India – Punjab – Dera Sacha Sauda – Sikhs – Congress Party – Elections – Curfews – Police
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Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: IND33842 Country: India Date: 31 October 2008 Keywords: India – Punjab – Dera Sacha Sauda – Sikhs – Congress Party – Elections – Curfews – Police This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein. Questions 1. Can a person be a Sikh and a Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) member at the same time? 2. Which party is in power in Punjab? 3. Is the Congress Party promoted by the DSS? 4. Has there been a curfew in Punjab in recent times? 5. Has the State government taken action against DSS and its members? 6. Do the police discriminate against DSS members in Punjab? RESPONSE 1. Can a person be a Sikh and a DSS member at the same time? RRT research responses dated 28 March 2008 (RRT Research & Information 2008, Research Response IND33077, 28 March, (Question 1) – Attachment 1), and 16 January 2008 (RRT Research & Information 2008, Research Response IND32740, 16 January, (Question 1) – Attachment 2), refer to documents that provide information on the Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS), including whether it is a Sikh organisation. The documents include an Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada response to information request dated 11 July 2007, which indicates that “Dera Sacha Sauda is a non-Sikh spiritual organization that was established in Sirsa in 1948 (Dera Sacha Sauda n.d.; see also The Times of India 18 May 2007a). Some media sources refer to it as a “cult” (The Times of India 18 May 2007a) or “sect” (BBC 22 May 2007)” (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2007, IND102546.E - India: Treatment of Sikhs in Punjab within a contemporary historical context (2005 - 2007), 11 July http://www.irb- cisr.gc.ca/en/research/rir/index_e.htm?action=record.viewrec&gotorec=451370 - Accessed 19 September 2007 – Attachment 3). However, an article in Himal South Asian dated October 2007 refers to the Dera Sacha Sauda as a “breakaway Sikh sect” and as “one in a long line of reform movements to challenge mainstream Sikhism.” The article indicates that the Dera Sacha Sauda’s “base of followers” was “mostly Sikh”. It is stated in the article that: The Dera Sacha Sauda came into existence in 1948 at Sirsa, in present-day Haryana, then part of the undivided state of Punjab within India. The organisation was founded by Shehenshahji Mastana, a pious Sikh leader from Balochistan, with an eye to social reform and spiritual purification – among the Sikhs in particular, but also others in general. The organisation takes its name, sacha sauda, meaning ‘true business’, from the place where a 12-year-old Guru Nanak was believed to have fed the poor, with money given to him by his father to do business. Indeed, with a charter to include all religions in the new faith, the Dera has emphasised humility, meditation and social work. Other prominent reform deras of pre- Independence India were those of Baba Prem Singh and Peer Buddhu Shah, both in Punjab, but Dera Sacha Sauda is by far the most prominent. There are two types of reform deras in Sikhism. The first exclusively follows the tenets of the Sikh faith, and bestows its gurus with supreme power. These deras are popularly known as being part of the Nihang group. The second type does not restrict itself to Sikhism. While neither condemning nor supporting Sikhism, this second type claims to follow the positive aspects of every religion, including Sikhism. Dera Sacha Sauda falls into this latter category, as a social reformatory ‘faith’ with its own set of guidelines. The immense popularity of Dera Sacha Sauda, which claims to have 15 million followers, is a direct result of its active reform work over the past half-century. …Gurmeet Singh [DSS leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh] has said, “Our religion is humanity and to help the needy.” The group’s faith, considered a combination of all religions, is referred to within the Dera as insaan. Though Dera Sacha Sauda technically does not follow any one religion (other than Insaan) – its base of followers, though mostly Sikh, is also Hindu and Muslim – it is still considered a Sikh breakaway group because all three of its chiefs have been from the Sikh community. As such, the organisation’s movement away from Sikhism has inevitably irked the Sikh community, which has long criticised the Dera, as well as other deras, for ‘diluting’ the spirit of Sikhism. At times, these criticisms have been more intense than others. While violence has not been unheard of, the incidents of May 2007 were in a category of their own (Alig, Asif Anwar & Anwar, Abid 2007, ‘Embers of a Sikh fire’, Himal South