Mazhabi Sikhs of Shillong and Guwahati (India)

ABSTRACT

This paper is a sequel to Himadri Banerjee's earlier study of 2010. It tends to describe the socio-economic profile of the Mazhabi Sikhs settled at Shillong and Guwahati for the last more than a century. These safai karamcharis (sweepers) had been keeping the two cities clean but themselves lived in worst slums. An attempt is made to understand issues of their social networks and survival strategies in a milieu hostile to ‘outsiders’. It is seen what makes them stick together, maintain their ethnic and religious identity and stay connected with Punjab as well.

Acknowledgement

Thanks are due to Professor Himadri Banerjee for his comments on the paper.

Notes

1. See R. G. Fox especially chapter 8 ‘A Martial Species’. For instance, he quotes R. W. Falcon:

The Sikh is a fighting man and his fine qualities are best shown in the army, which is his natural profession. Hardy, brave, and of intelligence; too slow to understand when he is beaten; obedient to discipline; attached to his officers; and careless of caste prohibitions, he is unsurpassed as a soldier in the East … . The Sikh is always the same, ever genial, good-tempered and uncomplaining; as steady under fire as he is eager for a charge. (Lions of the Punjab: Culture in the Making, Archives Publishers, Delhi, 1987, 144)

2. There are different estimates of population at Bara Bazar. According to a ‘Note on Sweeper Colony, Mawlonghat’ submitted by the Director of Urban Affairs Department, Shillong in July 2010 there were 200 families residing in 1990 that increased to 249 as per a joint survey by the Shillong Municipal Board and the Harijan Panchayat Committee in March-April 2007. It rose to 342 in 2010.

3. The general secretary of the gurdwara committee in his letter addressed to the Chairman, National Commission for Minorities, New Delhi dated 16 November, 2009 mentions that this gurdwara has been in existence since 1893. The Syiem of Mylliem and His Darbar have issued four pattas of land to gurdwara and the Guru Nanak School in 2000 AD. In revenue records the land belongs to the Syiem not the municipal board.

4. The Department of Urban Affairs (DUA), Shillong conducted a survey in 2007 to ascertain the number of legal or actual municipal employees staying at Sweepers Colony, Bara Bazar and found out that a total of 1204 persons are staying there out of which 291 adult males and 282 adult females are working with Shillong municipality while 47 adult males and 48 adult females are with other departments of the government. The remaining population consists of minor children.

Chakravarty in her survey of slums in Shillong (1998) notes that in Laitumkhrah and Bara Bazar areas 42.14 and 33.83 per cent respondents respectively are employed in the organized sector (government and private); 37.28 and 41.28 per cent respectively as wage labour and 1.02 and 2.63 per cent respectively in the informal sector. The proportion of the unemployed is 19.56 and 22.26 per cent respectively. (Office record)

5. A respondent sums up the general sentiment: ‘Phelon tan naukrian hi nahin. Je nikaldi hai tan NGO pahunch jande ne ki local layo.’ (First there are no jobs. As and when advertised, then NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) dictate that only local be employed.) NGO is a misnomer to the tribal militant organizations like the Khasi Students Union (KSU), Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), etc.

6. Retirement benefits of the parents are pooled with bank loans to purchase a cab. Parents too think: ‘Bachae nu settle vi tan karna wa.’ (The son is to be engaged usefully.)

7. Billoo Singh, pardhan of Bara Bazar Punjabi colony in an interview on 12 June 2012. A city lawyer also attested to this fact and informed about a case of broken arm filed recently in the district courts involving women in fight over water.

8. The president of a colony in Shillong says: ‘Sadde bajurgan ne kha-pee ke taem kadd chhadiya, koi jaidad wal dhiyan nahin ditta jiven Bangalian te Napalian ne praperty banayi aa. Sannu surat aayi, tan bandash lagg gayi.’ Our elders did not care to invest in property like the Bengalis and the Nepalese. They simply whiled away their time. When we became conscious the government banned it.

