Deras and Dalits of Punjab

One of the most talked about deras in recent times has been the Dera Sacha Sauda of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is convicted in multiple rape and murder cases

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IT is widely believed that deras are essentially Dalit assemblies and the phenomenon of the dera is centred on the question of Dalit identity. The fact is the dera phenomenon is as complex as any other cultural form in South Asia. If the essence of the idea of India and its sacred geography lies in its diversity and multi-layered cultural nuances and complexities, then Punjab and its deras offer a perfect microcosm. The diversity of these deras makes it difficult to fit them into any rigid, standard definition.

In contemporary times, deras have come to be recognised as spaces of alternative religious imaginations in Northwestern India with an inbuilt propensity to defy the mainstream. Traditionally, they are organised around the concept of a living Guru and governed by moral prescriptions with regard to ethical practices and codes of spiritual living or sadachaar. In Punjab, in particular, where Sikhism has been a dominant religious tradition, the deras and their organisation around a living Guru become problematic since Guru Govind Singh, the tenth Guru, ended the idea of the living Guru and instead, the holy book—Guru Granth Sahib or the Bir was declared the eternal Guru.

The notion of the dera is as ancient as the mainstream formations. Initially, it connoted any place or ashram or abode of a holy person where the followers assembled and attached sacred significance to it. When Guru Nanak’s son Shri Chand Maharaj disagreed with his father, he followed a different path of renunciation and detachment that came to be known as Udasis Deras. During the period of Gurus in Sikhism, many fake claimants under various names who branched off with their characteristic identities emerged and several deras like Minas, Dhirmalias, Masandis, etc. cropped up.