1382 564 389<br />
1990-91 1648 571 436 1498 449 315<br />
1995-96 1761 472 291 1470 503 318<br />
1997-98 2088 766 645 - - -<br />
Source: Ghuman, R.S. (2002)
83 Anita Gill: Punjab Peasantry<br />
Estimated No.<br />
of Households<br />
('00)<br />
Table 7<br />
Extent of Indebtedness (2002-03)<br />
Percent of Indebted<br />
Farmer Households to<br />
Estimated No. of<br />
Farmer Households<br />
Average<br />
outst<strong>and</strong>ing<br />
Loan Per<br />
House hold<br />
(Rs.)<br />
Punjab 12069 65.4 41576<br />
India 434242 48.6 12585<br />
Source: NSSO, 59 th Round, 2005.<br />
L<strong>and</strong> Size<br />
(Hectares)<br />
Table 8<br />
Indebtedness According to L<strong>and</strong> Size<br />
Punjab<br />
(%)<br />
Percent of Indebted Farmer Households<br />
Average India<br />
Outst<strong>and</strong>ing (%)<br />
Loan per<br />
household<br />
(Rs.)<br />
(Rs.)<br />
Average<br />
Outst<strong>and</strong>ing<br />
Loan per<br />
household<br />
Upto 1.00 ha 53.3 38808 61.03 21289<br />
(Marginal)<br />
1.01-200 ha 15.8 27543 18.9 13762<br />
(Small)<br />
2.01-4.00 17.0 94344 12.5 23456<br />
(Semi-Medium)<br />
4.01-10.00 11.8 132907 6.4 42532<br />
(Medium/Large)<br />
10+ 02.2 267601 1.2 76232<br />
Source: Same as Table 7.<br />
Size-Class<br />
(Hectares)<br />
Capital<br />
Exp. On<br />
Farmin<br />
g<br />
Table 9<br />
Purpose of Loan (Per cent)<br />
Current<br />
Exp. On<br />
Farming<br />
Nonfarm<br />
Busine<br />
ss<br />
Consu<br />
mption<br />
Marriage<br />
&<br />
Ceremoni<br />
es<br />
Educ<br />
ation<br />
Medi<br />
cal<br />
Others<br />
0-1.00 18.2 13.96 4.1 20.26 19.60 0.1 7.56 16.23<br />
1.01-2.00 12.0 49.6 10.1 12.0 7.6 0.3 0 8.4<br />
2.01-4.00 28.9 49.1 4.9 1.6 6.3 0 1.2 8.1<br />
4.01 - 33.4 38.6 0.7 9.6 10.9 0 2.9 4.0
JPS: 16:1 84<br />
10.00<br />
10+ 27.5 30.4 0 3.9 4.0 0 0 34.2<br />
All Sizes 26.4 36.0 4.4 8.5 10.2 0 2.6 12.0<br />
Source: Same as Table 7.<br />
Table 10<br />
L<strong>and</strong> Size Wise Source of Loan (Punjab) (Per cent)<br />
L<strong>and</strong><br />
Size<br />
0-<br />
1.00<br />
1.01-<br />
2.00<br />
2.01-<br />
4.00<br />
4.01-<br />
10.00<br />
10+ All<br />
Source<br />
Govt. 3.6 0 2.6 0.1 0 1.9<br />
Coop Society 12.8 22.0 21.7 17.3 14.6 17.6<br />
Bank 23.46 27.1 36.9 30.1 15.5 28.4<br />
Agri./Prof. 31.7 35.5 31.1 35.9 65.3 36.3<br />
Money Lender<br />
Trader 6.26 2.9 5.8 13.4 4.6 8.2<br />
Relatives 18.16 11.5 1.0 3.1 0.1 6.3<br />
&Friends<br />
Doctors/Lawyers 2.26 1.0 0.9 0 0 0.6<br />
Others 1.83 0 0 0 0 0.7<br />
Source : Same as Table 7.<br />
Table 11<br />
Magnitude of Indebtedness among the Victims, Indebted Farmers <strong>and</strong> Punjab<br />
Farmers (Rs.)<br />
Farm<br />
Category<br />
Suicide Victim<br />
(Field Survey)<br />
Per<br />
Household<br />
Per<br />
Hectare<br />
Indebted Farmer<br />
(PSFC Study)<br />
Per Per<br />
Household Hectare<br />
Punjab Farmer<br />
(PSFC Study)<br />
Per Per<br />
Household Hectare<br />
Holding<br />
Size<br />
L<strong>and</strong>less 80167 - - - - -<br />
Marginal 181000 217589 89603 128004 72017 102881<br />
Small 284591 174819 126813 77310 112441 68549<br />
Semi- 386386 113509 231177 74637 210023 67807<br />
Medium<br />
Medium 521000 116344 234128 46036 215290 42332<br />
Large 300000 20036 336050 38341 309949 35363<br />
All 302009 50972 201427 56422 178934 50140<br />
Source: Adapted from Bhangoo (2006)
85 Anita Gill: Punjab Peasantry<br />
Notes<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
Indian economic growth rate during the period 2000-01 to 2005-06 at<br />
1999-2000 prices was 6.9 per cent per annum. Acceleration of net state<br />
domestic product of the national economy is in sharp contrast to<br />
deceleration of economic growth in Punjab <strong>and</strong> deserves the attention<br />
of policy makers.<br />
The unimaginable falling share of agriculture workforce provided by<br />
census statistics has been questioned in terms of rising unemployment<br />
in Punjab (Gill, 2002). The NSSO data shows that a high percentage of<br />
the workforce was engaged in agriculture in the year 2000-01 i.e. 53<br />
per cent. This figure seems reasonable <strong>and</strong> confirms the falling trend of<br />
agriculture workforce. Nevertheless there is still a very high degree of<br />
workforce engaged in the agricultural sector. Falling income shares are<br />
in sharp contrast to the slow falling trend of workforce <strong>and</strong> have<br />
decreased availability of income.<br />
It is, however, shameful to note that the state government’s apathy<br />
forced public interest litigation (PIL) to be filed, <strong>and</strong> the Punjab Govt.<br />
had to be issued a notice with the obiter dicta that it is taking no<br />
remedial steps to save poor farmers.<br />
References<br />
AFDR (2000) Suicides in Rural Area of Punjab: A Report (in Punjabi),<br />
Ludhiana: Association for Democratic Rights.<br />
Ahluwalia, M.S. (2002) ‘State-Level Performance Under Economic Reforms in<br />
India’, in A.O. Krueger (ed.) Economic Reforms <strong>and</strong> the Indian<br />
Economy, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.<br />
Bhangoo, K.S. (2006) ‘Farmer Suicides in Punjab: A Study of Bathinda<br />
District’, Journal of Agricultural Development <strong>and</strong> Policy, Vol. 18,<br />
No. 1 (Forthcoming).<br />
Bhatia, M.S. (2002) ‘Appraisal of Agricultural Pricing Policy with Special<br />
Reference to Punjab" in Johl, S.S. <strong>and</strong> S.K. Ray (eds.) Future of<br />
Agriculture in Punjab, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh: CRRID Publication.<br />
Chahal, T.S. (2005) Forced Fall: A Case Study of Punjab Farmers, Amritsar:<br />
ID&P.<br />
Darling, Malcolm L. (1947) Punjab Peasant in Prosperity <strong>and</strong> Debt, Oxford,<br />
Oxford University Press.<br />
ESO (2006) Statistical Abstract of Punjab: Publication No. 880, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh:<br />
Government of Punjab.<br />
Ghuman, R.S. (2002) ‘World Trade Organisation <strong>and</strong> Indian Agriculture with<br />
Special Reference to Punjab: Crisis <strong>and</strong> Challenges’ in Johl, S.S. <strong>and</strong><br />
S.K. Ray (eds.) Future of Agriculture in Punjab, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh. CRRID<br />
publication.
JPS: 16:1 86<br />
Gill, Anita (2000) Rural Credit Markets: Financial Sector Reforms <strong>and</strong> the<br />
Informal Lenders, New Delhi: Deep <strong>and</strong> Deep Publishers.<br />
Gill, Anita <strong>and</strong> Gian Kaur (2004) ‘Informal Agrarian Credit Markets <strong>and</strong> Public<br />
Policy: Empirical Evidence from Punjab’, The <strong>Global</strong> Journal of<br />
Finance <strong>and</strong> Economics, Vol. I, No. 2.<br />
Gill, Anita <strong>and</strong> Lakhwinder Singh (2006) ‘Farmers’ Suicides <strong>and</strong> Response of<br />
Public Policy: Evidence, Diagnosis <strong>and</strong> Alternative from Punjab’,<br />
Economic <strong>and</strong> Political Weekly, Vol. XLI, No. 26, June 30.<br />
Gill, Sucha Singh (2002) ‘Economic Reforms, Pace of Development <strong>and</strong><br />
Employment Situation in Punjab’, in IAMR (ed.) Reform <strong>and</strong><br />
Employment, New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.<br />
Gill, Sucha Singh (2007) ‘Suicides by Farmers: Remedy Lies in Improving<br />
Economic Conditions’, The Tribune, June 13, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh.<br />
Government of India (2007) Economic Survey 2006-2007, New Delhi : Ministry<br />
of Finance, Economic Division.<br />
Government of Punjab (1986) Report of the Expert Committee on<br />
Diversification of Agriculture in Punjab, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh: Government of<br />
Punjab.<br />
Sidhu, H. (2006) ‘Arhtiyas’, Cops the Killers: Kin’, Hindustan Times<br />
Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh, September, 8.<br />
Hindustan Times (2007) ‘Debt-Ridden Farmer Ends Life’, Hindustan Times<br />
Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh, November, 8.<br />
IDC (1998) Suicides in Rural Punjab, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh: Institute for Development<br />
<strong>and</strong> Communication.<br />
IDC (2006) Suicides in Rural Punjab, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh: Institute for Development<br />
<strong>and</strong> Communication.<br />
Iyer, K. Gopal <strong>and</strong> M.S. Manick (2000) Indebtedness, Impoverishment <strong>and</strong><br />
Suicides in Rural Punjab. Delhi: India Publishers <strong>and</strong> Distributors.<br />
Jaijee, Inderjit S. (1999) ‘Rural Suicides in Punjab’, North American Sikh<br />
Journal, Vol. 3, No. 1.<br />
Kaur, Gian (2000) ‘Rural Credit in Punjab: Existing Gaps’ in R.S. Bawa <strong>and</strong><br />
P.S. Raikhy (eds.) Punjab Economy, Amritsar: GNDU.<br />
Maitra, P.K. (2007) ‘Farmer Suicide after Plea to President’ Hindustan Times,<br />
October, 10.<br />
NSSO (2005) Indebtedness of Farmer Households, NSS 59 th round (January-<br />
December 2003) National Sample Survey Organisation, Ministry of<br />
Statistics <strong>and</strong> <strong>Program</strong>me Implementation, Govt. of India.<br />
Rangi, P.S. And Gurkirpal Singh (2007) Agricultural Statistics of Punjab, The<br />
Punjab State Farmers Commission, S.A.S. Nagar, Mohali.<br />
Sally, Madhvi (2007) ‘Banks Shy Away from Punjab Farmers’, Economic<br />
Times, January 11.<br />
Satish, P (2006) ‘Institutional Credit, Indebtedness <strong>and</strong> Suicides in Punjab’,<br />
Economic <strong>and</strong> Political Weekly, Vol. XLI, No. 26, June. 30.
87 Anita Gill: Punjab Peasantry<br />
Shergill, H.S. (1998) Rural Credit <strong>and</strong> Indebtedness in Punjab, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh:<br />
Institute for Development <strong>and</strong> Communication.<br />
Singh, Lakhwinder <strong>and</strong> Sukhpal Singh (2002) ‘Deceleration of Economic<br />
Growth in Punjab: Evidence, Explanation <strong>and</strong> a Way-Out’, Economic<br />
<strong>and</strong> Political Weekly, Vol. 37, No. 6, February 9.<br />
Singh, Sukhpal, M. Kaur <strong>and</strong> H.S. Kingra (2007) Flow of Funds to Farmers <strong>and</strong><br />
Indebtedness in Punjab, Ludhiana: Punjab Agriculture University <strong>and</strong><br />
the Punjab Farmers Commission.<br />
Strauss, J. <strong>and</strong> Duncan Thomas (1995) ‘Human Resources: Empirical Modeling<br />
of Household <strong>and</strong> Family’, in Jere Behrman <strong>and</strong> T.N. Srinivasan (eds.)<br />
H<strong>and</strong>book of Development Economics, Vol. 3A, Amsterdam: Elsevier<br />
Science Publishers.<br />
TNS (2006) ‘Payments to be made Direct to Farmers’, The Tribune, November<br />
11.
89 Suneel Kumar: Human Trafficking<br />
Human Trafficking in Punjab<br />
Suneel Kumar<br />
Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar<br />
________________________________________________________________<br />
Human trafficking is a criminal act which affects the global community. Consequently,<br />
Punjabis, too, are the victims of human trafficking. The Punjabis’ enthusiasm to migrate<br />
to affluent countries has given the traffickers an opportunity to exploit them. Using<br />
diverse modi oper<strong>and</strong>i, people of different backgrounds involved in human trafficking<br />
have often put the lives of their clients in considerable danger. Failure in reaching their<br />
promised destination leads to deportation, exploitation, indebtedness, imprisonment <strong>and</strong><br />
even death. What is more, when these migrants eventually arrive in a particular country<br />
they have been labeled criminals rather than victims of human trafficking. By way of<br />
contrast, in cases where such migrants have succeeded in settling abroad, they have sent<br />
huge remittances back to their families, enhancing their wealth. This paper explores the<br />
different dimensions <strong>and</strong> major actors involved in the business of human trafficking in<br />
Punjab. It concludes by evaluating measures being adopted to control it by both host <strong>and</strong><br />
recipient countries.<br />
________________________________________________________________<br />
Theoretical Formulations<br />
<strong>Global</strong>ization is often illustrated in terms of increased ‘flows’ of money, goods,<br />
ideas or cultural values (Lintner, 2007; Bauman, 1999). But the movement of<br />
people across national borders remains highly regulated <strong>and</strong> a point of major<br />
contention between many countries. Advanced <strong>and</strong> industrialized countries<br />
spend billions of dollars each year to have control over inflows of people<br />
seeking greater economic opportunities. Despite efforts to legally regulate<br />
immigration, millions of people continue to seek passage to greener pastures.<br />
The push <strong>and</strong> pull of economic requirements has given rise to a new-fangled<br />
class of criminal people called ‘human traffickers’ (Lintner, 2007).These<br />
traffickers charge high fees <strong>and</strong> promise to deliver their charges to a new l<strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> a new life. Discovering new techniques to evade outdated detection<br />
mechanisms, human traffickers <strong>and</strong> trans-national crime syndicates are<br />
increasingly flourishing by serving clients reach their goals. They also place<br />
their clients’ lives in grave danger on the open seas <strong>and</strong> cargo transports <strong>and</strong> in<br />
jungles <strong>and</strong> in deserts (Salt <strong>and</strong> Stein, 1997:467-494; Vayrynen, 2003:12-15;<br />
Lintner, 2007).<br />
According to the Wikipedia Enclyclopedia human trafficking can be<br />
defined as<br />
…the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt<br />
of people for the purpose of exploitation. Trafficking involves a<br />
process of using illicit means such as threat, use of force, or other<br />
forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the<br />
abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or
JPS: 16:1 90<br />
receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a<br />
person having control over another person, for the purpose of<br />
exploitation. (emphasis in original, Enclyclopedia, 2007).<br />
Human trafficking has been further defined in international law in a broader<br />
way. The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, <strong>and</strong> Punish Trafficking in Persons,<br />
Especially Women <strong>and</strong> Children, supplementing the UN Convention against<br />
Transnational Crime 2000 in Article 3 stipulates that trafficking in persons<br />
…mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or<br />
receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force o other forms<br />
of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of<br />
power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving<br />
of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having<br />
control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.<br />
Exploitation shall include, at the minimum, the exploitation of the<br />
prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced<br />
labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude<br />
or removal of organs (Protocol, 2001).<br />
An indistinguishable definition of human trafficking is given in Article 4 of the<br />
Council of Europe Convention. Another important document, the EU Council<br />
Framework Decision on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in its Article<br />
1 describes trafficking as<br />
…the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, subsequent<br />
reception of a person, including exchange or transfer of control<br />
over that person, where:<br />
(a) use is made of coercion, force or threat, including<br />
abduction, or<br />
(b) use is made of deceit or fraud, or<br />
(c) there is an abuse of authority or of a position of<br />
vulnerability, which is such that the person has no real <strong>and</strong><br />
acceptable alternative but to submit to the abuse involved,<br />
or<br />
(d) payments or benefits are given or received to achieve<br />
the consent of a person having control over another person<br />
for the purpose of exploitation of that person’s labour or<br />
services, including at least forced or compulsory labour or<br />
services, slavery or practices similar to slavery or servitude,<br />
or for the purpose of the exploitation of the prostitution of<br />
others or other forms of sexual exploitation, including in<br />
pornography. (EU, 2002).
91 Suneel Kumar: Human Trafficking<br />
Thus, to sum up, human trafficking which has been defined by the various<br />
academicians <strong>and</strong> organizations - official as well as private - is recruitment,<br />
harbouring, transporting, providing or obtaining, by any means including the<br />
abuse of authority, any person for services involving forced labour, slavery or<br />
servitude in any industry, such as forced or coerced participation in agriculture,<br />
prostitution, manufacturing, or other industries in domestic service or marriage<br />
or put them into vulnerable position. Hence, the term ‘human trafficking’<br />
includes multiple aspects involved in the trafficking of victims. At first,<br />
susceptible victims are recruited by the traffickers by using various methods of<br />
pulling or decoying. After that, successful or unsuccessful attempts are made to<br />
transport the obtained c<strong>and</strong>idates to a destination or transit country. In the whole<br />
process, trafficked persons are forced, coerced <strong>and</strong> deceived by the individuals<br />
or organizations involved in trafficking in persons.<br />
Human trafficking is a global industry which ‘employs’ millions of people<br />
<strong>and</strong> leads to the annual earnings of billions of dollars. It continues throughout<br />
Asia, Africa <strong>and</strong> Latin America because it is relatively less risky, perilous <strong>and</strong><br />
hazardous. If one gets caught in human trafficking, he doesn’t risk capital<br />
punishment. At the same time, there are more <strong>and</strong> more immigrants who are<br />
taking great risks to enter one of the countries with the help of human<br />
traffickers. Therefore, trafficking in persons within <strong>and</strong> across borders is<br />
increasing rapidly in South Asia <strong>and</strong> the Middle-East. Trafficking from<br />
Bangladesh <strong>and</strong> Nepal to India, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait <strong>and</strong> the United Arab<br />
Emirates is known worldwide (Yousaf, 2006:16; Dhungana, 2006:21). India has<br />
become the nucleus of human trafficking as the rate of cross-border <strong>and</strong> intrastate<br />
trafficking in human beings has mounted swiftly. Trafficking in women<br />
from the poor states to the rich states especially from Bihar <strong>and</strong> Uttar Pradesh to<br />
Punjab has been reported many times in the electronic <strong>and</strong> print media.<br />
Similarly, due to the rising phenomenon of migration among Punjabis, reports<br />
<strong>and</strong> cases of illegal migration <strong>and</strong> human trafficking <strong>and</strong> of cheating <strong>and</strong> fraud<br />
by travel agents in Punjab have become a routine feature reported in daily <strong>and</strong><br />
weekly newspapers <strong>and</strong> magazines at local, national <strong>and</strong> international levels.<br />
Punjab has become the hub of the 12,000 crore rupees human trafficking racket<br />
(Dogra, 2007:3). It is estimated that 10,000 to 20,000 Punjabis contribute to this<br />
flourishing business each year by paying anything between Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs.<br />
10 lakh each on being promised greener pastures abroad. The favoured<br />
destinations are mainly the USA, Canada, Australia, Engl<strong>and</strong>, Italy <strong>and</strong> Greece<br />
(Dogra, 2007:3).<br />
In Punjabi language, human trafficking is termed as ‘kabootarbaazi’,<br />
traffickers as ‘kabootarbaaz’ <strong>and</strong> victims as ‘kabootars’. As trafficking in<br />
human beings is one of hottest issues in Punjab, dominating electronic <strong>and</strong> print<br />
media <strong>and</strong> the policy formulation process of the state as well as central<br />
governments, we needs to explore the social, economic, political, cultural <strong>and</strong><br />
other factors which have promoted human trafficking. Further, human<br />
trafficking is not an act which involves a single individual. A number of people<br />
from different social, economic, political, cultural <strong>and</strong> religious backgrounds are<br />
involved through their trans-national connections <strong>and</strong> trans-national syndicates.
JPS: 16:1 92<br />
Therefore, it becomes imperative to the study the functioning of these<br />
syndicates <strong>and</strong> the type of strategies <strong>and</strong> methods that are used or adopted by<br />
them <strong>and</strong> other actors involved in the illegal trade of human trafficking.<br />
Human beings are direct victims of an illegitimate global business, which is<br />
replete with human rights violations <strong>and</strong> abuses on a large scale. It is important<br />
to underst<strong>and</strong> what type of treatment is meted out to potential Punjabi migrants<br />
by trans-national syndicates at the beginning <strong>and</strong> end of their illegal journey to a<br />
foreign country. The affluent western countries especially of Europe <strong>and</strong> North<br />
America are the target countries of human traffickers. They are trafficking<br />
human beings to these destinations using diverse methods. Moreover, these<br />
countries are well aware of the same. Hence, a question arises as to what steps<br />
have been taken by these states to prevent or control such activities. As<br />
compared to other supplementary forms of trafficking, human trafficking or<br />
‘kabootarbazi’ in Punjab is an illegal business in which ‘consent’ of the victims,<br />
i.e., ‘kabootars’ is also involved. They want to reach the destinations of their<br />
choice <strong>and</strong> earn h<strong>and</strong>somely <strong>and</strong> raise their st<strong>and</strong>ard of living. People who want<br />
to reach their desired countries through the trans-national syndicates have met<br />
with three outcomes. In some cases, they have reached the desired destinations<br />
<strong>and</strong> earned good money. In other cases, they have failed to reach <strong>and</strong> settle in<br />
the desired countries <strong>and</strong> have been deported back to Punjab. There are also a<br />
large number of instances where the agents, who are part of trans-national<br />
syndicates, have collected huge amounts of money from the c<strong>and</strong>idates to send<br />
them abroad, but had cheated by not fulfilling their promise. Thus, given these<br />
circumstances, one is required to examine the impacts on the lives of successful<br />
as well as unsuccessful c<strong>and</strong>idates. Another question here is to analyze the steps<br />
taken by both central <strong>and</strong> the state government of Punjab to prevent the illegal<br />
business of human trafficking. The present article is a modest attempt to seek<br />
answer to such questions in a systematic <strong>and</strong> scientific way while using<br />
documentary <strong>and</strong> official sources, studying reports published in the vernacular<br />
newspapers <strong>and</strong> conducting interviews with deported ‘kabootars’. With the help<br />
of interviews <strong>and</strong> field observations, an attempt has also been made to<br />
underst<strong>and</strong> the functioning of ‘kabootarbaazs’ <strong>and</strong> the types of mechanisms <strong>and</strong><br />
channels they use in this illegal business.<br />
Factors Responsible For Flourishing Human Trafficking<br />
At the international level, human trafficking has accelerated due to numerous<br />
factors such as poverty, unemployment, war, civil war, natural disaster,<br />
discrimination, weak government, corruption <strong>and</strong> globalization (Pearson,<br />
2000:33-39; Wijers <strong>and</strong> Lap-Chew, 1997:87). In the specific case of Punjab,<br />
there are numerous social, economic, cultural <strong>and</strong> political factors which have<br />
promoted trafficking in human beings. Formerly the l<strong>and</strong> of five rivers, the<br />
Punjab remains one of the most advanced states of India. It occupies 50,362<br />
square kilometers l<strong>and</strong> mass which accounts for 1.54 percent of total<br />
geographical area of India. The state is divided into three regions – Majha,<br />
Malwa <strong>and</strong> Doaba. It comprises of around 24 million people who depend
93 Suneel Kumar: Human Trafficking<br />
primarily on agriculture <strong>and</strong> small manufacturing for their livelihood (Govt. of<br />
Punjab, 2007). Despite Punjab’s relatively well-off economic status, an<br />
unabated wheeling <strong>and</strong> dealing with human lives to settle them abroad is taking<br />
shape in the form of organized crime with billions of dollars at stake. Further,<br />
unspecified laws of the l<strong>and</strong> are providing human traffickers with a level<br />
playing field (Kamal, 2006).<br />
Given Punjab’s long history of migration the majority of Punjabis have<br />
always cherished the idea of settling overseas. Along with the charm of settling<br />
in a foreign l<strong>and</strong>, population explosion, cut-throat competition, shrinking job<br />
opportunities, fragmentation of l<strong>and</strong> holdings, stark poverty, opportunities<br />
offered by the affluent nations, <strong>and</strong> razzmatazz of Non-Resident Indians’ (NRI)<br />
affluence has fuelled the desperation of moving abroad among them even more<br />
stridently (Zaidi, 2007:8). The mirage of a better life in foreign l<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> hope<br />
of amassing huge wealth in a short span of time, despite the uncertainties, have<br />
become the fancy of many Punjabis. The pull of wealth <strong>and</strong> affluence of the<br />
west has not only attracted gullible young people, but there are also highly<br />
skilled professionals who go a long way to vie for the chance to leave, ever<br />
ready to part with their valuable skills. Besides, a good number of government<br />
officials are leaving their prestigious jobs to settle abroad, even ready to do jobs<br />
that they would feel ashamed of doing in their own country. 1 Along with an<br />
illiterate, unskilled <strong>and</strong> skilled workers, a substantial percentage of educated<br />
youths are also motivated to leave, even knowing well the consequences. An<br />
epidemic of drug addiction among the Punjabi youth is also compelling parents<br />
to send their children abroad. Parents want to save their children from falling<br />
into bad company, through which they often start taking drugs <strong>and</strong> gradually<br />
become addicts. 2 Therefore, by legal or illegal methods, they desperately want to<br />
send them abroad to save from drug addiction. Under such circumstances,<br />
parents in rural Punjab are even selling their l<strong>and</strong>holdings <strong>and</strong> borrowing money<br />
from informal moneylenders on high interest rates to send their children abroad.<br />
Meanwhile, people living in the cities are seeking easy money from private<br />
banks for the same purpose (Kamal, 2006).<br />
In an attempt to go abroad, Punjabis are using diverse methods to get around<br />
legalities. For example, sponsorship from relatives settled abroad, marriage to a<br />
foreign citizen or getting work permits <strong>and</strong> study visas (Zaidi, 2007:8). Earlier<br />
laws relating to migration were soft in receiving countries <strong>and</strong> it was easier to<br />
acquire a visa <strong>and</strong> go abroad in a legal way. But, as the receiving countries<br />
adopted new migration policies, this made it difficult to get visas <strong>and</strong> those<br />
desperate to go abroad started using unfair methods to get there, for example:<br />
after getting a tourist visa <strong>and</strong> on reaching abroad, they destroy the papers <strong>and</strong><br />
disappear; travel on a forged visa; go along with one of the cultural troupes;<br />
obtain a temporary work visas for ‘soft’ countries in Africa or Asia, <strong>and</strong> then<br />
move to the west illegally by sea or l<strong>and</strong>; travel on a valid visa, but on someone<br />
else’s passport (Zaidi, 2007:8). Moreover, Punjabis have not even hesitated to<br />
put their lives <strong>and</strong> moral values at the stake while pursuing risky <strong>and</strong> immoral<br />
methods. For example, two brothers from Hoshiarpur district squeezed<br />
themselves in a cavity in the undercarriage of the aircraft meant for the wheels.
