(A fact finding committee was established by the Punjab State Committee of  CPI(ML) - New Democracy to examine and investigate ‘Talhan Incident’. The team was headed by Com. Ajmer Singh, member Punjab State Committee of CPI(ML) - New Democracy. The other members of the committee were Surinderpal Sharma (Ex-Teacher Unionist), Jasvinder Singh Bhogal (Ex-Student Union leader), Kashmir Singh Ghugshor (Labour Union Leader), Hans Raj Pabwan (Sarpanch Village Pabwan) and veteran leader Chuhr Singh Bajjon.

Inspite of the limited time available with the committee and the restrictions of mobility due to  the imposition of curfew, the committee was able to meet several individuals including the members of Dalit Action Committee (DAC) and other prominent personalities. The committee also examined several written documents. The committee released its report on June 12, 2003. We are reproducing the report for the benefit of readers.            – Editor)

The problem of Talhan had hit the national news headlines due to the confrontation of Jat-Dalit factions, the police action at Talhan, the imposition of curfew in the village, the strong protest by dalits in Jalandhar city in response to the confrontation, the brutal police firing which resulted in the death of a dalit and injuries to several dalits.

The village Talhan is situated approximately ten kms north-west of Jalandhar city. The dalits constitute seven thousand i.e. majority of nine thousand population of the village. The population of the various castes of the village is given below :–

                                Caste                           Population                No. of Votes

            1.            Harijan                         7000                       1570

            2.            Jat-Sikh                        1550                         710

            3.            Jheors                            250                         105

            4.            Ramgarhiya                    150                           80

            5.            Gumar                             30                           10

            6.            Kshatriya                         35                           10

            7.            Pandit                              10                            5

            8.            Balmiki and                       50                          40

                           migrant labour

                Total                                 9075                           2350

(Hindustan Times, Dated:10th June, 2003)

There are two samadhies in the village. The first one was constructed in the memory of one Nihal Singh of nearby village Dakoha, by his devotees. He belonged to Ramghariya community, was a mason and was of spiritual nature. He died during construction of a well in Talhan. Giving respect to his last desire, his last rites were performed at Talhan and a samadhi (tomb) was built on that place in his memory. The samadhi was looked after by one of his disciples, Harnam Singh, who belonged to village Talhan and to ramghariya community. On his death, his last rites were also performed at the same place and another samadhi was built near the first one.

The entire population of the village irrespective of caste differences visits these samadhis and pay its tributes.

With the passage of time, a huge amount of money started coming in the form of offerings. This was the period of 1965-66 during which the people of Doaba region of Punjab started to migrate abroad. During this period the green revolution had started in Punjab. The increase in the revenue of the shrine created the need of a system to monitor this money. Thus, a committee was constituted by Jat community  comprising one member from each Patti (ward) of Jats and one member from Ramgarhiya community. The committee is reconstituted ever year on the eve of Maghi. This committee is having all  administrative powers. It is very clear that no member of dalits is being taken into the committee.

To monitor this committee, a monitoring committee is also being elected, in which, apart from the members of Talhan, members from nearby villages are also included. There are 13 members in the committee comprising one member each from Ramghariya and Jheor community and the remaining 11 members were nominated from Jat community. This number remains unchanged. The members belonging to the other than Jat or Ramgahriya castes are being taken into the committee by rotation. Thus it is evident that the so-called lower castes have their little say in the affairs of the committee.

As a result of growing popularity and huge donations, a room was constructed on the samadhis and its name was  changed from ‘Samadhi Baba Nihal Singh’ to ‘Gurudwara Baba Nihal Singh’. In order to change the ‘Samadhi’ to permanent gurudwara, the Granth Sahib was installed.

During the last couple of decades, in Punjab, communalism and fundamentalism are on the rise. This rise had begun even before the beginning of the terrorist movement and continues even after its end. The reason behind this is the economic conditions of Punjab especially poor economic conditions of the peasantry as well as the migration of the population of Punjab abroad. As a result the recognition and the amount of the donations on the tombs, samadhis, mazars and khankahs have increased manifold. Due to these reasons the revenue of donations to the disputed shrine has crossed the figure of Rs. 4 Crore.

