Community at the Crossroads

Kathryn Lum, European University Institute, Florence, Italy : 

Kathryn Lum, European University Institute, Florence, Italy ‘A Community at a Crossroads: A case study of the Ravidassia Sangat in Barcelona’ © Presented at the Punjab Research Group, 31 October 2009. Please do not cite without the authors permission.

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A COMMUNITY AT A CROSSROADS

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“The people who have come here have been here for five, ten years- they still have the same mentality as before. Today India is modernising but here they don´t change. It´s like a film that has been left half finished. They come here and want to do as they did in India. Even if they don´t want to be casteist they have it deep within them. We´re in the same situation, we are both foreigners, but there is no solidarity. Ten years ago they could insult us, say ´you´, maybe we would react but still with a bit of fear. Today people react and face up to them. They tried to humiliate us (G.R incident), for this reason we decided to set up our own gurudwara, where we could be in charge. I like that when you enter into our gurudwara, we know who we are and this makes us feel proud automatically. Its mine, it´s my home, nobody can say anything to us. You feel at ease” (male, youth, Barcelona)

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“They ask you about your caste, but indirectly, they ask where you are from, what your name is. Of course names are deceptive. To ask directly doesn´t look good. I have seen how upper caste people react towards lower caste people. Their facial expression, the tone of voice, how they speak. Sometimes they change when they find out that you are low caste. They don´t say anything, but you notice it, that this person has changed suddenly” (male, youth, Barcelona)

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“We have a business. They never say anything to your face. The Jat workers talk amongst themselves- “they are Chamar” in a condescending tone. But to your face it is always “bhaiji”. Once I was in the park with a Jat worker, he was drunk on whisky and he said to me: “I work for a Chamar” (male, youth, Barcelona)

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“Inside the gurudwara, there is no discrimination, but there is ill treatment. The central gurudwara was constructed by all communities but controlled by Jats. No representation by other groups. Their mind is casteist, they feel the Guru Granth Sahib is for them only- that they own it. In India I go everywhere but here, I never go to the central gurudwara because of the atmosphere” (male, adult, Vic) “When they want to build a new temple, they will ask for our donations, but then they will say, you can´t join, you are Chamar. They take our money, but no Ravidassia on management committee” (male, adult, Banyolles)

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“The GGSJi belongs more to Ravidass and the Shudra saints. It belongs to all, it is the Guru of all. There are ten Gurus, why others are Bhagats? It cannot be. If the whole book is Guru, how can they say some are Bhagats? (male, adult, Banyolles)

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“In the GGSGi all for me are Gurus, because all make a contribution, not only the ten Gurus as they say. We are all Bhagats. Guru is the GGSJi. The message for all Sikhs is to consider the GGSJi your Guru. And all within are Gurus, but it depends on the interpretation of each person. This is what the bani says, so why this difference of 10 Gurus and 40 Bhagats?” (female, youth, Barcelona)

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“Sikhs don´t want to give respect. Bhagat used to mean supreme teacher, master, but today it means disciple. We are taught that Guru is a superior word to that of Bhagat. Moreover, when they say Bhagat, they say it with a disrespectful tone. So we must use Guru to give him more respect. I think that these terms are a creation of the people, because Guru Nanak did not give him this title. Guru Ravidass was born before Guru Nanak- so why did they not call him Guru also?” (male, youth, Barcelona)

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“They are jealous because of the development of our community. They want us to be working for them- why we become educated? They think GGS belongs only to them- no one else. This is the main reason for division. They don´t accept Guru Ravidass as Guru” (male, adult, Vic)

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“The attack was a direct insult. Why did this happen? Because of the Guru Granth Sahib. We have always given maximum respect to the GGS….but we had to remove the book, as a way to respond to them. If they don´t want to have anything to do with us, we accept this fact, and create our own identity and our own system…The whole problem is a question of pride. If they feel proud to be Jat or Sikh, then we also can feel proud….”