JPS: 16:1 94<br />
One of them was dropped dead when the plane l<strong>and</strong>ed <strong>and</strong> the other made it<br />
through the perilous journey to the United Kingdom, that too in a serious<br />
condition (R<strong>and</strong>hawa, 2007:7). Similarly, putting the moral <strong>and</strong> cultural values<br />
aside, after the legal recognition of gay marriages in the United Kingdom in<br />
2006, many Punjabis applied though various travel agents, exploring the<br />
possibility of going abroad after marrying someone of their own sex. In some<br />
cases, brothers <strong>and</strong> sisters have gone through marriage rituals in their bid to get<br />
the visa. A number of Punjabi girls were made to tie the knot with NRI grooms,<br />
irrespective of their antecedents <strong>and</strong> many a girl thereby fell prey to men out to<br />
exploit the ‘foreign fantasy’, left in lurch after being used as a ‘holiday<br />
wife’(R<strong>and</strong>hawa, 2007:7). All this, thus reflects that Punjabis are ready to go to<br />
any extent to get their feet on affluent foreign l<strong>and</strong>s. And, therefore, their<br />
obsession for living in an affluent foreign l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> becoming rich over night<br />
<strong>and</strong> lead a luxurious life has promoted the business of human trafficking beyond<br />
a limit. All those people who are connected with the business are exploiting the<br />
people of India, particularly Punjabis in Punjab.<br />
Human Traffickers <strong>and</strong> Their ‘Modus Oper<strong>and</strong>i’<br />
Human traffickers or ‘kabootarbaazs’ belonging to diverse classes, categories<br />
<strong>and</strong> backgrounds have used different methods, sometimes specific to their<br />
profession, in trafficking Punjabis abroad. The weakness of Punjabis has given<br />
strength <strong>and</strong> encouragement to the different actors involved in human<br />
trafficking. In the veracity of getting a huge amount of money <strong>and</strong> becoming<br />
rich in no time, different types of people are indulging in the profitable business<br />
of ‘human trafficking’. By taking the advantage of their position <strong>and</strong> profession<br />
<strong>and</strong> with the help of lopsided <strong>and</strong> asymmetrical government policies, politicians,<br />
religious preachers, singers, musicians, artists, athletes, organizers, promoters<br />
<strong>and</strong> theatre personalities have indulged in the lucrative racket of human<br />
trafficking (Singh, 2003:1).<br />
The politicians have to do the least hard work in this business. The<br />
procedure used by the politicians in human trafficking is straightforward <strong>and</strong><br />
less risky. They simply misuse their status <strong>and</strong> the facilities provided to them by<br />
the government. When they go abroad on official or private visits, they also take<br />
their staff along with them. They take a huge amount of money from the person<br />
who is willing to go abroad <strong>and</strong> put his or her name in the list of his members of<br />
staff. Due to their high position <strong>and</strong> connections, they often succeed in evading<br />
security checks <strong>and</strong> successfully board the c<strong>and</strong>idates. Politicians have been<br />
exposed from time to time while engaging in human trafficking <strong>and</strong> in some<br />
cases have been caught red h<strong>and</strong>ed. In 2001, the name of a Punjabi politician of<br />
the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) was highlighted in media for involvement in<br />
human trafficking. After a short period, the involvement of two ministers of<br />
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was highlighted in the media (Dogra, 2007:3).<br />
Moreover in April 2007, Babubhai Katara, a BJP Member of Parliament (MP)<br />
from Gujarat was caught while attempting to traffic Paramjit Kaur <strong>and</strong> Amarjeet<br />
Singh of Kapurthala, on his wife’s <strong>and</strong> son’s passports while taking a huge sum
95 Suneel Kumar: Human Trafficking<br />
of Rs. 30 lakh from them (Editorial, 2007:10). The police recovered 12<br />
passports from his residence in an overnight raid. Later on, during the police<br />
investigation, along with Babubhai Katara, the names of other politicians<br />
including those of Ramswaroop Koli, a BJP MP from Bayana, Rajasthan,<br />
Mohammed Tahir Khan, a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP from Sultanpur,<br />
Uttar Pradesh <strong>and</strong> Mitrasen Yadav, a Samajwadi Party (SP) MP from Faizabad<br />
were also disclosed as being involved in human trafficking (Bhalla, 2007:1;<br />
Pasricha, 2007:6).<br />
Bureaucrats play a decisive role in human trafficking. All the categories of<br />
actors involved in the business of human trafficking have to enroute through<br />
them. As an illustration, the bureaucrats help them in preparing fictitious<br />
passports, granting them sanction to organize cultural or musical shows <strong>and</strong><br />
write to embassies in their favour. The bureaucrats working in this field have<br />
illegal relations with these people <strong>and</strong> help them to get through various hurdles.<br />
All the fictitious papers are prepared with the help of bureaucrats. Bureaucrats<br />
take considerable amount of money from these people. They being highly<br />
educated <strong>and</strong> top ranking officers are not easy to identify although they are the<br />
pillars of the unfortunate racket. Some of cases involving bureaucrats in human<br />
trafficking have come into limelight. The Ministry for External Affairs (MEA)<br />
had stripped a Special Secretary of the Indian Foreign Service, Rakesh Kumar<br />
of his post for his alleged involvement in a human trafficking case. The charges<br />
against Kumar relate to the time when he was Director General of the Indian<br />
Council for Cultural Relations, which selects artists who represent the country<br />
in official functions abroad. Kumar was accused of breaking the rules <strong>and</strong><br />
hurriedly selecting a bhangra troupe of 15 people, of whom nine disappeared on<br />
arrival in Berlin. Reportedly, 9 members had paid him a huge sum of money for<br />
sending them to Germany (Srivastva, 2006:4). In the other case, Delhi Police<br />
arrested Sanjay Kaushik, a former employee in the US Embassy who worked as<br />
a visa specialist in the late 1990s. Allegedly, he is considered as the master mind<br />
behind a human trafficking racket in which 32 persons, including some of the<br />
famous Punjabi artists, were arrested. Kaushik was arrested for facilitating the<br />
granting of visas in an illegal manner (Indian Express, 8 November, 2003:3).<br />
Besides, religious leaders are also involved in such unscrupulous activities.<br />
While travelling to participate in religious seminars, conferences <strong>and</strong><br />
ceremonies organized by the Punjabi community living abroad, religious leaders<br />
took some extra people as a part of their ragi <strong>and</strong> dhadi jathas who then stayed<br />
back for naturalisation. For example, a Sikh priest, Giani Inderjit Singh reached<br />
Canada using such modus oper<strong>and</strong>i <strong>and</strong> is now a Canadian citizen. Hence, in a<br />
few cases, this method has been adopted by the Shiromani Gurdwara<br />
Prab<strong>and</strong>hak Committee (SGPC) priests. In 2001, five priests of the SGPC went<br />
to Canada along with an official delegation of SGPC office-bearers for Baisakhi<br />
celebrations in Vancouver, but they scooted <strong>and</strong> never returned (Singh, 2003:1).<br />
More to the point, Punjabi singers, musicians <strong>and</strong> other artistes are<br />
amassing huge wealth by indulging in the human trafficking business. A number<br />
of Punjabi artistes are very popular <strong>and</strong> have a good reputation in Punjab as well<br />
as in foreign countries. Punjabis well settled abroad in these foreign countries
JPS: 16:1 96<br />
send invitations to them regularly to do cultural shows in the UK, U.S.A <strong>and</strong><br />
Canada. They are all already quite wealthy <strong>and</strong> have good social status, but the<br />
enticement of getting even richer make them indulge in human trafficking. They<br />
enroll the departing person as a member of their cultural troupe which they take<br />
to affluent foreign countries <strong>and</strong> leave them there. From there, departed<br />
c<strong>and</strong>idates have to take responsibility to manage everything for themselves. In<br />
the last few years, many Punjabi singers are reported to have indulging in<br />
human trafficking. In 2003, a renowned Punjabi singer, Daler Mehndi was<br />
alleged to have been behind a criminal outfit bringing illegal immigrants to the<br />
United States <strong>and</strong> Canada under the guise of musicians <strong>and</strong> dancers for his<br />
overseas shows after taking large amount of money from them (Singh, 2003:1).<br />
In September 2004, Sukhi Brar, another famous Punjabi folk singer was singled<br />
out for allegedly helping an upcoming singer-dancer Baljinder Kaur to reach the<br />
United States. Further, on 19 October, 2007, Punjabi singer-couple, Balbir<br />
Mann <strong>and</strong> Sunita Mann were booked by the Punjab Police in Sangrur in a<br />
cheating case linked with human trafficking (Service, 2007:2).<br />
Sports activities have also gradually developed as a preferred route in Punjab<br />
to illegally move to affluent foreign countries. In fact, sports clubs are<br />
flourishing in the Doaba region of Punjab on a large scale. Most of them<br />
specialize in getting invites from friendly sports associations in Canada <strong>and</strong> the<br />
US. These clubs send some people abroad for a hefty fee along with the genuine<br />
team members. The most notorious incident of using sports as a vehicle for<br />
human trafficking is the one where five girls, who were part of a 13-member<br />
cricket team from Punjab, slipped away. Two girls returned to join the team, but<br />
the rest are still untraceable (Rajta, 2007:17). The tour was organized by a<br />
Jal<strong>and</strong>har-based Lynex Club. In 2005, six rafters of Punjab Armed Police went<br />
to participate in a tournament at AWOL in the United States while representing<br />
the Indian Rafting Association <strong>and</strong> never returned to Punjab (Rajta, 2007:17). In<br />
the same year, a grappler, Santokh Singh, went missing at the World Police<br />
Games in Quebec, Canada. Earlier in 2004, a basketball player, Manpreet Singh<br />
had disappeared in Canada. In August 2003, three h<strong>and</strong>ball players from a<br />
school in Sangrur district did the vanishing act in Italy. Similarly, in 2006, 19<br />
Kabaddi players went to participate in tournaments at the invitation of the<br />
Ontario Sports Federation in Canada <strong>and</strong> stayed on there permanently (Rajta,<br />
2007:17). There are numerous cases where members of hockey, football,<br />
Kabaddi, volleyball, tug of war <strong>and</strong> wrestling teams who went to the USA <strong>and</strong><br />
Canada disappeared after reaching their destination.<br />
Tracing the history of such operations, one finds that it was from about the<br />
mid-80s that the Punjabi community living abroad, perhaps as a marker of their<br />
newly acquired affluence, started sponsoring cultural <strong>and</strong> folk troupes, religious<br />
groups <strong>and</strong> sports teams for participation in Baisakhi <strong>and</strong> Divali festivals.<br />
Gradually, many of the enterprising promoters of these visits abroad thought of<br />
using the platform for taking ‘foreign crazy’ people as a part of their delegations<br />
on the payment of a hefty fee. Initially, those who were made members of the<br />
troupe were given some lessons in folk, culture, or religious discourses so that<br />
they could prove they were bona fide to the interviewing officials in the foreign
97 Suneel Kumar: Human Trafficking<br />
embassies. However, once the system was in place, the intake of ‘nonperformers’<br />
or ‘sleeping performers’ started increasing <strong>and</strong> the racket began<br />
spreading its tentacles (Singh, 2003:1). As a result, now every troupe or team<br />
going abroad is suspected by the foreign missions in New Delhi <strong>and</strong> many of the<br />
organizations have even been blacklisted (Singh, 2003:1). But even then, the<br />
business of human trafficking is flourishing in Punjab. On the other h<strong>and</strong>, wiser<br />
through experiences, foreign missions have started refusing visas to people<br />
wanting to go abroad as special observers for international events, conferences<br />
<strong>and</strong> seminars despite the recommendations made by even recognized Non-<br />
Governmental Organizations (NGOs) <strong>and</strong> National Sports Federations (NSFs).<br />
A large number of registered <strong>and</strong> unregistered travel agents operating in<br />
Punjab are the major source of human trafficking. 3 These travel agents exploit<br />
those wishing to go abroad. They advertise their travel agencies <strong>and</strong> make<br />
unaccountable false promises to the c<strong>and</strong>idates while not disclosing the<br />
problems they would have to face travelling to their destination. They take huge<br />
amount of money from them. The agents charge according to the destination<br />
<strong>and</strong> status of the country to which c<strong>and</strong>idates want to migrate. For example, for<br />
migrating to the USA, Canada <strong>and</strong> UK, they charge higher rates compared to<br />
the other affluent countries like Greece, Italy, <strong>and</strong> Germany etc. Agents have<br />
their main offices in the major cities <strong>and</strong> have retained further agents based in<br />
local towns <strong>and</strong> villages to approach <strong>and</strong> search for potential c<strong>and</strong>idates.<br />
Moreover, they give commission to the local agents. They have links with high<br />
officials <strong>and</strong> politicians of the state <strong>and</strong> embassies who help them in obtaining<br />
visas <strong>and</strong> making other arrangements in lieu of what they receive from the<br />
agents. In a way, there is a large network of these agents at local, national <strong>and</strong><br />
international level which helps in running this business. These agents use<br />
diverse modi oper<strong>and</strong>i to traffic the c<strong>and</strong>idates <strong>and</strong> continue to find new<br />
methods to beat the immigration checks. As the detection of forgery in travel<br />
documents has become easier, photo-replaced passports have given way to use<br />
of valid passports <strong>and</strong> visas to reach countries close to the port of destination.<br />
From there, people slip in via l<strong>and</strong> or sea routes. A number of Punjabis set off<br />
abroad using unfair means. They are helped by the agents who tamper passports<br />
<strong>and</strong> cl<strong>and</strong>estinely arrange visas without revealing the realities to these aspirants.<br />
The situation is so grave that in 2005, in a small district of Kapurthala, 52 cases<br />
were registered <strong>and</strong> 44 travel agents suspected of trafficking were arrested by<br />
the Punjab police. Further, in the same year, the Punjab Police registered more<br />
than 500 cases against travel agents with Jal<strong>and</strong>har topping the list with 118<br />
cases, followed by Kapurthala with 77, Hoshiarpur with 58, Ludhiana 60,<br />
Patiala 38, Nawanshahr 26, Amritsar 18 <strong>and</strong> Barnala 15 (Kamal, 2006). In 2006,<br />
755 illegal travel agents were arrested <strong>and</strong> more than 350 others had been<br />
identified operating illegally in Jal<strong>and</strong>har, Nawanshahr, Ludhiana, Kapurthala<br />
<strong>and</strong> Hoshiarpur (Bharadwaj, 2007:3). The numbers of youth coming into the<br />
clutches of travel agents are astronomical with many illegal migrants being<br />
deported. In 2000, the Regional Passport Office (RPO), Jal<strong>and</strong>har received<br />
15,785 inquiries about people imprisoned abroad. The figure rose to 21,517 in<br />
2001, 24,398 in 2002, 21,156 in 2003 <strong>and</strong> 19,101 in 2004 (Kamal, 2006).
JPS: 16:1 98<br />
Despite all this, Punjabis are continuing to go abroad with the help of such<br />
traffickers. There is a nexus between politicians, bureaucrats <strong>and</strong> travel agents<br />
involved the human trafficking business. As a large number of travel agents <strong>and</strong><br />
bureaucrats enjoy political patronage it is difficult to take action against them.<br />
In reality, numerous people including politicians, bureaucrats, artistes,<br />
religious leaders, sports clubs <strong>and</strong> organizations <strong>and</strong> travel agencies are<br />
involved in human trafficking in Punjab. The consent of trafficked persons is<br />
also mixed-up with those involved in the business. Punjabis have been forced by<br />
diverse circumstances to migrate, even through use of prohibited means.<br />
Positions of vulnerability have been exploited by the people running the<br />
business of human trafficking. Further, certain high profile persons are misusing<br />
their power <strong>and</strong> position to run such a business <strong>and</strong> are using diverse methods to<br />
traffic their clients to their transit or destination countries.<br />
Pangs of Human Trafficking<br />
Human trafficking has resulted in numerous emotional, financial <strong>and</strong> social<br />
costs to the victims or ‘kabootars’. The success rate in trafficking is varied. In a<br />
number of cases, by exploiting loopholes in the legal system of recipient<br />
countries, they have been able to get legal shelter <strong>and</strong> citizenship. Whilst there,<br />
by working hard, they have earned good amount of income. Hence, by sending a<br />
large share of this income back to their families in Punjab, they have purchased<br />
more property especially in the form of l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> have constructed new big<br />
houses called ‘kothis’. Such success stories, however, are seldom played up in<br />
the media. But anyone living in Punjab is capable of observing this<br />
development, an outcome of both legal migration <strong>and</strong> human trafficking. In this<br />
context, the case of Surjit Singh is worth mentioning. He went to the USA<br />
twenty-five years ago with the help of a human trafficker <strong>and</strong> settled there<br />
permanently. Now he is a legal citizen there <strong>and</strong> has even been able to sponsor<br />
his other family members from Punjab. Some of the family members still in<br />
Punjab are enjoying a comfortable life due to the remittances sent by him. 4<br />
Undoubtedly, this is the story of success of an illegal migrant or of the gains of<br />
illegal migration <strong>and</strong> human trafficking for the trafficked person <strong>and</strong> his family.<br />
However, on a large scale, human trafficking has negatively affected the<br />
world by putting various lives into serious danger, including those of the<br />
Punjabis. As Fortress Europe observes, at least 8,175 people have died along<br />
the European frontiers due to this illegal business since 1988. Along with them,<br />
2,755 were missing in the sea (Europe, 2007). In the Mediterranean Sea <strong>and</strong> the<br />
Atlantic Ocean towards Spain, 6,027 persons died in the process of trafficking.<br />
In the Sicily Channel 1,929 people died along the routes from Libya <strong>and</strong> Tunisia<br />
to Malta <strong>and</strong> Italy, including 1,118 missing <strong>and</strong> 33 other people drowned sailing<br />
from Algeria to Sardinia. Along the itinerary from Mauritania, Morocco <strong>and</strong><br />
Algeria towards Spain, through the Gibraltar Strait or off the Canary Isl<strong>and</strong>s, at<br />
least 2,929 people died, including 1,206 who were missing. Then, 514 people<br />
died in the Aegean Sea, between Turkey <strong>and</strong> Greece, including 252 missing.<br />
Further, 474 people died in the Adriatic Sea between Albania, Montenegro <strong>and</strong>
99 Suneel Kumar: Human Trafficking<br />
Italy. The sea is crossed by being aboard makeshift boats. Sailing hidden inside<br />
registered cargo vessels, 148 died by asphyxiation or drowning. In order to<br />
reach the sea, the hazardous passage of the Sahara is obligatory. Many people,<br />
in the process of trafficking, have crossed it on trucks <strong>and</strong> off-road vehicles<br />
along the tracks between Sudan, Chad, Nigeria <strong>and</strong> Mali on the one side <strong>and</strong><br />
Libya <strong>and</strong> Algeria on the other. On this route, at least, 1,069 people have died.<br />
Travelling stowaways in the trucks, 247 people were found dead in Albania,<br />
France, Germany, Greece, Turkey, UK, Irel<strong>and</strong>, Italy, Holl<strong>and</strong>, Spain <strong>and</strong><br />
Hungry. There are still mine-fields along the Evros River between the Greece-<br />
Turkey borders where at least 88 people died over the mines trying to enter<br />
Greece. Additionally, 51 persons drowned crossing rivers delimiting the frontier<br />
between Croatia <strong>and</strong> Bosnia; Turkey <strong>and</strong> Greece; Slovakia <strong>and</strong> Austria; <strong>and</strong><br />
Slovenia <strong>and</strong> Italy. Likewise, 41 people froze to death in their track through the<br />
icy mountains at the borders between Turkey, Greece <strong>and</strong> Slovakia; 20 died<br />
under the trains in the Channel tunnel trying to reach Engl<strong>and</strong>; 33 people were<br />
shot dead by Spanish <strong>and</strong> Moroccan police or injured along the border fence of<br />
the Ceuta <strong>and</strong> Melilla Spanish enclaves in Morocco; 11 people were burnt after<br />
a deportation centre in Holl<strong>and</strong> caught fire; another 11 people were killed by<br />
Turkish, French <strong>and</strong> Yugoslav policemen; <strong>and</strong> 8 men were found dead hidden in<br />
the undercarriages of planes (Enclyclopedia, 2007a <strong>and</strong> Daly, 2002:A4).<br />
Among these causalities, the Punjabis have a large share. To date, more than<br />
1800 Punjabis have died in this way (Service, 2007a:3). Many a times the<br />
stories of Punjabis, of their failures in trafficking, leading to death, have<br />
acquired screaming headlines in media. In an unsuccessful case, on 25<br />
December, 1996, 170 youths from the Doaba region of Punjab were drowned in<br />
the Malta-Sicily channel along with 88 Pakistanis <strong>and</strong> 149 Sri Lankan illegal<br />
migrants. However, even after this tragedy, youth wishing to go abroad, by<br />
whatever method available, did not change their mind. In an unsuccessful case,<br />
on 18 May, 2001, two Punjabis - Karnail Singh <strong>and</strong> Gurmukh Singh - were<br />
jailed for trying to traffic 12 illegal Indian migrants into Britain in the back of a<br />
refrigerated metallic container packed with meat. These migrants were sitting,<br />
wearing coats, on packs of chilled meat. These arrests had revived memories of<br />
a gory incident which occurred on 20 June, 2000, in which 58 Chinese<br />
stowaways were suffocated to death in an airtight truck of tomatoes at Dover in<br />
the UK. In another case, on 29 March, 2001, 33 Indians were discovered by the<br />
Czech Police hidden in a truck which was heading from the Lovosice Ro-La for<br />
Germany. At that time, it was the largest ever group of refugees attempting to<br />
cross over to Germany in a truck. Again, most of those arrested were Punjabis<br />
(Singh, 2001:4).<br />
In spite of traumatic experience, the craze for foreign shores has not abated.<br />
Nowhere is the passion more pronounced than in the dollar-rich Doaba region,<br />
which accounts for 1.3 million expatriates over in the last five decades. Doaba is<br />
the focal point for well-entrenched travel agents who operate at the village level.<br />
These agents are part of a multi-tier international smuggling racket with bases in<br />
Delhi, Mumbai <strong>and</strong> abroad (Vinayak, 2002). The thought of living in an affluent<br />
western country is so engraved in the minds of Punjabis that they do not even
JPS: 16:1 100<br />
shy away from exploring the not so desirable routes to reach their favoured<br />
destinations. In the process, some end up in jail or dead as happened with the<br />
1996 Malta boat tragedy which still haunts the Punjabis (Kamal, 2006). Balwant<br />
Singh Ramoowalia, a former Union Minster of India <strong>and</strong> President of the Lok<br />
Bhalai Party, who has been raising the voice against unscrupulous travel agents<br />
for several years, disclosed on 19 April, 2007, that 30,000 Punjabis are<br />
languishing in jails abroad (Dhaliwal, 2007:3) <strong>and</strong> round about 1500 illegal<br />
migrants have died in 20 countries (Press Trust of India, 2007:2). Out of the<br />
thous<strong>and</strong>s of Punjabis dumped by travel agents, nearly 400 are said to be in<br />
various jails in Sri Lanka. Others are lodged in jails in Algeria, Ukraine, Mali,<br />
Sudan, Malaysia, Thail<strong>and</strong>, Pakistan, Turkey, Morocco, Italy <strong>and</strong> Russia.<br />
According to Ramoowalia, he visited Turkey, Pakistan, Italy, Thail<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />
other countries to get them released. He succeeded in getting free 14 Punjabis<br />
from Turkey, 31 from Pakistan, 70 from Italy <strong>and</strong> 100 from Thail<strong>and</strong>. Further,<br />
around 80-90 Punjabis were released by Algeria <strong>and</strong> Morocco after intervention<br />
by office-bearers of the Lok Bhalai Party in the United Kingdom. Likewise, 80<br />
Punjabis were freed from Doha (Dhaliwal, 2007:3).<br />
Thous<strong>and</strong>s of trafficked people from India in general <strong>and</strong> Punjab in<br />
particular are languishing in various jails, refugee homes <strong>and</strong> refugee camps in<br />
Europe alone. The Czech <strong>and</strong> Slovakia are the latest transit points for illegal<br />
migrants who after getting the political refugee status there, continue to pursue<br />
their goal of getting into a more affluent country. Greece, Italy, <strong>and</strong> Austria are<br />
the other favoured countries. Similarly, Mexico has become the ‘waiting room’<br />
for illegal migrants trying to sneak into the USA. A report published in the<br />
<strong>International</strong> Herald Tribune disclosed in 2001 that a visit to Mexico’s main<br />
immigration detention centre was a glimpse into the globalization of trafficking<br />
in people. Virtually 400 prisoners were being held there from 39 countries.<br />
These included 86 from Ecuador, 84 from India, 26 from Cuba, 25 from China<br />
<strong>and</strong> the rest from Albania, Russia, Ukraine, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo,<br />
Yemen, Jordon, Sri Lanka <strong>and</strong> Bangladesh (Singh, 2001: 4).<br />
The prospective c<strong>and</strong>idates, carrying only rucksacks or backpacks, endure<br />
squalid travelling conditions on way to their destinations. At times, they have to<br />
criss-cross the countryside at night, through snow-clad hills <strong>and</strong> hostile terrain.<br />
They even cross rivers <strong>and</strong> channels at the risk of getting swept away by the<br />
strong currents (Gill, 2001:6). Sometimes, they get attacked by the wild<br />
animals. They survive on just a few pieces of dry bread, bit of tea <strong>and</strong> water.<br />
One such illegal migrant, Bhupinder Singh, of Cheema Khurd of Jal<strong>and</strong>har<br />
District narrated his experience of an illegal <strong>and</strong> horrible journey which was<br />
arranged by a travel agent. He stated that he paid 7.70 lakh rupees to a travel<br />
agent who took him to Delhi. There he was put up in a small hotel with a few<br />
other persons harbouring similar ambitions. Then, he was put on a flight to<br />
Moscow along with the other fellows. After reaching Moscow, they were locked<br />
up in a room for eight days. From there, they were packed inside containertrucks<br />
<strong>and</strong> crossed the border into Ukraine. They were asked to tear up their<br />
passports in the jungle. Around 45 of them were shut inside the container <strong>and</strong><br />
the weather conditions were terrible <strong>and</strong> dreadful. As a result, their legs froze.
