Guru Ravidass, Dera Sachkhand Ballan And Dalit Consciousness in Punjab

Ronki Ram (Dr.)
Dept. of Political Science
Punjab University, Chandigarh – 14, India.

Guru Ravidass: Prophet of Dalit Consciousness
Guru Ravidass, one of the famous untouchable saint- poets of the 15th-16th century, is by far the most revered among the scheduled castes, especially Chamars, Chambhars, or Charmakars of northwest and central India. Although they occupy the very bottom of the social hierarchy, the Cham
rs and other Untouchable groups who worship Guru Ravidass do not passively accept their inferior status. Their worship of Ravidass is the manifestation of a dissident socioreligious ideology. The mere mention of his name evokes a sense of confidence and self-respect among them. So much so that a large number of them prefer to be identified as ‘Ravidassia’ rather than be known by their customary caste titles colored with derogatory connotations. Although in the past Ravidas’s low status may have presented a problem, his present-day admirers strive to affirm it, not deny it. They are popularly known as Ravidassia Dalits or Ravidassi Adharmis. In Punjab some of them are often confused with the Dalit Sikhs.

Guru Ravidass is known as a leading star of the Bhakti movement, especially the nirguna sampradaya or sant parampara (sect or tradition of devotees of a formless God) of the later medieval centuries in Northern India. He was a cobbler, saint, poet, philosopher and social reformer. Together with Namdev and Kabir, Ravidas is one of the few Bhaktas to cross language barriers and become important in several parts of India. His popularity can be known from a variety of names attributed to him by his followers in different regions and languages. He is known as Raidasa, Rohidasa, Ruidasa, Ramadasa, Raedasa, Rohitasa, Rahdesa, Rav Das and Rab Das. His poetry has universal appeal. It is full of radical fervor and boundless love for the formless God. Although the poetry of Ravidass is rich with references to the adoration of and longing for God, it also gave significant space to the “hope for a better world and a fight against exploiters, power-holders and oppression going on under the name of religion. His poetry reflected his vision of the social and spiritual needs of the downtrodden and underlined the urgency of their emancipation. He, therefore, is regarded as a messiah of the downtrodden. They revere him as devoutly as Hindus revered their Gods and Goddesses, and Sikhs their Gurus. They worship his image and showed their faith in his spiritual power. His hymns were recited every morning and night, and his birthday was celebrated as a religious event. They raise slogans like Ravidass Shakti Amar Rahe (the spiritual power of Ravidass live forever) during his birth anniversaries.

Ravidass was born in Chamar caste, also known as Kutbandhla, one of the Scheduled Castes in Uttar Pradesh. Chamars are known by their profession of leather and tanning. They were oppressed and their touch and sight were considered polluting by the upper castes. Ravidass revolted against this inhuman system of untouchability. He adopted Bhakti as a mode of expression for his revolt. His Bhakti-based method of revolt was very novel and daring. It was novel because of its emphasis on compassion for all and absolute faith in God. The principle of compassion for all reflected the egalitarian traits of his social philosophy and struggle. His concept of the absolute faith in the formless God showed the apathy of the elites of his times towards the plights of the downtrodden for whose emancipation he had to seek refuge in no one else but God. His method was daring in the sense that he choose to imitate the Brahmins in order to symbolize his revolt which was not only highly objectionable but was equally deadly for a Shudra of his times. He challenged the tyranny of Brahmins and defied them by wearing Dhoti (cloth wrapped around the waist), Janeue (sacred thread) and Tilak (sacred red mark on forehead) that were forbidden for the untouchables. Though he attired himself like an upper caste, he did not hide his caste. He continued with his hereditary occupation of making/mending shoes. He, probably, tried to show that while adopting the prohibited dress and symbols of the upper castes, the lower castes could still keep their identity intact. Thus Ravidass provided an alternative model for the emancipation of the Dalits much (six centuries) before the articulation of the concept of sanskritization. What made the image of Ravidass a catalyst in the emergence of Dalit consciousness was his being a Shudra and at the same time a saint of very high repute.