9. Government of India has an independent Ministry of Tribal Affairs ensuring their development and welfare. National Scheduled Tribes Commission looks into their grievances.

10. Tribal militant organizations like KSU, FKJGP in Meghalaya. In Assam there are about three dozens of these groups and the most noted ones are United Liberation Front of Assam, Bodo Liberation Tigers Front, etc.

11. The Global IDP (internally displaced persons) survey (1998), according to Bhaumik ‘gave incorrect data about IDPs in Assam, where 1000s of Santhals, Mundas and Oraons have been displaced due to violence by Bodo guerrillas’ (2009, 129).

12. The Sikh youth grumble: ‘Asin outsider kiven hoye. Koi Pakistano aaye aan. Asin Hindustani nahin? (How are we outsiders? Have we come from Pakistan? Aren't we Indians?)'

13. B. R. Nayar notes in the context of coalition politics in India when Congress led United Progressive Alliance formed cabinet in 2004 with Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister:

As a result, some half-dozen ministers turned out to be of questionable integrity, with criminal cases facing them in the courts, and were thus regarded as ‘tainted'. Their presence was testimony to the criminalization of politics, increasingly evident over the years with the entry into politics of strongmen with criminal records. (‘Regime Change in a Divided Democracy’, Asian Survey, Vol. XLV, No. 1, January/February, 2005, 77)

Criminalization of politics and corruption was also the subject of Satyamev Jayatey, a highly rated Indian television programme by Amir Khan. Andrew Wyatt also writes: ‘The Supreme Court has also taken an interest in the criminalization of politics, ruling in July that sitting legislators who are convicted in serious cases should be disqualified from holding office at the moment they are convicted’ (‘India in 2013: Braced for an Election’, Asian Survey, Vol. 54, Number 1, January/February, 2014, 155). He continues: ‘Remarkably few politicians have been convicted of criminal offenses, and no less than 76 Members of Parliament (MPs) facing serious charges have served in the current Lok Sabha. Cases involving politicians move very slowly in the courts’ (Wyatt, 2014, 156).

Nithya Nagarathinam writes: ‘From ADR's (Association for Democratic Rights) compilation of data on 5,380 candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, 17 per cent have declared criminal charges in the affidavits submitted to the Election Commission; 10 per cent have declared serious criminal charges such as murder and rape charges. ‘The proportion of MPs in the 15th Lok Sabha facing criminal charges is not only high but actually increased between the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabhas. The proportion of MPs facing serious criminal charges (like murder, kidnapping and extortion) also showed an increase from 12 per cent in 2004 to 14 per cent in 2009.‘While any random candidate has one in eight chances of winning a Lok Sabha seat, a candidate facing criminal charges is twice as likely to win as a clean candidate.’ (‘Criminalisation of Politics’, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, April 30. http://www.thehinducentre.com/verdict/get-the-fact/article5962667.ece)

14. Bhai Ji interviewed on 7 June 2012. He adds: ‘Aithon da mahaul Punjab nalo changa wa. Saade munde smack tan nahin peende, daru-sikka chald'ai. Mere pind'ch (near Rayiya in Amrtisar district) 40 smakiye ne.’ Literally put, the milieu here is better than Punjab. Our boys do not take smack at least though they do take liquor. There are about 40 boys in my village (near Rayiya in Amrtisar district) who take smack.

15. Punjabi language is replete with terms of violence as it is rather a matter of celebration in Punjabi culture and society. The geo-politics has its own role to play in this culture construction besides the role of soil fertility and agriculture as means of subsistence and of course the emergence of Sikh religion synthesizing religion and politics. Popular songs of the day are replete with such a culture of violence. For details see Birinder Pal Singh ‘Violence as Political Discourse: Sikh Militancy Confronts the Indian State: Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 2002, 200–210.