101 Suneel Kumar: Human Trafficking<br />
They spent 24 days in the dark <strong>and</strong> thick jungles. There was only very little food<br />
to enable them survive. They drank off puddles to cross the border into<br />
Slovakia, but the security forces opened fire. Although nobody was killed in the<br />
firing, yet Bhupinder Singh along with his fellows-riders, was ‘h<strong>and</strong>-cuffed’,<br />
‘fingerprinted’, ‘photographed’, ‘beaten up’ <strong>and</strong> thrown into a detention centre.<br />
Following this, he was sent back to Ukraine. Later on, from there they were<br />
deported back to India (Zaidi, 2007:8). Out of other victims of the fraudulent<br />
travel agents, two other Punjabis, Tejdeep Singh from Tarntaran District of<br />
Majha region <strong>and</strong> Sukhwinder Singh from Malwa region also shared their<br />
unforgettable experience of an illegal journey for desirable destinations. Tejdeep<br />
Singh paid a huge amount of money in 2002, for entry to France. The travel<br />
agent did not provide him any details of his illegal journey. He was dropped on<br />
the border of Pol<strong>and</strong>. His illegal journey came to an end when he was caught by<br />
the Polish security forces <strong>and</strong> deported back to India. 5 On the other h<strong>and</strong>,<br />
through the help of a relative police officer in 2004, parents of Sukhwinder<br />
Singh of Patiala, paid Rs. 5-6 lakh to the travel agent for sending their son to<br />
Germany. Like Bhupinder Singh, Sukhwinder Singh was also taken first to<br />
Tashkent <strong>and</strong> then to Ukraine by the travel agent. There, with eight other<br />
persons, he stayed in a dirty house with poor accommodation. While travelling<br />
to the next point, Sukhwinder Singh revealed that all of their belongings,<br />
including their passports, clothes <strong>and</strong> small amounts of money were stolen by<br />
somebody. Their Indian agent dropped them in a deep jungle where they<br />
survived on a few pieces of bread in the absence of proper food. Before they<br />
could shift to another place or cross the border towards their desired destination,<br />
they were arrested by the Ukrainian Police. Sukhwinder <strong>and</strong> his colleagues<br />
spent six months in jail in the Ukraine from where they were deported to<br />
Moscow. From there they were only able to come back to India due to the<br />
titanic efforts of Velantine, a women human right activist in Russia. During his<br />
days of imprisonment, Sukhwinder’s parents contacted the travel agent many<br />
times. The travel agent told a lie every time he was contacted. Sometimes he<br />
said that their son has reached the Czech Republic or Slovakia <strong>and</strong> sometimes<br />
he said he was somewhere else <strong>and</strong>/or that he is very close to his destination,<br />
Germany. The travel agent never disclosed the information of Sukhwinder’s<br />
imprisonment. When Sukhwinder arrived back home, he had fallen ill also. 6<br />
After reaching their destinations, the illegal migrants are forced by the<br />
circumstances to stay in cheap places <strong>and</strong> in groups (Singh, 2001:4). Illegal<br />
immigrants do different types of work until they can obtain permanent<br />
settlement. An illegal migrant, Harvinder Pal, who was deported back to India,<br />
narrated his work experience in Italy. He said that prior to deportation, he spent<br />
three months selling beer <strong>and</strong> soft drinks on a beach. He harvested fruits,<br />
worked on construction sites <strong>and</strong> even made 300 chapattis a day for other illegal<br />
workers from India (Swami, 2007:4).<br />
Most of the illegal migrants consist of non-skilled persons. Hence, as with<br />
Harvinder Pal Singh, they work as hawkers, agricultural workers, janitors, <strong>and</strong><br />
construction workers. At present, in US, there are more than 12 million illegal<br />
migrants. Their number grows at the rate of half a million annually (Swami,
JPS: 16:1 102<br />
2007:6). Europe has a figure of 4.5 to 8 million illegal migrants. These illegal<br />
migrants have boosted the economies of recipient states. Without them, the<br />
economy of the recipient countries would be hit hard. In the United States, a<br />
quarter of all agricultural workers, one in five janitors <strong>and</strong> a seventh of the<br />
construction workers were illegal migrants. Similarly, they contribute 7 to 16<br />
percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) (Swami, 2007:6).<br />
When illegal migrants are caught by police authorities, they are punished<br />
according to the law of the l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> also leads to deportation to the home<br />
country. One such victim is Buta Singh of Bara Pind of Jal<strong>and</strong>har District. He<br />
went to Canada on a tourist visa, disappeared there <strong>and</strong> started working on a<br />
petrol pump. Later on, he was traced by the Canadian Police <strong>and</strong> was sent back<br />
to Punjab, India. 7 Beyond doubt, these illegal migrants breach the law of their<br />
host country by making an illegal entry, by working without permits <strong>and</strong><br />
sometimes by falsifying documents including the passports of that country to<br />
migrate the other destinations. On 20 April, 2007, the UK authorities held 6<br />
Punjabis for possessing forged UK passports. All of them were seeking to fly to<br />
Canada from Birmingham. Earlier, before making an attempt to Canada, they<br />
had successfully made an illegal entry to the UK (Service, 2007b:1). The<br />
beneficiaries of human trafficking are those who win protracted legal battles <strong>and</strong><br />
achieve legitimate legal right to permanent stay <strong>and</strong> work.<br />
Although human trafficking is largely male dominated there have been cases<br />
of some Punjabi women, trafficked abroad by unscrupulous traffickers with the<br />
promise of lucrative jobs, who have been forced to work in the prostitution<br />
industry (Thind, 2007:3). For example, more than 85 Punjabi young women<br />
have been forced into prostitutes in Singapore alone (Editorial, 2007a: 8).<br />
Another disturbing dimension is that a growing number of illegal migrants<br />
had been recruited by the pro-Khalistan organizations in Europe to exp<strong>and</strong> the<br />
thin ranks of Khalistan terrorist groups based in Europe <strong>and</strong> Pakistan. For<br />
example, Kuldeep Singh, a top activist of Paramjit Singh Panjwar’s Khalistan<br />
Comm<strong>and</strong>o Force (KCF) was the resident of Chak Bamu village in the<br />
Hoshiarpur district. He was one of the many young people from the area who<br />
went abroad through illegal means in the early 1980s. He had no previous<br />
record of terrorist sympathies. Indeed, Doaba youth largely distanced<br />
themselves from the Khalistan movement to avoid police records that could<br />
jeoparadise their prospects of emigrating legally, through marriage or through<br />
the sponsorship of relatives. The travel agent who took Kuldeep Singh abroad,<br />
did not take him far. And like other estimated 10,000 Punjabis living illegally in<br />
Belgium, he ended up doing odd jobs in a pathetically poor way. At this point,<br />
he along with another illegal immigrant, Pala Singh of Talw<strong>and</strong>i Dadiyan, met<br />
Parsan Singh, President of the <strong>International</strong> Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) of<br />
Belgium. Parsan Singh convinced the two young men that their sole chance of<br />
redemption lay in working for the cause of the Sikh community. On 10 June,<br />
1996, Kuldeep Singh l<strong>and</strong>ed in Pakistan, using a fake passport acquired from<br />
the flourishing underground market in travel documents. Sukhwinder Singh<br />
from Phagwara <strong>and</strong> Surjeet Singh Behla, also from a village in Hoshiarpur<br />
district flew with him to Pakistan <strong>and</strong> all three were received at the airport by
103 Suneel Kumar: Human Trafficking<br />
the Khalsa Comm<strong>and</strong>o Force (KCF) chief Nishan Singh. Pala Singh had arrived<br />
at the camp in Lahore three months earlier. Eventually, a group of seven recruits<br />
were sent to a camp on the Pak-Afghan border, where they were trained in the<br />
use of assault rifles <strong>and</strong> automatic weapons as well as the fabrication of<br />
improvised explosive devices. In early 1996, Kuldeep Singh was instructed by<br />
Panjwar to make his way to India carrying explosive material, timer switches<br />
<strong>and</strong> detonators. Kuldeep Singh became Punjab’s most wanted KCF terrorists<br />
(Swami, 1997:4, 5).<br />
Meanwhile, a number of illegal migrants apply for political asylum in the<br />
host countries, especially in the UK, USA <strong>and</strong> Canada. They pleaded the<br />
argument of discrimination, suppression, physical torture <strong>and</strong> other human<br />
rights abuses by the Indian State against them. However, a refusal to give them<br />
political asylum by the respective countries leads to their deportation<br />
(Ramch<strong>and</strong>ran, 2007). The available data shows that at least 5 Punjabis are<br />
deported to India daily from the different countries. Moreover, since 2002,<br />
10,165 Punjabis, residents of four districts of Doaba region - Jal<strong>and</strong>har,<br />
Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala <strong>and</strong> Nawanshahr - <strong>and</strong> three districts of Majha region -<br />
Amritsar, Gurdaspur <strong>and</strong> Tarntaran - have been deported to India (Joshi,<br />
2007:4). The data also reveals that in these seven districts, the number of<br />
deported persons was 1,175 in 2002, 2,122 in 2003, 1,360 in 2004, 1,983 in<br />
2005 <strong>and</strong> 2,266 in 2006 along with 650 in 2007 respectively (Joshi, 2007:7).<br />
The deportation of illegal Punjabi migrants was the highest in 2006 in these<br />
seven districts of Punjab. Besides, in 2007, till now, as the Regional Passport<br />
Office (RPO) reveals, 650 Punjabis hailing from Majha <strong>and</strong> Doaba have been<br />
deported (Joshi, 2007:4). Despite all this, dem<strong>and</strong> for passports is growing<br />
rapidly in Punjab. As Amarjeet Singh, Passport Officer of the Regional Passport<br />
Office (RPO), Jal<strong>and</strong>har, reveals, the concerned authorities issued about 2.1<br />
lakh new passports in 2006. Interestingly, as he further reveals, people are also<br />
lining up to apply a second or a third time. The number of applications for<br />
passports in the category ‘lost’ or ‘damaged’ have increased significantly. In<br />
2003 there were 4,540 such applications <strong>and</strong> in 2006, their number was 10,367.<br />
The office detects at least 15-20 cases of applications for duplicate passports,<br />
where people apply for a fresh passport without disclosing the fact that they<br />
already have one (Zaidi, 2007:10).<br />
A number of trafficked persons who, under different contexts, were deported<br />
to India, now, have to face a more hard <strong>and</strong> tough life in terms of finance than<br />
during the pre-trafficking period. They or their parents spent huge amounts of<br />
money to send them abroad <strong>and</strong> this had to be financed somehow. Some of them<br />
borrowed from private moneylenders on a high rate of interest, using their<br />
houses, shops or farm l<strong>and</strong> as collateral, others sold their l<strong>and</strong>, hoping that after<br />
earning money abroad, they will get rid of their debt. On return they have sunk<br />
into indebtedness for their whole life. In the other words, they have a bleak <strong>and</strong><br />
depressing future, with exorbitant debt <strong>and</strong> the shame of inability to provide for<br />
their families hanging over them. Four Punjabis, e. g., Ajay, Naresh, Sonu <strong>and</strong><br />
M<strong>and</strong>eep had the same experiences. Ajay’s family pooled their jewellery <strong>and</strong><br />
mortgaged their home. Correspondingly, Naresh sold the Sugarcane farm, Sonu
JPS: 16:1 104<br />
sold a Buffalo <strong>and</strong> his farm <strong>and</strong> M<strong>and</strong>eep sold two toy stores to arrange the<br />
money to go overseas. After facing extradition to India, now, they face a dark<br />
future (Brothers, 2007).<br />
As mentioned earlier, trafficked persons have also been major beneficiaries<br />
where they have successfully acquired citizenship in their destination countries<br />
<strong>and</strong> this enabling them to improve their financial status. But, in the majority of<br />
cases, as the facts reveal, they have been cheated by the traffickers. Traffickers<br />
have put them on treacherous <strong>and</strong> perilous voyages, which have ultimately led<br />
to victims’ death, imprisonment, exploitation, deportation <strong>and</strong> indebtedness.<br />
Human Trafficking, Parent States <strong>and</strong> Deterrent Mechanisms<br />
All over the world, states have enacted various legislations <strong>and</strong> evolved<br />
deterrent mechanisms to restrain the activities of traffickers. As India is a major<br />
source as well as a destination of human trafficking, it enacted the Emigration<br />
Act of 1983 to control these illegal activities. However, with the passage of<br />
time, it proved sufficient to deal with the matter. After the Babubhai Katara<br />
case, <strong>and</strong> exposure of some other parliamentarians’ involvement in human<br />
trafficking, in 2007, the question was again discussed in the Indian Parliament.<br />
There was talk of some appropriate action against the parliamentarians involved<br />
in such criminal activities. Soon after the spotlight, the BJP suspended its MP<br />
Babubhai Katara from the party membership. Moreover, the government of<br />
India has initiated a move to amend the Emigration Act to curb such practices<br />
by giving more teeth to the law. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has<br />
decided to amend the 1983 law to regulate emigration <strong>and</strong> rein in unscrupulous<br />
agents. It is believed that the amendment will provide harsher punishment for<br />
those convicted of human trafficking, including an increase in minimum<br />
imprisonment to five years from the current six months. The fine is also<br />
proposed to be increased manifold from the present 1,000 rupees to 25,000<br />
rupees. The main objective of the amendment is to curb the prevalence of<br />
unauthorized recruiting agents by ensuring their registration <strong>and</strong> regulation. The<br />
Bill provides a regulatory framework in respect of emigration of Indian workers<br />
for employment abroad with the aim of safeguarding their interests <strong>and</strong> ensuring<br />
their welfare. The intention is to make agents responsible for the recruitment of<br />
every person sent abroad. The agents will have to provide reports to the<br />
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs every year which will form the basis for<br />
renewal of their licences. The number of emigration clearances granted by the<br />
Protector of Emigrants has increased from Rs. 2.79 lakh in 2001 to 5.49 lakh in<br />
2005. Workers going abroad for jobs include skilled <strong>and</strong> unskilled persons <strong>and</strong><br />
remittances by them were to the tune of over Rs. 52,000 crore in 2005-2006.<br />
The amendment Act is aimed at addressing an increasing number of complaints<br />
about harassment <strong>and</strong> ill-treatment of Indian workers abroad. They are denied of<br />
promised wages <strong>and</strong> food <strong>and</strong> lodged in inhuman conditions. Passports of<br />
employees are seized by their employers as soon as they l<strong>and</strong> in a particular<br />
country <strong>and</strong> they are at the mercy of the employers (Press Trust of India,<br />
2007:2). The proposed amendments in the Emigration Law of 1983 will
105 Suneel Kumar: Human Trafficking<br />
definitely help to check human trafficking <strong>and</strong> will make the agents responsible.<br />
Since number of Punjabis going to different countries abroad is large they will<br />
also benefit from the proposed changes in the emigration law. Besides, along<br />
with the proposed amendment in Emigration Law of 1983, on 4 December,<br />
2007, the Ministry of Women <strong>and</strong> Child Development launched ‘Ujjawala’, a<br />
comprehensive scheme for the prevention of trafficking. It includes<br />
rehabilitation <strong>and</strong> rescue of trafficked persons. It also aims at cutting entry<br />
points to the illegal professions. The ‘Ujjawala’ was formulated <strong>and</strong> included in<br />
the Eleventh Five Year Plan <strong>and</strong> Rs. 10 crore were sanctioned for 2007-08<br />
(Sharma, 2007:15). It is believed that this scheme will be useful for the victims<br />
of traffickers including Punjabis.<br />
Earlier the Government of Punjab did not show any interest in tackling this<br />
problem. But after the large number of cases of human trafficking reported in<br />
the state, the arrest of Babubhai Katara while trying to take two Punjabis abroad<br />
<strong>and</strong> the laudable efforts of Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, the Chief Minister of<br />
Punjab, Prakash Singh Badal announced on 25 April, 2007 to appoint the<br />
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) to expeditiously deal with such<br />
cases (Service, 2007c:1). He also ensured that fake advertisements given by<br />
unscrupulous agents <strong>and</strong> immigration consultants would be severely dealt with<br />
as per law <strong>and</strong> such cases would be settled within a strict time frame. A<br />
mechanism would be evolved to prove the authenticity of such advertisements.<br />
Moreover, an independent department of NRI Affairs would be set up to keep<br />
an eye on illegal activities of travel agents (Bureau, 2007:2). Reportedly, the<br />
Government of Punjab is also set to enact the Punjab Prevention of Human<br />
Trafficking Act to arm the police with more powers to check illegal human<br />
migration. Reports also reveal that the government of Punjab has prepared a<br />
draft of the Bill. The Home <strong>and</strong> Justice Department of Punjab have already<br />
whetted the draft which will be sent for approval of the Cabinet before it is<br />
tabled in the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The Draft of Bill includes pecuniary<br />
penalties <strong>and</strong> severe punishment for travel agents who defraud people on the<br />
promise of sending them abroad through dubious means. Severe punishment<br />
means the bigger the fraud or cheating committed by the agents, the longer<br />
would be the imprisonment (Banergee, 2007:1, 5). The Bill also covers travel<br />
agents who provide consultancy or guidance to different categories, including<br />
people approaching agents for emigration, for obtaining higher education, for<br />
working in a foreign country on a work permit or on contractual, professional<br />
<strong>and</strong> business assignments, for a pleasure trip as a tourist, for medical treatment,<br />
for cultural or musical shows, religious preachers <strong>and</strong> for participating in sports<br />
tournaments. Issuing advertisements for travel to foreign countries or holding of<br />
seminars or conferences to promote emigration are also covered as activity of<br />
agents. To give some relief to the trafficked persons, ‘Punjab State Human<br />
Trafficking Victim Relief Fund’ has been proposed to be constituted by the state<br />
government. Any amount received from confiscation of illegally acquired<br />
property of travel agents will go to this Fund. All agents have to be registered.<br />
He/she will be issued an agent’s licence without which the government will not<br />
allow any agent to function. The licence can be cancelled if the agent indulges
JPS: 16:1 106<br />
in or abets, directly or indirectly, any act prejudicial to the interests of India or<br />
contrary to government policy. An agent has to provide a bank guarantee or<br />
pledge immovable assets worth Rs. 10 lakh. The police are empowered to carry<br />
out searches, seizures <strong>and</strong> arrests. Any executive magistrate or a gazetted officer<br />
of the police or any other department of the State Government can search the<br />
premises where it is suspected that the agent could have hidden some documents<br />
pertaining to the case. However, the searches would be carried out only during<br />
the day. Any property acquired from the money accruing from this business is<br />
liable for confiscation. Where the value of illegally acquired property or the<br />
cheated amount is up to Rs. 5 lakh, the agent is liable to rigorous imprisonment<br />
for two years or a fine which may extend to Rs. 50,000. However, in case an<br />
agent cheats a person of Rs. 10 lakh, the imprisonment will extend up to five<br />
years along with a fine of Rs. 1 lakh. Similarly, if the agent cheats a person of<br />
an amount up to 50 lakh rupees, the imprisonment will be up to seven years <strong>and</strong><br />
a fine of 2 lakh rupees. If the cheating involves a sum in excess of 50 lakh<br />
rupees, the prison term can extended up to 10 years <strong>and</strong> a fine of 5 lakh rupees.<br />
If a travel agent holds back the passport of a person without any justification, he<br />
has to face a fine extending up to 50,000 rupees.<br />
Besides this, on various occasions the Punjab Government has raised the<br />
issue og human trafficking with the Central Government. As a few recipient<br />
states have initiated amnesty schemes for illegal migrants living on their<br />
territory, numerous Punjabis are unable to get the benefit of such schemes due<br />
the lack of relevant documents. Hence, in June, 2007, Prakash Singh Badal,<br />
Chief Minister of Punjab, through an official letter, urged the Ministry for<br />
External Affairs to advise the consulates <strong>and</strong> embassies in the other countries to<br />
provide all the possible assistance to Punjabi immigrants, to avail the benefits of<br />
amnesty schemes for regularising them in the recipient countries. A request was<br />
also made to give them duplicate Indian passports so that they could avoid<br />
prosecution by getting general amnesty (Ministry for External Affairs, 2007).<br />
In brief, the Indian State is trying to suppress illegal migration <strong>and</strong> human<br />
trafficking through legal measures <strong>and</strong> has launched a scheme to help the<br />
victims including the Punjabis. At the same time, the Punjab government is also<br />
taking some steps to check the illegal business of trafficking.<br />
Destination Countries <strong>and</strong> Their Response<br />
Most of the countries in Europe <strong>and</strong> North America are receipts of human<br />
beings through trafficking. Approximately, more than 600,000 to 800,000<br />
persons are trafficked annually worldwide, out of which 100, 000 to 500,000<br />
persons are trafficked to Europe <strong>and</strong> 14,500 to 17,500 to the USA (Djanjsezian,<br />
2005; Floor, 2006:23). As human trafficking has put the burden on l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />
other resources of theses states, they have started to react against this trend.<br />
Resistance to human trafficking is no doubt much stronger in the nation-states<br />
of Europe than in countries that are built on immigration: the United States,<br />
Canada, Australia <strong>and</strong> New Zeal<strong>and</strong>. But even - or especially - Australia has<br />
seen the emergence of both anti-immigration political parties asking for harsh
107 Suneel Kumar: Human Trafficking<br />
treatment of asylum seekers. A few countries, such as Australia, have adopted<br />
strict policies vis-à-vis asylum seekers. The number of immigrants <strong>and</strong> refugees<br />
that Australia admits has steadily declined. The government sternly refused to<br />
accept asylum seekers on to the Australian territory. They became a test case for<br />
the determination of a government to keep illegal immigrants out of the country.<br />
A recent survey in New Zeal<strong>and</strong> showed that a strong opinion believes that<br />
there are ‘too many Asians’ in the country (Lintner, 2007). In the European<br />
Union, the migration issues have recently dominated the political agenda. In a<br />
significant move, in February 1997, the Council adopted a joint action to<br />
combat the trafficking of human beings along with the sexual exploitation of<br />
children. Moreover, in July 2002, the EU Council adopted a Framework<br />
Decision on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings that defined common<br />
guidelines for the jurisdiction, nature of offences, penalties <strong>and</strong> sanctions<br />
pertaining to human trafficking. The EU is putting more emphasis on preventing<br />
illegal immigrants <strong>and</strong> integrating existing immigrants in the host society. It has<br />
also taken measures to return or deport refugees, including Punjabis, to India,<br />
which is considered now safe for them (Indo-Asia News Service, 2007:10). The<br />
European Union has also created a new agency, Frontex, to keep control on<br />
human trafficking <strong>and</strong> illegal migration <strong>and</strong> police its frontiers more rigorously<br />
(Naravane, 2007:24; Carrera, 2007:1-11; Carrera <strong>and</strong> Geyer, 2007:4). Likewise,<br />
the British Crime Act, 2002, the Gangmasters (licensing) Act, 2004, the Serious<br />
Organised Crime <strong>and</strong> Police Act, 2005 <strong>and</strong> Immigration, Asylum <strong>and</strong><br />
Nationality Act of 2006 also encompass various anti-trafficking <strong>and</strong> anti-illegal<br />
migration provisions. The ‘Reflex’, a multi-agency taskforce on organised<br />
immigration was established in 2004. In 2006, the formation of ‘Reflex’ was<br />
followed by the creation of another anti-trafficking organization, ‘Serious <strong>and</strong><br />
Organised Crime Agency’, briefly known as, ‘SOCA’ (House of Lords, et. al.,<br />
2006:39-42). Moreover, recently, under a new system of civil penalties, Britain<br />
has announced to impose a penalty of up to £10,000 on employers hiring illegal<br />
workers (Press Trust of India, 2007:10). All these steps had been taken by the<br />
recipient/destination countries to prevent illegal migration <strong>and</strong> trafficking of<br />
people including Punjabis to their territories. Besides, so far as the question of<br />
illegal migration <strong>and</strong> trafficking of Punjabis is concerned, the recipient states<br />
had also discussed it with the Indian as well as the Punjab government. Soon<br />
after the UK High Commissioner to India, Sir Michael Arthur, declared India as<br />
a ‘safe’ democratic country for all including its minorities. And, therefore, he<br />
refused to consider cases of political asylum by the UK government in the<br />
future. He also took up the issue of unscrupulous agents with the Chief Minister<br />
of Punjab urging him to discourage illegal practice. He also cautioned the<br />
Punjabis against ‘back-door’ migration to his country. While advising to adopt<br />
legal methods, he said, “…it is easier to enter through the front door as we issue<br />
about 1,000 visas to Indians every day. We have a visa application centre here<br />
<strong>and</strong> people can utilize its services” (Singh, 2007:3).<br />
In a nutshell, while trying to prevent illegal migration <strong>and</strong> human trafficking<br />
to their respective territories, the destination countries have ratified <strong>and</strong><br />
formulated various special laws <strong>and</strong> created special agencies to police
JPS: 16:1 108<br />
international borders. More to the point, destination countries have also put the<br />
matter before the states <strong>and</strong> provinces including India <strong>and</strong> Punjab, which are the<br />
major source of human trafficking.<br />
Conclusion<br />
To conclude, human trafficking, being an intractable problem worldwide, is<br />
badly affecting the Indian Punjab which is a source as well as a destination.<br />
Allurements of foreign l<strong>and</strong>, cut-throat competition, dwindling employment<br />
opportunities, crumbling of l<strong>and</strong> holdings, opportunities offered by the<br />
developed countries, <strong>and</strong> razzmatazz of NRI <strong>and</strong> cultural factors are the factors<br />
behind the increasing tendency among the Punjabis to settle abroad by hook or<br />
crook, contributing to provide a boom to the prohibited act of human trafficking<br />
in Punjab. A number of actors such as politicians, bureaucrats, artistes, religious<br />
leaders <strong>and</strong> organizations like sports clubs <strong>and</strong> travel agencies are earning huge<br />
amounts in this business. These human traffickers have cheated, deceived <strong>and</strong><br />
exploited the Punjabi clients many times by hiding the realities, looting money<br />
<strong>and</strong> putting their lives into jeopardy. Countless Punjabi clients have ended up<br />
being deported <strong>and</strong> in indebtedness, imprisonment <strong>and</strong> death. Belatedly the<br />
Indian <strong>and</strong> Punjab governments have taken certain steps to deal with the menace<br />
of human trafficking <strong>and</strong> have launched a few schemes to provide relief to <strong>and</strong><br />
rehabilitation of the victims. The destination countries are acting in the same<br />
manner. Efforts should be made to break the official <strong>and</strong> non-official nexus<br />
involved in human trafficking. People should be educated about the risks<br />
involved in human trafficking. A consensus based decision should be made by<br />
all political parties to discourage entry of such persons into politics <strong>and</strong> highly<br />
respectable democratic institutions like the Legislative Assembly <strong>and</strong><br />
Parliament. It is, therefore, necessary to take some harsh steps on the transborder<br />
level as the illegal business of human trafficking is being run by transborder<br />
international mafias. Ultimately unless the root causes which burgeon<br />
human trafficking are not tackled, even the most rigorously policed frontiers<br />
will be unable to check the invidious crimes.<br />
Notes<br />
1. In India, the job of a university or college teacher is considered a<br />
reputed one. But, it has been found that many of the college <strong>and</strong><br />
university teachers are also eager to migrate to rich western countries<br />
especially to ensure a safe <strong>and</strong> prosperous future for their kids.<br />
Following this, 20-25 teachers of Guru Nanak Dev University,<br />
Amritsar have migrated to these affluent countries especially to UK,<br />
USA <strong>and</strong> Canada. Some of them have resigned from the University job<br />
<strong>and</strong> the others have availed the leave without pay. In the foreign l<strong>and</strong>s,<br />
these teachers are doing small <strong>and</strong> hard jobs. Though, the teachers are
109 Suneel Kumar: Human Trafficking<br />
using legal channels, craze to go abroad among them is equal to that of<br />
other Punjabis.<br />
2. The analysis is based on the discussion with different people who are<br />
eager to send their children abroad by hook or crook. Numerous cases<br />
of illegal migration from rural Punjab also justify this observation <strong>and</strong><br />
analysis.<br />
3. A few travel agents were interviewed in Amritsar, Jal<strong>and</strong>har,<br />
Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana <strong>and</strong> Patiala. None of them were ready to accept<br />
their link or involvement in any type of illegal business including<br />
human trafficking <strong>and</strong> illegal migration. Each of them claimed the use<br />
of a legal, legitimate <strong>and</strong> a safe path. All of them were putting the<br />
blame for human trafficking <strong>and</strong> illegal migration on their unknown<br />
fellows. They have a common answer, “Bha ji asin taan ik number<br />
vich bhejde han. Do number vich khatarnak tarike naal bhejan wale<br />
hor han. Asin oh nahi haan” (Brother, we send the people abroad in a<br />
legal way. People, who use illegal methods, will be other. We are not<br />
those one).<br />
4. An interview with Surjeet Singh <strong>and</strong> his family.<br />
5. An interview with Tejdeep Singh.<br />
6. These facts were disclosed, in an interview, by Sukhwinder Singh <strong>and</strong><br />
his parents.<br />
7. An interview with Buta Singh.<br />
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113 Research Note<br />
Research Note<br />
Indian Punjab: A Practical Way Forward from<br />
Theoretical Constructs<br />
Jaswinder Brar<br />
Punjabi University, Patiala<br />
Development flows from systemic, well researched <strong>and</strong> practical ideas. The<br />
economic literature, both in its theoretical <strong>and</strong> empirical spectrums, has<br />
produced extremely worthwhile developmental ideas on a regular basis.<br />
<strong>International</strong> trade, since its inception as higher level of economic activity, has<br />
continuously been subject to tight <strong>and</strong> terse research scrutiny. The emergent<br />
input has played a critical role in the formation of countries’ expectations from<br />
trade. External trade occupies a central place in the determination of overall<br />
economic policies. Growth theorists assert that best way of economically<br />
classifying countries lies in their fundamental approach to foreign trade. So<br />
trade policy literature classifies countries on the basis of their foreign trade<br />
regimes: autarkic, mercantilists, protectionists, second best regionalists, or free<br />
trade globalists.<br />
Explanation for patterns of trade continues to absorb great deal of research.<br />
The trade theory remained in its pure competition <strong>and</strong> specific mould (Smith,<br />