The process of sanskritization facilitated the ambitious lower castes to improve ‘its position in the local caste hierarchy’ by pretending to look like the higher castes that enjoy ‘great prestige’ in the hierarchically organized Brahminical social order. Since the caste is given and cannot be changed, the lower castes were left with no option but to imitate the culture of the upper castes. What made the emancipation project of Ravidass different from that of the sanskritization was his emphasis on acquiring social respect without crossing over the caste boundaries. He did not want to pretend to appear like an upper caste to ride the bandwagon of social prestige. On the contrary, he exhibited his protest against the social oppression by putting on the prohibited dress and symbols of the upper castes. By imitating the appearance of the upper castes he did not want the lower castes to abandon their caste to climb up the ladder of the caste hierarchy as in the process of sanskritization. The lower castes need not to be assimilated into the fold of higher castes. They had to, rather, assert for their human rights by challenging the caste hierarchy while being firm in their very caste group. He wanted to dismantle the norm of varnashram dharma (fourfold division of Hindu society based on graded rank system in caste hierarchy) by showing that lower castes were not beyond the pale of spiritual knowledge on the one hand and on the other that Brahmins were in fact hollow figures pumped up with false pride and hypocrisy. In fact, he used caste to cut the steel frame of caste based social order – the only way of Dalit emancipation.

Thus, Ravidass gave a new meaning to Bhakti by projecting it as a method of social protest against the centuries old entrenched structures of Brahminical domination. He rejected all forms of religious rituals and sectarian formalities. He also commented graphically on the cursed and abject living conditions of millions of fellow downtrodden. Some scholars were of the opinion that though the devotional songs and hymns of Ravidass reflected the sufferings of the downtrodden, they lack the reformatory zeal and bitter condemnation of Brahminism and caste system that animated the poetry of Kabir and Tukaram. Though there is a difference in tone between the poetry of Kabir and Ravidass, both convey the same message. The poetry of Ravidass is known to be full of humility and devotion. But at the same time it is equally imbibed with reformatory zeal and concern for the downtrodden. Instead of bluntly snubbing the arrogance of higher castes, he undertook to raise the dignity of his own caste and profession, so that the higher castes could come to realize the shallowness of their self-imposed superiority. He advocated self-help for eliminating sufferings of the Dalits. His vision for self-help is clearly reflected in one of the legends about his refusal to make use of a Paras (a mythical stone that turns iron into gold) to get rich. He lent purity and respect to kirat (manual work), which also found special mention in the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikh faith. In fact, Ravidass’s life and poetry provided a vision to the downtrodden to struggle for their human rights and civic liberties.

The Bhakti approach of Ravidass was a non-violent struggle for the emancipation and empowerment of the Shudras. Though he combined humility with Bhakti, his concept of formless God reflected an altogether different picture. Ravidass’s God was not humble at all in the typical sense of the term. He was graceful. He was not indifferent to the downtrodden. His God was rather bold who was not afraid of anyone. He elevated and purified the so-called untouchables. Aaisee lal tujh binu kaunu karai. Gareeb niwaaju guseea meraa maathai chhatar dharai… neecho uooch karai meraa govind kaahoo te na darai [refrain My Beloved, besides you who acts like this? Protector of the poor, my Master. You hold a royal umbrella over my head]. Ravidass further said Meri jaati kut bandhlaa dhor dhouwanta nithi baanaarasi aas paasaa. Ab bipar pardhan tihi karih danduouti tere naam sarnaaie Ravidass daasaa [My Caste is Kutabådhal
, I cart carcasses constantly around Benares. Now Brahmans and headmen bow down before me, Ravid
s the servant has taken refuge in Your Name. It is in this context that his non-violent struggle based on Bhakti assumed special importance for the emancipation of the Dalits. He did not only adopt non–violence in his struggle against the social oppression, but also motivated the oppressors to abandon the path of violence. His low caste but high spiritual status posed a challenge to the Brahminical structures of domination. The traditional Brahminical institution of varnashram dharma failed to confront Ravidass’s pragmatic and revolutionary reasoning based on equality, dignity and fraternity. Instead, the Brahmins attempted to undermine his low caste profile by appropriating him in the Hindu fold. They concocted stories to project him as a Brahmin in his previous life.

