Beyond Conversion and Sanskritisation: Articulating an Alternative Dalit Agenda in East Punjab

Abstract

Given different socio-economic structures, and acute landlessness among the Dalits of East Punjab, the agendas of conversion to neo-Buddhism and sanskritisation, the two most popular Dalit social mobility models in India, have failed to strike a cord among the Dalits in this border state of northwest India. But that does not imply that Dalits of Punjab have failed in improving their social status. On the contrary, they have been very vocal in their assertions for social justice and dignity, and pressing for a due share in the local structures of power; a clear indication of a significant surge of Dalit social mobility in Punjab. The question that still remains largely unexplored, however, relates to the patterns of Dalit social mobility in Punjab that have emerged independently of the agendas of conversion to neo-Buddhism and sanskritisation. The study aims to map out the contours of an emerging alternative Dalit agenda in Punjab, which is conspicuous by its absence in existing Dalit studies, and examines its catalytic role in enhancing the legitimacy and effectiveness of increasingly visible Dalit social mobility in the state. The paper concludes by visualising the possibility of an articulation and assertion of a similar alternative Dalit agenda through highly contentious democratic politics in other parts of India, where the archetypical agendas of conversion and sanskritisation have either failed to deliver social justice and dignity or could not simply appeal to the local Dalit population.

‘Home is Never Fully Achieved … Even When We Are In it’: Migration, Belonging and Social Exclusion within Punjabi Transnational Mobility

“…With a higher proportion (thirty percent) of Scheduled (lowest) Castes (SCs or Dalits) among the Punjabi population than in any other Indian state and a particular concentration of these groups within the Doaba region (Ram 2007(Ram , 2012, the rural villages under scrutiny in this paper are predominantly Sikh, Dalit and Jat.…”

“…Within rural districts, Sikhs constitute between seventy and ninety percent of the population (Jodhka 2002;Ram 2012), and it is estimated that around sixty percent of these Sikhs belong to the Jat caste (Puri 2003;Ram 2007Ram , 2012. With a higher proportion (thirty percent) of Scheduled (lowest) Castes (SCs or Dalits) among the Punjabi population than in any other Indian state and a particular concentration of these groups within the Doaba region (Ram 2007(Ram , 2012, the rural villages under scrutiny in this paper are predominantly Sikh, Dalit and Jat.…”

“…iii Despite an explicit opposition to caste differentiation within the scriptures and spiritual teaching of Sikhism, caste inequalities and social exclusion on the basis of caste are still significant features of the lived reality of contemporary Indian Punjab (Jodhka 2002(Jodhka , 2009Puri 2003;Ram 2007Ram , 2012Judge and Bal 2008), and there remains a strong correlation between caste and class within the state. Jat Sikhs are the most economically powerful, politically/socially influential and occupationally privileged group within Punjab and the 'dominant caste' (Jodhka 2002;Puri 2003), owning over eighty percent of available agricultural land (Jodhka 2004;Ram 2012).…”

“…Jat Sikhs are the most economically powerful, politically/socially influential and occupationally privileged group within Punjab and the 'dominant caste' (Jodhka 2002;Puri 2003), owning over eighty percent of available agricultural land (Jodhka 2004;Ram 2012). The Punjabi Dalit population is greater in number, but their share of land ownership lower, than in any other Indian state, meaning that Jats and Dalits 'live in extreme contrast of affluence and deprivation' (Ram 2007: 4068).…”

“…Despite advances in some sectors of the Punjabi economy and rising incomes for some (facilitating some conspicuous consumption for some non migrants), there has been a gradual decline in the value of agricultural produce in recent years within Punjab and an exacerbation of relative inequalities (Ram 2007(Ram , 2012, as the region and the country has 'opened up' to global market forces. In general, for those who are still involved in Punjabi agriculture, the returns are at best intermittent and unstable (Ram 2007(Ram , 2012, with much agricultural labour now performed by the lowest social castes (Taylor and Singh 2009).…”