Ricardo, <strong>and</strong> Heckscher-Ohlin) for a long period. 1 It provides a robust<br />
explanation for trade patterns <strong>and</strong> gains from trade. The pure theory of trade<br />
provides theoretically the strongest justification for role of foreign trade in<br />
economies. It had exploded mercantilist view of foreign trade almost on a<br />
permanent basis. It strengthened the belief of policy makers in growthstimulating<br />
power of foreign trade. The rationale for free trade, in all its<br />
variants, comes from pure theory’s basic formulations.<br />
The formidable challenge to pure theory of trade built up with increasing<br />
intensity of trade in manufactured goods among similar countries. The quest for<br />
suitable explanations for trade patterns containing intra-industry trade led to<br />
further theoretical explorations. The theory has responded by basically<br />
following two routes: first, by relaxing, modifying, or qualifying some or all of<br />
assumptions of pure theory; secondly, by incorporating additional assumptions<br />
<strong>and</strong> features from research in other sub-disciplines of economics. Consequently,<br />
contributions to underst<strong>and</strong>ing of trade patterns poured in from divergent type<br />
of frameworks within neo-classical settings. 2 Noticeably, almost all theoretical<br />
constructs accord critical role to human capital in growth, trade patterns, <strong>and</strong><br />
comparative advantages. The famous Leontief paradox (1953) found its ultimate<br />
settlement in a human capital version. And, it was proved that United States’<br />
exportables were more capital-intensive than other trading countries. 3
JPS: 16:1 114<br />
The relaxation of what are called unrealistic assumptions of pure theory<br />
paved the way for its extension into many directions. The dimension added to<br />
theory was the explanation of trade patterns by incorporating the assumption of<br />
strong relationship between level of development <strong>and</strong> dem<strong>and</strong> patterns. It is held<br />
that higher level of development stimulates dem<strong>and</strong> for sophisticated products<br />
<strong>and</strong>, thereby, increases dem<strong>and</strong> for advanced production technologies. High<br />
intensity of trade in manufactured commodities among similar countries was<br />
attributed, among other things, to the availability <strong>and</strong> utilization of human skills<br />
which are necessary to use advance technologies (Dhesi, 1977). The difference<br />
in use of advanced technologies among various regions becomes the basis for<br />
differential development of comparative advantages (Salvatore, 2001).<br />
Trade models dealt with trade patterns by explicitly incorporating solid<br />
features pertaining to imperfect market behavior. The features which were<br />
examined rigorously include: product differentiation, scale economies,<br />
technological progress, dem<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> factor reversal, R&D activities,<br />
innovations, market structure, logic of mass production, preference for<br />
consumption diversity, strategic behavior, role of subsidies, taxes <strong>and</strong> tariffs,<br />
etc. The consolidated body of literature highlights critical relationships among<br />
economic variables <strong>and</strong> hence various markets. The stage of general<br />
development exercises strong influence on relative intensity of factor-use by<br />
firms competing for global market shares. Firms with more market power<br />
happen to be high on human capital embedded in products. Importance of<br />
human capital in formulations of trade patterns increases during mature stage of<br />
the economy’s development. Trade promotes market by advancing<br />
specialization which changes factor efficiencies <strong>and</strong> factor rewards. Factor<br />
substitution following market signals impacts their dem<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> supply in factor<br />
markets with strong implication for technological progress. The countries <strong>and</strong><br />
industries with higher R&D activity become market leaders. Therefore,<br />
utilization of human capital is as important as that of its formation. It was<br />
established that export performance based on R&D intensive industries indicate<br />
the efficient utilization of higher level manpower (Dhesi, 1979).<br />
Krugman (Nobel Laureate, 2008) contributed to the underst<strong>and</strong>ing by<br />
combining vital elements of theories of economic geography <strong>and</strong> trade<br />
(Krugman, 1979). New ‘geo-trade theory’ establishes that regions with higher<br />
production will be more profitable <strong>and</strong> attract more production. There would be<br />
a tendency for general concentration of production in some locations over<br />
others. Locations with more production will manifest higher population density<br />
along with higher income. Location bound increasing returns to scale will act as<br />
an effective check on the diffusion of production. Thus, patterns of trade will<br />
maintain affinity with geographical particularities of the regions inter alia factor<br />
endowments (Krugman, 2000).<br />
Punjab had experienced higher rate of growth (between 6 <strong>and</strong> 7 per cent) for<br />
about two <strong>and</strong> a half decades (till 1990) with advent of green revolution during<br />
mid 1960s. It resulted from vigorous state intervention involving high public<br />
investment in irrigation, credit provisioning, public purchase systems, support<br />
prices, newer seeds, <strong>and</strong> changes in agrarian institutions, etc. All this was the
115 Research Note<br />
result of a national level growth strategy which meticulously sensed<br />
comparatively better placing of the state in agriculture. The region has shown<br />
quick results in crop sector with smaller investment. Livestock has emerged as<br />
the second largest sector after agriculture within primary sector. The<br />
manufacturing sector is confined to a narrow product range consisting of large<br />
number of small scale units set up in an ancillary <strong>and</strong> informal mode. The sector<br />
operates under family ownership or sub-professional management with limited<br />
stock of capital, lower technology, utilizing unskilled <strong>and</strong> semi-skilled family<br />
<strong>and</strong> hired labour. It essentially caters towards the lower or medium segment of<br />
the market by producing intermediate <strong>and</strong> final goods on basis of subcontracting.<br />
The sector made good fortune by enjoying, for about four decades,<br />
two fold advantages: first, small scale sector favoring subsidy <strong>and</strong> reservationcum-protectionist<br />
policies of home country; <strong>and</strong>, secondly, exporting to<br />
formerly Soviet-Union <strong>and</strong> associated markets under the then prevalent<br />
bilateralism of rupee trade.<br />
The economy of the Punjab state experienced structural transformation with<br />
change in relative production contribution of different sectors. Gradually,<br />
proportionate share of primary sector declined <strong>and</strong> fell to 38 per cent <strong>and</strong> that of<br />
service sector went up <strong>and</strong> touched 40 per cent. The share of the manufacturing<br />
sector shows inter-temporal constancy <strong>and</strong> hovers around 22 per cent. It means<br />
60 per cent of state income originated from the goods producing sector <strong>and</strong> 40<br />
per cent from service sector during 2005-06. It implies that the state owes 62 per<br />
cent of its income to non-primary sector. The employment structure, however,<br />
demonstrated less resilience as the dominant form of work force is stationed in<br />
agriculture. The state could not make any noticeable improvement in the rural<br />
non-farm sector. The labour force composition of the state changed due to outmigration<br />
(mainly to Europe <strong>and</strong> North America) <strong>and</strong> in-migration (mainly from<br />
Central India). A good sized middle class came up in rural <strong>and</strong> urban areas. The<br />
state recorded higher level of urbanization relative to the rest of the country. At<br />
present, almost every third resident falls in category of urban dwellers.<br />
The state experienced high growth <strong>and</strong> associated changes under national<br />
level protectionist macroeconomic regime. But, national economic policy has<br />
undergone drastic change under economic reforms of the last one <strong>and</strong> half<br />
decades. National economic reforms in essence are based upon three processes,<br />
viz. privatization, liberalization <strong>and</strong> globalization. Importantly, national<br />
economy experienced unprecedented high growth during reform period. But,<br />
economic growth in the state has decelerated both in inter-temporal <strong>and</strong> national<br />
context. The overall st<strong>and</strong>ing of the Punjab state economy in national economy<br />
registered a decline. The share of overall income of the state in national income<br />
declined from 3.81 per cent in 1999-00 to 3.22 per cent in 2005-06(ES, 2007-<br />
08). The state got just 0.68 per cent (i.e. Rs. 1968 crore) of cumulative foreign<br />
direct investment received by the country during 1991 to 2003(EPW,<br />
2003:4499). Similarly, the share of the state in total national exports was 1.70<br />
per cent (i.e. US $ 2148 million) in 2006-07(ES, 2007-08). The agricultural<br />
sector of the state has been losing vibrancy because of growing ecological<br />
problems, falling size of operational holdings, increasing costs, unattractive
JPS: 16:1 116<br />
returns, squeezing of public investment, mono cropping pattern, collapse of<br />
agricultural extension services <strong>and</strong> slowing down of public funded research<br />
activity. The Punjab state slipped from its long held position as leader with the<br />
highest per capita income in the country to that of fifth during 2005-06.<br />
The lackluster performance of the state resulted from complex inter play of<br />
multitude of factors. The long spell of militancy during the eighties has turned<br />
development oriented administration into routine administration. The<br />
institutional network in education, health, rural development, water supply, cooperation,<br />
<strong>and</strong> social welfare weakened because of fragile resource backing <strong>and</strong><br />
non-functionality of the monitoring apparatus. The political process in the state,<br />
though functionally stable, has actually been embroiled in populism, mutual<br />
animosity <strong>and</strong> factionalism. The political community has developed a vested<br />
interest in privately promoting lucrative activities. It has made the regulatory<br />
mechanism redundant <strong>and</strong> crippled the will <strong>and</strong> capacity of the state to mobilize<br />
additional resources. Poor governance has subverted the meritorious decision<br />
making process. The state organs throw a clear signal that economic field is<br />
‘free for manipulators’. The state apparatus has lost its face as repository of<br />
public trust because of lack of transparency <strong>and</strong> accountability in matters dear to<br />
the public. The private participation in an unregulated <strong>and</strong> corruption ridden<br />
environment has not improved the quality of basic services. The non-functional<br />
state sector <strong>and</strong> unregulated private sector ended up in excluding masses from<br />
quality education (Ghuman et al, 2009) <strong>and</strong> health care (Gill et al, 2007). During<br />
1999-00, the educational base of the workforce of the state was low as follows:<br />
illiterate (33.50 per cent); primary level education (22.10 per cent); middle level<br />
education (13 per cent); secondary <strong>and</strong> above (31.50 per cent) (Chadha, 2004).<br />
Similarly, health indicators too present a dismal picture (Brar, 2002).The state<br />
has lost its competitive edge because of the qualitatively hollow physical <strong>and</strong><br />
social infrastructure.<br />
The influential sections of society rely upon the private sector for all sorts of<br />
requirements. The state machinery virtually has no interest <strong>and</strong> compulsion to<br />
improve the quality of public goods <strong>and</strong> services. The urban infrastructure is<br />
under stress. Lack of natural developmental advantages further aggravates the<br />
situation. The state being l<strong>and</strong> locked in character, lies about a thous<strong>and</strong> miles<br />
away from sea ports. It, practically, does not have any commercially useable<br />
natural base of resources. The border hostility between India with Pakistan has<br />
inflicted tremendous costs. The state is not able to fully exploit its trade<br />
potential with that country in the form of border trade. It has deprived the state<br />
from all those direct <strong>and</strong> peripheral advantages which naturally accrues to a<br />
territory being located on an international trade route. The growth in the state<br />
slowed down with the change in the economic environment <strong>and</strong> is highly<br />
damaging. The slow down period accompanied the educational neglect. From<br />
1992-93 to 2007-08, share of the education budget in overall state budget<br />
declined from 16.52 per cent to 11.40 per cent; <strong>and</strong> in state income from 2.88<br />
per cent to 2.31 per cent (Bajwa, 2009).<br />
The state has in all means shown greater operational incompetence in<br />
specifying its new role in a market driven environment. Political decision-
117 Research Note<br />
making appears to be happening in a casual <strong>and</strong> haphazard manner. The<br />
incapacitated politico-administrative system of the state fails to acknowledge,<br />
appreciate, absorb <strong>and</strong> put to use the new ideas generated in economic research.<br />
New trade <strong>and</strong> growth theory contains significant policy import for regions such<br />
as Punjab which strive for industrialization. Economic doctrine based on market<br />
structures <strong>and</strong> trade patterns show that economic activities grow in any region<br />
on the basis of comparative advantages; inherent, natural or acquired. The<br />
advantages are dynamic in character <strong>and</strong> shift across countries, sectors,<br />
industries <strong>and</strong> firms. The advantages, by interacting with economic<br />
environment, take the form of competitive advantages <strong>and</strong> ultimately that of<br />
growth drivers. The identification, adaptation, improvement, <strong>and</strong> building up of<br />
comparative advantage are factors of paramount importance in industrialization.<br />
The co-movement of new trade theory <strong>and</strong> endogenous growth theory has<br />
singled out human capital as the most important <strong>and</strong> crucial factor of<br />
production. It has been filtered out as the great transforming force with<br />
enormous benefits to individual, household, economy, society, <strong>and</strong> polity. The<br />
experience of East-Asian countries is the latest living testimony to the<br />
transforming power of human capital. Trade patterns of these countries changed<br />
beyond recognition. Traditional exports were replaced with upgraded high-tech<br />
exports. New trade theory puts forward an explanation for these high tech trade<br />
patterns to strong investment in human capital, R&D activities, product<br />
development, <strong>and</strong> innovations, etc. Economic success stories prove that a<br />
deficiency pertaining to any sort of factor-endowments in any region could be<br />
more than adequately compensated by generating human capital. The<br />
availability of quality human capital in any region attracts economic activities<br />
<strong>and</strong> hence concentration of production. The message comes clear from<br />
collective reading of theory of ‘geo-trade’, new trade models, high tech trade<br />
patterns <strong>and</strong> new growth formulations. The overall context of the state dem<strong>and</strong>s<br />
better governance with a central thrust towards formation <strong>and</strong> utilization of<br />
human capital. It is the only natural option available for the state towards the<br />
revitalization of the economy <strong>and</strong> by providing necessary dynamism, diversity<br />
<strong>and</strong> sophistication.<br />
Notes<br />
1. The period in specific was 1776 to 1933; see Soderston <strong>and</strong> Reed<br />
(1994).<br />
2. The new trade models incorporate: market imperfections, new<br />
industrial economics, new growth theory, <strong>and</strong> political economy<br />
arguments, see Deraniyagala <strong>and</strong> Fine (2001).<br />
3. For criticality of human capital in trade patterns, see Salvatore (2001).<br />
References<br />
Bajwa, A. K. (2009) Education Budget of Punjab: Its Composition, Spatial<br />
Distribution, <strong>and</strong> Equity Considerations, M.Phil Thesis, Department of<br />
Economics, Punjabi University, Patiala.
JPS: 16:1 118<br />
Brar, J. S. (2002) ‘Basic Education, Health Care <strong>and</strong> Economic Growth in<br />
Punjab: Achievements, Gaps <strong>and</strong> Imbalances’, Man <strong>and</strong> Development,<br />
Vol. 24 (1), pp 51-63.<br />
Chadha, G. K. (2004) ‘Human Capital Base of Labour Force: Identifying Worry<br />
Spots’, The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Vol. 47 (1), pp. 3-38.<br />
Deraniyagala, S. <strong>and</strong> B. Fine (2001) ‘New Trade Theory versus Old Trade<br />
Theory: A Continuing Enigma’, Cambridge Journal of Economics,<br />
Vol. 25, pp.809-825.<br />
Dhesi, A.S. (1977); ‘Theory of Comparative Costs <strong>and</strong> the Level of<br />
Development: Some Extensions’, The Indian Journal of Economics,<br />
Vol. 58(229), pp. 171-182.<br />
Dhesi, A.S. (1979) Human Capital Formation <strong>and</strong> Its Utilization, Sterling<br />
Publishers, Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi<br />
EPW (2003) ‘Current Statistics, Foreign Investment Approvals <strong>and</strong> Actuals: A<br />
Profile’, Economic <strong>and</strong> Political Weekly, Vol. 38(43), p. 4499.<br />
ES (2007-08) Economic Survey, Govt. of India, Oxford University Press, New<br />
Delhi<br />
Ghuman, R.S., Sukhwinder Singh <strong>and</strong> J.S. Brar (2009); Professional Education<br />
in Punjab: Exclusion of Rural Students, Publication Bureau, Punjabi<br />
University, Patiala<br />
Gill, S.S., Sukhwinder Singh <strong>and</strong> J.S. Brar (2007) <strong>Global</strong>ization <strong>and</strong> Indian<br />
State: A Study of Delivery of Education, Health, <strong>and</strong> Agricultural<br />
Extension Services, Project Report submitted to National Foundation<br />
for India, New Delhi<br />
Krugman, P (1979) ‘Increasing Returns, Monopolistic Competition, <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>International</strong> Trade’, Journal of <strong>International</strong> Economics, Vol. 9,<br />
pp.469-479<br />
Krugman, P. (2000) Geography <strong>and</strong> Trade, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA<br />
Salvatore, D. (2001) <strong>International</strong> Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Singapore<br />
Soderston BO <strong>and</strong> G.Reed (1994) <strong>International</strong> Economics, Macmillan, London
119<br />
<strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
<strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
Contents of Vol. 16 No. 1<br />
Ravinder Kaur, Since 1947. Partition Narratives among Punjabi Migrants of Delhi by<br />
Shalini Sharma<br />
Tahir Kamran, Democracy <strong>and</strong> Governance in Pakistan by Ilyas Chattha<br />
Yasmin Khan, The Great Partition: The Making of India <strong>and</strong> Pakistan by Ilyas<br />
Chattha<br />
Sheema Majeed (ed.), Coming Back Home: Selected Articles, Editorials, <strong>and</strong> Interviews<br />
of Faiz Ahmed Faiz by Christopher Shackle<br />
Baba Gurdit Singh, Voyage of Komagata Maru: Or India’s Slavery Abroad; Baba Gurdit<br />
Singh, Zulmi Katha; Report of the Komagatu Maru Committee of Inquiry <strong>and</strong> Some<br />
Further Documents <strong>and</strong> Darshan Singh Tatla with M<strong>and</strong>eep K Tatla, Sardar Gurdit<br />
Singh ‘Komagata Maru’: A Short Biography by Hugh Johnston<br />
Meeto (Kamaljit Bhasin-Malik), Introduction by Kumkum Sangari, In the Making:<br />
Identity Formation in South Asia by Pippa Virdee<br />
Nidar Singh Nihang <strong>and</strong> Parmjit Singh, In the Master’s Presence: The Sikhs of<br />
Hazoor Sahib volume 1: History by Louis E. Fenech<br />
M.Y. Effendi, Punjab Cavalry: Evolution, Role, Organisation <strong>and</strong> Tactical Doctrine, 11 th<br />
Cavalry (Frontier Force), by Brian Cloughley<br />
Michael H. Fisher, Shompa Lahiri <strong>and</strong> Shinder Th<strong>and</strong>i, A South-Asian History of Britain<br />
by Pippa Virdee<br />
Autar S. Dhesi <strong>and</strong> Gurmail Singh (eds), Rural Development in Punjab: A Success Story<br />
Going Astray by Ranjit S. Ghuman<br />
H. Malik <strong>and</strong> Y. V. Gankovsky (eds), The Encyclopaedia of Pakistan by Kaveri Harris<br />
Gautam Malkani, Londonstani by Bill Gent
121 <strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
Ravinder Kaur, Since 1947. Partition Narratives among Punjabi Migrants of<br />
Delhi, (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2007) vii + 277 pp. (hb) Rs.910. ISBN-<br />
13: 978-0-19-568377-6 <strong>and</strong> ISBN10:0195683773.<br />
Born of Punjabi parents who migrated from Lahore <strong>and</strong> Rawalpindi in 1947 <strong>and</strong><br />
then from Delhi in the 1960s, I have grown up hearing stories of how my family<br />
lived through Partition <strong>and</strong> built their future in the period that followed it. These<br />
are the types of stories that Ravinder Kaur sets out to elucidate in her book, Since<br />
1947. Her ethnographic investigation looks at the interaction between the Indian<br />
state <strong>and</strong> Punjabi refugees in Delhi until 1965, the year the Ministry of<br />
Rehabilitation was finally shut. The book sets out to question the master narrative<br />
of Partition. This master narrative is not, as might be expected, simply the official<br />
public memory constructed <strong>and</strong> reinforced by the state. Rather, it is the most<br />
popular <strong>and</strong> enduring narrative of Partition rehabilitation, a narrative which<br />
actually diminishes the agency of the state in the whole account. It is the story of<br />
the hardworking <strong>and</strong> enterprising Punjabis who arrived in Delhi, fresh from the<br />
trauma of Partition, <strong>and</strong> energetically set about transforming their uprooted <strong>and</strong><br />
dilapidated position to one of economic success. They seemingly lifted<br />
themselves out of homelessness <strong>and</strong> economic hardship through their shared<br />
Punjabi traits of strength <strong>and</strong> tenacity. There are many variations of this narrative<br />
including the equally popular disgust at the ‘Punjabification’ of Delhi aired amid<br />
the chattering classes of the capital, but as a narrative of the rehabilitation of<br />
refugees it is widely held <strong>and</strong> unquestioned.<br />
Kaur’s work challenges this narrative, using government records of the<br />
rehabilitation process <strong>and</strong> a number of unstructured interviews of people who<br />
experienced it first h<strong>and</strong>. In her view this methodology is vital to ensure that<br />
many of the blind spots within the master narrative, hitherto neglected by<br />
historians <strong>and</strong> social commentators alike, are exposed. She posits her challenge<br />
not only through the voices of groups marginal to the master narrative, such as<br />
widows inhabiting a widow’s colony in post-Partition Delhi <strong>and</strong> the hard-to-find<br />
life stories of dalit families who had travelled across the border <strong>and</strong> settled in the<br />
capital, but also from the experiences of high caste <strong>and</strong> elite refugees. Of the<br />
elites, she finds that they were not suddenly displaced but planned their move in<br />
advance. They were thus able to rescue their businesses, property <strong>and</strong> valuables<br />
<strong>and</strong> secure their new homes <strong>and</strong> livelihoods before the huge caravans of the<br />
displaced arrived in Delhi. Indeed many of this class travelled by air, an image<br />
that sits awkwardly with how Partition is remembered.<br />
Of those in the caravans, she further uncovers the uncomfortable fact that her<br />
correspondents rarely alluded to the fact that they received government help, in<br />
the form of l<strong>and</strong>, loans or job reservation even though they patently did. She also<br />
relates how many of her interviewees would not call themselves refugees unless<br />
the identity accrued some sort of economic benefit.<br />
Ravinder Kaur’s work opens up a number of questions that cry out to be
JPS 16.1 122<br />
explored. How was the new Indian state defining citizenship during these years?<br />
It became the owner of a number of evacuee properties <strong>and</strong> arbitrarily decided<br />
how <strong>and</strong> to whom these resources were allocated. What was the basis for these<br />
decisions? What was the social role of the state? Her investigation shows how<br />
refugee widows were housed in a separate colony, protected by barbed wire <strong>and</strong><br />
vigilant security, allowed no male visitors <strong>and</strong> encouraged to work <strong>and</strong> share<br />
their childcare. These deliberate measures illustrate the extent <strong>and</strong> reach of the<br />
new state. Her analysis draws parallels between the social role adopted by the<br />
state <strong>and</strong> Hindu norms which cast widows outside the pale of society. As<br />
traditional family structures could not provide refuge for their widows during<br />
Partition, the state stepped in, took over <strong>and</strong> maintained social norms. When it<br />
came to different caste groups, she describes how her initial attempts to extract<br />
information from dalit refugees ended in frustration. This, for her, testifies to the<br />
dominance of the master narrative maintained by dalits <strong>and</strong> Brahmins alike. As<br />
Kaur shows, this paucity of information in itself reveals a huge gap in any history<br />
of the post-Partition resettlement.<br />
Kaur goes on to describe the process though which these refugees became<br />
locals in Delhi, or how Delhi, for them, became home. She points to the<br />
differences between the experience of those who migrated to Karachi <strong>and</strong> those<br />
who ended up in Delhi in 1947. Sixty years after Partition, the Karachi settlers<br />
are still seen as outsiders <strong>and</strong> a separate political entity. However, in Kaur’s<br />
opinion, Punjabi refugees did not identify themselves as a separate political<br />
group of outsiders but actively got involved in local <strong>and</strong> national politics from<br />
early on, as member of Congress or the Jan Sangh alike. Their adoption of<br />
refugee identity was, according to Kaur, strategic, taken up when useful <strong>and</strong><br />
dropped when not.<br />
Because of the agency she gives the refugee, <strong>and</strong> her work to address the<br />
complicated role of the state, she delivers a nuanced account of Delhi <strong>and</strong> the<br />
experience of its inhabitants, old <strong>and</strong> new, in this period. The picture of the<br />
refugees that emerges is far removed from the familiar one of hapless victims<br />
who built their future through struggle <strong>and</strong> strife. That story was only partially<br />
true, crucially neglecting the experiences of many others, some of whom had<br />
benefited from the state, <strong>and</strong> others who had shown traits of ‘corruption,<br />
nepotism <strong>and</strong> irregularities’ (p.63), to achieve effective rehabilitation.<br />
This work, hopefully the first of many publications that challenge notions of<br />
how the refugees of West Punjab became citizens of India, how the new Indian<br />
state dealt with different groups <strong>and</strong> how certain narratives acquired dominance<br />
in the historiography of Partition, is vital. It has opened up a series of enquiries<br />
on the place of the Punjabi refugee in Delhi, crucial to any underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the<br />
recent history of North India.<br />
Shalini Sharma<br />
University of Keele
123 <strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
Tahir Kamran, Democracy <strong>and</strong> Governance in Pakistan (Lahore: South Asia<br />
Partnership Pakistan, 2008), 216 pp, no ISBN (hb) Rs 300.<br />
The sixtieth anniversary of Pakistan was an appropriate time to write a history of<br />
the state. Tahir Kamran has done a good job by writing Democracy <strong>and</strong><br />
Governance in Pakistan. The usual study of Pakistan always begins with a linear<br />
progression from the creation of Pakistan to the foundation of the Muslim<br />
League in 1906, or in many cases, to the separatist politics of Syed Ahmad Khan<br />
in the late nineteenth century that led to the dem<strong>and</strong> for a separate state for the<br />
majority Muslim areas of the Indian subcontinent. Democracy <strong>and</strong> Governance<br />
in Pakistan extends the focus into the post-independence period with a<br />
discussion of the ascendency of civil-military bureaucracy as a power-centre in<br />
the governance of Pakistan.<br />
Kamran has tried to address the important question of why democratic<br />
institutions could not flourish in Pakistan while they could do so in India. Prior<br />
to independence, areas of what is now Pakistan were the recruiting ground of the<br />
British army, <strong>and</strong> the l<strong>and</strong>ed gentry of Punjab was at the forefront supplying<br />
Punjabi soldiers for the world wars. So there was already a nexus between the<br />
military <strong>and</strong> the l<strong>and</strong>ed elite before the creation of Pakistan. This link not only<br />
continued in the post-1947 period but got strengthened after the assassination of<br />
Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951. Another interesting point raised by the<br />
author concerns the Muslim League leadership’s reluctance to go for the general<br />
elections. Most of the politicians of the party were from the United Provinces<br />
(UP) or those parts of the subcontinent that became part of India. The result was<br />
that after independence the central Muslim League leadership found itself totally<br />
deprived of its electoral base. Pakistan, unlike its neighbour India, did not hold<br />
its first general election, based on adult franchise, until nearly 25 years after the<br />
state had been created.<br />
The second chapter, which is entitled ‘The Era of Praetorianism 1958-71’,<br />
pays particular attention to the ‘centripetal forces’ that shaped this key period.<br />
This crucial chapter covers familiar ground with a discussion of the rise of civilmilitary<br />
bureaucracy as a power-centre which culminated in the Ayub coup in<br />
1958. In particular, Kamran argues, the people of Pakistan were ‘virtually sick<br />
<strong>and</strong> tired of the ineptness of the politicians…Therefore people heaved a sigh of<br />
relief when Martial law was enforced’ (p.63). The third chapter of the book, ‘The<br />
Era of Populism Zulfi Bhutto’, examines a range of the PPP Government’s<br />
polices <strong>and</strong> performances from 1971-1977. The author sees Zulfikar Bhutto’s<br />
period as authoritarian rule, similar to his military predecessors’. Bhutto ‘loathed<br />
dissent like any other autocrat of the third world countries’. Such a powerobsessed<br />
attitude, Kamran pinpoints, was ‘the main cause’ for Bhutto’s ‘exit<br />
from power <strong>and</strong> eventual tumbling out of this world in 1979’ (p.97). In the next<br />
fascinating chapter, entitled ‘Third Man on Horseback Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq’,<br />
the author argues how, after ‘popular unrest’, Zia took over the control of the<br />
country on 5 July 1977 in a military coup. Here, once again, the familiar forces
JPS 16.1 124<br />
of Praetorians re-surfaced with a bang that lasted for no less than eleven years. A<br />
recurrent theme throughout the book is the important role of the ‘establishment’<br />
in the political affairs of Pakistan.<br />
Although President Zia introduced the Islamization programme for selfperpetuation,<br />
in many ways his international st<strong>and</strong>ing greatly rose after the<br />
declaration of jihad against the Soviet Union invaders in Afghanistan in 1979.<br />
Chapter five of the book, ‘The Rule of Troika in the Name of Democracy 1988-<br />
1999’, discusses the main events <strong>and</strong> aspects of both Benazir Bhutto’s <strong>and</strong><br />
Nawaz Sharif’s successive governments. The final chapter, ‘The Bonapartism<br />
Re-Visited: Musharraf Ruling the Roots’, points to the salient features of the<br />
Musharraf regime from 1999-2007. Kamran argues the army ruler ‘was the<br />
kingpin in the system’ <strong>and</strong> legislative bodies were merely a ‘plaything in his<br />
authoritarian h<strong>and</strong>s’ (p.205). President Musharraf sided with the war on terror<br />
against the Taliban government in Afghanistan after ‘an ultimatum’ <strong>and</strong> ‘threats’<br />
from the US.<br />
Democracy <strong>and</strong> Governance in Pakistan is a significant contribution to the<br />
underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the political economy with its discussion of the complicated<br />
issues <strong>and</strong> relations of civil bureaucracy, the l<strong>and</strong>ed elite <strong>and</strong> the army. It gives<br />