According to one of such stories, Ravidass was a Brahmin in his previous birth. But due to his bad habits of meat eating and the untouchable status of his co-wife he had to be born as a Chamar. Another story tells that Ramananda, his so-called Guru, cursed him in his previous life to be born in a family of untouchables on account of his accepting offerings from a local money lender who had dealings with leather workers. This itself indicates the degree of purity-pollution behaviours observed even by Brahmin ascetics. Moreover, this account also reinforces conventional opinions of Chamars as being extremely polluting. Ramanand curses his disciple not for taking food directly from chamars, but from a person who merely does business with them. Yet even such indirect contact is enough to render the food impure. The story does not end here, however. It further informs that the baby Ravidass refused to accept the milk of his low caste mother. He accepted the milk of his mother only when Ramanand supposedly reminded him of his misbehavior in the previous life. Another story about his co-option in the Brahminical fold narrates that he had a golden sacred thread under his skin, though it was invisible on his body. When Brahmins declined to eat while sitting in the same row with him during a feast given in his honor by Jhali, the queen of Chittor, he left the room. But as they sat to dine, they found an image of Ravidass appearing at the side of each of them. The story also tells that he cut open his chest and revealed the sacred thread that lay within – a clear proof of his being a real Brahmin.

Thus challenged by the surging popularity of Ravidass, among the lower and upper castes alike, Brahmins knitted layers of mythological narratives about his mythical high caste in his previous life. This was done, probably, to preclude the lower castes from rallying around his name. Yet another device adopted by the twice born to diminish his popularity was to present him as a Guru of the Chamars only. This was the final masterstroke to minimize his influence on the society as a whole. Though Ravidass was himself a chamar, his egalitarian social philosophy won him many disciples among the upper castes too. Jhali, Queen of Chittor; Mirabai, Rajput princes and daughter-in-law of King of Mewar, Sangram Singh; Prince Veer Singh Dev Vaghela of Rewa of Madhya Pradesh; and Prince of Kanshi were the most prominent among them.

Dalit activists and academics condemned the process of Brahminisation of Ravidass. They ridiculed the so-called Brahminical narratives and interpretations about Ravidass and also refused to accept Ramanand as his Guru. Ravidass never mentioned the name of Ramanand in his most authentic bani recorded in Adi Granth. Instead he mentioned the names of saint Jaidev, saint Namdev and saint Kabir. Some radical Dalits claim that his Guru was Sardanand, and emphasize his ability to defeat Brahmins time and again in debates. Thus the process of Brahminisation had not only failed to assimilate Ravidass in the fold of the upper castes, it further strengthened the bond of the Shudras with him. The latter took pride in being known as Ravidassias with Ravidass becoming the paragon of their struggle for social equality and dignity.

Ravidass envisioned an egalitarian model of state for ensuring human rights and civil liberties for all alike. He called his ideal state as Begumpura (free from sorrows). In his ideal state no one would be discriminated against on the basis of caste and religion and everyone would be free from the burden of taxes and worries of food. His ideal state would be free from the graded system of caste hierarchy. There would be no segregated colonies for the downtrodden and they would be free to move around without caste prejudice. In other words, in Begumpura the evil of untouchability would cease to exist. Though Begumpura was an ideal state as visualized by Ravidass, it was not a mere figment of his mind. In fact, its articulation was based on in-depth understanding of the socio-economic and political conditions prevailing during his lifetime. He lived during the period when Shudras were doubly oppressed by their political masters along with the members of higher castes; and by the Brahmins, the custodians of Hindu religion .