16. Bhaumik writes:

Bongal Kheda (Drive Away Bengalis) as an organized campaign of ethnic cleansing originated in Assam but was not restricted to the state. In the early 1980s, it spread to Tripura and Meghalaya. In both states, ethnic tribes people attacked Bengalis, … In Meghalaya, the mayhem was largely restricted to Shillong, … where Bengalis dominated the bureaucracy and the professions. In 1980, a Bengali legislator was killed and many Bengali localities came under systematic attack. The pattern was repeated at regular intervals, mostly before or during the main Bengali Hindu festival of Durga Puja. … Since the early 1980s, an estimated 35,000–40,000 Bengalis have left Shillong and some other parts of Meghalaya and settled down in West Bengal and other states of India. (2009, 138)Bengalis being the dominant and most conspicuous amongst the migrants were the first one to be targeted in 1979 followed by Biharis in 1987 and the Nepalese in 1992, so inform the respondents.

17. Such freakish incidents are quite frequent and normal. The KSU youth are often involved in them. For instance, once motor bikes of Sikh youth parked outside a bar at Bara Bazar were damaged by the local boys. The bike owners and their friends chased them to their homes and gave a good beating. The locals tend to provoke the non-tribals just for the heck of it. A taxi driver from Bihar was being harassed by the local drivers. A Sikh driver came to his help with his sword drawn and checkmated the Khasis and helped him escape. At another time the same Sikh taxi driver was harassed by the Khasi truck drivers simply because he overtook them. They chased him to a local police station on the state highway. The police too did not hear him; rather they challaned (fined) him for Rs. 500/- for overspeeding. The Sikh lady passengers too were not listened to.

18. Sikhs believe that CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) is neutral since it is not under the state government while the state police is biased against them and favours local people.

19. The Panchayat cites another case of their harassment by the district administration whereby the annual procession on Guru Nanak's birth anniversary, a routine feature for the last nine years, was disallowed on the eve of the procession. It was on the intervention of the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of 101 Area of the Indian Army that the Deputy Commissioner granted permission. See ‘Prayer for remedy of grievances of Sikh minority community in Meghalaya’, letter to the Chairman, National Commission for Minorities, New Delhi dated 25 November 2011 with copies to the President and Prime Minister of India, Governor of Meghalaya, Presidents of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, New Delhi.

20. Harijan Panchayat Committee, 2011‘Representation from the inhabitants of the Harijan Colony, Bara Bazar, Shillong’, October 20.

21. I later talked to the father to enquire why he wishes to return when his four brothers are with him and he is married at Shillong. He explains that when he was leaving his village (near Batala) he was 18 years, the village elders cautioned him to return home which is why he invested 10 lakh rupees in a house: ‘Pind de budhiyan ne aakhiya si naukri pichhon mud aavin. Othhe joga na ho ravein. Ise karke das lakh da ghar kharidiya wa. Oh vi tan dekhna'i.’ This dilemma is quite common to all senior people. On probing further they only respond: ‘Punjab tan Punjab e'ai. Ohdi khushbu e vakhari aa. Pher aapna des jo hoya.’ Punjab is unique and so is its fragrance. Above all it is our homeland. This is true not for those who had spent childhood in Punjab but for those even who were born and brought up in the North-East. The force of culture seems determining. The Punjab ‘glory’ is being reinforced by popular Punjabi songs such as Rangla Punjab; Desan vichon des Punjab jiven phulan vichon phull gulab; Mud-mud yaad sataundi pind diyan gallian di and many more.

The ‘glory’ need be qualified. Upper castes and classes especially of peasantry glorify their chivalry, sacrifice for the nation and community (panth) encapsulated in the Sikh Ardas; of green revolution and being the granary of India since the mid twentieth century; of record wheat and rice production and highest per capita income and consumption till late. But Mazhabi Sikhs’ own plight remained pitiable though far less compared to other caste ridden states of India. They are marginalized, poor and discriminated, often labeled as chuhrah or dhed in contempt given to menial chores. But it is also quite common that a Mazhabi worker shares drinks with the land owner. Despite discrimination they take pride in ‘their Punjab’, aapna des tan aapna e ‘ai.