brief biographies of the leading figures <strong>and</strong> then describes the main socioeconomic<br />
<strong>and</strong> political development which occurred in Pakistan from 1947-<br />
2007. The crux of Kamran’s work lies in his unreservedly adopted black <strong>and</strong><br />
white approach to Pakistan’s ruling elites. For a historian, it relies too heavily on<br />
secondary sources; however it does utilise an extensive range of sources <strong>and</strong><br />
shows that the author has a very good comm<strong>and</strong> of the existing literature on the<br />
subject. Kamran aptly builds upon the work of other scholars; the theme of the<br />
book is clear throughout <strong>and</strong> it is well-written, although the use of pretentious<br />
jargon is frequent. There are minor cavils; most unfortunately on page 184 where<br />
60 years of Pakistan’s history is rendered 53 years; instead Democracy <strong>and</strong><br />
Governance in Pakistan was published much more recently, in 2008.<br />
The book is a laudable piece of work on Pakistan’s post-independence<br />
developments <strong>and</strong> is sure to enlighten <strong>and</strong> entertain a general readership in<br />
Pakistan. One of the book’s strengths is indeed Kamran’s ability to converge<br />
Pakistan’s more recent volatile history with the predominance of the bureaucracy<br />
<strong>and</strong> the military in the governance of Pakistan. However, fresh sources could<br />
have been deployed to enhance the existing analysis. There is still no equivalent<br />
for Pakistan’s political history by Professor Ian Talbot, Pakistan: A Modern<br />
History (London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005) which still remains the concise but<br />
authoritative study on the subject. Nevertheless, Kamran’s book is a useful piece<br />
of work, which contains much valuable information <strong>and</strong> offers important<br />
observations about Pakistan’s post-independence politics which will be of<br />
interest to students of Pakistan studies <strong>and</strong> comparative politics.<br />
Ilyas Chattha<br />
University of Southampton
125 <strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
Yasmin Khan, The Great Partition: The Making of India <strong>and</strong> Pakistan, (New<br />
Haven <strong>and</strong> London: Yale University Press, 2007) xxv + 251 pp. ISBN:<br />
978030012078-3, £19.99.<br />
More than six decades after it happened, the Partition of India in August 1947<br />
into the sovereign states of India <strong>and</strong> Pakistan continues to fascinate historians.<br />
The division of territory was accompanied by an incredible displacement of<br />
people. For a long time the popular historiography of the Partition was<br />
dominated by accounts of the high level decision making in 1947, concentrating<br />
on why it happened <strong>and</strong> who was primarily responsible. Recently, the new<br />
interest in Partition has been more sensitive to the aftermath <strong>and</strong> the human<br />
dimension of the divide rather than the political history of the closing years of<br />
the colonial era. Published to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of Partition,<br />
The Great Partition provides an insightful analysis of the endgame of the empire<br />
between 1945 <strong>and</strong> 1947 <strong>and</strong> elucidates the horror witnessed by millions in 1947<br />
in the making of India <strong>and</strong> Pakistan. Drawing upon a range of oral sources,<br />
archival records <strong>and</strong> newspaper extracts, Yasmin Khan has painstakingly<br />
produced a valuable reappraisal of the great Partition, conflating the differential<br />
experience of individuals with the history of nations <strong>and</strong> their high politics.<br />
Khan begins by attempting to situate the shadow of World War Two in a<br />
larger political context before leading us into the story of Partition. She<br />
highlights there was nothing ‘inevitable’ or pre-planned about Partition <strong>and</strong><br />
nobody really imagined at the end of World War Two ‘half a million people or<br />
more’ were going to die. She draws attention to the ‘regional variations’ of<br />
events in 1947 <strong>and</strong> argues that ‘Each riot had its own causes <strong>and</strong> could be written<br />
about individually’. The violence in 1947 was not the logical outcome of<br />
previous conflict. She notes the differences between Muslims, Hindus <strong>and</strong> Sikhs<br />
<strong>and</strong> how they took ‘a very long jump from a sense of difference or lack of social<br />
cohesion, to mass slaughter <strong>and</strong> rape’. Khan has painstakingly attempted to focus<br />
on a broader canvas rather than judging the limit of Partition in the worstafflicted<br />
centres of Punjab <strong>and</strong> Bengal. In part it seems this is because she feels<br />
that, ‘Partition went far beyond the pinpointed zones of Punjab <strong>and</strong> Bengal <strong>and</strong><br />
caught up people in hundreds or thous<strong>and</strong>s of towns <strong>and</strong> villages in numerous<br />
ways’.<br />
Khan states that all the major players failed to foresee the far-reaching<br />
consequences linked with the Partition. She notes that the 3 June Partition Plan<br />
exacerbated the uncertainty <strong>and</strong> at the end went ‘catastrophically wrong’.<br />
Furthermore, she condemns how the British policy-makers executed the Partition<br />
Plan in a ‘shoddy’ manner <strong>and</strong> shifted the responsibility for dousing disturbances<br />
to the nascent dominions. The belief in dividing intensified the communal split<br />
<strong>and</strong> accelerated the preparation for war. Just as territory was being partitioned<br />
along religious lines, so too were troops, policemen, railwaymen <strong>and</strong><br />
communities. The Partition-related violence was different from earlier episodes
JPS 16.1 126<br />
in both intensity <strong>and</strong> causes. As Khan writes, ‘By August all the ingredients were<br />
in place for ethnic cleansing in Punjab’. The violence was politically rather than<br />
culturally <strong>and</strong> religiously rooted. There was a host of culpable people involved,<br />
ranging from the fundamentalists on both sides, to unscrupulous politicians,<br />
officials, soldiers <strong>and</strong> policemen. The violence was designed to eliminate <strong>and</strong><br />
drive out the opposing ethnic group while forging a new moral community. She<br />
equally blames Hindus, Muslims <strong>and</strong> Sikhs for the 1947 ‘ethnic cleansing in<br />
Punjab’ <strong>and</strong> highlights that the committed nationalists became the principal<br />
perpetrators.<br />
The Great Partition also provides an incisive analysis of the differing<br />
experiences of elite <strong>and</strong> subaltern classes that were entangled in Partition’s<br />
miseries. The tragic aspects of individual refugee experience were linked with<br />
the great national cause <strong>and</strong> presented with single-dimensional rendering of the<br />
past. In the Indian case, the suffering of refugees was viewed as a ‘manifestation<br />
of Partition’s callousness’, which was conflated with the creation of Pakistan,<br />
whereas in the Pakistani case, the refugees were represented as ‘sacrificial<br />
martyrs’ to the cost of Pakistan’s freedom.<br />
Khan takes the 1947 Partition as a ‘living history’ rather than a historical<br />
event located in the past. Its repercussions continue to resound today. It crops up<br />
repeatedly in a torrent of published memories, cinematic <strong>and</strong> fictional accounts.<br />
It is preserved inside family homes by women <strong>and</strong> men, many of whom live<br />
alongside memories of terrible trauma, which are retold <strong>and</strong> passed on to<br />
descendants. Such memories <strong>and</strong> histories of Partition continue to reinforce <strong>and</strong><br />
have a direct bearing on how each neighbour perceives the other. Khan asserts<br />
that, ‘In the end Partition solved nothing’. She sees August 1947 as too early a<br />
cut off date to underst<strong>and</strong> the importance <strong>and</strong> impact of Partition. ‘Partition is<br />
both ever-present in South Asia’s public, political realm <strong>and</strong> continually evaded’,<br />
as she maintains. In particular, the war of 1971 <strong>and</strong> the secession of Bangladesh<br />
from Pakistan exacerbated the human crisis producing a refugee population of<br />
around six million. Khan asserts, ‘Violence must sit at the core of any history of<br />
Partition’ <strong>and</strong> concludes with a ‘loud reminder’ that Partition is a lasting lesson<br />
of both the dangers of imperial hubris <strong>and</strong> the reactions of extreme nationalism.<br />
The Great Partition is an important contribution to available studies<br />
concerning the 1947 Partition of India <strong>and</strong> its legacy. The volume will interest<br />
researchers <strong>and</strong> scholars in history, sociology <strong>and</strong> politics. The interested lay<br />
reader too will find it engaging. Khan should be praised lavishly for producing<br />
this thorough <strong>and</strong> accomplished volume of scholarship. However, she should<br />
also be mildly censured for the book’s analytical slimness in comparison to<br />
recent studies of Partition <strong>and</strong> its aftermath that highlight the more localised<br />
differential patterns of violence <strong>and</strong> the lived experience of migrants, integrating<br />
‘history from beneath’ with the broader national historical narrative.<br />
Ilyas Chattha<br />
Southampton University
127 <strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
Sheema Majeed (ed.), Coming Back Home: Selected Articles, Editorials, <strong>and</strong><br />
Interviews of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008) xi +<br />
156 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-574380-3 (hb) Rs. 295.<br />
Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-84) was unquestionably the greatest poet to have been<br />
born in the Punjab in the twentieth century. In both its intrinsic quality <strong>and</strong> its<br />
continuing huge reputation, his Urdu poetry far surpasses the work of all the<br />
other poets from the region who were writing at the time, whatever the language<br />
in which they chose to express themselves. English readers have recently been<br />
given the chance to get a good idea of Faiz’s poetry through the generous<br />
bilingual anthology edited by Khalid Hasan as O City of Lights, published by<br />
OUP Karachi in 2006.<br />
Exceptional interest is also added to this poetic achievement by the<br />
remarkable circumstances of his life: the early attachment to the ideals of the<br />
Progressive Writers’ Association, the war service in the British Indian army in<br />
which he rose to become Lieutenant-Colonel, the romantic marriage to an<br />
Englishwoman, the outspokenly left-wing editorship of The Pakistan Times in<br />
the early years of Pakistan, the arrest <strong>and</strong> imprisonment for alleged involvement<br />
in the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case in the 1950s, the award of the Lenin Peace<br />
Prize in 1962, the role as cultural adviser to the Bhutto government in the 1970s,<br />
then the self-exile in Beirut following Zia ul Haq’s coup before his final ‘coming<br />
back home’ to Pakistan <strong>and</strong> his death in Lahore.<br />
Sheema Majeed’s anthology assembles a variety of documents which<br />
illustrate different aspects of this life under four headings. The first part consists<br />
of twenty-one of Faiz’s editorials written in English. Mostly from The Pakistan<br />
Times, these are sometimes very dated but they do convey the passion of Faiz’s<br />
earlier years. Then there are five interviews from different later periods of his<br />
life, in which admirers record the views of the great poet, whose persona is by<br />
now well established. The third part consists of two longer memoirs by two<br />
writers who knew Faiz well, Khalid Hasan <strong>and</strong> I. A. Rehman. In both these parts<br />
of the book there is some overlap with the pieces included in Khalid Hasan’s O<br />
City of Lights. The most moving piece in the book is saved until the end. This is<br />
an interview with Faiz’s widow Alys first published in 1991. Entitled ‘You can’t<br />
behave like an Englishwoman when you’re married to Faiz’, this provides the<br />
most vivid <strong>and</strong> memorable picture of its subject, informed by a great affection<br />
<strong>and</strong> a remarkable honesty.<br />
Since the general outlines of Faiz’s life are familiar to most of the numerous<br />
aficionados of his poetry, they should find much to interest them here, although<br />
those with less prior background may sometimes be misled by the lack of much<br />
editorial guidance. Brief notes could have helped remind many readers of just<br />
which now obscure Pakistani political figure of around 1950 was being written<br />
about; the provenance of some of the pieces is not always very clearly indicated,<br />
<strong>and</strong> the dates of publication which are given are sometimes quite obviously<br />
impossible from the internal evidence of the piece itself. All in all, though, this is
JPS 16.1 128<br />
an interesting addition to the growing literature in English on Faiz, which we<br />
must hope will before too long include the full-length critical study which he so<br />
richly deserves.<br />
Christopher Shackle<br />
University of London<br />
Baba Gurdit Singh, Voyage of Komagata Maru: Or India’s Slavery Abroad,<br />
edited <strong>and</strong> introduced by Darshan Singh Tatla (Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh: Unistar <strong>Book</strong>s.,<br />
2007), 241 pp. ISBN 81-89899-33-3 (hb) Rs 475.<br />
Baba Gurdit Singh, Zulmi Katha, edited <strong>and</strong> introduced by Darshan Singh Tatla<br />
(Published in Gurmukhi, Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh: Unistar <strong>Book</strong>s, 2007), ix + 241 pp. ISBN<br />
81-8989-35-X (hb) Rs 200.<br />
Report of the Komagatu Maru Committee of Inquiry <strong>and</strong> Some Further<br />
Documents’, edited <strong>and</strong> introduced by Darshan Singh Tatla (Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh: Unistar<br />
<strong>Book</strong>s, 2007), vii + 198 pp. ISBN 81-890899-34-1 (hb) Rs.395.<br />
Darshan Singh Tatla with M<strong>and</strong>eep K Tatla, Sardar Gurdit Singh ‘Komagata<br />
Maru’: A Short Biography (Ch<strong>and</strong>igarh: Unistar <strong>Book</strong>s, 2007), 52 pp. ISBN 81-<br />
89899-36-8 (pb) Rs. 75.<br />
We have here three volumes of a reprint series on the Punjabi Diaspora <strong>and</strong> a<br />
booklet in a biographical series on overseas Punjabis, produced by Darshan<br />
Singh Tatla. The subject is the Komagata Maru, a 90-year-old incident that still<br />
resonates among Punjabis at home <strong>and</strong> abroad. In the past year, following<br />
campaigning by Punjabi-Canadians, the British Columbia provincial legislature<br />
<strong>and</strong> the Canadian Prime Minister apologized to the descendents of the 376<br />
passengers of the Komagata Maru for the treatment they received in the port of<br />
Vancouver in 1914. The incident has not been forgotten because it is a symbol<br />
of the racism of past Canadian policy, <strong>and</strong> of the massive inequities of the British<br />
imperial system. It properly has a place in the history of the freedom movement<br />
in India <strong>and</strong> the struggle of emigrants from India for respect <strong>and</strong> equality abroad.<br />
It is a story that ended bitterly at Budge Budge in Bengal with the deaths of<br />
twenty passengers in an encounter with police <strong>and</strong> troops, <strong>and</strong> with the arrest <strong>and</strong><br />
detention of most of the others. What we know has come down to us from<br />
opposing sides, officials <strong>and</strong> emigrants, without an objective neutral view. That<br />
presents a challenge in explaining what happened. The best answer, as Darshan<br />
Singh advocates, is to dig as deeply as possible into the surviving record <strong>and</strong> to<br />
subject everything uncovered to close scrutiny.<br />
Two of the reprints, one in English <strong>and</strong> one in Punjabi, are by the man who<br />
led the adventure of the Komagata Maru, Baba Gurdit Singh. He was an
129 <strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
individual of great experience, growing up in rural Punjab <strong>and</strong> living much of his<br />
life as an emigrant in Malaya <strong>and</strong> Singapore, making a lot of money in a variety<br />
of commercial ventures. His business activity gave him familiarity with civil<br />
courts in a British colonial setting, which explains his readiness to challenge<br />
Canadian law even though he had never before been in North America.<br />
Moreover, his prominence as a community leader put him on easy speaking<br />
terms with British officials in Singapore <strong>and</strong> Malaya <strong>and</strong> made him confident<br />
about representing his countrymen in a British dominion like Canada. As a<br />
leader in the small Sikh community in Singapore <strong>and</strong> Malaya, he had met many<br />
emigrant Sikhs passing through, <strong>and</strong> he heard from them what they faced in<br />
trying to enter North America or Australia. He was also close to the Punjab<br />
scene because he regularly went home to the Amritsar district <strong>and</strong> he had spent<br />
several years there immediately prior to the Komagata Maru.<br />
He was drawn into the Komagata Maru venture by would-be emigrants at the<br />
Hong Kong gurdwara when he was there to prosecute a legal case against a<br />
business partner. He had the business experience <strong>and</strong> the prestige among his<br />
countrymen to put together a major venture like this. He never presented himself<br />
as an emigrant, but as a businessman developing a passenger trade between Asia<br />
<strong>and</strong> the Americas. Once in Canada, he argued for special treatment for himself<br />
because he was a merchant, not an immigrant. In conversation with the Hong<br />
Kong Colonial Secretary before his departure, he disclaimed any political<br />
motives. That did not stop officials in India from making an extremely negative<br />
assessment—that he knew from the beginning that the passengers would not be<br />
allowed to l<strong>and</strong> in Canada, yet still sought to make money out of them, while<br />
posing among them as a revolutionary leader.<br />
In his publications, Gurdit Singh answered the charges against him set out in<br />
the Report of the Komagata Maru Committee of Inquiry, a document produced<br />
under the auspices of the British regime in India. Because he refers to it often,<br />
the Report is a logical companion to Gurdit Singh’s books. It is also a very<br />
different document:—one completed three months after the return of the<br />
Komagata Maru by officials who had examined 201 witnesses in Calcutta,<br />
Budge Budge <strong>and</strong> Punjab <strong>and</strong> assembled 1,000 pages of evidence, none of which<br />
was made public. The Report summarizes the whole epic story, but devotes most<br />
of its attention to what had happened at Budge Budge. It is severely critical of<br />
Gurdit Singh <strong>and</strong> generally exonerates police <strong>and</strong> officials in Canada <strong>and</strong> India.<br />
Gurdit Singh assembled his rebuttal with difficulty <strong>and</strong> after a lot of time. He<br />
had been keeping a record on the ship, but lost his papers at Budge Budge where<br />
they fell into the h<strong>and</strong>s of the police. For the next seven years he was<br />
underground, but before he eventually surrendered to police, he published a<br />
serialized account in Punjabi papers which became Zulmi Katha. Seven years<br />
later, having spent five of those years in prison, he privately published an<br />
account in English. For this he had three main sources: his own Zulmi Katha, <strong>and</strong><br />
the official Report of the Komagata Maru Committee of Inquiry, <strong>and</strong> the<br />
correspondence of his legal representative in Vancouver during the summer of
JPS 16.1 130<br />
1914. His book contains a vigorous personal narrative from the moment the ship<br />
arrives at Budge Budge, but a much looser history, told mostly through the<br />
correspondence of the Vancouver lawyers, for much of what happened earlier.<br />
One wonders what the book would have looked like if Gurdit Singh had not been<br />
deprived of what he had written during the voyage.<br />
Each reprint begins with an introductory essay by Darshan Singh. These<br />
essays contain duplicate material, but also explore separate themes. Together<br />
they offer an informed, thoughtful <strong>and</strong> balanced account. Darshan Singh is<br />
generally sympathetic to Gurdit Singh but also able to look at the affair<br />
objectively. He has interesting things to say about differences between Zulmi<br />
Katha <strong>and</strong> Voyage of Komagata Maru—finding Gurdit Singh more effective<br />
telling his story in Punjabi than in English, in which his idiom, rhetoric <strong>and</strong> style<br />
can let him down. Darshan Singh says that even when Gurdit Singh makes<br />
“outl<strong>and</strong>ish arguments” they seem more cogent in Punjabi than in English. In<br />
other words, he fairly warns us that some of what Gurdit Singh says is not<br />
convincing.<br />
The editing needs comment. It has been minimal <strong>and</strong> limited to cleaning up<br />
<strong>and</strong> slightly clarifying the text; <strong>and</strong> the result is that these editions are easier to<br />
read than the originals. Given Gurdit Singh’s limitations in English <strong>and</strong> his<br />
problems with printers, his text in English was full of errors. Darshan Singh <strong>and</strong><br />
his editorial assistants have generally made the changes that one would expect of<br />
a good copy editor. But they have missed some of Gurdit Singh’s mistakes, <strong>and</strong><br />
they have inadvertently added a few of their own. And, in seeking to clarify the<br />
text, they have added headings that in at least a couple of cases accidentally<br />
reverse the authorship <strong>and</strong> destination of a letter, or give a problematic<br />
identification. None of the changes or additions are highlighted so they are<br />
impossible to catch except by comparison with the original.<br />
The same is true with other documents in these volumes, including an<br />
incidental file of Canadian immigration correspondence, the judgments of five<br />
justices of the British Columbia Court of Appeal in the Komagata Maru case,<br />
<strong>and</strong> an earlier, unrelated judgment in the British Columbia Supreme Court. There<br />
are slips in the transcription of these documents, which is underst<strong>and</strong>able<br />
because the versions that Darshan Singh obtained from the City Archives in<br />
Vancouver are carbon copies that have thickened impressions that can be hard to<br />
read. Darshan Singh does not identify the archival homes of his documents,<br />
although that would help those who want to see the originals. Also, these<br />
documents would be more useful with explanation <strong>and</strong> analysis. In one of his<br />
introductory essays, Darshan Singh discusses the lawfulness of Gurdit Singh’s<br />
venture. But he makes no comment about what the BC Court of Appeal justices<br />
actually say, although he has reproduced their judgments <strong>and</strong> they run to 38<br />
printed pages <strong>and</strong> that is a lot to assimilate without some guidance.<br />
Darshan Singh includes a guide to sources on the Komagata Maru, <strong>and</strong> a<br />
bibliography of published <strong>and</strong> unpublished sources that researchers will<br />
appreciate. His notable omission is Record Group 76, the Canadian immigration
131 <strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
department files, in the National Archives of Canada, the most important source<br />
on the Canadian side. He might also have mentioned the India Office<br />
Confidential Files in the British Library, <strong>and</strong> the Canada Series in the Colonial<br />
Office Files in the Public Record Office, London. In these collections one finds<br />
much information collected by police <strong>and</strong> immigration agents, as well as the<br />
official reports, directives <strong>and</strong> daily communications related to the Komagata<br />
Maru, all valuable for explaining this still relevant story.<br />
The booklet, Sardar Gurdit Singh ‘Komagata Maru’ is a rearrangement,<br />
recombination <strong>and</strong> expansion of material from the introductions to the reprint<br />
volumes. It is based in information from secondary works <strong>and</strong> from Gurdit<br />
Singh’s own writing <strong>and</strong> provides a useful sketch that covers more ground than<br />
Jaswant Singh Jas’s entry in The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, although without as<br />
much authority. There are slips that a pre-publication reviewer might have<br />
caught, like a reference to the works of Fred Taylor, a famous ice-hockey player<br />
<strong>and</strong> a Canadian immigration agent but not an author; or an explanation of the<br />
Canadian legal issues that describes executive orders (orders-in-council) as an<br />
Act of Parliament <strong>and</strong> thereby confuses the essence of the case. But the booklet<br />
pulls a lot together <strong>and</strong> will be valued by anyone looking for a starting place in<br />
underst<strong>and</strong>ing what the Komagata Maru meant to its passengers <strong>and</strong> to all who<br />
witnessed what happened to them, including those who supported them as friends<br />
or met them as adversaries.<br />
Hugh Johnston<br />
Simon Fraser University<br />
Meeto (Kamaljit Bhasin-Malik), Introduction by Kumkum Sangari, In the<br />
Making: Identity Formation in South Asia (Haryana: Three Essays Collective,<br />
2007), 137 pp. ISBN: 8188789496 (hb) US$18.<br />
The aptly named In the Making is a posthumously published piece of work. It<br />
was part of Meeto’s doctoral research at Balliol College, in which she sought to<br />
examine identity formation in an increasingly complex society. The book begins<br />
with an introduction by Kumkum Sangari, described as ‘one of Meeto’s many<br />
masis’, <strong>and</strong> reflects upon the journey that Meeto started in which she attempted<br />
to examine the blurred boundaries <strong>and</strong> composite identities that have shaped<br />
people <strong>and</strong> communities in South Asia. The book represents that uncompleted<br />
journey which was tragically cut short with Meeto’s death in 2006.<br />
The essays presented here are an attempt to challenge historical fixations with<br />
incidents <strong>and</strong> processes of conflict, conquest, iconoclasm <strong>and</strong> instead Meeto has<br />
attempted to examine the co-existence <strong>and</strong> peaceful interactions at the grassroots<br />
which have also contributed to identity formation in South Asia. Case studies<br />
from colonial Punjab, Celyon, <strong>and</strong> the Ahmadi community all provide ample<br />
material for analysis. Meeto’s examination of the composite culture in colonial<br />
Punjab <strong>and</strong> the census material represents work in its more advanced stages,
JPS 16.1 132<br />
while work on the Ahmadi community was work in progress. The book begins<br />
with a historiography of Hindu-Muslim relationship in the subcontinent.<br />
Historians <strong>and</strong> political scientists have provided various theories, seeking to<br />
explain the communal problem in India. However, the preoccupation with<br />
conflict led Meeto to examine the other side, ‘It seems as if coexistence <strong>and</strong><br />
peaceful interactions make poor historical record, but it is crucial that they<br />
become part of the historical record, if one is to have a holistic picture of the<br />
past’ (p. 13).<br />
The chapters on Punjab detail the preoccupation of the colonial power with<br />
the classification of people <strong>and</strong> thereby embedding notions of fixed identities.<br />
Meeto has attempted to highlight the fluidity of identity in colonial Punjab, for<br />
example the worship of Sufi pirs or cultural festivals such as Holi <strong>and</strong> Baisakhi<br />
(pp. 27-30). Colonial Punjab was replete with shrines that were shared by<br />
communities <strong>and</strong> contributed to the syncretic nature of the people. An<br />
examination of the census data collected by the colonial power highlight the<br />
fluidity with which identities functioned; the response to the census is pragmatic<br />
<strong>and</strong> functional <strong>and</strong> is often malleable according to the required needs of the time.<br />
However, this process of documenting people <strong>and</strong> their religious identity<br />
increasingly gives rise to notions of fixed religious identities <strong>and</strong> politicising<br />
communal identities. The census reports on the Punjab were gathered in the late<br />
nineteenth century <strong>and</strong> the reports were written by people like Ibbetson,<br />
Maclagan <strong>and</strong> Rose. They were rich in ethnographic material <strong>and</strong> provide not<br />
only glimpses into colonial Punjabi but also into the colonial mind. The<br />
methodology used in gathering this information was designed to fulfil the<br />
colonial agenda <strong>and</strong> therefore the reliability of the data has to be questioned. The<br />
census data collected failed to capture <strong>and</strong> reflect the complexity of shared<br />
sacred space <strong>and</strong> the nuances that made up Punjabi society. Instead communal<br />
<strong>and</strong> caste competition intensified, motivated by material concerns <strong>and</strong> colonial<br />
patronage.<br />
The census in colonial Ceylon, like the Punjab, also reveals the problems <strong>and</strong><br />
challenges of making convenient labels fit ambiguous identities, ‘but the Census<br />
could not accommodate the mixed <strong>and</strong> hybrid nature of these communities <strong>and</strong><br />
they were therefore pushed into either the ‘Sinhalese’ or the ‘Tamil’ column in<br />
the table on race.’ (p. 90) Indeed the Census, which was introduced by the<br />
colonial power, was often responsible for more than just counting numbers. The<br />
root of contemporary conflicts such as the separatist dem<strong>and</strong>s of the Tamils <strong>and</strong><br />
the creation of the ‘Indian Muslim’ has its origins in the late nineteenth <strong>and</strong> early<br />
twentieth century. The 1911 Census in Ceylon for example, ‘made a distinction<br />
between Ceylon Tamils <strong>and</strong> Indian Tamils. This had important political<br />
implications, because suddenly the Tamils who had seen themselves as a<br />
dominant community felt they were reduced to a minority.’ (pp. 82-83) The<br />
census thus had the impact of cementing these otherwise amorphous identities.<br />
In the Making is an unfinished piece of research, marking a tragic loss to the<br />
academic community because it represented so much promise. Due to its
133 <strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
incomplete form, it only provides glimpses into what would otherwise have been<br />
a challenging <strong>and</strong> provocative piece of work. Meeto wanted to examine those<br />
communities that did not fit the easy labels of ‘Hindu’ <strong>and</strong> ‘Muslim’, she wanted<br />
to explore the communities that occupied the blurry <strong>and</strong> grey spaces in between<br />
those convenient labels. Meeto attempted to provide a historical analysis of<br />
themes that are relevant today <strong>and</strong> would greatly benefit from some historical<br />
contextualisation. In multicultural societies, plural <strong>and</strong> fluid personal identities<br />
are increasingly under threat from essentialised <strong>and</strong> politicised identities.<br />
However, Meeto’s ambition was to learn from these syncretic communities <strong>and</strong><br />
underst<strong>and</strong> how they coexisted in sacred communal spaces.<br />
Pippa Virdee<br />
De Montfort University<br />
Nidar Singh Nihang <strong>and</strong> Parmjit Singh, In the Master’s Presence: The Sikhs of<br />
Hazoor Sahib volume 1: History (London: Kashi House, 2008), xiv + 330 pp.<br />
ISBN 978-0-9560168-0-5 (hb) £30.00.<br />
In 1984 Khushwant Singh <strong>and</strong> Raghu Rai published their oversized picture book,<br />
The Sikhs (Calcutta: Rupa <strong>and</strong> Company, 1984). Since the majority of images<br />
here presented were of Nihang Sikhs, amongst the most colourful of those<br />
practitioners of gurmat (i.e. Sikhism), this book portrayed a rather skewed view<br />
of the Sikh world in which Nihangs comprise a miniscule percentage. Since that<br />
time we have seen the appearance of a number of similar coffee-table books<br />
attempting to capture Sikh images worldwide interspersed with narratives drawn<br />
flawlessly from a Sikh tradition st<strong>and</strong>ardised by the Sikh ‘reform’ movement, the<br />
Singh Sabha-Tat Khalsa in the late nineteenth <strong>and</strong> early twentieth centuries.<br />
Patwant Singh’s The Golden Temple (New Delhi: Times <strong>Book</strong> <strong>International</strong>,<br />
1988) springs to mind as does his Gurdwaras, in India <strong>and</strong> Around the World<br />
(New Delhi: Himalayan <strong>Book</strong>s, 1992) to name but two: pleasant to view, but not<br />
particularly academic or informative to students of Sikh history <strong>and</strong> tradition.<br />
When I initially saw the first volume of Nidar Singh Nihang <strong>and</strong> Parmjit Singh’s<br />
In the Master’s Presence: The Sikhs of Hazoor Sahib last November newly<br />
