Jalandhar: Often known as the ‘Mecca of Dalits’, Dera Sachkhand Ballan, in Ballan village of Punjab’s Jalandhar district, is making headlines for two back-to-back major developments. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s is set to visit the dera on the 649th Guru Ravidas Jayanti on February 1, its head was recently also awarded the Padma Shri, one of India highest civilian awards.On January 25, the Union government announced the Padma Shri to Sant Niranjan Das, who has been heading the dera since 1994, for his spiritual leadership and help in spreading the bani (scriptures) of Guru Ravidas, and within two days, Modi’s visit to Dera Sachkhand Ballan was announced. This has set the ball rolling for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.The prime minister’s visit to Dera Ballan is being viewed as a renewed attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (BJP-RSS) to woo the crucial over 32% Dalit vote bank of Punjab, which happens to be the highest in the country.It is for the first time that a sitting prime minister would be visiting Dera Ballan, a revered place of Ad-Dharmi or Ravidassia community, the followers of Guru Ravidas, a social figure and spiritual leader. Though Dera Ballan has always stayed away from politics, no political party in Doaba or Punjab could ignore it, nonetheless.Speaking to The Wire, advocate Satpal Virdi, a close confidante of Dera Ballan, said that politicians from across Punjab had been visiting the dera for its socio-religious significance and as the revered place of Guru Ravidas in Doaba region.“Dera Ballan has always remained neutral and never been associated with any political party. From Congress, to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Aam Aadmi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the BJP, everybody visits the dera. People are happy over PM Modi’s visit to Dera Ballan and the Padma Shri award to Sant Niranjan Das,” he said.“If the government wants to take a step towards us, why should we not welcome it?” he asked.On BJP-RSS’s possible political motive behind these developments, Virdi said, “We cannot say anything about their motive. It can be political too but as of now, the mood is that of celebration and religious fervour.”Citing previous commitments of the Union government, he further said that Prime Minister Modi should fulfill the demand of construction of a galiara (pilgrim corridor), comprehensive beautification of the mandir complex, and allocation of 100 acres of land for yatri niwas (public accommodation) at Seer Goverdhanpur. “The promise of a Rs 500 crore infrastructure package is also yet to be completed,” he said.“Not only is the galiara project yet to be constructed, but the reconstruction of Guru Ravidas Mandir in Tughlakabad, Delhi is also hanging fire,” he said, adding that the community hopes that the demands would be met before the 650th Guru Ravidas Jayanti, which will be celebrated next year, on a national level.Sudden move or sustained approach?The prime minister’s visit and the Padma Shri honour follow a series of developments, which evoked a sharp reaction from the dera followers.Last year, on Modi’s birthday, a group of local BJP leaders led by ex-SAD legislator Avinash Chander – who is now with the BJP – reached Dera Ballan and held an ardas (prayer) for the prime minister. “The cake cutting ceremony was held in the presence of dera head Sant Niranjan Das and other dera functionaries,” said a dera insider, on the condition of anonymity.“This caused widespread anger among the dera followers. People raised questions about who allowed the BJP leaders to enter the dera for the cake cutting ceremony? The followers reminded that the dera was not meant to celebrate birthdays of politicians but was a place of worship of Guru Ravidas,” they added.Interestingly, in December last year, a group of Punjab BJP leaders – including ex-Hoshiarpur MP Vijay Sampla, ex-SAD leader Avinash Chander, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh and others – took Sant Niranjan Das and other dera functionaries to Delhi to invite PM Modi for the 650th Guru Ravidas Jayanti celebrations in 2027 at Guru Ravidas Janam Asthan Mandir Seer Govardhanpur, Banaras, Uttar Pradesh.The BJP has been struggling to gain ground in Punjab, ever since its erstwhile partner, the SAD, snapped ties over the repealed farm laws. While talks of the SAD-BJP alliance keep resurfacing, there was nothing in sight as of now.The BJP’s vote share in the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls was a dismal 6.6%. In Lok Sabha, however, it increased to 18.56% in the 2024 general elections as compared to 9.63% in 2019.Why is Dera Ballan so important?Dera Ballan in Jalandhar is a symbol of religious, social and political dominance of Ad-dharmi or the Ravidassia community, who are grouped under Dalits. Founded by Sant Pipal Das in early 1900, the dera was instrumental in constructing the Sri Guru Ravidas Janam Asthan Mandir at Seer Govardhanpur in Banaras, Uttar Pradesh, the birth place of Guru Ravidas in 1965. Every year Sant Niranjan Das visits Seer Govardhanpur on Guru Ravidas Jayanti.Notably, Dera Ballan gained attention when Sant Ramanand of the dera, was killed in Vienna, Austria, in May 2009, triggering a wave of violence in Doaba, leading to a wave of political and religious developments among the Dalits in Punjab.The Doaba region of Punjab, which has a Dalit dominance, covers four districts – Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Nawanshahr. The dera has a direct impact on 15 out of the total 23 assembly seats in this region. These include eight reserve seats – Adampur, Kartarpur, Jalandhar West, Phillaur in Jalandhar; Chabbewal and Sham Chaurasi in Hoshiarpur; Banga in Nawanshahr; and Phagwara in Kapurthala.Dalit politics holds such significance in the Doaba region that during the 2022 assembly polls in Punjab, the Election Commission of India had to postpone the election date from February 14 to February 20 in view of Guru Ravidas Jayanti.Moreover, a special train called the Begumpura Express is run annually from Jalandhar city to Varanasi on the eve of Guru Ravidas Jayanti for the dera followers. Dera Ballan’s followers are spread far and wide across the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Europe and West Asia, and they usually visit for Ravidas Jayanti.PM’s visit to Dera Ballan ‘not political’: Ronki RamSpeaking to The Wire, Ronki Ram, the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Chair Professor of Political Science at Panjab University, Chandigarh, said that Dera Ballan is one of the most sought after pilgrimage centres for Dalits and the Ravidassia community across the country and the world.