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“Before I used to consider myself Sikh- in reality a Sikh means someone who practices the Sikh religion without caste, nor other forms of identification…They always said, you are Sikh, but Ravidassia Sikh, or Valmilki Sikh…Sikhism says no castes and equality but in reality, those who consider themselves most orthodox are the ones imposing and keeping the caste system alive. Nobody in the SGPC, for example, has campaigned against this serious problem and tried to find a solution. For me, Sikhism was my religion, and I considered myself Sikh because for a true Sikh, what is most important is internal spirituality- not appearances. I am not going to consider myself more Sikh in a turban, with beard and the 5K´s…Sikhism is a good religion- was a good religion, I have the greatest respect for the GGS because everything that it says is right, but what is the use of having such a complete book if in reality no one pays attention to it….” (male, youth, Barcelona)

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“I was shocked to learn that my living Master has been attacked. My wife started to weep. I was very angry, I did not know how to react, to weep or what. I did not believe this, that they could kill in this way, in the presence of holy Guru Granth Sahib. This is a devilish, satanic act. Those dogmatics who don´t want that the Ravidassia community should rise. It´s a qurbani- He has spread his blood for his community. They don´t want our money going to other golak….I used to say I am Sikh. We are no more Sikhs- because they don´t treat us like brothers- they don´t consider us as Sikhs. Only like puppets for votes or for money. Now I am only Ravidassia. If a Spaniard asks me about my religion, I have to explain that we are no longer Sikhs, we have our own symbol, flag, beliefs” (male, adult, Banyolles)

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“Before, for my religious identification I said Sikh, because in Sikhism there are no castes. If people asked about the turban, I said I didn´t wear it because my parents didn´t oblige me to. Now, with everything that happened in Vienna, I see it as they are being racist towards us, low caste people. And now, I say Ravidassia and if people ask, I say to them that it is a new religion, and I explain why I have changed” (male, youth, Barcelona).

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“Before the attacks, I identified as Ad-Dharmi Ravidassia. After the attacks, we are trying to get our identity as a Ravidassia quam. In Sikhism, they say Ravidassia Sikh. In Hinduism, Chamar Hindu. We need our own identity as a Ravidassia quam. We are separate from Hinduism and separate from Sikhism. We respect the GGS, we have faith in the GGS, but we don´t need it here” (male, adult, Barcelona).

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“I never felt part of Sikhism. How can I say I am Sikh if they refuse intermarriage with us? If I feel insecure in any religion, how can I accept that religion? Sikhism is so pure- sacrifice for humanity. But after Gurus, who were the controllers of this religion? After Gurus, they repeat chapter of Manuism…Some Sants are Jat- they also sit equal to GGSJi, but Jats don´t complain about this. But where Dalit Sants talk about Dalit society and build gurudwaras, these Jats and other higher castes, they feel jealousy. They do not want the Dalit samaj to develop… I am not Hindu, not Sikh, in fact I am human. I respect all religions, but we are fighting against the system, against discrimination. There is no place for discrimination in Begumpura” (male, adult, Barcelona)

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“What they have done is not good, how can they remove the GGS? How can they take out the bani of Guru Ravidass? The GGS is of all the Gurus- you can´t remove the bani of Guru Ravidass. If we remove the bani of Guru Ravidass, then others will do the same, and then what will happen, every group creating their own separate book. We are all very sad. My father no longer talks with “Harjeet´s” father, because he supported the decision to remove the GGS. I am Sikh and will be Sikh until I die. My community is doing a bad thing” (female, youth, Barcelona)

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“What do I feel? I feel a person, but if someone from India asks me, I am Chamar or Dalit and more Chamar than before- and more Dalit too…If I say Chamar I am following the system imposed by Hindus, it´s like saying I am poor, very poor. But to say I am Dalit or Chamar is also a way of challenging the caste system. Better Dalit, because I therefore don´t create more divisions within our people. Dalit is a term that is used to describe all impure people according to Hindus. When I say Chamar- I identity with only one sector of the poor. Now what interests me is to have the most generalised identity possible, so as not to create factions within our people. So now I say with pride that I am Dalit, because it is a way to directly challenge the caste system” (male, youth, Barcelona)

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“Before, if someone asked me about my caste, I would say Chamar. Now I say Dalit so that people know that we are united. Dalit refers to more people, a larger group, we are not one group but rather many” (male, youth, Barcelona)

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“Nowadays I am very proud to say that I am Chamar, before shame, I used to say I am Sikh. Now we feel proud to be a Chamar, we have changed a lot. Now my people have the guts to speak to the media and say the reality. Before, the people were dependent and afraid. Now they are independent” (male, adult, Banyolles)