displayed in Bazaar Mai Seva in Amritsar, my first impression was to pass it by<br />
as merely another in a growing number of extra-large <strong>and</strong> often overpriced<br />
picture books showcasing the ‘colourful Sikhs.’<br />
Luckily I ignored the inclination <strong>and</strong> discovered to my utter delight that this<br />
is no mere addition to the coffee-table genre but is rather a very serious book,<br />
tirelessly researched, <strong>and</strong> broaching a subject long neglected in Sikh historical<br />
studies: the history of Hazūr Sāhib (literally, ‘The Master’s Presence’), one of<br />
the five famed takhts or ‘thrones’ of the Sikhs. These takhts, each manned by a<br />
jathedār <strong>and</strong> his entourage, are built around spots considered sacred in Sikh<br />
tradition. Generally understood to represent the Sikh concern with the
JPS 16.1 134<br />
secular/temporal world <strong>and</strong> thus interpreted to architecturally manifest the<br />
concern of the Sikh Gurus with revering <strong>and</strong> respecting the universe as a creation<br />
of Akal Purakh (God) rather than rejecting it as māiā or the cosmic delusion so<br />
often the subject of classical Hindu philosophers, takhts were <strong>and</strong> continue to be<br />
the centres at which Sikhs traditionally gather to make important collective<br />
decisions regarding the Sikh people <strong>and</strong> their religious tradition in the modern<br />
world.<br />
The academic neglect of so important a site, believed to mark the very spot<br />
where the tenth Guru achieved his joti jot samaunā (death) may stem from the<br />
fact that the town in which it is situated, N<strong>and</strong>er, is in southern Indian <strong>and</strong> thus<br />
quite some distance from the traditional haunts of Sikh <strong>and</strong> Diaspora Sikh<br />
<strong>Studies</strong>, the Punjab <strong>and</strong> its surrounding areas. As we have noted in monographs<br />
such as Kristina Myrvold’s delightful Inside the Guru’s Gate: Ritual Uses of<br />
Texts Among the Sikhs of Varanasi (Lund, Sweden: Department of History <strong>and</strong><br />
Anthropology of Religions, 2007) <strong>and</strong> Himadri Bannerjee’s equally agreeable<br />
The Other Sikhs: A View from Eastern India (New Delhi: Manohar, 2003),<br />
distance from the Punjab heartl<strong>and</strong> usually implies that the Sikhisms practiced in<br />
these outlying regions differ markedly from the more normative variety observed<br />
within the l<strong>and</strong> of the five rivers. This situates In the Master’s Presence clearly<br />
within this genre of academic literature as well, a fact which seems to have<br />
precipitated the cold reception given it by certain segments of the Sikh<br />
community in London (a response captured on YouTube 1 ) during the early<br />
February book launch gala.<br />
Including a preface <strong>and</strong> introduction this book, the first of two volumes, is<br />
divided into thirteen beautifully illustrated chapters, all copiously documented.<br />
These illustrations are indeed impressive, many appearing in print for the first<br />
time. Equally striking is the historical narrative that binds them all together. In<br />
the process of presenting us with the history of Hazur Sahib <strong>and</strong> its Sikh<br />
community from the time of Guru Gobind Singh to the present day the authors<br />
skillfully reveal aspects of the Sikh past <strong>and</strong> Sikh tradition, of ‘Sikhness,’ that<br />
was at one time hidden away from the scholarly world as the many wonderful<br />
illustrations which permeate the book. Indeed, although the Preface <strong>and</strong><br />
Introduction do draw heavily upon Sikh tradition, this book is no mere retelling<br />
of the dominant Sikh narrative as we here find expressions of Sikhness which go<br />
well beyond the Tat Khalsa-inspired texts which populate Sikh bookshelves<br />
today: a multitextured retelling of Sikh history populated with a cast of multiple<br />
identities, contemporary images of which are included, all of which were<br />
understood to be Sikh during the time of Guru Gobind Singh <strong>and</strong> a century<br />
afterwards. This dynamic Sikh diversity within an inclusivist Sikh history (that<br />
is nevertheless drawn from both traditional materials such as Santokh Singh’s<br />
Sūraj Prakāś, Ratan Singh Bhangu’s Srī Gur-panth Prakāś, <strong>and</strong> Gian Singh’s<br />
Tavārīkh Gurū Khālsā as well as the testimony of present-day Hazuri Sikhs) is<br />
often noted by the numerous hyphenated Sikh terms which regularly appear<br />
throughout, so many that at times it is somewhat difficult to keep track: we have
135 <strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
Akali Sikhs, Akali-Nihang Sikhs, Nihang Sikhs, Bhujangi Nihangs, Sewapanthis,<br />
Udasis, Gulabdasias, <strong>and</strong> amongst still others Hazuri Sikhs; at one point,<br />
moreover, we find the term ‘Hindu Sikh martyrs’ (p. 10, n. 2). All of these<br />
hyphenated identities are reminiscent of the categorisation discovered within the<br />
early British census of the Punjab. Particularly insightful are the descriptions of<br />
the diversity within the tenth Guru’s Khalsa (pp. 15-42), a topic often explored in<br />
the work of J.S. Grewal. Both authors make clear that the Khalsa as understood<br />
by Guru Gobind Singh included more than just Sikhs who chose to don what<br />
would gradually evolve into the symbols of corporate Khalsa Sikh identity, the<br />
Five Ks. This was a diverse Khalsa, with shorn Sikh men, which reflected the<br />
type of Khalsa Sikhness about which we read in the eighteenth-century rahitnama<br />
literature as well as within the Prem Sumārg recently translated into<br />
English by Hew McLeod, a Khalsa in which the veneration of weapons <strong>and</strong> the<br />
goddess Ch<strong>and</strong>i are literally at centre stage (see illustration on p. 123); <strong>and</strong> a<br />
Khalsa which, moreover, acknowledged as Guru not only the Adi Granth but<br />
both the Dasam Granth <strong>and</strong> the little-known Sarab-loh Granth (The All-Steel<br />
<strong>Book</strong>) attributed to the tenth Master.<br />
This beautifully diverse composition of the Sikh Panth whose symbolic<br />
universe included many texts today deemed Hindu (see p. 198 for example) is<br />
very much brought out in the figure of the virtually unknown Ch<strong>and</strong>u Lal, the<br />
principal force behind at least five of the book’s thirteen chapters. As the most<br />
able administrator in the employ of the Nawab of Hyderabad, Ch<strong>and</strong>u Lal<br />
wielded tremendous authority within the Nawab’s domain. As a sahaj-dhārī or<br />
Nānak-panthī Sikh, who was a murīd or disciple of the Udasi Sikh Baba<br />
Priyatam Das (an image of whom appears in the painting on page 76), Ch<strong>and</strong>u<br />
Lal was able to shower his favour upon the small shrine at N<strong>and</strong>er, ultimately<br />
setting in motion its transformation into the ornate complex noted in nineteenthcentury<br />
accounts. He was also in a position to favour the small group of Sikhs<br />
descended from those Punjabis who either travelled to the Deccan with Guru<br />
Gobind Singh or gradually made their way to N<strong>and</strong>er during the eighteenth<br />
century. These Sikhs ultimately formed Ch<strong>and</strong>u Lal’s bodyguard which was<br />
transmogrified under the British into the Jawan Sikh Force (pp. 248-9). Many of<br />
these Sikhs also arrived in the early eighteenth century, sent to N<strong>and</strong>er by<br />
Maharaja Ranjit Singh who both sought the advice of Ch<strong>and</strong>u Lal in his dealings<br />
with the Farangis <strong>and</strong> also patronised the shrine at N<strong>and</strong>er. The exchange<br />
presented here between these two men is, as far as I know, its first ever<br />
appearance <strong>and</strong> sheds light on certain aspects of the maharaja’s backdoor<br />
dealings with the British, challenging long-held interpretations of Ranjit Singh’s<br />
attitude towards both the British <strong>and</strong> the Nihangs, long considered the<br />
maharaja’s best troops.<br />
The episodes with the Lion of the Punjab seem to suggest that it was<br />
inevitable that the concerns of Punjabi Sikhs would eventually reach far-off<br />
N<strong>and</strong>er. As we see today, Punjabi Sikhs steeped in the values of the normative<br />
Singh Sabha-Tat Khalsa underst<strong>and</strong>ing of Sikhism have often presented strong
JPS 16.1 136<br />
critiques of certain practices at N<strong>and</strong>er, particularly rituals involving staining<br />
sacred weapons with blood (usually the blood of goats). Such critiques of<br />
prevailing customs always seems disingenuous <strong>and</strong> force one to question the<br />
agenda of apparently aggrieved parties. The same appears to have held true in<br />
the nineteenth century when events in the Punjab were utilised in an attempt to<br />
resolve local disputes over what ultimately amounted to gurdwara control (pp.<br />
220-28).<br />
This is truly an excellent text. There are elements which are, however,<br />
problematic. One finds, for example, the occasional Orientalist description of<br />
Muslims, the same tired underst<strong>and</strong>ings of the emperor Aurangzeb <strong>and</strong> too<br />
uncritical interpretations of the Anglo-Sikh wars rooted within Sikh tradition<br />
itself. The last chapter, moreover, is out of place, indeed it is the least academic<br />
of all as it very emotionally documents how the 300 th anniversary celebrations of<br />
both the Guru’s death, <strong>and</strong> those of the nomination of the scripture as the Guru<br />
by the last human Master, led to the modernisation (read destruction) of<br />
significant portions of the Hazur Sahib complex. But these are very minor issues<br />
indeed <strong>and</strong> notwithst<strong>and</strong>ing these In the Master’s Presence is a book that<br />
belongs on the shelf of everyone in the world interested in Sikh <strong>Studies</strong> <strong>and</strong> the<br />
regional histories of northern <strong>and</strong> southern India.<br />
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YotRSiLNgg.<br />
Louis E. Fenech<br />
University of Northern Iowa<br />
M.Y. Effendi, Punjab Cavalry: Evolution, Role, Organisation <strong>and</strong> Tactical<br />
Doctrine, 11 th Cavalry (Frontier Force), (Karachi: Oxford University Press,<br />
2007) 324pp. ISBN 9-780195-472035 (hb) $55.<br />
In an age when admiration <strong>and</strong> respect appear to be reserved for malefactors of<br />
great wealth (as President Teddy Roosevelt had it), or for inane dummies who<br />
kick footballs, it is stimulating to read a tale of honour <strong>and</strong> courage on the part of<br />
so many officers <strong>and</strong> soldiers who served their regiment <strong>and</strong> their country without<br />
fanfare <strong>and</strong> sometimes without public recognition of their loyalty <strong>and</strong> selfsacrifice.<br />
The stories of most regiments are marked by the dedication of those who<br />
served in them, but throughout its existence 11 Cavalry seems to have been<br />
blessed with an eclectic blend of all ranks whose exploits deserve this detailed<br />
<strong>and</strong> well-presented history. The author has brought objectivity to what obviously<br />
has been a labour of love, <strong>and</strong> some of his observations on people <strong>and</strong> events are<br />
refreshingly c<strong>and</strong>id. Colonel M.Y. Effendi held many appointments (although<br />
his comm<strong>and</strong> appointment, unfortunately for him, was that of 12 Cavalry (Sam<br />
Browne’s) rather than the unit in which he served for so long, <strong>and</strong> he has
137 <strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
recorded a stirring tale of a thoroughly professional military family.<br />
He takes us from foundation in 1849 through the rest of the nineteenth<br />
century at a canter, which is probably appropriate for a cavalryman, <strong>and</strong> the<br />
descriptions of fighting in Afghanistan are intriguingly, even eerily, comparable<br />
with contemporary events. The actions of 1 <strong>and</strong> 3 Punjab Cavalry (for 11 Cavalry<br />
is descended from both, <strong>and</strong> from 21 <strong>and</strong> 23 Cavalry) are recorded with modest<br />
pride. The cavalry, indeed, were the most effective weapons of their day, <strong>and</strong><br />
when in 1880 1 st Punjab <strong>and</strong> the 19 th Bengal Lancers charged a superior force<br />
some 200 Afghans were killed in what was described as “the most brilliant<br />
cavalry action of the war,” which it certainly was – <strong>and</strong> in terms of tactics it was a<br />
classic example of concentration of force against an enemy rendered incapable of<br />
countering it.<br />
1 Punjab “marched home in triumph” but its brother unit joined in avenging<br />
the disaster at Maiw<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong> 3 Punjab was in the brigade that relieved the<br />
garrison in K<strong>and</strong>ahar, marked thereafter by the regimental crest, the K<strong>and</strong>ahar<br />
Star. After the Second Afghan war <strong>and</strong> minor engagements in the Frontier the<br />
regiment’s lineal predecessors fought in Mesopotamia in the First World War<br />
<strong>and</strong> on return to the sub-continent took part in the Third Afghan War of 1919 <strong>and</strong><br />
were again involved in the frontier region where “Afridi outlaw gangs” (among<br />
others) were perennial threats to the settled areas. But then came what the author<br />
accurately refers to as “a period of transition” during which the regiment was<br />
constituted in 1922 as 11 Prince Albert Victor’s Own Cavalry (Frontier Force),<br />
with squadrons of Sikhs, Dogras <strong>and</strong> “Punjabi Mussulmans”, the last having a<br />
section of Pushtuns, Khattaks from Kohat.<br />
In the Second World War 11 Cavalry distinguished itself in North Africa <strong>and</strong><br />
Burma (<strong>and</strong> the author makes use of many compelling eyewitness accounts), then<br />
fought in Kashmir <strong>and</strong> in the 1965 <strong>and</strong> 1971 wars when the unit was fortunate<br />
enough to be comm<strong>and</strong>ed by outst<strong>and</strong>ing officers. And it is here I must declare<br />
an interest, because three of the officers whom I most admire comm<strong>and</strong>ed 11<br />
Cavalry: Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, General KM Arif, <strong>and</strong> Major General Wajahat<br />
Husain, the last being one of my oldest Pakistani friends. There were many other<br />
outst<strong>and</strong>ing comm<strong>and</strong>ants, of course, not least Khurshid Ali Khan in 1971, whose<br />
account of the war is acute <strong>and</strong> penetrating (as is the author’s first-h<strong>and</strong><br />
description of the Phillaurah battle), but most people have favourites, <strong>and</strong> the<br />
Sahabzada, K.M. Arif <strong>and</strong> Wajahat are mine. It was Wajahat’s arrival in<br />
September 1965 to comm<strong>and</strong>, stimulate <strong>and</strong> grip a hard-hit <strong>and</strong> motley group of<br />
units that was decisive in assisting to counter the Indian army’s major assault at<br />
Chawinda.<br />
One of the many absorbing vignettes is Colonel Effendi’s description of<br />
Bengalis, who were 5 per cent of the strength in armoured units before 1971.<br />
They were treated “as inferior beings” by many of the junior ranks – just as<br />
“natives” in the old Indian Army had been so regarded by some vulgar <strong>and</strong><br />
insensitive British officers – but the author staunchly defends them, recording<br />
that none of them deserted even when their loyalty must have been stretched
JPS 16.1 138<br />
almost unbearably. But my favourite anecdotes are those dealing with the many<br />
‘characters’ who graced (<strong>and</strong> some disgraced, but in the nicest possible way) the<br />
regiment’s rolls. Of course soldiering is a serious business, but there should<br />
always be room for the eccentric officer whose style <strong>and</strong> zest can compensate for<br />
driving his seniors to fury about his off-duty conduct. 11 Cavalry certainly had its<br />
share, as it did of outst<strong>and</strong>ing high-grade officers <strong>and</strong> soldiers of all ranks, <strong>and</strong><br />
perhaps the most appropriate encomium noted is that of Lord Ismay who, as a<br />
subaltern of 11 Cavalry, asked his Colonel what made his unit so remarkable.<br />
The astute veteran of many campaigns replied that “To get the best out of any<br />
group you’ve got to make them feel like a family. That is what we are <strong>and</strong> always<br />
have been in this regiment.”<br />
Colonel Effendi’s book describes the story of 11 Cavalry (FF) exceptionally<br />
well <strong>and</strong> is of considerable value to students of Punjab’s history. And there is no<br />
doubt his Regiment, that exceptional military family, will continue to make its<br />
mark in the story of Pakistan.<br />
Brian Cloughley<br />
University of Bradford<br />
Michael H. Fisher, Shompa Lahiri <strong>and</strong> Shinder Th<strong>and</strong>i, A South-Asian History of<br />
Britain (Oxford/Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood World Publishing, 2007),<br />
259 pp. ISBN 10: 184645008X ISBN-13: 978-1846450082 (hb) £19.95.<br />
Most histories of South-Asians in Britain tell us about the post-war migration of<br />
Indians <strong>and</strong> Pakistanis in search of opportunities in the booming economy of<br />
Britain. Few have attempted to tell us about the 400 year long relationship<br />
between the people of Britain <strong>and</strong> the Indian subcontinent. A South-Asian<br />
History of Britain attempts to cover that vast history <strong>and</strong> the ways in which that<br />
relationship evolved. What we have is three scholars bringing their expertise that<br />
cover the 400 years. Fisher is an expert in the early encounters between Indians<br />
<strong>and</strong> the colonial power; Lahiri focuses on Anglo-Indian encounters during the<br />
late nineteenth <strong>and</strong> early twentieth centuries; <strong>and</strong> Th<strong>and</strong>i has written about the<br />
Punjabi migration <strong>and</strong> brings his knowledge of the contemporary South Asian<br />
diaspora to this volume.<br />
Early migrations to Britain started with the establishment of the East India<br />
Company in India. In 1600 the Company was given the royal charter to trade <strong>and</strong><br />
thus began this long relationship, although Fisher does mention the presence of<br />
some ‘Asians’ beforeh<strong>and</strong> who may well have found their way to Britain via the<br />
Portuguese connection. The largest groups were working class men <strong>and</strong> women:<br />
lascars constituted a large segment <strong>and</strong> others included ayahs <strong>and</strong> students. One<br />
of the first encounters took place between Hawkins, an ambassador for the<br />
Company <strong>and</strong> King James, <strong>and</strong> Mariam, an orphaned Armenian Christian.<br />
Hawkins married Mariam <strong>and</strong> brought her back to Engl<strong>and</strong> but he died enroute;
139 <strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
Mariam then met Towerson, an English merchant, <strong>and</strong> married him. They<br />
reached London in 1614 <strong>and</strong> led a colourful life which ultimately ended in<br />
divorce. However, what is fascinating about this early period is that though these<br />
were ‘inter-racial’ marriages, Fisher could not identify any adverse comment<br />
from the people at the time. This sentiment is also prevalent in the early<br />
encounters of the Company officials who remained in Bengal. It is fascinating to<br />
discover that contrary to what may be the perception, these early encounters were<br />
rather more fruitful <strong>and</strong> amicable leading to marriage in some cases. Of course<br />
there is a reversal of such cordial relations, especially with the onset of the<br />
Victorian age.<br />
Lahiri explores the period from 1857 to 1947 which is also when the Crown<br />
assumes direct control of India. Furthermore, the events of 1857 radically<br />
changed the relationship between the colonial power <strong>and</strong> its subjects <strong>and</strong> created<br />
an atmosphere of suspicion <strong>and</strong> fear. This inevitably had an impact on the<br />
Indians living in Britain at the time. It is through these encounters that we see the<br />
formation of early nationalism developing in the minds of the Indians. Those<br />
who were fortunate enough to afford an education in Engl<strong>and</strong> were exposed to<br />
powerful ideas of nationalism, freedom <strong>and</strong> liberty. Dadabhai Naoroji <strong>and</strong> W. C.<br />
Bonnerjee, who were both elected as Members of Parliament, often entertained<br />
<strong>and</strong> had gatherings for expatriate Indians. One can imagine these gatherings were<br />
sowing the seeds of early nationalist activity in India.<br />
By 1901 there was a greater diversity in the people who had taken residency<br />
in Britain. In general South-Asian women who travelled to Britain consisted of<br />
wives, domestic servants (ayahs), female royalty, students, <strong>and</strong> teachers among<br />
others. The most unconventional occupations at the time were flying instructors,<br />
auctioneers, animal caretakers, sculptors <strong>and</strong> authors <strong>and</strong> even around ten people<br />
came to work in the British film industry. It is stories like these which bring life<br />
to the history of South-Asians in Britain (p. 148). Though comparatively their<br />
numbers were still small, they were nonetheless a visible community, from<br />
begging in the streets to serving <strong>and</strong> meeting the queen <strong>and</strong> addressing<br />
Parliament. “The lives of these ‘brown’ Victorians, both ‘heathen’ <strong>and</strong> Christian,<br />
straddled both poverty <strong>and</strong> affluence, <strong>and</strong> were played out in both public <strong>and</strong><br />
private spheres” (p. 125).<br />
In some ways we can see parallels with the changing relationship between the<br />
British <strong>and</strong> Indians in both India <strong>and</strong> Britain. The move towards a more<br />
aggressive <strong>and</strong> interventionist approach in India did lead to greater tension<br />
between the colonial power <strong>and</strong> its subjects. At the same time we can see that<br />
South Asians living in Britain at the time were not free from racial prejudices<br />
<strong>and</strong> this becomes more prominent with the radicalisation of nationalism in India<br />
<strong>and</strong> the two world wars. There is a wonderful example of that superior colonial<br />
mind-set when the hospital officials were concerned about deploying white<br />
female nurses to treat Indian soldiers. There was a fear of inter-racial sexual<br />
encounters <strong>and</strong>, even though they were in hospital, the Indian soldiers were still<br />
seen as potential sexual predators. The social segregation which was so prevalent
JPS 16.1 140<br />
in colonial India was also present here in Britain.<br />
The final two chapters are by Th<strong>and</strong>i <strong>and</strong> focus on 1947 onwards. It is of<br />
course this period which has seen a complete transformation in the relationship<br />
between South Asians <strong>and</strong> Britain. The post-war migration to Britain was<br />
necessary to meet the labour shortages of the 1950s <strong>and</strong> 1960s; <strong>and</strong> the<br />
Commonwealth countries were easily able to fill that dem<strong>and</strong> for cheap labour.<br />
What started as predominantly young single men, working as labourers,<br />
transformed into small communities in the late 1960s. The expulsion of the<br />
Ug<strong>and</strong>an Asians in 1972 added to that growing community. Th<strong>and</strong>i explores the<br />
relationship between decolonisation <strong>and</strong> migration to the ‘mother country’. This<br />
period also represents a shift in power between the two, from being colonial<br />
subjects to being free subjects. However, the achievement of that in reality has<br />
been much more problematic <strong>and</strong> the post-war period is characterised by<br />
dem<strong>and</strong>s by ethnic minorities for equal rights <strong>and</strong> acceptance as legitimate<br />
citizens of Britain. In the final chapter, Th<strong>and</strong>i explores the dilemmas of a South-<br />
Asian community which is much more confident of its own identity but at the<br />
same time the challenges of dealing with more fragmented identities are much<br />
more prevalent.<br />
Pippa Virdee<br />
De Montfort University<br />
Autar S. Dhesi <strong>and</strong> Gurmail Singh (eds), Rural Development in Punjab: A<br />
Success Story Going Astray, (London, New York, New Delhi: Routledge, 2008)<br />
533 pp. ISBN 978-0-415-45681-4 (hb) Rs. 795.<br />
The choice of papers by the editors testifies to their scholarship <strong>and</strong> deep<br />
underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the Punjab model of development. The book, organized into six<br />
sections (rural development, agriculture, water resources, ago-industry, human<br />
resources <strong>and</strong> the overseas Punjabis) contains 27 articles besides an appropriate<br />
introduction by the editors. The success story of rural development in Punjab<br />
seems to have gone astray. Hence, the title of the book is most appropriate.<br />
In his paper on Rural Development, Autar S. Dhesi has very aptly<br />
demonstrated that non-translation of gains in agricultural development into<br />
developing a modern industrial economy has been one of the most serious<br />
limitations of the Punjab model of development. The lack of suitable institutional<br />
back-up <strong>and</strong> neglect of social sectors have been the most significant reasons<br />
behind it.<br />
The three papers by G.S. Kalkat; Ramesh Ch<strong>and</strong>; <strong>and</strong> Sidhu, Joshi <strong>and</strong><br />
Bhullar put a serious question mark on the economic <strong>and</strong> ecological<br />
sustainability of the wheat-paddy cropping pattern in Punjab. The solution lies in<br />
crop-diversification, conservation of natural resources <strong>and</strong> development of allied<br />
agricultural activities. Ramesh Ch<strong>and</strong> suggests bold policy initiatives for
141 <strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
Research <strong>and</strong> Development (hereafter R&D) <strong>and</strong> infrastructural support.<br />
Sukhpal Singh highlights the fact that the contracting firms do not share the<br />
incremental profits, coming out of value addition, with the farmers as there is no<br />
participation of farmers in the agro-industrial development. This has been one of<br />
the serious limitations of contract farming in Punjab.<br />
Gurmail Singh reveals that though modernization of agriculture has<br />
transformed the rural economy <strong>and</strong> society, yet, there remains a wide rural-urban<br />
socio-economic divide. In another paper, he highlights the fact that the<br />
revamping of agricultural R&D <strong>and</strong> the vertical integration of agricultural<br />
produce with industry are imperative for the success of agro-based<br />
industrialization.<br />
Prasoon Mathur <strong>and</strong> his co-authors advocate a paradigm shift in publicly<br />
funded R&D by strengthening the public-private partnership. Vikram Chadha, on<br />
the other h<strong>and</strong>, strongly favours publicly funded R&D.<br />
The papers by G.S. Hira <strong>and</strong> Lakhwinder Singh reveal, since the advent of<br />
the green revolution, the l<strong>and</strong> use change <strong>and</strong> cropping pattern have resulted in<br />
depletion of the water table. The solution, according to them, lies in suitable<br />
water management policy.<br />
Rachpal Singh <strong>and</strong> Kashmir Singh, as also Updendra Nath Roy, found that<br />
the watershed development projects improved the economic conditions of the<br />
direct as well as the indirect beneficiaries, in the K<strong>and</strong>i areas. Nevertheless, there<br />
is a need to make the official agencies more sensitised so as to reap the full<br />
benefits.<br />
Piare Lal advocates the integrated development of agro-forestry <strong>and</strong> wood<br />
based industries in Punjab as there is enormous potential <strong>and</strong> comparative<br />
advantage for such an integral development. However, he feels that government<br />
must take suitable policy measures. P.K. Gupta <strong>and</strong> co-authors argue that<br />
production of bio-fuel has great potential in view of the huge quantity of biomass<br />
available in Punjab.<br />
S.S. Johl provides a powerful rationale for equity <strong>and</strong> access to education <strong>and</strong><br />
to the health delivery system for the marginalized rural <strong>and</strong> urban people. In his<br />
view, it is the only way to inclusive development.<br />
Jaswinder Singh Brar indicates that Punjab ranks 16 among the 17 major<br />
states of India in terms of share of expenditure on education in the state budget.<br />
Sukhwinder Singh <strong>and</strong> Sucha Singh Gill reveal that the rural public health<br />
infrastructure <strong>and</strong> delivery mechanism have largely become non-functional.<br />
Sawaran Singh finds that Punjab, with its much higher per capita income, lies<br />
behind Kerala in terms of demographic indicators. According to all the three<br />
papers, the government's withdrawal <strong>and</strong> poor governance are the main reasons<br />
for this.<br />
Manjit Singh reveals that the targeted sections of population, under various<br />
government sponsored schemes, have been benefited but only to a limited extent.<br />
The inadequacy <strong>and</strong> misuse of funds, the lack of professional skill <strong>and</strong> the<br />
unnecessary political interference have been the major reasons for the partial
JPS 16.1 142<br />
success.<br />
Balbir Singh <strong>and</strong> Janak Raj Gupta show that the government-sponsored self<br />
employment programmes, through self-help groups, have been quite successful<br />
in raising the living st<strong>and</strong>ard of the beneficiaries.<br />
Autar S. Dhesi reveals that, though the foreign remittances <strong>and</strong> the<br />
philanthropic activities by the overseas Punjabis have played a significant role in<br />
the Doaba region of Punjab, yet the potentialities are grossly underutilized.<br />
Darshan Tatla suggests that the Punjabi diaspora has facilitated the impact of<br />
modernization <strong>and</strong> globalization on Punjabi society.<br />
Shinder S. Th<strong>and</strong>i raises doubts about the continuation of diaspora<br />
remittances by the second <strong>and</strong> third generation Punjabis settled abroad. Th<strong>and</strong>i<br />
strongly feels that impeccable trust, transparency <strong>and</strong> accountability in diasporahomel<strong>and</strong><br />
relations are the sine qua non for remittances <strong>and</strong> for the involvement<br />
of overseas Punjabis in the future development of Punjab.<br />
The papers by Raghbir S. Bassi <strong>and</strong> Gurdev S. Gill argue that the provision<br />
of modern amenities – sanitation <strong>and</strong> hygiene – in the villages can be made<br />
possible by the joint efforts of the government, village community, NGOs <strong>and</strong><br />
overseas Punjabis. Bassi has presented the success story of village Kharaudi<br />
(district Hoshiarpur) in support of his argument.<br />
The book offers significant revelations about the success <strong>and</strong> failure of the<br />
rural development model in Punjab. It provides significant policy<br />
recommendations <strong>and</strong> makes a rich addition to literature on the Punjab economy.<br />
However, there are certain significant gaps which, if addressed, would have<br />
resulted in additional utility.<br />
The significant gaps are: the obsession of political leaders with competitive<br />
political populism <strong>and</strong> privatization of the social services; the systematic decline<br />
in development expenditure (both social <strong>and</strong> economic) <strong>and</strong> increase in nondevelopment<br />
expenditure in the state budget; blurred political <strong>and</strong> democratic<br />
vision; lack of political will; the apathetic attitude of the successive governments<br />
towards the development of rural areas; ‘freebies’, in the form of electricity to<br />
the farm <strong>and</strong> weaker sections, as a solution; <strong>and</strong> the connivance of civil<br />
bureaucracy <strong>and</strong> policy makers with the political leadership.<br />
In fact, over time, Punjab has witnessed serious distortions in political <strong>and</strong><br />
public life – in the form of corruption, <strong>and</strong> a myopic view of the development<br />
agenda. This, in turn, has adversely affected the governance <strong>and</strong> credibility of the<br />
State. As a consequence, the capacity of the State for public policy intervention<br />
got weakened. And that is the main reason behind the success story going astray.<br />
The public education <strong>and</strong> health delivery system in the rural area suffered<br />
serious neglect, to the peril of the villagers, particularly the marginalized<br />
sections. The share of rural students in the liberal <strong>and</strong> professional higher<br />
education is only around 4 per cent (recent survey by Punjabi University, Patiala,<br />
Punjab, India). The rural population in general, <strong>and</strong> marginalized sections in<br />
particular, are beleaguered in the vicious circle of their helplessness <strong>and</strong> in the<br />
apathetic attitude of the state.
