Faith & Crisis-a frontline piece

A recent article in Frontline extensively dealt with ground realities of Punjab’s regional sects or deras. There are many dera’s which have been in sync with Punjab’s history.

Reporter succinctly pointed out primary difference between mainstream Sikhism & sub-sects in form of “living god” concept.Deras have one leader & Sikhs have only one accepted guru i.e Granth Sahib

Tenth Guru conveyed that after him there’ll be no living guru. It was after 1870s, after the Singh Sabha movement gathered steam, Granth sahib is followed as sole Guru, whereas different Deras like Namdhari,Nirankari,Radhasaomi have a head called baba or guru, usually they have a huge following.

Reporter made a point that people go to deras mainly for the sense of community and belonging they provide; there is very little discrimination on bases of caste or creed. These deras are socially very active. They have large no of schools, hospitals & many more institutions which focus on community service.

Deras can be classified as orthodox or heterodox. Orthodox deras pose real threat to Sikh sentiments. There have been many incidents whereas one dera was found to be preaching granth sahib with it’s leafs unattached which was perceived as derogatory by Sikhs. Recent event of Dera Sacha Sauda’s Guru Ram Rahim donning in clothes of Guru Gobind Singh sent tremors amongst Sikhs which caused unrest in region.

These sects continue to flourish because they help people eradicate social evils like poverty, getting rid of bad habits like smoking, drinking etc whereas they don’t discriminate on bases of caste which is a rampant problem in region.

Deras should be extra cautious while respecting Sikh sentiments & yet continue to serving the society.