Country Advice India India – IND38924 – Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) – 2007 Riots – Police Protection – Punjab – Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) 11 July 2011 1. Please provide background information on Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim singh or any movement linked to him/it. Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is the current leader (or Guru Ji) of the Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) religious organisation, a Sikh breakaway sect.1 The DSS was founded in 1948 by a Sikh leader “with an eye to social reform and spiritual purification…among Sikhs in particular, but also others”.2 Sources indicate that DSS combines aspects of various religions and aims to free its followers from caste and religious identity. Most of its followers come from Sikh backgrounds, though the sect also includes former Muslims and Christians. Reports offer highly variant figures on the number of adherents, with estimates ranging from several hundred thousand to tens of millions; the higher numbers tend to come from DSS sources. The DSS is based in Sirsa, Haryana state in northern India.3 A Times of India article from 18 May 2007 notes that there are DSS followers in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, HP, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Chandigarh.4 Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is a controversial figure. He has been charged with at least one count of rape and three separate counts of murder.5 The High Court of Punjab and Haryana website lists forty „case numbers‟ for Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh pending from 2007 to 1 „Huzoor Pita Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan‟ n.d, Dera Sacha Sauda website, http://derasachasauda.org/en/guru-ji/saint-gurmeet-ram-rahim-singh-ji-insan.html – Accessed 11 July 2011 – Attachment 1; 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 [note: website could not be accessed on 5 July 2011] – Attachment 2. 2 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 [note: website could not be accessed on 5 July 201] – Attachment 2. 3 Garg, B. 2007 „Dera Sacha Sauda and Gurmeet Ram Rahim‟, The Times of India, 18 May http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Chandigarh/Dera_Sacha_Sauda_and_Gurmeet_Ram_Rahim/articleshow/20 60431.cms – Accessed 11 July 2011 –Attachment 3. 4 Garg, B. 2007 „Dera Sacha Sauda and Gurmeet Ram Rahim‟, The Times of India, 18 May http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Chandigarh/Dera_Sacha_Sauda_and_Gurmeet_Ram_Rahim/articleshow/20 60431.cms – Accessed 11 July 2011 – Attachment 3. 5 Rajalakshmi, T.K. 2002, „Godman under a cloud‟, Frontline, Volume 19, Issue 26, 21 December 2002-3 January 2003 http://frontline.in/fl1926/stories/20030103003404000.htm – Accessed 11 July 2011 – Attachment 4; „CBI charges Dera chief with murder‟ 2007, The Economic Times, 2 August – Attachment 5; and „Chandigarh Fortified For Visit Of Dera Sect Chief‟ 2008, Indo-Asian News Service, 3 December – Attachment 6; „Witness deposes in rape case against Dera chief‟ 2009, WebIndia123.com, 10 January http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20090110/1149388.html – Accessed 11 July 2011 – Attachment 7; „High alert in Punjab and Haryana after violence by followers of dera sacha sauda‟ 2010, Punjab Newsline website, 27 February http://punjabnewsline.com/content/high-alert-punjab-and-haryana-after-violence-followers-dera-sacha- sauda – Accessed 5 July 2011 – Attachment 8. Page 1 of 12 2010, though it should be noted that the meaning of „case number‟ is not clear.6 Reports indicate that he has also been the target of assassination attempts.7 Further information on the DSS and Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is provided in the following research responses: IND38269 of 8 March 2011, IND36088 of February 2010, IND35751 of December 2009, IND34918 (specifically question one) of May 2009, and IND34112 of December 2008.8 2. Please provide any information about a 2007 riot in Punjab related to this movement with particular focus on the Moga area. Riots occurred in Punjab in 2007 after Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was accused of impersonating the tenth and last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708). The resulting unrest led to the Indian Government sending thousands of troops to Punjab to assist local police. Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was alleged to have impersonated the tenth (and last) Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, in a newspaper advertisement published on 13 May 2007. The allegation was made by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhadank Committee (SGPC), a Sikh organisation responsible for Gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship).9 Violent clashes between members of various Sikh organisations and DSS members followed, which led to the death of at least one person and reports of injury to over 100 people. The violence lasted for six days.10 Violence was concentrated mainly in the Bathinda district of Punjab, though clashes also occurred in Ludhiana and Moga.11 Rajindar Kaur Bhattal, the “leader of the opposition” in Punjab, was quoted in July 2007 as saying that DSS followers were being forced to renounce their faith: Bhattal, a former Chief Minister, said Dera followers…were being summoned to village gurdwaras where they were being coerced to swear that they had nothing to do with Sacha Sauda.12 Bhattal also alleged that those targeting DSS followers were members of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).13 SAD could refer to at least three distinct Sikh political groups: 6 „Case Status Information System‟, High Court of Punjab and Haryana website, http://courtnic.nic.in/courtnic_chandigarh/PartySearch.aspx – Accessed 5 July 2011 – Attachment 9. 7 Vinayak, R. 2008, „The Baba and the Bomb‟, India Today, 7 February, http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?issueid=39&id=4335&option=com_content&task=view&assignedid= – Accessed 11 July 2011 – Attachment 10; and „Police unveils conspiracy to assassinate Sacha Sauda chief‟ 2008, webindia123.com website, 8 November http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20081108/1099507.html – – Accessed 11 July 2011 – Attachment 11. 8 RRT Country Advice 2011, Country Advice IND38269, 8 March – Attachment 12; RRT Country Advice 2010, Country Advice IND36088, 15 February – Attachment 13; RRT Country Advice 2009, Research Response IND35751, 8 December – Attachment 14; RRT Country Advice 2009, Research Response IND34918, 28 May – Attachment 15; RRT Country Advice 2008, Research Response IND34112, 22 December – Attachment 16. 9 „Shiromani Gurdwara Pardandhak Committee‟, Sikhi Wiki website, http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/SGPC – Accessed 4 July 2011 – Attachment 17. 10 „Punjab limping back to normalcy, isolated protests‟ 2007, The Hindu website, 19 May http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200705191801.htm – Accessed 11 July 2011 – Attachment 18. 11 Baixas, Lionel 2007, „The Dera Sacha Sauda Controversy and Beyond‟, Economic and Political Weekly, October 6, Vol. 42, No. 40, p. 4059 – Attachment 19. 12 „Dera followers being terrorised: Bhattal‟ 2007, Indian Express website, 3 July, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/dera-followers-being-terrorised-bhattal/203641/1 – Accessed 5 July 2011 – Attachment 20. Page 2 of 12 SAD (Badal); SAD (Amritsar), which is sometimes referred to as SAD (Panch Pardhani); and SAD (Longowal). In 2007 the SAD (Badal) won a majority of seats in the Punjab State Elections and could be considered to be the largest of the SAD „parties‟.14 A report of the 2007 election results indicates that the SAD ran candidates in all four of the Moga district seats, but was only successful in one. The report does not distinguish between the different SAD groups.15 During the elections the DSS openly supported the Congress Party against the SAD.16 Note: Further information on the 2007 elections is provided on pages 10-11 of research response IND34112 of December 2008 and pages 6-9 of IND35751 of December 2009.17 Further information on the role of the SAD in the 2007 riots is provided on pages 14-16 of research response IND34112 of December 2008. In response to the riots the DSS expressed „regret‟, and soon after issued a formal apology to the dead Guru Gobind Singh, claiming that the incident was predicated upon a misunderstanding.18 Nevertheless, on 22 May 2007, Jogindar Singh Vedanti19, leader of the Akal Takht (the highest political institution of the Sikhs)20, published an edict demanding that all DSS centres be closed by 27 May. Vedanti also demanded that Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh be investigated by India‟s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for an alleged case of sexual assault and his alleged involvement in the murder of a journalist, requiring a report be submitted to the Punjab High Court by 30 May. The edict also called for a general strike.21 The CBI subsequently charged Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh with one count of rape and two counts of murder in August 2007.22 Moga: Two reports were found in the English language sources consulted referring to unrest in Moga in May 2007. One of the reports claimed that Sikh „activists‟ and members of the Sikh Student Federation had organised protests in Moga.23 A report from 1 July 2007 indicates that the 13 „Dera followers being terrorised: Bhattal‟ 2007, Indian Express website, 3 July, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/dera-followers-being-terrorised-bhattal/203641/1 – Accessed 5 July 2011 Attachment 20. 14 „Badal sworn in as Punjab CM‟ 2007, Rediff.com website, 2 March http://in.rediff.com/news/2007/mar/02punpoll.htm – – Accessed 11 July 2011 – Attachment 21. 15 „Punjab Vidhansabha Polls 2007‟, Travel India website, http://www.travelindia-guide.com/assembly- elections/punjab/results/2007.aspx – Accessed 6 July 2011 – Attachment 22. 16 „Congress banks on Dera support in Punjab‟ 2009, Web India 123, 21 April http://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/India/20090421/1233276.html – Accessed 11 July 2011 – Attachment 23.