143 <strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
Agricultural diversification alone cannot develop the rural economy. To<br />
address the crisis of rural Punjab, there is an urgent need to go in for<br />
diversification of the entire rural economy. That would be possible only by<br />
making rural education <strong>and</strong> health delivery system equitable <strong>and</strong> accessible <strong>and</strong><br />
by developing the rural non-agricultural sectors. The overseas Punjabis can only<br />
supplement the efforts.<br />
The state badly needs statesmanship of the highest order if we want the<br />
development agenda, with people at centre-stage, to be put on the rails. The<br />
prerequisite for all this is responsible, transparent <strong>and</strong> efficient governance.<br />
The fundamental question is how to sensitise the political leadership, civil<br />
bureaucracy <strong>and</strong> policy makers towards the societal issues. If this question is not<br />
tackled in a given time frame, then the people of Punjab will have to recall the<br />
famous couplet: 'shah muhmada ik sarkar bajhaon, fauzan jit ke ant nu harian<br />
ne' (The army got defeated in the absence of government).<br />
Ranjit S. Ghuman<br />
Punjabi University, Patiala<br />
H. Malik <strong>and</strong> Y. V. Gankovsky (eds), The Encyclopaedia of Pakistan, (Karachi:<br />
Oxford University Press, 2006), x + 432 pp. ISBN 0-91-597735-1 (hb) Rs.995.<br />
The Encyclopaedia of Pakistan contains more than 1,000 entries concerning<br />
Pakistan’s history, people, places, culture, arts, politics <strong>and</strong> economy,<br />
supplemented by 15 feature essays <strong>and</strong> an interesting photographic centrepiece. I<br />
found it a comprehensive <strong>and</strong> user-friendly volume. In this short review I will try<br />
to give a flavour of some of the complex messages conveyed about Pakistan in<br />
this wide-ranging text.<br />
The Encyclopaedia of Pakistan itself has a fascinating history. The entries in<br />
the present edition were compiled by some seventy Russian, twenty Pakistani<br />
<strong>and</strong> a h<strong>and</strong>ful of British <strong>and</strong> North American scholars. In the intriguing<br />
introduction, Malik expresses hopes that the Encyclopaedia will contribute to<br />
fostering better relations with Russia, whose relationship with Pakistan has<br />
oscillated from indifference to estrangement <strong>and</strong> even hostility. The project was<br />
conceived in a park in Moscow in 1981 by the Editor-in-Chief, historian <strong>and</strong><br />
political scientist Hafeez Malik, <strong>and</strong> his colleague historian Yuri Gankovsky,<br />
who was then head of the Pakistan <strong>Studies</strong> Centre at the Moscow Institute of<br />
Oriental <strong>Studies</strong>. A Russian edition of the Encyclopaedia was written according<br />
to the requirements of Soviet publishing (i.e. all historical developments<br />
analysed within the framework of Marxist-Leninism) <strong>and</strong> finally published in<br />
2000. Malik then spent five years between 2000 <strong>and</strong> 2005 editing the<br />
Encyclopaedia to eliminate the ‘Soviet approach’ <strong>and</strong> revise it for Oxford<br />
University Press. However, I found no Soviet traces in the entries I consulted,<br />
which were remarkably restrained given the contentious material they had to
JPS 16.1 144<br />
work with. Ian Talbot’s feature essay ‘Historical preview pre-1947’ offers a<br />
concise account of the emergence of Muslim separatism from the last decades of<br />
the nineteenth century, following disputes <strong>and</strong> cooperation between Congress,<br />
the Muslim League, Khalifat movement, Khudai Khidmatgar <strong>and</strong> Krishak Praja<br />
Party, emphasising the differentiation of ethno-religious identities between the<br />
parties’ respective supporters <strong>and</strong> their respective relations with British rule.<br />
Akmal Hussain’s ‘Economic policy, growth <strong>and</strong> poverty in historical<br />
perspective’ strongly condemns the Zia regime as contrary to Pakistan’s inherent<br />
“cultural diversity, democratic aspirations <strong>and</strong> religious perspective rooted in<br />
tolerance <strong>and</strong> humanism” (p.348) <strong>and</strong> pointedly draws out the complex evolution<br />
of Pakistan’s political-fiscal dependence on the USA, but without dogmatically<br />
following any particular line of historical analysis.<br />
For scholars of Punjab, the interesting question raised by an encyclopaedia<br />
on Pakistan is how it will treat the pre-Partition history <strong>and</strong> legacy.<br />
Contemporary West Punjab is appropriately conspicuous among the entries but<br />
in my assessment pre-Partition Punjab is lacking. There are relatively few entries<br />
bearing witness to the momentous Sikh <strong>and</strong> Hindu histories that unfolded in the<br />
geographic terrain of modern-day Pakistan. Rather, the entries bolster the idea of<br />
Pakistan as a natural homel<strong>and</strong> for Indian Muslims, dwelling on its<br />
autochthonous Mughal, Sufi <strong>and</strong> Islamic reformist histories but without situating<br />
the material within a broader <strong>and</strong> syncretic multi-communal history of Punjab.<br />
This feels like an omission, as scholarship has encouraged us to see precolonial<br />
Punjab as a crucible in which exchanges between Hinduism, Islam <strong>and</strong> nascent<br />
Sikhism nurtured distinctly local articulations of the religions through emulation<br />
<strong>and</strong> deliberate reversals (Uberoi 1999). The relative invisibility of East Pakistan<br />
again suggests an implicit majoritarian nationalism.<br />
The inclusion of popular/folk culture in the Encyclopaedia conveys other<br />
intriguing messages. Malik states that the prominent feature essays on dance,<br />
puppetry, visual arts, jewellery were intended to broaden the compendium to<br />
topics rarely touched upon or researched in Pakistan, that are “indigenous topics<br />
otherwise thought to be alien to Pakistan” (dustcover). Indeed, in prefiguring<br />
decorative <strong>and</strong> figurative arts the Encyclopaedia might be seen as a pointed<br />
intervention in Pakistan’s multiphrenic public culture in which the Zia regime<br />
created a precedent for state sponsorship of calligraphy <strong>and</strong> a legacy of official<br />
antipathy towards figurative art; which, as recent scholarship has shown, is<br />
continually resisted through the irrepressible <strong>and</strong> efflorescent celebration of the<br />
human figure in folk/popular culture (Batool 2004). The photographic<br />
centrepiece portrays regional textiles <strong>and</strong> jewellery <strong>and</strong> is reminiscent of the Log<br />
Virsa museum collection in Islamabad. Unfortunately, however, the material<br />
culture of these fascinating <strong>and</strong> exquisite objects is inaccessible; the social uses<br />
<strong>and</strong> meanings of the textiles <strong>and</strong> jewellery, <strong>and</strong> the identities that are objectified<br />
through them are all left to the reader’s imagination. As in museums, the caption<br />
says it all, <strong>and</strong> the captions here are sadly lacking. Furthermore, the centrepiece<br />
aims to depict “bright, colourful <strong>and</strong> detailed photographs of various monuments
145 <strong>Book</strong> <strong>Reviews</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> architectures of Pakistan” (dustcover). Early Muslim tombs in Sindh, the<br />
Lahore fort, the shrine of Rukn-i-Alam in Multan, British era public buildings,<br />
Jinnah’s Ziarat Residency, Minar-e-Pakistan <strong>and</strong> Faisal masjid in Islamabad are<br />
shown in a familiar nationalist historical narrative. The reader is encouraged to<br />
marvel at the Northern Areas <strong>and</strong> lake Saif-ul-Maluk as beautiful, scenic <strong>and</strong><br />
romantic places that are popular with local <strong>and</strong> international tourists. Selfconsciously<br />
what is on display is “the beauty <strong>and</strong> magnificence of Pakistan”<br />
(dustcover). In the centrepieces the Encyclopaedia projects a nostalgic <strong>and</strong><br />
somewhat folkloric version of the national culture that seems oriented towards<br />
overseas Pakistanis or foreigners, <strong>and</strong> contradicts somewhat the more complex<br />
historical negotiations contained in the other entries.<br />
Comparing the Encyclopaedia with similar resources to which scholars of<br />
Punjab could turn, I recommend it as a valuable reference work. I was informed<br />
by the scholarly accounts I consulted <strong>and</strong> liked the prominence of Pakistan’s<br />
popular/folk cultures through entries on the provinces <strong>and</strong> everyday practices<br />
such as languages, clothing <strong>and</strong> food genres.<br />
References<br />
Batool, F. (2004) Figure: The Popular <strong>and</strong> the Political in Pakistan, Lahore:<br />
ASR Publications.<br />
Uberoi, J.P.S. (1999) Religion, Civil Society <strong>and</strong> the State, Delhi: Oxford India<br />
Paperbacks.<br />
Kaveri Harris<br />
University of Sussex<br />
Gautam Malkani, Londonstani, (London: Harper Perennial, 2007) 342 pp. (pb)<br />
no price given ISBN 0-00-723176-8 <strong>and</strong> 978-0-00723176-8.<br />
This is not an easy book to get into in that its language, mixing colourful urban<br />
street-talk with text message truncations, presents its own dem<strong>and</strong>s: like learning<br />
a new patois. Many unfamiliar words are obviously part of what has been called<br />
‘Hinglish’ (see Baljinder K. J. Maha’s The Queen’s Hinglish: How to speak<br />
pukka, HarperCollins, 2006) – such as Desi (authentically South Asian), Gora<br />
(White British), shaadi (wedding) <strong>and</strong> thapparh (slap). Other words belong to<br />
urban street-culture - a world of bling, voice-mails <strong>and</strong> mobile fones (sic) - such<br />
as Beema (a BMW), garms (designer clothes) <strong>and</strong> yard (house). And, of course,<br />
the ubiquitous ‘innit’.<br />
The narrator is a young man called Jas who is doing his resit A levels at<br />
Hounslow College; Heathrow airport provides a backdrop to the unfolding<br />
drama. A shy, self-effacing person, he nevertheless takes up with a small group
JPS 16.1 146<br />
of Sikh/Hindu Desis led by six-pack bodied Hardjit (note the development from<br />
Harjit). Physical violence, frustration <strong>and</strong> anger are never far away <strong>and</strong> take<br />
many forms. The novel opens with a young English boy being beaten up for<br />
make a supposedly racist remark <strong>and</strong> the first part of the book – there are three in<br />
all: ‘Paki’, ‘Sher’ <strong>and</strong> ‘Desi’ – features a set-piece fight between Hardjit <strong>and</strong> a<br />
Muslim youth from a nearby area. And then there are the families which bring<br />
with them both humour <strong>and</strong> tragedy. Humour in the form of the juxtaposition<br />
between the ‘hard’ image of the group to which Jas belongs <strong>and</strong> the dem<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong><br />
courtesies of family life – such as Hardjit, Jas <strong>and</strong> friends coasting round<br />
Hounslow in a lilac-coloured Beema only to receive a mobile phone call from<br />
one of their mothers requesting shopping from Boots. Tragedy in the build-up to<br />
a marriage on which the neurotic future groom’s mother feels that she is being<br />
shown constant disrespect by her future daughter-in-law’s family, leading to the<br />
apparent suicide through overdose of her son. Tragedy, too, in the way that Jas’s<br />
love of fast cars <strong>and</strong> the high life draws him ever deeper into a world of real<br />
crime <strong>and</strong> family disloyalty.<br />
This is a cleverly-written novel that undoubtedly reveals something of the<br />
world-view, tensions <strong>and</strong> dilemmas of many third or fourth generation British<br />
Asians. There is much that is entertaining but, beneath the shallow posturing <strong>and</strong><br />
all-consuming dem<strong>and</strong> for respect from peers, there is something darker <strong>and</strong><br />
more worrying: a social group which is at odds with the older generation for<br />
whom – according to this writer, at least – cultural <strong>and</strong> religious conventions are<br />
equally shallow <strong>and</strong> all-consuming.<br />
And then, of course, there is the identity of Jas – whose brief liaison with a<br />
Muslim girl forms an important thread in the novel - <strong>and</strong> his family. But you will<br />
have to read the book yourself in order to enjoy the final, delicious irony that the<br />
author serves up.<br />
Bill Gent<br />
University of Warwick
147 In Remembrance<br />
In Remembrance<br />
W.H. McLeod (1932-2009)<br />
Having battled courageously with cancer for seven years, W.H. McLeod had a<br />
fall <strong>and</strong> succumbed to his injuries on July 20, 2009. Known to be a caring<br />
family person, a generous teacher, <strong>and</strong> an outst<strong>and</strong>ing scholar of the Sikh<br />
tradition, McLeod will be missed by family <strong>and</strong> friends spread around the globe.<br />
New Zeal<strong>and</strong>ers by birth, Hew McLeod <strong>and</strong> his wife Margaret arrived in the<br />
Punjab under the auspices of their church in the late 1950s, underwent a<br />
transformation to turn into self-proclaimed atheists, developed a special<br />
affection for the Sikhs, <strong>and</strong> McLeod went onto to dedicate the rest of his life<br />
toward studying the Sikh community.<br />
His scholarly career began with Guru Nanak <strong>and</strong> Sikh Religion (Clarendon<br />
Press, 1968) <strong>and</strong> the extensive work that followed this can be placed under the<br />
broad categories of Sikh history, translations of early Sikh texts, <strong>and</strong> critical<br />
discussions of early Sikh literature. His seminal studies in these three areas<br />
include The Evolution of the Sikh Community (Clarendon Press, 1975) <strong>and</strong> Who<br />
is a Sikh? The Problem of Sikh Identity (Clarendon Press, 1989); The B-40<br />
Janam Sakhi (Guru Nanak Dev University, 1980) <strong>and</strong> The Chaupa Singh Rahit-<br />
Nama (University of Otago, 1987); Early Sikh Tradition (Clarendon Press,<br />
1980) <strong>and</strong> Sikhs of the Khalsa Rahit (Oxford University Press, 2003),<br />
respectively. In terms of range, depth, <strong>and</strong> usefulness for teaching the Sikh<br />
tradition, McLeod’s writings constitute a class by themselves.<br />
McLeod’s contribution to Sikh <strong>Studies</strong> also includes mentoring students who<br />
now hold positions of prominence within the field. Tony Ballantyne (University<br />
of Otago, New Zeal<strong>and</strong>), Louis Fenech (University of Northern Iowa, U.S.A.),<br />
<strong>and</strong> Pashaura Singh (University of California, Riverside) worked under his<br />
direct guidance, while many others - myself included - had the benefit of his<br />
advice at crucial junctures of their academic careers. In this role, McLeod was<br />
generous with his time <strong>and</strong> did whatever he could to help younger scholars find<br />
their own paths.<br />
Furthermore, McLeod took upon himself the responsibility of helping the<br />
Western world become aware of the importance of the Sikh community <strong>and</strong> its<br />
traditions. At the invitation of the American Council of Learned Societies, he<br />
delivered a series of lectures at North American universities during 1986-1987,<br />
<strong>and</strong> later appeared as ‘expert witness’ in the Canadian courts on issues ranging<br />
from the nature <strong>and</strong> importance of the Sikh turban to the underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the<br />
Sikh sword (kirpan) as a religious symbol. Until 2002, when his health began to<br />
deteriorate, one cannot think of any major academic event concerning Sikhism<br />
in North America in which he was not present.<br />
McLeod’s career, however, was not without bumps. From the very outset,<br />
controversies dogged his research, <strong>and</strong> scholarly opinion remained split on the<br />
nature of his work. Some scholars were critical of his argument developed in<br />
Guru Nanak <strong>and</strong> the Sikh Religion <strong>and</strong> as a result he was not invited to the
JPS: 16.1 148<br />
international conference held at Punjabi University, Patiala, to celebrate the fifth<br />
centennial of Guru Nanak’s birth in 1969. Simultaneously, there were others<br />
who supported the publication of a Punjabi translation of the section on the<br />
Guru’s teachings in the same book by Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, in<br />
1974.<br />
With his subsequent writings, these tensions turned into noisy public<br />
denunciations of McLeod’s scholarship at Sikh forums both in the Punjab <strong>and</strong><br />
overseas in the late 1980s. The publication of his provocatively entitled Who is<br />
a Sikh? The Problem of Sikh Identity, in 1989, did not help this situation.<br />
McLeod was, however, fortunate to have the support of Margaret, a very special<br />
human being in her own right, <strong>and</strong> he stoically made his way forward through<br />
this period of agony <strong>and</strong> stress. He provides his reflection on this phase of his<br />
life in his book Discovering the Sikhs (Permanent Black, 2004).<br />
The precise nature of McLeod’s scholarly legacy will be sorted out in the<br />
months <strong>and</strong> years ahead. As I write, there are some scholars who consider his<br />
formulations on various issues of Sikh history as sacrosanct, <strong>and</strong> there are others<br />
who so profoundly dislike what he has written that they are not able to discuss it<br />
in a calm manner. No matter what shade of opinion one may hold between these<br />
extremes, there is no question about the fact that McLeod’s writings have<br />
remained at the center of Sikh scholarship during the past four decades. His<br />
imprint on the field st<strong>and</strong>s unmatched by any other scholar of his generation.<br />
Professor McLeod at UC Santa Barbara in 2001<br />
It is hard for me to miss this opportunity to publically acknowledge my gratitude<br />
for his role in my own scholarly growth. The fact that I hold different positions<br />
than those of Professor McLeod on a wide variety of issues ranging from the<br />
origin of the Sikh community to the dating of many early Sikh texts did not<br />
affect his support for my work <strong>and</strong> affection for my family. I salute this<br />
beautiful human being <strong>and</strong> outst<strong>and</strong>ing scholar for his unquestionable integrity!