He had no hope from any quarter regarding the improvement of the conditions of the downtrodden. In one of his hymns he thus articulated Dardu dekh sab ko hasai, aaisee dasaa hamaaree. Ast dasaa sidi kar talai, sab kirpa tumhari. [Everyone laughs seeing my poverty, such is my state. The eighteen perfections are in the palm of my hands, all through Your grace]. In fact, his entire poetry echoed a loud protest against slavery on the one hand and boundless love and devotion to the formless God on the other. He believed that God created all human beings and resided in all of them. If the same God pervaded the entire humanity, then it is foolish to divide the society on the basis of caste. He thus condemned the division of mankind on the basis of caste. He said, Jo ham shehri so meet hamara [whoever is my fellow citizen, is my friend] . It is in this context that the egalitarian social philosophy of Ravidass expressed in the mode of poetry became the manifesto of the Dalit consciousness in Punjab. The establishment of a large number of Ravidass Deras by the Dalits in Punjab and in other parts of India over the last few years is a case in point. Ravidass became very popular among the Punjabi Dalit diasporas as well, who have also constructed Ravidass shrines in order to assert their separate caste identity.

The number of Ravidass Deras has been multiplying very fast. It has taken the form of a sort of a socio-cultural movement for the emancipation of the Dalits. Led by the saints of Dera Sach Khand Ballan, this movement is silently sweeping the Punjab countryside offering a new hope to the untouchable, particularly the Chamars. It has generated a sense of confidence in them and provided them an opportunity to exhibit their hitherto eclipsed Dalit identity. The movement of Ravidass Deras reflects the fast changing socio-cultural scene of Punjab where the once powerful and revolutionary Sikh religion is failing to meet the needs of the oppressed who discovered the right remedy to cure their wounded psyche in the Ballan experiment. The secret of the success of this movement lies in the strategy of the saints of Ballan to sells Dr Ambedkar’s socio-cultural revolution packed in an ingenious religious capsule. Ravidass Deras are, perhaps, the only religious centers where religious and political figures (Ravidass and Ambedkar) are blended and projected publicly. These Deras thrive on the elements of social protest expressed in the poetry of Ravidass and the teachings of Ambedkar. These Deras, in fact, have been functioning as missions to sensitize the Dalits and to facilitate their empowerment. In order to look different from the shrines of Hindu and Sikh religions, and to distinctly project their separate religious identity, Ravidass Deras have formulated their own religious symbols, ceremonies, prayers, and rituals.

Dera Ballan: The Centre of Spirituality and Social Service
Dera Ballan (situated at village Ballan, seven miles North of Jalandhar city on the Pathankot road) is popularly known as Dera Sant Sarwan Das. Sant Pipal Das, father of Sant Sarwan Das (February 15,1895-June 11,1972), founded it in the beginning of the twentieth century. Sant Sarwan Das lost his mother (Shobhawanti) when he was only five years old. His father left home in search of ‘truth’. He took the child, Sarwan Das, with him on this mission. It was during the course of wandering that they reached the place where Dera Ballan is now situated. Pipal Dass found that place most suitable for spiritual pursuits. The place, in the outskirts of village Ballan, was a thick forest. The father-son duo spent days in the forest and took shelter in a mud house in the village during nights. Later on, a landlord (Hazara Singh) of village Ballan donated some land to them in the forest where they built a thatched hut to begin with. “It soon became the goal of pilgrimage for lower caste and other villagers from all over central Punjab, and from its inception it was a center for the veneration of Ravi Das”.

