Why Punjab’s Dalits Remain Divided

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Dera Sachkhand Ballan Sant Niranjan Dass on July 17, 2026 in Jalandhar hints at BJP’s attempt at Dalit, rekindling the debate on Dalit-centric politics”. File photo: PMO via PTI

Punjab’s Scheduled Caste (SC) community is close to 32% of the state’s total population, the highest in the country, yet they remain politically marginalized, with only one Dalit Chief Minister of theirs for a brief period in 2021.

With elections due in the state in early 2027, mainstream parties including the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are once again courting Dalit voters.

While SCs in Punjab form nearly 32% of the total population, the Jat Sikh population is over 20%; yet since 1977, the state has not seen a single non-Jat Sikh chief minister until 2021, when Charanjit Singh Channi briefly held the top post during the Congress regime, indicating the political dominance of the Jat Sikh community. Before Mr Channi, it was Giani Zail Singh who was the last non-Jatsikh Chief Minister of Punjab from 1972-77.

Sharp division

Even as political parties continue to seek their support, sharp caste divisions among the SCs are seen as one of the key deterrents preventing them from emerging as a united force. Punjabi SCs, like their counterparts in many other parts of the country, are not a homogenous community. They are divided into about 39 different castes and are further divided by religion and mixed creeds which have taken the form of sects popularly known as ‘Deras’.

While some of the SC Deras, such as the Ravidassias and Ad-Dharmi groups, are educationally well-off and have achieved upward social mobility, others, such as the Balmikis and Mazhabis, are “marginalized within the marginalized”. They are also widespread in various religions, including Christian, Hindu, Sikh, and independent religions. This prevents them from coming together as one community or working with a unified approach to have a strong influence on policy.

Kanshi Ram, the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), tried hard to politically unite the various SC castes in Punjab, but when he did not see much success, he set his sights on Uttar Pradesh instead. The failure of the BSP’s ideological agenda to flourish in the socio-cultural terrain of Punjab strengthens the argument that the Dalit community here is far from being a unified electoral bloc.

As the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections approach, the line-up of politicians across party lines in various Deras in the state has already begun. Several leaders of all key political parties have been seen visiting various Deras to seek their ‘blessings’, which is aimed at garnering the support and votes of the respective Dera followers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Jalandhar on 1 February to mark the 649th birth anniversary of Guru Ravidass and his last meeting with Dera head Sant Niranjan Dass on 17 July 2026 in Jalandhar indicate the party’s efforts at Dalit outreach, which has revived Dalit politics. Mr. Dass was also awarded the Padma Shri recently.

In 2023, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann along with AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal met Sant Niranjan and paid obeisance at Dera Sachkhand Ballan and laid the foundation stone of Guru Ravidass Bani Adhiyan Centre. In August 2025, Mr. Mann met the Dera chief again and laid the foundation stone for the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at Dera Sachkhand Ballan. These repeated visits only show the importance of Dalit voters.

Leaders from other parties, including SAD and Congress, also visited the Deras as the election countdown began.

The politics of appeasement

According to an academic estimate, in Punjab, Dalit voters have high to medium electoral influence in at least 55 assembly constituencies out of the total 117 assembly constituencies.

While the division among SCs has been one of the reasons for their political marginalization, over the years political parties have often made what observers see as token gestures towards the upliftment of the Dalit community rather than seeking real empowerment through sincere implementation of constitutional protections and reservation laws. Mainstream political parties have largely focused on the politics of appeasement and have hardly nurtured genuine Dalit leadership.

Published – 22 Jul 2026 01:15 IST