149 In Remembrance<br />
For me, the best homage to the memory of Professor McLeod lies in the<br />
continuation of his legacy of asking difficult questions, stating one’s research<br />
results with c<strong>and</strong>or, <strong>and</strong> defending them to the best of one’s ability, if need be.<br />
While coming to terms with the hard fact of his departure from the scene, I<br />
believe his admirers, critics, <strong>and</strong> others alike need to begin a more nuanced<br />
discussion about the future of Sikh <strong>Studies</strong> in the post-McLeod era. Nothing<br />
would please him more than seeing our concerted effort towards encouraging<br />
the growth of responsible scholarship <strong>and</strong> the coexistence of a wide variety of<br />
ideas in the field he so caringly nurtured for over four decades!<br />
Gurinder Singh Mann<br />
University of California, Santa Barbara,<br />
July 25, 2009<br />
Mohammad Hafeez Khan (1936-2009)<br />
Photo 1 1<br />
Ustad Hafeez Khan. Wajid Ali on Tabla <strong>and</strong> Ali Hafeez Khan on the Tanpura.<br />
Lahore. October 2008. Photo by Shahid Mirza<br />
Punjab is perhaps a l<strong>and</strong> with the most versatile <strong>and</strong> eclectic memory. Long<br />
before Punjab became the epicenter of an agricultural revolution, its intense <strong>and</strong><br />
alive forestl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> historic social dwellings boasted a massive intangible <strong>and</strong><br />
tangible heritage harvests. It has contributed some of the most important<br />
scriptures <strong>and</strong> classics such as the Ramayana, Geeta, Vedas, Upanishads,<br />
Smritis, Natyashashtra, Sufi texts, love ballads, ballads of various wars <strong>and</strong>
JPS: 16.1 150<br />
heroic warriors, Gurubani <strong>and</strong> some of the most important musical traditions in<br />
South Asia. Very few remnants of these important musical traditions have<br />
survived the socio-political <strong>and</strong> economic upheavals that the Punjab has had to<br />
deal with over the last 150 years including the partition of Punjab in 1947.<br />
Talw<strong>and</strong>i gharana is one of the ancient schools of dhrupad 2 , which traces its<br />
roots to a small erstwhile principality near Ludhiana, Rai-Ki-Talw<strong>and</strong>i. Since<br />
the partition of Punjab, the sons of Talw<strong>and</strong>i’s 131 st exponent Mian Meher Ali<br />
Khan, Mohammad Afzal Khan <strong>and</strong> Mohammad Hafeez Khan, kept the singing<br />
of dhrupad alive in Pakistan albeit in an environment not so favourable to<br />
music. Afzal Khan, the elder of the two, retired from active singing <strong>and</strong> teaching<br />
about 6 years ago due to frail health. Hafeez Khan continued to perform in small<br />
house concerts, but more importantly teaching his son Ali <strong>and</strong> nephew Labrez.<br />
On March 18, 2009 Ustad Mohammad Hafeez Khan Talw<strong>and</strong>iwale passed away<br />
following a cardiac arrest with a lot left undone <strong>and</strong>, as it happened with other<br />
Punjabi music doyens Bhai Arjan Singh Tarangar, Bhai Mohinder Singh, Ustad<br />
Bahadur Singh, Ustad Dalip Singh, Maharaj Bir Singh Namdhari, Bhai Tabba,<br />
Bhai Naseera, Bhai Gaam, even Ustad Salamat Ali Khan <strong>and</strong> many others,<br />
unsung. It is a pity that the unnatural, political <strong>and</strong> unrealistic divide of the<br />
historic soil <strong>and</strong> waters of Punjab have led to such relentless <strong>and</strong> tragic losses of<br />
its storytellers <strong>and</strong> legacy bearers. Fortunately, the hearts are still united <strong>and</strong><br />
only there still exists some hope.<br />
During Partition most musical exponents including the Hoshiarpur rababis,<br />
namely Bhai Malang <strong>and</strong> his clan who played pakhawaj or mridang, jori <strong>and</strong><br />
tabla (all drums of various types), the Rababis from important heritage places<br />
such as Sultanpur Lodhi, Goindwal Sahib, Amritsar, Taran Taaran, Khadur<br />
Sahib, An<strong>and</strong>pur Sahib, Panipat, Karnal, Pataudi <strong>and</strong> Ambala were forced to<br />
migrate to West Punjab. Famous Sham Chaurasi, Delhi gharana <strong>and</strong> Qawwal<br />
Bachhe exponents also moved to Pakistan while mastersingers like Bhai<br />
Samund Singh <strong>and</strong> Gyani Gyan Singh Almast had to migrate to the Indian side<br />
of Punjab. Such unprecedented forced migration of people <strong>and</strong> their gifts, which<br />
was akin to the cutting of a huge tree from its vital roots led to the tragic loss of<br />
many of Punjab’s precious arts, culture <strong>and</strong> heritage, as a result, within the next<br />
two generations. Nearly all of this intangible wealth has become or is on the<br />
verge of becoming extinct. Both the (Indian <strong>and</strong> Pakistani) Punjab Governments<br />
are responsible for the sheer neglect of the intangible assets of this once<br />
culturally rich l<strong>and</strong>. Countless musical masterpieces have tragically gone silent<br />
– an irretrievable loss.<br />
Like the pine trees grow at a certain altitude <strong>and</strong> saguaros, for example,<br />
grow in Arizona, I see patterns in how only certain art forms evolved only in<br />
particular places. One of my teachers used to tell me that the master bearers of<br />
knowledge are as ‘living books’ (zinda kitaben). The places which produced<br />
exponents, generation after generation, are the libraries. One must remember<br />
that in case of living books, the books but not their content can be shifted from<br />
their libraries.<br />
I had heard of the Talw<strong>and</strong>i Gharana <strong>and</strong> its legendary singers <strong>and</strong> once I<br />
came to know about them in the early 90’s I had always wanted to go Lahore
151 In Remembrance<br />
<strong>and</strong> meet them. Hafeez Khan, during his story telling sessions, would associate<br />
the name kh<strong>and</strong>arvani to Nayak Kh<strong>and</strong>a Rai, his direct ancestor who erformed<br />
the ‘miraculous’ feat of taal-v<strong>and</strong>i, slicing a single beat in 24 equal kh<strong>and</strong>s<br />
(parts). The suffixed Kh<strong>and</strong>ehre refers to a person being ‘a descendents’ of<br />
Kh<strong>and</strong>a Rai. The term Kh<strong>and</strong>ehre is similar to the one used by the Dagars,<br />
Behramkhani. Although not attached to the names of the Dagars, 'it means ‘the<br />
followers of Baba Behram Khan’, who was the legendary court singer of<br />
Maharaj Ranjit Singh who later settled in Jaipur. Actually kh<strong>and</strong>arvani as a<br />
genre is not a copyright of Hafeez Khan’s family. Talw<strong>and</strong>i gharana is allegiant<br />
to kh<strong>and</strong>arvani but it is not its sole repository. This possessive notion (of the<br />
term kh<strong>and</strong>arvani) is probably as preposterous as the term dagarvani, usually<br />
associated with the current ‘Dagar family’. Noted Philosophy <strong>and</strong> Aesthetics<br />
Professor, S. K. Saxena attributed the title ‘Dagur’ to his great friend <strong>and</strong><br />
mentor Ustad Allab<strong>and</strong>e Rahimuddin Khan, who claimed to represent this<br />
unique style. Soon after, this title, used to denote the style of singing followed<br />
by Rahimuddin Khan’s family, came to be used as a surname, irrespective of the<br />
actual adherence to this particular singing style. At the moment, no student who<br />
may really be considered a responsible exponent of the dagarvani style would<br />
use this title. Likewise, the direct descendents of Nayak Kh<strong>and</strong>a Rai can only<br />
attach the suffix – ‘Kh<strong>and</strong>ehre Talw<strong>and</strong>ivale’, but not a disciple of either this<br />
family tradition or any other exponent of the kh<strong>and</strong>arvani. The family does not<br />
remember that this genre takes its name from the region K<strong>and</strong>ahar (read<br />
k<strong>and</strong>ahrivani) in the present day Afghanistan. Not so long ago, history<br />
enthusiasts may recall, the entire region, from Afghanisthan to India, was all one<br />
‘nation’.<br />
Actually, there were many exponents <strong>and</strong> families who represented all four<br />
music traditions or vanis (others being gauharivani or gaudharivani, naharivani<br />
or nauharivani <strong>and</strong> dagarvani or dagurvani) <strong>and</strong> at this point in time it would be<br />
impossible to ascertain which family may have been the oldest representative of<br />
each of these vani styles. There is one family in Una, Punjab (now Himachal<br />
Pradesh), which is also a claimant of the Talw<strong>and</strong>i Gharana. Sadly, its last<br />
dhrupad exponent died in 2001 – I met his gr<strong>and</strong>son at the Kikkar Spa near Sri<br />
An<strong>and</strong>pur Sahib where he played tabla with a ghazal singer. He revealed that<br />
nobody in his family remembers the traditional repertoire once sang by his<br />
gr<strong>and</strong>father. It would be interesting to find out if there are any family linkages<br />
between these two, although Hafeez Khan never mentioned of any long lost<br />
cousins in East Punjab, but, of course, the fact that he wasn’t aware of them<br />
does not negate the linkages’ possibility.<br />
It was a dear friend of mine, Khalid Basra (d. 1998), who did his PhD on the<br />
Ustad at the School of Oriental <strong>and</strong> African <strong>Studies</strong>, University of London, who<br />
personally introduced Hafeez Khan to me. Khan Sahib was evidently very keen<br />
to teach me. It did make things easier as I was curious to know about the<br />
grammar (of sound or music), which they adhered to, their improvisational style<br />
<strong>and</strong> the ambit of their repertoire. My son, Luigi Hari Tehel Singh, of whom<br />
Khan Sahib <strong>and</strong> his wife were very fond, was just a year old when we went to<br />
Lahore in 1997 <strong>and</strong> that visit gave me an opportunity to have a first h<strong>and</strong>
JPS: 16.1 152<br />
experience of his teaching method <strong>and</strong> singing style. I had taken my Jori to<br />
Lahore <strong>and</strong> during those days I played a lot with him, occasionally but playfully<br />
testing each other. I have in my collection a few hours of video recording from<br />
that visit.<br />
During my 1997 visit, I had also made nearly 32 hours of audio DAT<br />
recordings, which were sadly stolen at Napoli Centrale railway station in<br />
September 1998. We had just boarded the Eurostar to Roma to catch a flight<br />
back to India. The recordings contained very fond memories of the 1997 visit to<br />
Lahore, when Khalid Basra was still alive, although I had a chance to re-record<br />
Hafeez Khan during my 2000 visit, which was more of a study trip. This time<br />
around, he told me that I was his first ‘vocalist’ disciple, although I would tend<br />
to dispute it as I underst<strong>and</strong> that his nephew, Labrez, may have already been<br />
trained by him.<br />
Ustad Hafeez Khan had the faiz (grace) of his ancestors, which he claimed to<br />
have received when he visited the mazar (tomb) of his father, Ustad Meher Ali.<br />
I do hope that such a blessing continues to flow in his family for it would be<br />
very unfortunate to lose such a precious link to the Talw<strong>and</strong>i school of music.<br />
He was an extraordinary talent but a talent, who could never flourish simply<br />
because of the cruel fate that he (along with countless others) met in the face of<br />
Partition. A very famous Sikh Zamindar, who shifted to the Indian side of<br />
Punjab in 1947, employed his father, Miyan Mehar Ali. Although, Hafeez<br />
Khan’s family did not need to migrate, as they were already residing in the then<br />
newly carved out Pakistan, their means of livelihood <strong>and</strong> their privileges were<br />
snatched away from them. Now they had to fend for themselves rather than<br />
being provided for. They had to worry about family sustenance rather than just<br />
minding their musical business <strong>and</strong> this changed scenario would have meant less<br />
time spent in actually learning from their elders. Not an isolated phenomenon,<br />
which occurred only to this family, Partition ruptured the mode of passing the<br />
traditional knowledge to the next generation in almost all major traditions at that<br />
time. At the time of migrating to India, the Sikh Zamindar told Ustad Hafeez<br />
Khan’s father that the thought of losing out on listening to Mehar Ali’s<br />
bhimpalāsi rendition was unbearable more than leaving the entire ancestral<br />
estate behind.
153 In Remembrance<br />
Photo 2 3<br />
Talw<strong>and</strong>i Gharana. Lahore. Early 1920s<br />
My own family, for example, lived in East Punjab (although my father was<br />
studying in Lahore at the time) <strong>and</strong> yet it was not immune to the aftermath of<br />
Punjab’s partition. There was a clear contrast between the generation which was<br />
already established by the 1930s <strong>and</strong> the ones who were under training in the<br />
40s. Similar is the case for the Dagars, for the family of the legendary pakhawaj<br />
maestro Parbat Singh of Gwalior <strong>and</strong> for the Rababi Bhai Ghulam Mohammad,<br />
a nephew of Bhai Ch<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> son of the legendary Bhai Sundar.<br />
Ustad Hafeez Khan mostly sang in chartal (a 12 beat rhythm cycle) <strong>and</strong><br />
occasionally sang in sultal <strong>and</strong> jhaptal (both 10 beat cycles), geet aka dhaiya or<br />
tivra (7 beats), but rarely in dhamar (14 beats). I really enjoyed his kedar, megh,<br />
miyan malhar, adana-bahar, kamod, desi <strong>and</strong> malkauns. As I am not attempting<br />
to write a musicological note on Hafeez Khan, enthusiasts may refer to the<br />
article “Dhrupad in Pakistan: The Talw<strong>and</strong>i Gharana” by Khalid Basra <strong>and</strong><br />
Richard Widdess, for details I am refraining to delve into.<br />
I have some reservations on the way Richard has h<strong>and</strong>led his dhrupad<br />
related works with Khalid <strong>and</strong> later 4 with Professor Ritwik Sanyal. For example,<br />
Richard relies on sitar exponent Dharambir Singh <strong>and</strong> perhaps P<strong>and</strong>it Amarnath<br />
for his Sikh music related research quote 5 . While in fact Dharambir is a Sikh but<br />
he is not an exponent of Sikh Kirtan tradition. The quotes 6 attributed to him in<br />
this book are speculative <strong>and</strong> appalling to say the least. Among many music<br />
exponents including the Talw<strong>and</strong>i ones who became Gur-Sikhs did composed<br />
newer compositions but their immediate passion was to learn the shabd-reets,<br />
which were compositions composed by the Gurubani authors themselves. It
JPS: 16.1 154<br />
must be noted that the author of this article is an exponent of all three schools in<br />
consideration here; kh<strong>and</strong>arvani, dagarvani <strong>and</strong> gurubani, <strong>and</strong> is grateful to all<br />
these three traditions for their respective insights <strong>and</strong> is obviously privy to their<br />
rich heritage. I also have a rare privilege to be in a position to compare <strong>and</strong><br />
comment on the repertoire of these hoary traditions. Many of the remaining<br />
masterpieces (compositions) of the Gurus are simply matchless <strong>and</strong> have left<br />
some of the finest exponents of classical music including the Dagars <strong>and</strong><br />
Talw<strong>and</strong>i exponents, stunned. Incorrect <strong>and</strong> inappropriate sources can be<br />
downright misleading. Whereas the people referred to are wonderful musicians<br />
respected in their own right, but one must be careful before substituting the<br />
living doyens of the two ancient musical systems, Gurubani <strong>and</strong> Dagarvani.<br />
I am a person with big dreams but very limited means. Alas, how I wish<br />
Fahimuddin Dagar <strong>and</strong> Hafeez Khan had been brought together in a discussion<br />
session. I remember Fahimuddin being absolutely amazed to hear about the four<br />
stages of alaap as referred to by Hafeez Khan namely, sari'at, tariqat, haqiqat<br />
<strong>and</strong> ma'rifat, which is a very Islamic take on the methodology of alaap.<br />
Fahimuddin’s is a more Indic interpretation of alaap’s methodology.<br />
Unfortunately, geo-political locations <strong>and</strong> compulsions can sometimes force<br />
even musical exponents to change or convert the music, it grammar, etymology<br />
<strong>and</strong> history to suit their new patrons.<br />
According to Hafeez Khan, the root of alaap is Allah-ap, which literally<br />
means God Himself. Alaap or vaartalaap literally means to talk, to converse <strong>and</strong><br />
in this case, a musical conversation. Alaap (org Sanskrit) can either contain<br />
words as a means of conversation for example, “nit taran taaran, Allah tero<br />
naam” in Hafeez Khan’s case <strong>and</strong> ‘Om antaram tvam, taran taaran tvam, anant<br />
hari narayan Om” in case of Fahimuddin Dagar, or be merely phonetic or<br />
wordless similar to a communicative attempt by a cat or even a dog. Some<br />
animals such as a cat, dog or even cattle show us a range of emotions, which are<br />
intrinsic to the rendition of alaap such as kalol (playful), laad (to cajole<br />
lovingly), pukaar (calling), which are some of the musical characteristics that<br />
are unique to the Gurubani singing.<br />
Being a 13 th generation exponent <strong>and</strong> a repository of some fascinating<br />
shabad-reets (compositions) of the Sikh gurus, their modus-alaap fascinated<br />
<strong>and</strong> inspired me to undertake a major analysis of these priceless compositions. I<br />
could see repeated patterns when the conversation is with one’s mind; various<br />
emotions (happy, sorrowful, lament, distress, wishful, etc); with the guru who is<br />
formless, nameless, <strong>and</strong> ubiquitous; when the guru gives gyan (knowledge) <strong>and</strong><br />
the resulting celebration. Such variety is non-existent to best of my knowledge<br />
in any other Indian musical tradition, although there exists a very evolved sense<br />
of aesthetic – a symbiosis between the four elements that make a composition,<br />
namely, raag (melodic mode), taal (rhythmic pattern or cycle), shabd (word or<br />
verse) <strong>and</strong> avadhaanu (intent). Perhaps this lack is because of the absence of<br />
Gurubani like poetic content in other tradition.
155 In Remembrance<br />
At this moment I am reminded of a beautiful composition by Nayak Baiju (15 th<br />
Century AD?) in raag multani set to chartaal, which Hafeez Khan sang with<br />
masterly improvisations.<br />
Vidya teyu bhali jaa mein paeyo ram.<br />
(asthai)<br />
Rang mahal mein baithe jo gopal lal, cheen layee mala.<br />
(antara)<br />
Saat pragat teen gupat, rache jo Gopal Lal,<br />
(sanchari)<br />
Baiju de gaye te, saat sur bhul gaye,<br />
(abhog)<br />
Pokhan daroo mala.<br />
The first line, which is also the refrain or asthai of the composition, ends with<br />
the word ‘Ram’. But Hafeez Khan changed it to ‘Allah’ 7 . In another instance,<br />
when he was about to teach me a chartaal composition in raag malkauns (an all<br />
flat note pentatonic raag where the 2 nd <strong>and</strong> the 3 rd notes are never touched) he<br />
asked me if I wanted to learn the composition with the original text or the newer<br />
one that he had specifically done for the audience in Pakistan.<br />
During my visit in the year 2000, I had interviewed him intently <strong>and</strong><br />
intensively both. What I found was that although he had a unique repertoire, it<br />
was not an extensive one. He mentioned about looking into his father’s note<br />
books when I asked him about some rare raag forms.<br />
I had heard from some of the Sikh maestros that over the last few hundred<br />
years, many exponents of the Talw<strong>and</strong>i gharana had become Sikhs <strong>and</strong> began<br />
singing gurubani instead of other texts. Some even continued to be non-Sikhs<br />
but sang gurubani while retaining their respective beliefs. During one of our<br />
discussions I mentioned about Raag Khat Gujri to his surprise. According to<br />
Hafeez Khan, this raag <strong>and</strong> its compositions in chartaal are some of the prized<br />
assets of the Talw<strong>and</strong>i Gharana <strong>and</strong> Hafeez Khan was clearly shocked to hear<br />
the same raag sang by me. He was always very courteous with me but I noticed<br />
that he actually became comfortable with me after this particular episode. I<br />
wasn’t counted amongst aliens anymore <strong>and</strong> I was glad.<br />
The h<strong>and</strong>ling of a ten beat rhythmic cycle variant, soolphakta aka sool or<br />
soolphak, in this tradition, particularly amazed me. Unlike most music traditions<br />
where sool is sung in medium or fast tempo, in the Talw<strong>and</strong>i repertoire there are<br />
quite a few compositions in vilambit laya (slow pace) like chartaal (a 12-beat<br />
cycle) or dhamaar (a 14-beat cycle). A noteworthy example among such<br />
compositions is a masterpiece in a raag kanra version,<br />
“Laalan aaye, bhaye mohe.<br />
Hoon bali gayee sakhi, apne piya ko.<br />
(asthai)<br />
Tan, man, dhan main chaa vari kar hoon,<br />
Jaane na doongi sakhi, apne piya ko”.<br />
(antara)
JPS: 16.1 156<br />
The mukhra (beginning) of this composition, laalan aaye, is particularly<br />
confusing to even a chiseled percussion accompanist (having personally tried<br />
with a few). The percussionists think that the summ of the b<strong>and</strong>ish<br />
(composition) is on the phonetic ‘a’ of aaye, instead the composition is a<br />
mastAnād dhrupad i.e. one that starts form the first beat of the rhythm cycle – in<br />
this case the soolphak.<br />
But there were some other unique aspects to Hafeez Khan’s h<strong>and</strong>ling of geet<br />
<strong>and</strong> sulphak, 7 <strong>and</strong> 10 beats respectively, this time in ati-drut laya (prestissimo<br />
or fast pace). Having successfully revived Punjab’s art of pakhawaj playing, it<br />
was indeed a pleasure <strong>and</strong> a satisfying experience for me, to accompany him<br />
<strong>and</strong> his brother, Mohammad Afzal Khan, on the jori/pakhawaj.<br />
There were a few funny instances too, in our conversation. One evening he<br />
sang a beautiful composition in geet taal <strong>and</strong> I expressed my desire to learn it.<br />
Hafeez Khan Sahib did not want to reveal the name of the raag <strong>and</strong> clearly<br />
pretended to have ‘forgotten’ the composition that he had just sang. I responded<br />
by singing 6-7 compositions set to pancham savari, Punjabi tintal <strong>and</strong> soolphak<br />
<strong>and</strong> he exclaimed, “Even you know raag mali gaura?”<br />
A couple of days later, I introduced him to Rai Azizullah, the direct<br />
descendent of the Nawabs of Talw<strong>and</strong>i who were the jajman (patrons) of Hafeez<br />
Khan’s ancestors. Shockingly, they had never met – well, until that fine<br />
evening, when I organised an evening concert at the Rai’s residence in Lahore.<br />
Both the Kh<strong>and</strong>ehre brothers sang in unison – a memorable concert. The sooltal<br />
rendition was very dramatic when both the brothers tried to challenge me<br />
unsuccessfully as I played the jori along with them that evening, leaving Ustad<br />
Afzal Khan, the elder brother of Hafeez Khan, utterly pleased. After I asked<br />
them to sing the mali gaura composition, Hafeez Khan complained to me<br />
afterwards that I must not take the names of the raags in front of people, as they<br />
had never revealed the names of these rare ragas in Pakistan.<br />
In another occasion he tried to convert me to his own set of principles. He<br />
started by saying that “Hazrat Mohammad is the Prophet while Guru Nanak Dev<br />
is only a Pir”. The status of a Prophet is higher as the truth has been revealed to<br />
the Prophet whereas Guru Nanak Dev only taught what the Prophet revealed.<br />
This hilarious debate went on until dawn. He never engaged in a religious or<br />
spiritual debate with me afterwards.<br />
He had even passed on to me his ancestral tanpura, which he claimed to be<br />
more than 300 hundred years old, writing a will-like note on a slip in Urdu.<br />
According to him its toomba (gourd) was made from a rhino-skin. But I<br />
returned this precious heirloom to him after doing some extensive restoration<br />
work on it.<br />
He was a great teacher. It was a memorable moment when he taught me<br />
darbari alap. He was very methodical <strong>and</strong> showed his sincere intent to teach.<br />
He told me I was the first singer student of his <strong>and</strong> also ‘ordained’ me in the line<br />
of Talw<strong>and</strong>i exponents. He requested me to take care of his son <strong>and</strong> family after<br />
him. The list of his well-wishers grew considerably in the years since my last<br />
visit. Rabia <strong>and</strong> Shahid Mirza organised classes at their art <strong>and</strong> crafts abode,
157 In Remembrance<br />
Lahore Chitrakar, <strong>and</strong> recorded his concerts. He had many new students some of<br />
whom I met when I visited Lahore after his passing away.<br />
Many times I had expressed my desire to bring him to India. Especially now<br />
when my plans to set up Anād Conservatory: An Institute of Arts, Aesthetics<br />
<strong>and</strong> Cultural Traditions at the historic Qila Sarai, Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala<br />
are nearly fructified. His name had already been proposed as a Professor<br />
Emeritus at the Conservatory’s Faculty of Music <strong>and</strong> Arts. Removing his name<br />
was a very painful act indeed <strong>and</strong> I hope his elder brother, howsoever frail,<br />
would be able to undertake this responsibility.<br />
Khan Sahib’s demise has indeed left a void <strong>and</strong> is an irretrievable loss. I was<br />
very pleased to see a lot of him in his son Ali <strong>and</strong> nephew Labrez – who must<br />
now carry the Talw<strong>and</strong>i baton in to the future. They will need to work very hard<br />
indeed <strong>and</strong>, Khan Sahib, I reiterate my pledge to you to be supportive of them<br />
<strong>and</strong> their cause – hopefully the day may not be far when they would represent<br />
you <strong>and</strong> the great elders of this unique gharana of Punjab. In gratitude to you<br />
for all that you shared. Rabb Rākha –Farewell…<br />
Bhai Baldeep Singh<br />
Ustad Mohammad Hafeez Khan Talw<strong>and</strong>iwale, Musician, born January 2, 1936<br />
Faisalabad originally Lyallpur (West Punjab Pakistan) died March 18, 2009<br />
Faisalabad.<br />
About the author: Bhai Baldeep Singh, a 13th-generation exponent of Sikh<br />
Kirtan Maryada (vocalist, percussionist, string player) is also an instrument<br />
maker, lecturer, archivist, <strong>and</strong> founder of Anād Conservatory – An institute of<br />
Arts, Aesthetics <strong>and</strong> Cultural Traditions. Chairman <strong>and</strong> Managing Trustee of the<br />
Anād Foundation, he represents Punjab in the General Council of the National<br />
Academy of Music <strong>and</strong> Drama, New Delhi.<br />
Notes<br />
1 The decline of dhrupad <strong>and</strong> related art forms is evident in this image by<br />
Shahid Mirza. In Pakistan, there is no artisan who can make pakhawaj or jori<br />
(drums traditionally used for accompaniment to dhrupad), <strong>and</strong> neither a<br />
pakhawaj player of any substance, after the tragic demise of Ustad Talib<br />
Hussein in the early 90’s. In this image, Wajid Ali is seen playing tabla with<br />
Hafeez Khan’s dhrupad singing. I have heard some recordings of these concerts,<br />
which were give to me by Shahid Mirza in April 2009 when I visited Lahore<br />
<strong>and</strong> Faisalabad. The tabla accompaniment in these recordings is piteous.<br />
It is a shame that Hafeez Khan <strong>and</strong> his brother could not have at least a<br />
couple of their children or relatives trained in the art of pakhawaj playing when<br />
many exponents were still around such as the legendary Bhai Santu, Bhai<br />
Naseera, Mian Kader Baksh, Baba Inayat <strong>and</strong> Baba Mukhtar.
JPS: 16.1 158<br />
2 Dhrupad is said to be the oldest living musical genres of India after the<br />
ch<strong>and</strong>h, prab<strong>and</strong>h, dhruva <strong>and</strong> matha genres went out of vogue. It must be<br />
noted that the Gurubani Kirtan tradition with its oldest Sufi order author Sheikh<br />
Farid (11-12 th Century AD) still employs the ch<strong>and</strong>h <strong>and</strong> prab<strong>and</strong>h genres of<br />
singing in its repertoire. The Gurubani aka Guru Granth Sahib is authored by 36<br />
masters who lived in South Asia between the 11-12 th century <strong>and</strong> 17-18 th<br />
century AD.<br />
3 The performers shown here in this undated photo were not familiar to even<br />
Hafeez Khan who preserved this image. It is interesting to see a tasha or dukkad<br />
like percussion instrument similar to the one used to accompany a shehnai (an<br />
Indian flute) concert.<br />
4 Dhrupad: Tradition <strong>and</strong> Performance in Indian Music by Ritwik Sanyal <strong>and</strong><br />
Richard Widdess. Ashgate Publishing Limited. 2004. Page 395.<br />
5 “A similar situation seems to have existed in the Punjab. Before Partition,<br />
dhrupad was a popular art-form for which members of the Talw<strong>and</strong>i gharana<br />
were particularly noted. It is said that they were employed by Sikh religious<br />
leaders to compose music in the dhrupad style for ritual use in the temples of<br />
Amritsar <strong>and</strong> elsewhere; they also taught Sikh <strong>and</strong> Hindu pupils, sometimes<br />
adopting Sikh or Hindu titles <strong>and</strong> dress. Thus music of ultimately Hindu origins<br />
was adapted by Muslims for use in Sikh ritual”. Written as quoted attributed to<br />
Dharambir Singh <strong>and</strong> P<strong>and</strong>it Amarnath from, Ibid., Page 33<br />
6<br />
Even some of their remarks in their book Dhrupad: Tradition <strong>and</strong><br />
Performance in Indian Music about the un-willingness of Fahimuddin Dagar to<br />
share knowledge are disturbing. But I will refrain from ingressing further into<br />
this issue here in this article but hoping at the same time that at least in<br />
academia tools such as impatience <strong>and</strong> jumping to easy conclusions are<br />
shunned.<br />
7 Listen to Gharano Ki Gaiki, a 20-tape set produced by Khurshid Anwar for<br />
EMI (Pakistan) Ltd <strong>and</strong> PNCA. TCEMCP 5060/5079. circa 1980.
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