It shot into prominence during the Ad Dharm movement. It was instrumental in bringing social consciousness among the Dalits of Punjab. Mangoo Ram, the founder of the Ad Dharm movement visited the Dera Ballan and sought its support in popularizing the image of Ravidass among the Dalits of Punjab. The association of the Dera with the Ad Dharm movement further becomes clear from the fact that Sant Sarwan Dass, the then head of the Dera Ballan (October 11,1928-June 11,1972), offered juice to Mangoo Ram to open his fast-unto-death undertaken by him as a counter measure to that of Mahatama Gandhi’s fast against the communal award in 1932. Although this movement petered out after the first general election in independent India, “…deras such as that of Sarwan Das remain popular destinations for pilgrimage in the Punjab”. Dera Ballan also hosted the mammoth Dalit conference (13th December, 1970) organised by Mangu Ram Jaspal, namesake of the famous Mangoo Ram, to revive the Ad Dharm movement. It was during this conference that the legendry Mangoo Ram and many other prominent leaders of the Ad Dharm movement commended the contribution of saints of Dera Ballan towards the emancipation and empowerment of Dalits.

Sant Sarwan Das received early education from his father and learnt Sanskrit from Sant Kartanand of nearby village Kishangarh. He was in his early thirties when Sant Pipal Das died (1928). By that time he had already become a known figure not only among the people of Ballan but also of the neighboring villages. However, what distinguished him from other holy men of his time was his devotion and veneration for Ravidass. The dissemination of Ravidass Bani (philosophy in the form of poetry) was one of his missions. Ravidass appealed to the lower castes for many reasons. He belonged to the Chamar caste and was probably the pioneer in the field of Dalit literature. The fact that Sant Sarwan Das was a chamar himself and a follower of the faith of Ravidass made him and his Dera instantly popular among the Chamars who consider Ravidass their spiritual mentor. Sant Sarwan Dass was an emissary of Guru Ravidass in the true spirit. Under his stewardship, the dissemination of the teachings of Ravidass became one of the most important missions of the Dera Sach Khand Ballan. He himself laid down foundation stones of various Ravidass Deras and sponsored construction of rooms in the Shri Guru Ravidass High School [Jalandhar], Arts and Crafts Training College [Jalandhar], Shri Guru Ravidass Technical College [Phagwara], Primary school [Raipur- Rasoolpur], Bhagwan Ravidass Ashram Nirmala Chowani [Haridwar], and High School [Village Ballan].

