Ever since its birth, the Sikh movement continued to be under continuous Brahminic attack being a socio-religious revolution, next only to Buddha’s against Brahmins and their poisonous Brahminism.
But after the death of Banda Singh Bahadur, it gradually went under the control of Brahmins. During Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s rule, they took full control of Sikhism. Serious conflicts started between upper caste Sikhs for religious power and wealth. As a result, Nirankaris (Lahore), Radha Swamis (Agra), and Sacha Sauda (Sirsa) sprang up to sabotage Sikhism.
Now Sikhism has less than 2 crore followers, but the above-named three deras have over 6 crore followers in Punjab, outside and abroad.
Though the dera followers are non-Sikhs, over 60% are from the Dalit-Backward Castes. Within Punjab they may be 80%. Some deras are also controlled by Khatris and Jat Sikhs. More and more are falling out because they resent the Jat Sikh monopoly of Sikh religion.
Only a few thousand genuine Sikhs are in the Sikh religion. To that extent, the Sikh religion has been corrupted by Brahmins. The Sikhs only talk against caste system but never work against it. They only criticise Brahmins but practice Brahminism by hating Dalit-Backward Sikhs even when the Dalit-BC Sikhs are better Sikhs.
In cities, Dalit-Backward Sikhs may be better, but in villages, they are abused and insulted. The first Dalit revolution had risen among Chamars in Doaba and they started their own mandirs of Guru Ravidass, a Dalit founder of Sikh religion.
About 50% of Dalit-Backwards of Punjab shifted to these deras. Non-Sikh Dalit-Backwards later joined these deras.
Sikh religious leaders did not condemn this casteism (racism) practised against Dalit-Backward Sikhs in gurdwaras as well as in villages even when their flow into deras became a flood.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar examined Sikhism but rejected it because he found widespread casteism within it.
Sikhism has been totally hinduised. The Hindu terrorist RSS has taken deep roots in all major Sikh organisations.
All deras are packed with Dalit-Backwards. That is how the deras acquired strong socio-religious-political power.
The Sirsa dera, once empowered by the Akalis, openly worked for the Congress and defeated the Akalis.
Besides, the Sikh religion is dying. The second generation of Sikhs do not like hair, turban and beard. Sikh girls even in villages like only clean-shaven Sikhs. The Hindi film industry has made the Sikhs hate Sikhism.
On both sides — Sikhs and deras — the religious power is controlled by Brahminical people. Dalit-Backwards are there to serve and worship the masters. Sikh religious power is today divided into two main sections: upper castes and lower castes. As the Dalit-Backwards in large numbers have shifted to deras, it has divided every Sikh village. In deras, the Guru Granth is not placed on the manch where the dera chief sits.
If any fight takes place between the Sikhs and the derawalas, Dalit-Backwards will be attacked in both villages and cities. It will be a wholesale caste war.
(The author is a Dalit, devout Sikh and a scholar on Sikh religion)