22. Bhai ji of the Last Gate Colony gurdwara informs (June 2012) that 50 boys have taken amrit recently out of which 12 are from Bara Bazar. He reiterates: ‘Aj bachae ziada ne dastaran wale, pehlon nahin si. Mere tinne munde sardar ne. Badi tagdi personality wa. Kise nu pata nahin lagda eh Mazhabi ne.’ Now a day more youngsters are supporting turban than earlier. My three sons have the Sikh form and appear impressive. None can make out their Mazhabi status.

23. It is interesting to note that Dakhani Sikhs too have similar response despite completely different socio-cultural and political milieu of the Deccan. For details see Birinder Pal Singh ‘Sikhs of the Hyderabad Deccan’, Economic and Political Weekly, 26 July 2014, Vol. XLIX, No. 30, p. 169.

24. The Sikh youth have lately picked up learning this martial art. Camps are being organized regularly.

25. Babbar Khalsa International emerged in 1988, made one of the five militant outfits under Panthic Committee of Dr. Sohan Singh and remained the most dreaded outfit till the termination of militancy. For details, see Birinder Pal Singh Violence as Political Discourse: Sikh Militancy Confronts the Indian State. Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 2002, pp. 71, 73–74.

26. The following day the City Gurdwara and Harijan Panchayat Committee (CG&HPC) and the KSU ‘strongly condemned the bomb threat to Shillong’. CG&HPC rebutted it as it is meant to ‘create undue tension between different communities’. KSU also added, ‘the students body was not afraid of “this kind of threat” and that it would continue to fight to “protect our own people”.’ Further, it called upon the ‘State Government to take the issue of influx seriously before it was too late’ (see The Shillong Times 2007).

27. According to files of the DUA, Pal Singh of Sweeper Colony was extorting money from shopkeepers and misleading youth. A complaint to this effect was filed by a social worker in April 2001 and enquiry was conducted by extra assistant commissioner, Shillong attesting to above charges.

28. Director (DUA) in an interview on 19 December 2012. Banerjee also refers to this distinction though in the Suniar lexicon, the fellow Sikhs of artisan caste, the goldsmiths. He writes:

Those who had remained loyal to them were generally put in the former bracket (‘Good Harijans') while those who were opposed to their leadership were placed in the latter (‘Bad Harijans'). I had the occasion of coming across a few ‘Good Harijans' in the Gora Line. (2011, 200)

This distinction of the Suniar Sikhs is with respect to the Harijans observing the Sikh tenets loosely.

29. Majhaili is the linguistic dialect of Majha region comprising Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts. Two other socio-cultural regions of Punjab are Malwa and Doaba.

30. An earlier study (1998) of the two sweepers’ colonies at Laitumkhrah and Bara Bazar informs that barring 2.25% girls, all are married before 21 years and the majority 47.81% and 45.86%, respectively, get married between 16 and 18 years. The proportion of those marrying before 15 years is not small, that is, 15.23% and 18.57%, respectively. And they are quick to conceive and deliver. The age at first pregnancy is between 15 and 16 years for 38.21% and 43.10% girls, respectively, at the two places. (Chakravarty 1998)

31. In rural Punjab a Mazhabi worker with a big peasant is often ‘used’ to carry out the revenge for him for some money and liquor or a mere pat on his back (halasheri).

32. It is not recent but 80-year-old Jarnail Singh informs that they were five brothers all settled at Guwahati and two sisters both married in Punjab. He has his own daughter married in Punjab while the other one is in Assam (Dibrugarh).

33. As per respective censuses of 2011 of Assam and Meghalaya, Guwahati and Shillong record 91.11% and 92.34% average literacy rates. Census of Punjab 2011 shows literacy rates of the Scheduled Caste population is 56.51%.

Additional information

Funding

National Commission for Minorities, New Delhi and Punjabi University, Patiala, too are to be thanked for supporting the project on Socio-Economic Conditions of Dakhani Sikhs in Particular and Minority Sikh Communities Settled in South and North-East India.