In this situation, in the year 1999, the majority of dalit population started raising the demand that they should be given due representation on the administrative committee. With this demand, a process of logical claims as well as levelling of charges by both the parties on each other began. The leaders of the jats came forward with the logic that since dalits are non-Sikhs, they can’t be accommodated into the committee. On the other hand, dalit community raised the issue of Sikh character of the members of the administrative committee. They claimed that administrators of the shrine consume intoxicants. In Doaba region of Punjab, the use of liquor and drugs is touching new heights. In a village like Talhan, where a large number of families have gone abroad and the remaining members of the families are living there, such ills cannot be ignored. But the jat leadership claims that now only amritdhari (baptized) Sikhs have been taken into the committee. But dalits still have reservations about this claim. Here it is pertinent to mention the fact that in the administrative committee, the members are being nominated by rotation, thus it does not seem possible that the village can have so many amritdhari Sikhs. Dalits also level allegations that committee members misutilise the revenue and even indulge in fraud.

In the year 1999, the dalit community filed a suit in the court requesting that they should be given due representation in the administration. But no relief is provided to them by the court even after a lapse  of three and a half years. Dalits allege that the court is favouring the illegal stand of the Jat community. It appears that favouritism towards higher castes, discrimination towards dalits, as well as the corruption in the judiciary, is responsible for this conscious delay. During the recent past, arrests of sessions judge and a chief judicial magistrate in Chandigarh and Jalandhar give strength to this allegation. Dalits claim that they have filed a suit about this biased attitude and as a result the concerned  additional sessions judge Mehmi has been suspended. It is also pertinent to mention here that the suspended judge himself belongs to dalit community.

Dissatisfied with the progress of proceedings of the court, in the year 2002, Dalit community filed a stay application in the court against the annual  election of the committee. The court, instead of staying the election, ordered to elect the new committee in the presence of two dalits namely Sadhu Ram of village Talhan and Balwinderjeet Singh. In Jan 2003 on the eve of ‘maghi’ gathering, though these two dalits were present in the shrine, the representatives of Jat community remained absent on that day. At the shrine on Jan 19, 2003 dalits held a meeting and elected their own committee, all the members of which were dalits. On the other hand the members of the Jat community did not come to the shrine but they assembled at some other place and elected their separate committee. Both sides claim their committee as the real one. Dalit community claims that since they obeyed the directions of the court and had sent both their representatives to the shrine, in the end they elected their committee since the Jat community did not attend the meeting. The claim of dalits appears to be correct. On the same day Jan. 19, 2003, 82 members of Jat community held a meeting and declared boycott of dalits.

Intensification of the confrontation:  Dalits claim that in the light of this gathering, the Jat community framed an allegation and called the police who, without any reason, lathicharged them. Against this police brutality, dalits held a protest march on Jan. 20, 2003 and also held a gherao of sadar police station. On Jan. 27, 2003 they held another protest march against the boycott, police atrocities and the callous and biased behaviour of the administration. During this week, Dalit leadership constituted a Dalit Action Committee comprising of veteran republican leader Lohari Ram Bali, Chanan Ram Pal, Human Rights Activist Jai Singh, Balwinder Singh secretary, Sadhu Ram cashier and Vijay Sampla of BJP Dalit Cell.

Some Jat leaders stated that during this period dalits met with the office bearers of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) and complained that Guru Granth Sahib is not being given due respect in the shrine. Hence Guru Granth Sahib should not be installed there. According to informed sources, the representative of the jat Sikh community also met the SGPC’s Dharm Prachar Wing (Religious Preaching Wing) and other ‘Panthic Quarters’. They complained that these non-Sikh people are usurping control of the gurudwara. Sources informed that the Daharm Prachar Committee sent its representatives and explained to the complainant jat-sikh leaders that the SGPC can intervene into the matter only after the restoration of guru marayada in the shrine. It also advised them to incorporate an amritdhari dalit-sikh in the committee. Both the factions recognised this order, but absence of any such written order gives rise to serious objections. In this situation it is not clear what was the meaning of restoration of guru marayada. But what was done by the leadership of jat-sikh community was the demolition of the samadhies of the shrine. This means that the meaning of the restoration of guru marayada was the demolition of the samadhies of the shrine, since gurudwara can not be constructed upon any tomb or samadhi. From this, it is evident that prior to the incidents, guru marayada was not established in the shrine.

