Dera apologises

[Punjab]

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In an effort to break the stalemate in the peace process, Dera Sacha Sauda
apologised to Guru Gobind Singh, though not to Akal Takht.

"In the interest of humanity, we apologise to Guru Gobind Singhji so that
peace returns to Punjab, Haryana and the country," read the Dera statement
released from Sirsa. The statement added, "Our Guruji says it is unimaginable
for him to imitate Guru Gobind Singhji."

The release also said the Dera head, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, had already
expressed his regret over the stand-off.

Interestingly, at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa, addressing a congregation of two lakh,
the Dera chief did not even touch upon the stand-off, focussing on female foeticide instead.

But Sikh leaders opposed to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal have
rejected the sect's statement.

Thanks


Post Script : "Why many from not-so-prosperous areas of state have turned to Dera"

" They come to the Dera for its puritanism. At the top of the 47-point rule book of the Sacha Sauda Dera is prohibition against monetary offerings, television, eggs, non-vegetarian food, but above all, intoxicants. Pappu Garg joined Salabatpura Dera in Bathinda district in 1995. “I was 19 at that time and a liquor addict. Everything changed the day I became a Dera follower. I quit drinking and began concentrating on my work.” He is now the Dera’s media advisor..."

"..drug addiction runs extremely high. Bhandari says on an average at least one person among the state’s 2, 29,000 households is addicted to alcohol or poppy husk..."

The ban on intoxicants was cited the most by the women The Indian Express spoke to inside the Salabatpura Dera as their primary reason for joining it. They come to the Dera to enhance social status. In a state with a very large SC population — almost 29 per cent — the Dera also offers an equal space. But for Punjab Dalits, says Pramod Kumar, director of the Chandigarh-based Institute for Development and Communication, going to the Dera is not so much an act of seeking refuge. “Unlike in UP and Bihar, the Dalit in this state is not a victim of purity and pollution, has experienced some occupational mobility, adopted the cultural markers of Jat identity and then looks for a separate arena of assertion”...

...Then there is the 47-point code of conduct. It includes exhortations to social reform — Rule 21 prohibits dowry, Rule 41 advocates widow remarriage — and more quotidian instructions. Rule 46 advises the follower to drink a glass of water and take a 5-minute pause for reflection whenever he or she gets angry."

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