THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY August 4, 1962

Studies in Voting Behaviour

I I I Religion and Caste in the Punjab:

Sidhwan Bet Constituency
Baldev Raj Nayar
One approach by Congress candidates in their election campaigning in the Punjab was based on
what may be called the "theory of factions". According in this theory every village, more particularly the Jat
section of every village, is divided into two factions and these factions govern the entire life oj the village.
During the election it was expected that these factions would align themselves with different political parties
-in the typical case, one supporting the Congress and the other the Akati Dal.
But, if the result of the election in the Sidhwan Bet constituency is any guide, the! theory of factions
did not hold during the general elections.
It was also expected that scheduled castes and Hindus Would invariably vote for the Congress when
the choice was between an Akali Dal Sikh and a Congress Sikh. Here again, the result of the election failed
to show any correlation between the per cent of scheduled castes in the population of a polling station and the
votes secured by the Congress candidate.
A corollary of the proposition that scheduled castes lend to vote for the Congress is that Jat Sikhs
are unitedly behind the A kali Dal. In the Sidhwan Bet constituency, however, the Congress candidate did cut
into the Jat Sikh vote. Affinal and agnatic ties, the traditional political, affiliations of particular villages,
the presence of bitter factions — all influenced the Jat Sikh vote.

THE reserved Assembly constitu- lative Assembly of the Punjab. f a m i l y he j o i n e d government service
ency of Sidhwan Bet lies in the However, for all intents and pur- as a clerk. He left the job in 1952
L u d h i a n a District of the P u n j a b ; poses, the main contest was bet- to support the S C F candidates
the major part of it is in Raikot ween A j i t K u m a r ( A k a l i Dal) and d u r i n g the first general elections.
thana of Jagraon tehsil. The Gopal Singh Khalsa (Congress). Later he j o i n e d the Central T r a c t o r
Ludhiana-Ferozepore road divides A j i t K u m a r was the general secre- Organization in Bhopal as an ac-
the constituency into two parts — tary of the Punjab State Republi- counts clerk. W h i l e in service he
one known as Sidhwan Bet side can P a r t y and, though not a Sikh passed his intermediate examination
and the other as Dakha side. The himself, was r u n n i n g on the A k a l i in 1948 and afterwards j o i n e d the
constituency derives its name f r o m Dal ticket, and under the symbol railways as a ticket collector first
the village Sidhwan Bet w h i c h was of the H a n d allotted to that party, in Jodhpur and then in Hissar.
founded by the caste of Sidhus, through an electoral alliance bet- D u r i n g his service in the railways
the Bet r e f e r r i n g to the fact that ween the two parties. He was he took active interest in the w e l -
it is in the river area of the Sut- b o r n in 1928 in a scheduled caste fare of the scheduled castes and in
lej. There are no towns in the home in L u d h i a n a C i t y , though his railway labour unions. F i n a l l y , i n
constituency though a large market ancestral village is Dhat w h i c h is a 1957 he q u i t r a i l w a y service and
centre called M u l l a n p u r serves the part of the constituency. Because contested the reserved seat f r o m
area. The m a i n crops are wheat, of prejudice in - H i n d u and Sikh Raikot double member constituency,
sugarcane, maize and groundnuts. schools at the time, he received his and secured 30,011 votes as against
A l l the villages in the constituency p r i m a r y education in a M u s l i m the Congress candidate with
are now covered by the c o m m u n i t y school in Ludhiana. However, when 39,466 votes, w h o was then support-
development p r o g r a m . There are Muslims started converting sche- ed by the Akalis. Since then A j i t
some historic Sikh gurudwaras duled castes to Islam. Hindus — K u m a r has been in active politics.
(temples) in the constituency—places especially those belonging to the
w h i c h had been visited by the S i k h A r y a Samaj — began t a k i n g i n - In 1959 he went on an eight
Gurus — a fact of considerable terest in the education of the sche- days hunger strike in the food
importance in the political loyalties duled castes, and A j i t K u m a r j o i n - agitation. Later, d u r i n g the anti-
of the area. ed an A r y a Samaj school. The betterment levy agitation an
treatment he received at the hands agitation against the increase in
The Candidates and Their of H i n d u teachers and students was land taxes imposed on the plea that
Background not exactly a happy one. and even- government projects had increased
There were five candidates tually he passed his h i g h school a g r i c u l t u r a l yields, a sort of pros-
Ajit Kumar (Akali D a l ) , Gopal examination in 1945 as a private p e r i t y tax — he was arrested in
Singh Khalsa (Congress), Bachan student after leaving the school. 1959 and sent to A m r i t s a r j a i l for
Singh ( I n d e p e n d e n t ) , B i r Singh A m b e d k a r and his A l l - I n d i a Sche- 40 days. D u r i n g the Punjabi Suba
( S w a t a n t r a ) , and Lal Singh (In- duled Castes Federation (SCF) had agitation he was arrested for his
dependent) —- r u n n i n g in the 1962 by this time stimulated in h i m an part in the agitation for the protec-
general elections f r o m this consti- interest in politics, but due to the tion of c i v i l liberties, going on at
tuency for the 154-member Legis- economic circumstances of the the same time, and served 37 days