During this period, a complaint was filed by Dalit Action Committee with the SC/ST Commission, New Delhi, complaining of the atrocities being committed on dalits. As a result, on February 6, 2003, a representative of the Commission paid a visit to the village. In its order dated February 18, 2003, the Commission directed the Chief Secretary of the Govt. of Punjab to banish two persons, namely Kewal Singh and Bhupinder Singh Bhinda, from the village for six months. But when no action was taken by the Chief Secretary. The Action Committee personally met the Chief Secretary who stated that no such order of the Commission was received by him. On this, Dalit Action committee gave him copy of orders of the Commission on March 18, 2003. But since no action was taken by the Chief Secretary and the DGP, the Commission summoned both of them.

Then the Chief Secretary paid a visit to Jalandhar. Dalits organised a protest at the office of the Deputy Commissioner and confronted with police. Dalit Action Committee also wrote about the boycott by Jat-Sikhs faction to the media, pleaded by way of sending memorandum and representatives to government officials. But all these efforts did not bear fruits.

To awaken the administration, dalits, under the leadership of Dalit Action Committee observe fast from May 15, 2003  to May 30, 2003 at Nakodar Chowk Jalandhar. In this way the district administration did not respond for more than four and a half months. Nero was playing his fiddle while Rome was burning. This passive attitude of district administration is a deliberate and clear favour and support to the higher castes. There was unrest in dalits of Talhan against this injustice.

On June 5, 2003 the situation turned violent on the occasion of a mela at the mazar of a Muslim saint Baba Fateh Shah Kadri. A programme of music was in progress. The villagers, irrespective of their caste and creed, pay tribute to this mazar. It has been reported that on this occasion it was announced from the stage that “these boys not to stay at that spot”. The Dalits claim that Jat faction used abusive and provocative language. Some of them claim that jats also slapped one of the dalit youth.

Dalits could not tolerate this injustice. As a result there was open confrontation between two factions, both the factions attacked each other and situation turned very serious. Due to the ineffectiveness, biased and apathetic behaviour of police, dalits organised a protest in Jalandhar. As a result of it one of the dalits dead and several of them were injured in the incident. Some of the jats were also injured in these incidents.

The Role of Bunch of Congress Ministers and Ego of Chowdhary Jagjit Singh: There are four cabinet ministers namely Chowdhary Jagjit Singh, Avtar Henery, Mohinder Singh KP, and Chowdhary Santokh Singh. Amarjit Singh is minister of state in Punjab Govt. Neutral sources claim that the fateful episode could have been averted had the Dist. administration acted promptly and timely. Whenever the suggestion of taking action against the persons responsible for boycott came up, Chowdhary Jagjit Singh claimed that he would resolve the issue on his own. Sources also informed that when Mohinder Singh KP raised the issue in the cabinet meeting, Chowdhary Jagjit Singh repeated the same words. Of these five, three ministers themselves belong to dalit community, but they failed to protect the interests of dalits and put the residents of Talhan and Jalandhar in deep sorrow and agony. Congress party claims to be pro-dalit; the performance of its ministers unmasks this claim.

The Arrogance of Political Leaders:  It is an open secret that on June 3rd the issue was nearly resolved in the presence of Dist. administration. According to the formula, the matter of representation of dalits in the administration committee was agreed upon in principle and the suits filed by both sides were to be withdrawn. But this formula could not be adopted. It has been alleged that the BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sampla and BSP leader Pawan Kumar Tinu staged a walk out from  this meeting. A possible agreement is torpedoed by only those quarters who want to get some extra political benefit from the issue.

The instances of repression and social boycott have come to light during the recent past. The dalits of Punjab are also facing the wrath of economic crisis of Punjab and they struggle for their interests. Their opponents are feudal leaders who normally are sympathizers of the Akalis. Congress shows its keen interest to seek political mileage from this contradiction and intentionally drags and makes the situation more complex. In the same way, the Akalis, in order to secure their traditional Jat-Sikh base take a tough stand. BSP too left no chance to exploit the situation for its narrow political ends by inflaming the casteist sentiments. As a result such issues are highlighted and kept suspended. In the light of forthcoming elections of Lok Sabha during the next year, such a trend is likely to continue in near future. Due to this fact the working class of both the communities will have to be more alert and vigilant. It has been learnt from the experience of the past that the things move in the right direction where the progressive forces like Pendu Majdoor Union (Landless  Labour Union) dealt with the problems of dalits.

Though several factors are responsible for this issue but one major factor is the relationship of Sikhism and dalits.

The Path of Sikhism and Dalits: One of the tenets of Sikhism is the abolition of untouchability and caste system. In Sikh Panth and establishment of Khalsa, the dalit community has had its peculiar and historical role. Not only this but a number of martyrs, icons and immortal heroes of Khalsa Panth came from dalits. They had played a major role in the militant and fighting spirit of the Khalsa.