“Keeping in view the social and spiritual contribution of Dera Ballan, the announcement of Padma Shri award to Sant Niranjan Das and PM Modi’s visit to Dera Ballan carries a lot of weight,” he said.Whatever be the impact of Modi’s visit in terms of political benefits, he said, it was a great occasion for Dera Ballan and its religious leaders. “PM Modi’s visit is an appreciation and recognition of Guru Ravidas’s teachings,” he added.BSP Punjab president calls it ‘exploitation’On the other hand, taking a dig at Modi’s visit to Dera Ballan, Bahujan Samaj Party Punjab president and former MP Avtar Singh Karimpuri said that a Padma Shri award is nothing compared to Sant Niranjan Das’s life and contribution. He said that even if the whole world’s awards are conferred on him, they would still be meaningless. “The fact is PM Modi’s visit to Dera Ballan is a political stunt. For that matter, does Guru Ravidas require a Padma Shri to prove his immense teachings to the world? Rather, the Dalits will seek answers from the Modi government for demolishing 15th century Sant Guru Ravidas temple in Tughlakabad in Delhi in 2019,” he said.The BJP-RSS encroached 98% of land of Guru Ravidas temple and only 2% land was returned to the temple management. Modi’s visit to Dera Ballan is an attempt to cover up their anti-dalit ideology, he added.The BSP president emphasised that 600 years ago Guru Ravidas gave the message of breaking the chains of slavery to Dalits in the society.“And the Modi government has been working against the teachings of Guru Ravidas and Begumpura. It is exploitation and not emancipation of Dalits at the hands of BJP-RSS,” he added.‘BJP has been diluting Dalit rights’: ExpertProfessor G.C. Koul, an expert on Dalit issues, said that the Padma Shri award to Sant Niranjan Das and Modi’s visit to Dera Ballan was an election stunt and that it would not have much political impact.“The BJP has no ground in Punjab. Rather, the saffron party has been diluting the rights of Dalits and the minorities enlisted in the constitution,” he said.Koul said that the Dalits are divided among Ad-dharmi, Ravidassias and the Ramdasias in Doaba, all following different religious sects. “However, through these developments, the Ravidasia identity has got a push in the country,” he said.“Many among the Dalits follow Sri Guru Granth Sahib while there are others who follow Dera Ballan and other small and big 250 Dalit deras in Doaba. How will the Padma Shri award and PM Modi’s visit benefit a Dalit? The discussion is that it is a big thing, but will it benefit the Dalit community?” he asked.‘BJP trying to replicate Haryana model’Another political commentator on Dalit politics, on the condition of anonymity, told The Wire that the BJP-RSS is trying to copy Haryana’s election model in Punjab. “It appears that the way the BJP-RSS made a non-Jat leader as chief minister in Haryana, they want to try the same model in Punjab. Given Dera Ballan’s deep influence on Dalits and Punjab politics, no political party wants to lose out on its support. It is in this context that the BJP first announced Padma Shri to Sant Niranjan Das and within two days announced PM Modi’s visit to Dera Ballan,” he claimed.He also said that the cake-cutting ceremony at Dera Ballan on Modi’s birthday evoked strong reaction from many dera followers. “Similar was the response to the visit of Sant Niranjan Das along with BJP leaders to PM Modi’s house for an invitation for 650th Guru Ravidas celebrations,” he added.However, this time, he said, on the Padma Shri award, there has been a mixed response among the Dalits. “It would not be wrong to say that these developments will have some impact on the Dalit vote bank but it would not be easy for the BJP-RSS to gain a foothold in Doaba. The general perception of the BJP-RSS was that it was anti-Dalit,” he said.‘Dalits have ideological difference with BJP’Terming the Padma Shri to Sant Niranjan Das and PM Modi’s visit to Dera Ballan as a vote politics, Jalandhar-based independent journalist Jaspal Kainth reiterated that the BJP was trying to woo Dalits in Doaba, and together with the Hindu votes, to gain base in Punjab.“There is a sense of joy among the Dalits over Sant Niranjan Das’s award but when it comes to their ideology, they have a different point of view,” he said.There is a section of Dalits who follow the Ambedkarite ideology, another who follow BSP founder Kanshi Ram’s ideology, and those who follow the Ad-Dharm movement, founded by Dalit leader Mangu Ram Mugowalia.“These three ideologies still run strong among the Dalits in Doaba. Not to forget, these ideologies were against Hinduism,” he said, adding that the anti-Dalit, anti-Muslim and anti-minority stand of the BJP-RSS was hardly a secret in the country.He also pointed out that Sant Ravidas was against the malpractices of Hinduism and Brahminism and challenged those who proposed it. “The BJP-RSS might be trying to tame the Dalits of Doaba but it would be difficult for them to win electorally,” he said.