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Dalits in Regional Context THE emergence of historically marginalised sections in the arena of electoral democracy, especially the Dalits of North India, has led many to claim that Indian democracy has come of age. However, unlike other north Indian states, one comes across a lack of independent assertion of the Dalits in the electoral arena of Punjab. However, the marked absence of the Dalits in the political arena of the state should not be interpreted as docility of the lower castes. The fact is that instead of mainstream politics, Dalits in Punjab have historically chosen to register their anger and protest through the means of religion. With Jats at the top of the caste hierarchy in a predominantly feudal/ agrarian society, the nature and structure of caste has been significantly different in the state. The traditional understanding of caste as having its roots in the ideological framework of purity-pollution hardly provides any clue to understanding caste in Punjab. The book, edited by Harish K. Puri, should be seen as an attempt to break the silence, and initiate a dialogue on Dalit life and world-view rooted in the unique caste structure of the state. With contributions from academic experts from varied backgrounds, ranging from geographers, economists, sociologists and political scientists to literary experts, the book provides a kaleidoscopic view of caste. In Punjab, Sikhism not only countered caste hierarchies at a theoretical/philosophical level but also institutionalised these principles through the traditions of langar and sangat etc. Despite, the lack of any theoretical justification in religion, caste hierarchies still exist among Sikhs. These caste-based discriminations are mainly rooted in the structures of land relations which are basically feudal in nature. The colonial encounter further consolidated and pigeonholed the caste identities through its advent of martial race theory and discriminatory legal formulations such as the Punjab Land Alienation Act, 1901. Puri in the course of unravelling the historical position of the Dalits within Sikhism, deconstructs the role and politics of Singh Sabha, whereby Dalits were provided a limited space within the broader politics of the Sikhs. Dalits as a community were considered a crucial segment by Sikh reformers. This was not due to any moral or ideological commitment but because of the numerical worth of the lower castes in the highly charged communal politics of 1920s. In his article regarding the Dalit’s search for egalitarian spiritual space, Ronki Ram argues that the quest for a parallel spirituality has led the Dalits to redefine and recreate their own cultural-religio capital by constructing alternative sites of Dalit pilgrimage such as Guru Ravidas Janam Asthan temple at Varanasi. It is well known by now that the development discourse has been inherently biased against certain marginal communities such as Dalits and women. Sucha Singh Gill in course of analysing the census data brings to the fore the fact that the fruits of Green Revolution have been mainly reaped by the upper caste landed peasantry at the cost of the landless Dalit masses in Punjab. The impact of the affirmative policies of the government has led the Dalits to move up in terms of their material as well as social status, though in a very limited manner. Certain Dalit castes such as Balmikis, Mazhabis and Sansis are still on the margins of the community within the Dalits. The essay by Paramjit S. Judge and Surinder Jodhka provide a rigorous analysis of the progressive as well as regressive shifts within various Dalit communities. The common perception of the Dalits as a homogeneous community is ruptured not only by the hierarchical divisions within the community on the basis of sub-caste divisions, but also by the Dalit women who provide a crucial platform to critique the community from within. With a rise in the socio-economic status of the Dalits, the women have become the icons of group honour. Renuka Dagar and Pramod Kumar argue that by imbibing the dominant modes of Jat masculinity, Dalit men tend to project themselves as guardians of the female body, thus undermining the independence of the Dalit women. The inclusion of the critique of some major Dalit literary writings completes the comprehensive analytical frame, which the book aims to provide to the reader. Dalits in Regional Context is a welcome addition to the existing literature on Dalit discourse. It is going to be one of the rigorous contributions towards the mapping of regional social, political and cultural movements in north India. However, it does not try to resolve the issues and concerns of Dalit discourse, rather, explains the nature of democratic paradox embedded beneath the social reality. |
