Making sense of a rumbustious state

Sarbjit Dhaliwal

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The complexity of the Indian politics is such that the best of the brains in the business of decoding it often fail to reach a definite conclusion. Reason: diversity, that varies from state to state, in politics and among political stake holders. Besides it, so many factors always remain in play in Indian politics that it is not easy to determine or predict its course.

Take the case of Punjab, relatively a small state compared to larger ones like Uttar Pradesh and not as diverse as some of the other bigger states but it is difficult to even understand the politics of this state. The recent emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and almost complete decimation of the Left parties from the state’s political map proves this point.

Amanpreet Singh Gill’s book Non-Congress Politics in Punjab throws light on various aspects and complexities of Punjab’s politics and shows it in a totally new perspective. Many other books are available about the state’s politics but this book by Gill is certainly a whiff of fresh air as far as explaining the various dynamics of the state’s politics is concerned.

“The Sikh politics operates within narrative of the discrimination in which the Centre, the Congress and the Hindu majority have a fixed character and fixed role to play. The same is true regarding Dalit narrative of discrimination resulting from the Jat-Sikh dominance in which the character and their roles are again fixed. The Left politics acts within the narrative of revolutionary ideology”, says Gill.

The book covers a variety of aspects and even discusses the role of literature in determining and influencing certain political ideologies. He discusses the sway of Punjabi literature, Punjabi writers, and Punjabi culture on politics and his take is different on all these aspects from other mainstream political thinkers.

His inference is: “The non-Congress formations in Punjab, despite their little electoral success, could remain relevant in politics because of the fact that while people voted for the Congress, they supported and participated in non-Congress formations. The Congress got the votes but it did not excite their ideas. It was the non-Congress formations, which stirred their ideas through the language of cultural symbolism and discourses on ideology and identity. It was through various agitations that non-Congress formations gave people a sense of heroic activism”.

Gill asserts that to understand the complex nature of politics in Punjab, it is necessary to move beyond power and elections. This is true in the context that the narratives outside the domain of power politics also play a pivotal role to make a political party relevant or irrelevant. It is also necessary to determine the level of popularity of that outfit. He emphasises: “A political party getting the votes of people and a party exciting the ideas of people are two different things.”

It is a fact that except Congress, no other party or allied parties government had ever completed a full term of five years since 1947. The SAD-BJP government, headed by Parkash Singh Badal, was the first non-Congress government which completed its full term from 1997 to 2002. After that the same alliance completed two more successive terms from 2007 to 2012 and then from 2012 to 2017.

“After 1997, Punjab cannot be termed as a Congress dominant state”, writes Gill in his book, which dwells on various political parties and groups, including Naxalites, that remained active in the state and influenced the course of state politics at cultural, language, identity, ideological and other levels.

What is special about Gill’s book is that it is loaded with facts. Gill is definite in his analysis, observations and comments. “Modern Sikh politics was the product of colonial patronage to a new separate Sikh identity. Being a politics based on religious identity, it became a permanent minority politics”, he states.

Talking about Dalits, Gill writes that Dalit discourse in Punjab does not revolve around the singular theme of caste identity. Instead, it is a multiple, complex formation of caste, class, religion and culture that produces an equally complex set of narratives. Still, singularly dominant discourse of this formation is regarding the dominance of Jat-Sikhs in Punjab. This position of Jat-Sikhs vs Dalits in Punjab poses a new challenge about understanding the question of fluid religious boundaries. The Akali Dal derives its power from its near monopoly on Sikh sacred space.

On Left parties’ credence in Punjab, Gill writes, “The Communist politics failed to create a presence in the Congress dominant power politics and its communal Akali-Jansang-BJP intervals. From peasant communism to revolutionary Maxalism to campus Marxism, its influence remained sporadic and marginal”.

The book also talks about role of deras and babas in power politics. However, many will differ with Gill especially after the outcome of the 2017 Assembly elections where such deras had not much role to play. Neither deras nor babas can help any party to power if it loses the trust of people. This has been conclusively proved by the 2017 Assembly elections in Punjab.

This is a book worth reading, especially for those who are interested in Punjab politics.