Asian, October http://www.himalmag.com/2007/october_november/embers_of_a_sikh_fire.html - Accessed 9 October 2007 – Attachment 4). The RRT research response dated 28 March 2008 (RRT Research & Information 2008, Research Response IND33077, 28 March, (Question 1) – Attachment 1), also refers to an article in The Economic Times dated 8 March 2008 that includes the comments of Avtar Singh Makkar, the chief of the “Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandak Committee (SGPC) – Sikhism’s apex body”, who said that: “The definition of a Sikh according to the Sikh Gurudwara Act is, “A person is a Sikh if he believes in 10 Gurus and Shri Guru Granth Sahib.” So we cannot count a person who follows other sects like Deras, Namdharis, Radhasowamis or Nirankaris as a Sikh” (Thampi, Praveen S. 2008, ‘Simmering discontent: Sikhs in Punjab are fighting many wars’, The Economic Times, 8 March http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/The_Big_Story/Simmering_discontent_Sikhs_in_Punja b_are_fighting_many_wars/articleshow/2846479.cms – Accessed 10 March 2008 – Attachment 5). A BBC News article dated 18 May 2007 indicates that the Dera Sacha Sauda’s “followers are drawn mainly from low caste Hindus. But they also include Sikhs, Muslims and Christians.” According to the article: In religious terms, the DSS is hard to classify. And many experts argue that it is not, as some have said, an offshoot of Sikhism. “Dera Sacha Sauda combines the core of different religions,” Pramod Kumar, director of the Institute of Development and Communication in Chandigarh, told the BBC. Its followers are drawn mainly from low caste Hindus. But they also include Sikhs, Muslims and Christians. The group has a strong presence in southern Punjab and its influence spreads across some 12,000 villages of Punjab as well as the states of Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan (Singh, Jyotsna 2007, ‘What is behind Sikh protests?’, BBC News, 18 May http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6670569.stm - Accessed 6 March 2008 – Attachment 6). A more recent article dated 30 July 2008 refers to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh saying “that Sikhs were not against him as a large number of Sikhs were followers of his Dera.” He also “categorically said he revered the Sikh gurus and would continue to do so” (Bharadwaj, Ajay 2008, ‘Cong link to Dera shootout puts party in a fix’, DNA - Daily News & Analysis, 30 July – Attachment 7). 2. Which party is in power in Punjab? An RRT research response dated 13 March 2008 includes information on state elections held in Punjab in February 2007 and municipal elections held in August 2007. The research response refers to documents that indicate that the state elections held in February 2007 in Punjab resulted in a victory for the Shiromani Akali Dal – Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) alliance. Following the election, the SAD leader Parkash Singh Badal had been sworn in as Punjab’s Chief Minister for the fourth time (RRT Research & Information 2008, Research Response IND33034, 13 March, (Question 1) – Attachment 8). A recent UNI (United News of India) article dated 23 October 2008 refers to “[t]he Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP Government in Punjab” (‘Punjab not to observe ‘Sankalp Divas’ on Oct 31’ 2008, UNI (United News of India), 23 October – Attachment 9). The Government of Punjab India website includes information on the Chief Minister of Punjab, Sardar Parkash Singh Badal (‘Meet the Chief Minister’ (undated), Government of Punjab India website http://punjabgovt.nic.in/GOVERNMENT/meetChiefMinister.htm - Accessed 24 October 2008 – Attachment 10). 3. Is the Congress Party promoted by the DSS? The RRT research response dated 28 March 2008 (RRT Research & Information 2008, Research Response IND33077, 28 March, (Question 2) – Attachment 1), refers to an article in the Economic and Political Weekly dated October 2007 which indicates that the Dera Sacha Sauda supported the Congress Party in the Punjab state elections held in February 2007. It is stated in the article that: Before the February 2007 PLA elections, the seven-member “Political Affairs Wing” (PAW) of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, for the first time in the history of the sect founded in 1948 by a partition refugee from Baluchistan, Shyam Mastana, issued a directive to its followers in Punjab, especially well represented in the south-western districts of the state, to cast “each and every vote” in favour of the Congress candidates in the 2007 PLA elections. Despite the Congress’ overall electoral defeat in the polls, this played a significant role in the Congress’ victory in several constituencies of the Malwa region, a traditional bastion of the Akali Dal.