The Dera Ballan has meticulously kept sant Sarwan Dass’s legacy of spreading the Bani of Guru Ravidass with zeal till date and has actually accelerated its efforts in this direction manifold in India and abroad. It has taken the message of Guru Ravidass to virtually every corner of India and abroad, and has generated a sense of cohesive belongingness among the Dalits. The construction of Guru Ravidass Mandirs (Temples) in Seer Govardhanpur (Varanasi), Hadiabad (Punjab), Sirsgarh (Haryana), Pune (Maharashtra), Haridwar (Uttranchal), and Una (Himachal Pradesh) is a clear indication of the concerted efforts of the Dera Ballan towards the popularization of the social egalitarian philosophy of Ravidass. The participation of the saints of Dera Ballan in sant sammelans (congregations of saints) organized by the devotees of Guru Ravidass in different places in Punjab and outside showed their deep concern for the propagation of the Bani of Ravidass. The saints of Ballan also regularly visited their devotees abroad in order to enlighten them of the Bani of Ravidass. In year 2005, the present head of Dera Ballan, sant Niranjan Dass accompanied by sant Ramanand, visited Greece, Italy, Spain, Holland, and Germany from March 20 to May 31; and U.S., Canada and U.K. from July 1 to August 31. His latest journey to Europe (Italy, Greece Germany, Holland and England) was during April-May 2006. This was his 4th international religious visit to Italy and probably 14th to U.K. Sant Garib Dass, predecessor of Sant Niranjan Dass, also visited England six times, America four times, and Canada two times. The Dera has prepared a number of cassettes, compact discs (CDs), and video compact discs (VCDs) of the Bani of Ravidass for wider circulation among its followers. Some of the most popular cassettes are: ‘Mission Guru Ravidass Ji’ (Mission of Guru Ravidass), ‘Kanshi wich chan chariya’ (Moon in Kanshi), ‘Begampura Shaher Ka Nau’ (City Named Begumpura), ‘Rabb Dharti Te’ (God on the Earth), ‘Satguru Da Updesh’ (Sermon of the Guru), ‘Kanshi Ballan Wich Farak Na Koe’ (No Difference between Kanshi and Ballan), ‘Har ke Naam Bin’ (Without the Name of God), ‘Amrit Bani Shri Guru Ravidass Ji’ (Immortal Bani of Guru Ravidass), ‘Duniya de Loko Nek Bano’ (Become nice, Peoples of the World), ‘Jai Satiguru Ravidas’ (Victory to Guru Ravidass), ‘Darshan Satguru de Kar Lau’ (Be face to face with the Guru), ‘Begumpur de Wasia’ (Residence of the Begumpur), ‘Guru Da Jehrey Nam Japde’ (Those who Remember the Name of the Guru), and ‘Ban ke Messiah Aya’ (Came as a Messiah). ‘Eh Janam Tumhare Lekhe’ (This Life is for You), ‘Begampure Diyan Raunkan’ (Festivities of Begumpura), ‘Shri Guru Ravidass Amrit Bani Dohae’ (Couplets of the Immortal Bani of Guru Ravidass), and ‘Satsang Mahina Cheet’ (company of the saints in first month of the Hindu calendar) are some of the most popular VCDs. The six-volumes set of ‘Amrit Bani of Guru Ravidass Ji’ is the most popular among the CDs. They are available at Dera Ballan on nominal rates and are also given as souvenir to the devotees. During one of my visits to the Dera Ballan, Sant Surinder Dass Bawa was kind enough to gift me a set of these cassettes (based on the information culled from various volumes [2003-2005] of Begum Pura Shaher, Trilingual weekly publication of the Dera Ballan). The Dera has also composed a Gurbani programme based on the Bani of Sant Ravidass. The program is called ‘Amrit Bani: Shri Guru Ravidass ji’. It is being telecast every Friday, 6.00 – 6.15 a.m. and every Saturday, 7.00 – 7.15 a.m. on D.D.1 channel of Jalandhar Doordarshan since October 13, 2003. This is the first program of its kind. This program has a unique importance for the Dalits who in the past were forbidden to read and listen the sacred text. Now they feel proud of projecting their religion on national television network at par with the other mainstream religious bodies. It has contributed significantly in building their self-esteem and confidence that in turn has sharpened their social and political consciousness.

Primary education and healthcare were the two other main concerns of Sant Sarwan Dass, which further strengthened the surging popularity of the Dera Ballan among the Dalits. He encouraged Dalit children to study and helped them financially. He opened an informal primary school within the premises of the Dera. He taught the poor children Panjabi and trained them in reciting Gurbani (sacred text of Guru Granth Sahib) correctly. He used to feed them with rice pudding and fried loafs on every Sunday – a diet that was really a luxury for the poor Dalit children – in order to boost up their mental faculties and physical strength. There is a general belief among the followers of Dera Ballan that whosoever was taught by Sant Sarwan Dass became an officer in Government service. He used to denounce those parents who did not educate their children as their enemies. He urged the poor people to educate their children so that they could earn their livelihood in a respectful way and help their families and community to lead a dignified life. All the chiefs of the Dera who followed him made concerted efforts towards the fulfillment of these vital concerns for the upliftment of the downtrodden. In fact, they turned these concerns into the missions of the Dera Ballan. To fulfill one of these missions, Dera Ballan founded ‘Sant Sarwan Dass Model School’ at Hadiabad (Phagwara) in April 2004 to provide quality education to the Dalit children on nominal fee. The school is housed in a magnificent building equipped with modern instruments and materials, and has its own fleet of buses for the conveyance of the students. The medium of instruction in the school is English. What distinguished this school is that along with formal education in different streams of knowledge, students are also informed about the missions of Guru Ravidass and Dera Sach Khand Ballan. Thus, this school does not only provide quality education in a Dalit friendly environment, but also acts as an agency for generating Dalit consciousness.