1267
 August 4, 1962
in j a i l . T h o u g h he himself went
to j a i l on the issue of c i v i l liberties
and though the Republican P a r t y
itself is neutral on the issue of the
f o r m a t i o n of the P u n j a b i Suba,
A j i t K u m a r could satisfy the A k u l i -
oriented voters in (he constituency
that he had made sacrifices by go-
i n g to j a i l d u r i n g the Punjabi Suba
agitation in 1961,
Gopal Singh Khalsa. the Congress
candidate, was b o r n in a scheduled
caste Ramdasia Sikh family
1903, in a village w h i c h is outside
the Sidhwan Bet constituency but
not too far from it. After s t u d y i n g
at the M a l w a Khalsa H i g h School
in L u d h i a n a , Khalsa went to the
U n i t e d States in 1923 and spent
three years at the U n i v e r s i t y o'
Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, and later
in a college at Stockton, C a l i f o r n i a .
However, he d i d not graduate b u t
joined the Hindustan National
Party and f i n a l l y returned to I n d i a
i n 1 9 3 1 . A f t e r his r e t u r n t o I n d i a ,
he took keen interest in the welfare
of the scheduled castes and j o i n e d
the A l l India Scheduled
Federation of Dr B R Ambedkar.
He was a member of the S C F
Working Committee and a close
associate o f D r Ambedkar
1937 to 1946. I n 1937 he ran as
an independent for the Punjab
Legislative Assembly and was elect-
ed. He was then appointed Parlia-
mentary Secretary to the Punjab
Premier Sir Sikander H y a t K h a n .
F r o m 1937 to 1946 he was also a
nominated member of the D i s t r i c t
Board of L u d h i a n a , A f t e r the w a r ,
in 1946, he was appointed as an
officer in the L a b o u r Department
o f the g o v e r n m e n t o f I n d i a .
1952 he joined the A k a l i D a l , ran
on its ticket for the P u n j a b Legis-
lative Assembly, was elected w i t h
28,179 votes as against the Congress
candidate's 15,067 and the S C F
candidate's 8,993 votes. He then
became the Leader of the Opposi-
t i o n in the Punjab Assembly. He
had d u r i n g his political career
edited a couple of magazines and
papers, and f r o m 1952 to 1954 was
Chief E d i t o r of the D a i l y Prabhat,
the U r d u spokesman of the A k a l i
Dal. In 1956 as a result of the
merger of the Akali Dal w i t h the
Congress p a r t y , he joined the latter
organization but was unable to get
the Congress ticket for the assemb-
ly in 1957. He played a p r o m i n e n t
o a r t in the organization of the
M a l w a A k a l i D a l to oppose Master
T a r a Singh and his A k a l i D a l i n
the 1959 elections to the S G P C
( " S h r o m a n i G u r u d w a r a Parbandhak
Committee") — the central orga-
nization responsible for the manage-
ment of gurudwaras in the P u n -
j a b — though the Malwa Akali
Dal as well as other organisations
r u n n i n g against Master T a r a Singh
met w i t h disastrous defeat in these
gurudwara elections.
Campaigning and Canvassing
in The Akali Dal Candidate
A j i t K u m a r proved an able orga-
nizer of his election campaign. He
started his campaigning in the se-
cond week of January 1962 w i t h
a definite programme to visit the
170 or so villages at least once and
twice if possible. He established
offices at strategic places manned by
workers w i t h the members of his
f a m i l y playing an active role. His
main strategy was based on the
caste composition of the constitu-
ency. For the scheduled caste
votes, he approached the scheduled
caste panchayats. On his behalf,
Castes about five to ten members from
some 30 such panchayats went to
various villages on foot canvassing
for votes. In a d d i t i o n there were
from four groups of workers on bicycles.
T w o station wagons were also used
to c a r r y workers to villages.
As far as the Jat Sikh vote was
concerned, the campaigning
left to A k a l i workers, and the
gurudwaras were the m a i n centres
of campaigning. A l l the gurud-
waras in the constituency were
under the control of the A k a l i D a l .
The managers of these gurud-
In waras were active sympathisers and
canvassers for the A k a l i candidate.
The A k a l i candidate and workers,
when they entered a village, i n v a r i -
ably headed for the gurudwara f o r
canvassing, speech m a k i n g and for
refreshments. On the other hand,
the Congress candidate d i d not, or
rather could not. go to the gurud-
waras for electioneering. This was
an avenue closed to the Congress
candidate - though one active
Congress w o r k e r remarked, as his
station wagon slopped in front of
the Public Relations Office of the
Punjab Government i n L u d h i a n a ,
" Y o u see. we use the Public Relations
Department as much as the A k a l i s use
the gurudwaras. T h i s is our eauival-
ent of the A k a l i gurudumras" Use
of the P u b l i c Relations D e p a r t m e n t
by the Congress took the f o r m of
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THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY
b o r r o w i n g entertainers and workers
f r o m this department,
Gurudwara-Based Campaign
In the gwrudwaras, w h e n the
people assembled f o r d a i l y prayers
or on special occasions, the priest
or the manager of the gurudwara
or a p r o m i n e n t personality of the
area, appealed to them in the name
of the S i k h religion to vote f o r the
A k a l i candidate A j i t K u m a r . One
of the points w h i c h the Congress
P a r t y t r i e d t o e x p l o i t was t h a t A j i t
K u m a r was not a S i k h . But in the
gurudwaras and outside, Akali
workers explained that what they
wanted was to elect a member to
the Assembly, and not a priest to
the gurudwara. It was also p o i n t e d
out that since the Sikhs were ac-
cused of being communal, they
should elect A j i t K u m a r to v i n d i -
cate their position and prove that
they were not communal-minded.
B u t as f a r as the Jat Sikhs were
concerned the appeal was made
frankly and openly in the name of
r e l i g i o n . W i t h war cries of Sat
Sri Akal, A k a l i workers asked the
voters to vote for the S i k h Panth.
In the speeches, given in the
gurudwarars, the sacrifices of the
Sikhs were recounted, especially of
G u r u G o b i n d Singh and his sons,
and the latter-day sacrifices in the
cause of the P u n j a b i Suba; it was
emphasized that now it was merely
was
a question of casting the ballot
whereas in the past the Sikhs had
to fane bullets. If the Sikhs wanted
to achieve the P u n j a b i Suba, they
should vote for A j i t K u m a r , be-
cause if A k a l i candidates were re-
turned in large enough numbers
they could just, vote for the P u n -
j a b i Suba in the Assembly. In this
connection A j i t K u m a r ' s j a i l sen-
tences d u r i n g the agitation days
were recalled. Professional singers
of m a r t i a l music created an emoti-
onally receptive atmosphere f o r the
pronouncements of the Akali
workers.
T w o i m p o r t a n t personalities i n
Akali politics also campaigned
briefly for A j i t K u m a r in his con-
stituency —- Sant Fateh S i n g h and
the A k a l i D a l Propaganda Secre-
tary Kehar S i n g h V a i r a g i . I n his
c a m p a i g n i n g , A j i t K u m a r received
full cooperation f r o m the Akali
workers who sincerely w o r k e d for
h i m . W h i l e i n the i n i t i a l stage
there was some g r u m b l i n g because
the A k a l i D a l had not p u | up a
THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY August 4, 1962

