Bengal and Punjab have undergone massive demographic changes during 1947, after the partition of British India into two countries. Hindus and Sikhs who had more property and rich farm lands were hounded out of Pakistan and Muslims were also similarly kicked out from “secular India”.
Partition was prompted by the fact that Hindus thought that they were inherent rulers of India after the British left but the Muslims thought they had conquered and ruled India for centuries and hence they were its legitimate rulers.
MUSLIM FEAR COMES TRUE
Such conflicting perceptions took roots due to the fact that the method of governance had changed following the British rule. So once the British left, India would naturally opt for a “democracy” form of govt. with one man, one vote.
The “Hindus” having heavily outnumbered the Muslims would naturally become the rulers. There were about 1 lakh British nationals (Gora sahib) as rulers of the Indian subcontinent. When the Mughals and Pathans etc.
conquered India they were much less in number. But they preferred to settle down here. When the Sikhs ruled under Ranjit Singh they were still less compared to Muslims and Hindus.
The 1937 elections under the Act of 1935 proved that Muslim fears were coming true. The Hindu party (Congress) swept the elections and formed the govt. without including Muslim representatives. It was this sinister behavior prompted Muslims to declare their goal of Pakistan in 1940 at Lahore.
CONGRESS AS SUPER BRAHMIN PARTY
The Hindu leaders also declared that the Congress was a Hindu party but not secular as claimed by it earlier. The cat was out of the bag The Congress proved to be Brahminical with a thin sugar- coating of secularism, socialism etc. In this Brahminical Congress OBCs and Dalits had no prominent role. Even minorities like Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains etc. were represented by Brahminical stooges.
Among the Dalits it was only Dr. B.R. Ambedkar who realized the danger. After him it was Kanshi Ram, a Dalit-Sikh from Punjab, who formed his party (Bahujan Samaj).
Alas today his party has disappointed the Bahujans by compromising with Brahmins.
Demolition of Babri Masjid, when a Brahmin Narasimha Rao was the Congress PM, further proved Muslim fears that India would become a “Hindu Rashtra” and the Congress a Hindu party. Muslims got further alienated from the Congress party and Dalits gradually went under Kanshi Ram. This was the beginning of the end of single – party rule over Delhi and many states.
TARA SINGH’S ANTI-MUSLIM CRIME
Particularly after the Pakistan resolution (1940) at Lahore, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs started thinking of shifting from their centuries-old residence.
But an incident forced them to run for their precious life, forgetting even their property. This situation was provoked by the Sikh (Akali) leader Master Tara Singh.
On March 3, 1947, he stood before the Punjab Assembly at Lahore and unsheathed his kirpan (3 feet long), uprooted the Muslim League flag and tore it to pieces and shouted “Pakistan Murdabad”. Muslim League leaders were watching him.
MUSLIMS FORCED OUT OF PUNJAB
Muslims were shocked to learn the Sikhs were against Pakistan and their leader was playing into the Congress (Hindu) hands. This provoked Muslims to kill Sikhs at Rawalpindi, home district of Master Tara Singh. The killings spread to other areas of the Punjab. This immature, if not stupid, act of the Sikh leader seriously damaged Sikhs living in far flung areas where they were hardly 4-5% of total Muslim population. But Master Tara Singh’s stupidity was praised by most of the Congress leaders.
Most of the upper castes (Hindus) migrated to cities in Punjab and Delhi, but few went over to Bombay, Calcutta and other cities as refugees. Most of the Jat Sikhs and other cultivator-castes got lands evacuated by Muslim cultivators in (Indian) Punjab itself.
Muslims were also forced out of the Indian Punjab to Pakistan by the Sikhs and Hindus here. So, both the Punjab’s (of India and Pakistan) had to go through massive migration, resulting in big demographic changes. In the Indian Punjab the Muslim population became extinct, except in the princely Muslim state of Malerkotla. That is how the Sikh population increased substantially but still not in majority, in East Punjab.