But the tragedy of Sikh history is that the contemporary Sikh leadership has forgotten this reality and that is why an episode like Talhan has highlighted the anti-Sikhi attitude  of the leadership. Though such attitude is hardly surprising for us, but the same is very tragic and anti-people for those quarters who still believe in the contemporary relevance of a numbers of principles of the Sikh religion, since such attitude disfavours the downtrodden. The boycott of dalits in Talhan and denial of representation in the administration committee is the reflection of such selfish attitude.

Another factor of their anti-Sikh religious posture is the sikh-rahat maryada according to which the worship of tombs, idols etc. are forbidden in the Sikh religion and hence Samadhi and Gurudwara cannot be under the same building and Guru Granth Sahib cannot be installed in such place. The selfish and greedy sikh leadership of Talhan has openly defamed this maryada. Due to this derailment, they not only changed the status of samadhi to Gurudwara but Guru Granth Sahib was also installed by them in the premises. Apart from the role played by the local Sikh leadership, the role of SGPC and its Dharam Parchar Committee is also questionable. The reliable sources of both these institutions agree that the above referred committee has ordered the jat-sikh community to restore the guru maryada of the shrine. But no written order  or clear explanation is available. What had happened after the issuance of order was the demolition of the samadhis of the shrine, this means that the guru marayada can only be restored by demolition of the samadhis. In this way this is a case of forcible and religious fundamentalist conversion of religious places to gurudwaras. This is a case of conversion of religious faith of people by way of force and coercion, which is condemned and criticised in the Sikh history. Sikh leadership always shows concern about their own security as a minority community but as a majority community of Punjab they have no right to injure the faith of other minorities and create an atmosphere of insecurity. As far the condition of amritdhari  sikh for the membership in the administration committee is concerned, in Punjab there are a numbers of gurudwaras in the villages, in the administration of which non-amritdhari sikhs are included. The pressure for amritdharan (bapatisation) too is a sign of religious fundamentalism, force and coercion and is negation of the Sikh principles. If this trend continues, it will lead to similar confrontations in other places and will give a boost to the fundamentalist and reactionary forces.

Main findings of the investigation committee: From the above facts of the report, the following results can easily be drawn:–

1. Both of the samadhis are holy to the entire community of the village and they pay their respects there irrespective of caste.

2. The dalit community had been intentionally left out of the administration committee due to discrimination on the basis of caste. This was done in order to control and misutilise the donations.

3. The structure of shrine has been intentionally and forcefully demolished and its status has been changed by way of coercion. If this trend continues, then this will lead to tensions at several other places. The sikh institutions should take measures to forbid such conversions.

4. During the course of judicial proceedings, the concerned court, in order to protect vested interests, has dragged the issue and denied the dalits any type of relief. In this way it also played a role in deterioration of the situation. This episode also throws light on the casteist, biased and corrupt behaviour of the judiciary.

5. The entire posture of the Jalandhar administration  is  a clear evidence of its anti-dalit behaviour. Even after the strong social boycott of dalits and pleadings made by the victims, it did not pay any attention nor it showed any promptness to resolve the problem. This delay and apathy played its role in hurting the sentiments of the dalits and in increasing the tension.

6. The Congress Govt. has showed its complete lack of seriousness and its irresponsibility. Even after the raising of the issue in the cabinet, the Govt. of Captain Amrinder Singh did not issue any directions to resolve the issue peacefully. The inter-rivalry and internal tussle of the leadership of the Congress has played its role in the explosion of the situation and forced the common masses in the situation of curfew and police atrocities.

7. The leaders of BJP  and BSP have fully exploited the situation arising out of dalit discrimination and tension. In order to get political mileage they have added fuel to the incidents.

8. Police forces have acted without restraint and have brutally used force resulting in the death of an individual and injuring of several individuals.

9. Such type of incidents, the ineffectiveness of govt. and the apathy of administration will give new life to the casteist, religious based fundamentalism, intolerance and fundamentalist trends and is capable of breaking the unity of the working class.

10. At present, when the  policies of liberalization, globalization and privatization forced by imperialism are generating unemployment among  the workers, when education and health care are slipping beyond the reach of common masses, such derailing incidents help the designs of the imperial and indigenous exploiters by way of breaking the unity of the people.

Hence the common masses should oppose such inflammable  incidents and come forward to strengthen their own unity.