As Punjab gears for the assembly polls, an altogether different topic is occupying the talks among the Dalits in the state. The Dalits in the state, who have converted to Christianity, are facing an identity crisis. Though they have embraced an alien faith, they are availing benefits of various government schemes as Dalits, the identity they carried earlier. So these people are now identifying themselves as Dalits and Christians simultaneously.
According to a report by Indian Express, the Christians who account for about 1.26% of the state’s population as per the 2011 census have no elected representative in the state assembly. The Gurdaspur district has the largest number of Christians in the Punjab state. Major political parties in Punjab seldom allot tickets to Christians. The most popular religion in the state is of course Sikhism. For the last so many years, there has not been a single Christian MLA in the state assembly.
As per the report, the Christians in the state are primarily of three types. Firstly, the ones whose forefathers converted to Christianity in the period of the British Raj. Secondly, the ones who are under the influence of various Deras. They are mostly poor and illiterate people. Then comes the class of Dalits practising Christianity. These people are not formally converted Christians but they practice the religion. There are no pan-state Christian leaders who can influence all the three major types of Christians in the state. Even so, there is no popular Christian face who has the patronage of the Church in the state.
UP’s face of Dalit politics, Mayawati has marked some presence of her party BSP in Punjab. The former general secretary of her party Rohit Khokhar has told Indian Express that 98% of the Christians in the state come from Dalit backgrounds. Now a leader of AAP, Rohit Khokhar has said that he too has become a practising Christian but he is still a part of the caste system. According to him, irrespective of the faith he believes in, either Sikhism or Christianity, the effects of the caste system do not fade away. He also batted for reservations to these sections of society.
While speaking to Indian Express, Rohit Khokhar said that these people don’t even want to convert officially because they get the benefits of reservation while sticking to the original faith at least on paper. He further added “If there is some issue of religious persecution, a person would vote as a Christian. If there is some Dalit rights issue, they may vote as Dalit.”
Roshan Joseph used to be the Gurdaspur district Congress president until as recently as two months before. He has now joined the Akali Dal. According to him, the community is gradually going away from the congress party. He said “As chief minister, (Akali Dal veteran) Parkash Singh Badal started celebrating Christmas as a state-level function in 1997. The party had gone a long way in gathering the community’s support.”
Anwar Masih is close to Akali Dal’s veteran leader and minister Bikram Singh Majithia. In 2014, he was appointed to the Subordinate Service Selection Board, which does recruitment for the government. Rohit Khokhar has claimed that the Christian community is feeling betrayed by Akalis after the case filed against Anwar Masih in 2020. It is notable that Masih was booked over recovery of 197 kg heroin from a residential building he owned.
Rohit Khokhar has also claimed that there is an AAP wave in the state. The wave also encompasses the Dalits in the state. But as the Congress party has made a Dalit leader Charanjit Singh Channi its face, this may dent AAP’s performance in Punjab. According to him, with Channi being the CM candidate, a group of Dalits who are determined to vote in favor of AAP can give their vote to Congress.
Many Christian leaders in the state are contesting the upcoming elections as independent candidates. Dominik Mattu is one of them. He is contesting from Dera Baba Nanak. He has been denied a ticket by the Punjab Lok Congress of the former CM Captain Amarinder Singh. Another independent candidate Sonu Jaffer is contesting the elections from Ajnala. He was also denied the ticket. He said “There are around 42,000 Christian votes in Ajnala out of a total of 1.5 lakh. I had claimed a ticket from AAP this time. I expected a ticket from Congress in 2017. It is discrimination against the community that no party gives them a ticket.”
इस बार पंजाब में कई ईसाई नेता किसी प्रमुख दल से टिकट नहीं मिलने के कारण निर्दलीय तौर पर चुनावी मैदान में हैं https://t.co/0czRWDmFH6
— Jansatta (@Jansatta) February 9, 2022
This way, Punjab is witnessing a new type of leaders in the state who on the one hand complain of being denied the ticket and hence the representation being a Christian; while on the other hand claim that the Christians in the state are entitled to get the benefits of reservations and other government schemes as they are originally Dalits.