DEMOGRAPHIC PICTURE
According to the 1931 census, the Sikhs were 66% Jats, 12% Dalits, 8% Ramghria Tarkhans, 5% Aroras, 3% Saini’s, 2% Khatris, 2% Kambojs and the rest 2% Ahluwalia Kalals, Brahmins, Rajputs, Lubana etc. Most of were in East Punjab. Only the Khatri/Aroras, who were highly literate and businessmen and in services, were in cities of Punjab, Delhi etc. The rest were involved in agriculture and village-dwellers!
Hindus were mostly Khatri/Arora/ Brahmin who had migrated from Pak Punjab. They also preferred to settle down in cities of Punjab, Delhi, Bombay etc. They were highly educated and enterprising. In the Malwa area of Punjab business was in the hands of local Banias/Marwaris and few Hindu Arora but not with Sikhs. The Raja of Faridkot did try to induct Sikhs but could not succeed.
SIKH -MAJORITY STATE
Mass migration of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs during the partition had changed the demographic map of both Indian and Pakistani Punjab … In the Indian Punjab (1966) there were three important major segments of population:
(1) Jat Sikhs: 35% of the total Punjab population concentrated in villages.
(2) Dalits about 28%.
(3) Upper castes 23%: Brahmins, Khatris/Aroras, Banias, Rajputs etc. All educated, rich and influential
Other smaller castes are: 4% Ramgharia Tarkhans, 2% Saini’s, 2% Kambojs, 2% Khatri/Arora and the remaining 4% consists of Ahluwalia Kalal Lubin’s, Hindu Jats, Bishnoi’s, migrants from UP. Bihar and other states.
Religion-wise they are 59% Sikhs, 39% Hindus and the rest 2% Muslims, Christians etc. 2 10L ovo Before 1947, Sikhs were not in majority in any district of composite Punjab but now they became majority. Jats concentrated in villages, Hindus in cities and Dalits scattered all over Punjab as a working class.
JAT-DALIT JOINT FRONT
The Indian law “forbids” seeking votes in the name of religion. So, voting on religious basis is illegal, but one can seek votes on the basis of caste and religion. So, people vote for their caste and regional candidates. So, caste-based and religion-based parties came up.
Punjab today has three important major segments of voters: Jat Sikhs, Dalits and Hindus. No single segment can come to power on its own,
Of the three, two joined hands. In the 1989 Parliament elections Akali’s joined hands with BSP and won all the seats including that of Kanshi Ram, BSP founder.
This was a combination of Jats and Dalits: Earlier, the Congress was bagging Dalit votes plus Hindu votes and few Jat votes also, And the Hindus ruled
DALITS WORST SUFFERERS
In 1967, the first non-Congress govt. was formed with the alliance of Akalis (Jats), Jan Sangh (Hindus) plus communists. In 2007, again it was the Akali’s (Jats) plus BJP (Hindus) combine that gained power. Communists were eliminated, Whenever the Congress came to power it was always Hindus plus Dalits plus few Jat votes. But ever since BJP alliance came to power in Delhi, Hindus voted for the Akali-BJP alliance. The Congress vote bank has shrunk in recent years
The worst sufferers in recent elections are the Dalits.
DALITS ARE LEADERLESS
Neither the Congress nor the Akalis bothered about Dalit votes. On their own Dalits cannot win despite a big voting strength. Their leaders have not played their cards well.
Jat Sikhs also may not be able to throw up a good leader after the exit of Prakash Singh Badal. That is why BJP is trying to woo the Jat votes. Their Hanuman for this purpose is Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Congress may also seek Jat votes through Capt. Amrinder Singh or Jagmit Brar. The only sufferers are Dalits being leaderless in Punjab. OBC leaders always go with upper castes but not Dalits.
Jats of Punjab also prefer to join with upper castes (Hindus). After being rulers in Punjab, the Sikhs think they are also upper caste. Hindus are liked but a Jat girl marrying a Dalit boy is not accepted.
So, any alliance of two segments out of three will ensure victory. This is my tip for future rulers of Punjab.