Sant Sarwan Dass had also established an Ayurvedic medical center in the Dera for the benefits of the downtrodden who could not afford treatment and medicine in the market. His noble endeavor at the Dera was expanded into a full-fledged hospital (Sant Sarwan Dass Charitable Hospital) at Dehpur-Kapoor village Adda Kathar on the Hoshiarpur-Jalandhar road (district Jalandhar). Sant Garib Dass, the then chief of Dera Ballan, founded the hospital in 1982. A humble beginning was made with a small dispensary in 1984. Soon after, it expanded into a two hundred-bed hospital equipped with latest medical technology. The hospital is famous for its expertise in surgery in the region. A team of doctors from U.K. held a 10-days (March 16-25, 2005) medical camp in the hospital. The camp had the sanction of Medical Council of India, Department of Health, UK, and British Medical Association. The camp got wide coverage in the western print media that brought the hospital on the international map. The detailed account of the camp was carried in two publications: ‘Trust News’ of Calderdale and Huddersfield National Health Service (NHS) and the ‘Evening Courier’. It provided round the clock emergency services, and has its own chemist shop, which provided medicines at reasonable rates. For the convenience of the patients and their attendants indoor catering facilities and spacious retiring halls are also provided. Very nominal fee is charged from the patients to partially meet the hospital expenditure, which is about 2.5 million rupees per month. At a time when public health services have almost turned dysfunctional, Sant Sarwan Dass Charitable Hospital has come out as a great relief for the downtrodden who are incapable of fending for them. Moreover, since 1977 the saints of Ballan have been regularly organizing free eyes operation camps in the Dera in the month of February every year with the support of Swarn Dass Banger, a non-resident Indian (NRI) settled in England. Swarn Dass Banger has also donated 10 million rupees for the construction of Sant Sarwan Dass Memorial Eyes Hospital in the village Ballan near the Dera. Swarn Dass Banger has also donated 2.5-acre prime land adjacent to the Dera where a mammoth Satsangh Bhawan (religious congregation hall), centrally air-conditioned with a capacity of accommodating 50000 people at a time, is under construction. Seth Brij Lal Kaler, another NRI from England, has also donated 10 million rupees to the Dera Ballan Sant Niranjan Dass, the present chief of Dera Ballan, laid the foundation stone of the Eyes Hospital on November 10, 2004. The provision of excellent medical facilities in the rural sectors of Punjab made the Dera Ballan an exceptional religious site for the downtrodden, where spiritual and social services are combined together.

