FOR BLESSINGS, FOR VOTES

Ahead of the polls, political leaders of all hues are knocking at the doors of deras

- PRATUL SHARMA

Sant Niranjan Das looks benignly at his devotees. The 81-year-old is the head of Dera Sachkhand, Ballan, one of the largest religious centers in the Jaland-har region. He occasionally lends his ear to those who seek his counsel, but says little. Armed police personnel in the dera premises keep a watchful eye, and hymn singers recite verses of Guru Ravidass, a 14th-century mystic, and social reformer. “You should partake of food from langar (community kitchen) first,” he says, as his aide introduces us to the seer. On the previous day, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi had spent the night at the dera, which draws its followers prominently from the dalit community. The chief minister chose to sleep on the floor of Sant Niranjan Das’s room.

The followers of Guru Ravidass’s teachings are known by the name Ravidassias. The Election Commission (EC) had postponed the assembly polls in the state by one week, so that the Ravidassias could go to Varanasi to attend the Guru Ravidass Jayanti celebrations on February 16. It was primarily on Channi’s insistence that the EC had taken this decision. Every year, the Ravidassias board a special train, Begumpura Express, for Varanasi for the Jayanti. Sant Niranjan Das’s guru, Sant Sarwan Das, built the pilgrim center at Seer Goverdhanpur—the birthplace of Guru Ravidass in Varanasi.