| ID | 131613 |
| Title Proper | Deras as sites of electoral mobilisation in Indian Punjab |
| Other Title Information | examining the reasons that political parties flock to the deras |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Kumar, Ashutosh |
| Publication | 2014. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Mushrooming of the deras in Indian Punjab, and the role of some of these deras in influencing the political choices of their followers, most of whom belong to the socially and economically marginal groups, is being recognised and apparently encouraged by the political parties. This is evident in the fact that political leaders/candidates cutting across party divides flocked to various deras in the run-up to the recent elections. This phenomenon can be attributed primarily to the fact that the social basis of political power of state has remained unaltered in favour of the upper castes/communities. Unwilling to share power, yet compelled to seek the crucial support of numerically strong and economically mobile dalit and other backward castes voters in a closely contested bi-polar polity, the upper-caste political leadership takes recourse to the 'softer' option of cultivating the deras to 'deliver' en bloc the marginal-castes votes. With one form of the identity politics based on ethno-regional communal divide having receded to background, it is the turn of the caste-based identity politics through the 'dera route' that is prevailing in post-militancy Punjab. |
| `In' analytical Note | Asian Ethinicity Vol. 15, No.3; Jun 2014: p.335-350 |
| Journal Source | Asian Ethinicity Vol. 15, No.3; Jun 2014: p.335-350 |
| Key Words | India ; Punjab ; Deras ; Guru ; Sikhism ; Caste System ; Dalit ; Electoral Politics |