Another important feature of the Dera Ballan that brought it in the forefront of the cause of the Dalits’ upliftment was its deep interest in literary activities. The Dera has a very rich library on its premises. The library contains books on the life and philosophy of Ravidass, Baba Sahib Ambedkar, Bhakti movement, the Ad Dharm movement, Dalit literature, and the missions of the Dera Ballan. All the writings and speeches of Baba Sahib Ambedkar are available in the library. The books are made available to the readers on nominal charges and even free of cost. Some of the books are also given to the devotees as a souvenir along with the framed calendar prints of the Dera Ballan and Ravidass temple (Seer Goverdhanpur) with the images of Guru Ravidass and B.R. Ambedkar embossed on them. Mark Juergensmeyer’s book, Religious Rebels in the Punjab: The social Vision of Untouchables (Delhi: Ajanta, 1988) is one of the books that are widely distributed among the devotees. This seminal work of Juergensmeyer is a pioneer study of the Dalit movement in Punjab. This book also documents important information about the Dera Ballan. The Dera also publishes, and sponsors books on Dalit literature. In addition, the Dera also confers honours on Dalit scholars in acknowledgement of their literary contributions towards the upliftment of the downtrodden. Till now, it has honored forty-four such Dalit scholars with gold medals. In addition, the Dera has also been publishing a 12 page trilingual (Panjabi, Hindi, and English) weekly ‘Begum Pura Shaher’ since August 15, 1991. This weekly was founded by Sant Garib Dass, fourth head of the Dera Ballan, to highlight the problems of the downtrodden and to educate them about the missions of Guru Ravidass. ‘Begum Pura Shaher’, the sole mouthpiece of the Dalits who were highly under-represented in the mainstream print and electronic media, has become a source of social consciousness and a symbol of self-respect among them. The Bharatiya Dalit Sahitya Academy (Indian Dalit Literary Academy) honored its chief editor, Sant Ramanand, with the 20th National Dalit Literary Award (2004) for the contribution it made in the field of journalism for generating Dalit consciousness in the region. The Academy has also organized a two days National Dalit Introspection Camp (9-10 June 2006) at the Dera Ballan to discuss the commonalities among the thoughts, missions, and objectives of Buddha, Ravidass and Ambedkar. Among the prominent participants who attended the Camp were Dr. Mata Parsad, former Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Babu Parmanand, former Governor of Haryana, Dr. Satya Narayan Jatiya, former central minister of social justice and member of parliament of India, Chanderpal Sallani, former member of parliament of India, Bavanrao Gholap, former social welfare minister of Maharashtra and member of the State Legislative Assembly, and Dr. J. S. Sabar, chair Guru Ravidass, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. The participation by such a large number of renowned personalities in the Dalit Introspection Camp – a rare occasion of its kind at a religious site – lend credence to the missions of the Dera Ballan for the upliftment of the Dalits. In a hierarchically structured society based on the caste system of low and high, the literary chapter of the Dera Ballan proved to be of immense importance in building confidence among the downtrodden who were often discriminated in the mainstream literary circles.

Of all the major contributions made by the Dera Ballan, the construction of a mammoth ‘Shri Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan Mandir’ (Temple of Shri Guru Ravidass’s Birthplace) at Seer Goverdhanpur, a locality in the city of Varanasi, is the most significant. The saints of Ballan traced the birthplace of Ravidass to a location in the village Seer Goverdhanpur, on the outskirts of Varanasi, near the Banaras Hindu University (BHU). Sant Hari Dass of Dera Ballan had laid down the foundation stone of the temple in 1965 (June 14). The construction of the temple was completed in 1994. Babu Kanshi Ram, the BSP supremo, performed the ceremonial installation of the golden dome atop the temple. K.R. Narayanan, the then President of India, performed the opening ceremony of the huge monumental gate on the way to the temple, on July16, 1998. Dalits from India and abroad helped build the temple. This temple has acquired, perhaps, the same importance for Dalits as the Mecca for Muslims and the Golden Temple for Sikhs. Every year on the anniversary of Ravidass’s birth, the temple attracts millions of devotees from India and abroad. The Dera Ballan made special arrangements for the pilgrimage of of Ravidass devotees to their Mecca at Seer Goverdhanpur (Varanasi). Special trains were arranged from Jalandhar city in Punjab to Varanasi especially for attending the celebrations of the birth anniversary of Ravidass at Seer Goverdhanpur. This temple serves an important purpose in reminding the Dalits of the cultural revolution led by Ravidass in Varanasi, the headquarters of Hindu religiosity. Its unique contribution lies in symbolizing a Dalit history of struggle for equality and dignity, and a vision for the future. In the land of castes and religions, the ‘Temple of Shri Guru Ravidass’s Birthplace’ has become an important cultural-religious site for the assertion of distinct identity for the Dalits where they can move about with their heads high and without the fear of being measured on the scale of caste hierarchy. In fact, this temple has turned out to be a center of spirituality,social service and Dalit empowerment.