party member as a candidate, proved a handicap because Khalsa faction in the Congress party in
there was no question of anybody had in 1952 r u n in a double-mem- the area left the party and helped
trying to sabotage his election ber constituency where the mem- the A k a l i s . The leader of this fac-
when, as it was explained, "once ber r u n n i n g for the general seat tion. Joginder Singh, had been an
the Panth has made the decision." had done most of the organizational honorary magistrate and an i m p o r t -
One must note here the identifica- work, and the candidate running ant government official, and com-
tion of the A k a l i Dal w i t h the for the reserved scat merely tagged manded considerable respect and
S i k h Panth. T h e A k a l i p a r t y w o r k - along. Congress workers themsel- influence among the Jats. H i s go-
ers were no financial burden on ves were very critical of Khalsa ing over to the Akalis was a great
A j i t K u m a r as they came either for his lack of organization. For blow to the Congress candidate. In
f r o m gurudwaras or were p a i d by (me t h i n g he started late in the the Block Samiti elections, his son
the p a r t y : their food and trans- election campaign, almost a month had been opposed by the other
portal ion was taken care of by the after A j i t K u m a r . Some of the major faction in the Congress in
A k a l i Dal either on its own or Congress workers were critical of the area and because he feared
through the gurudumrus. his practice of r e t u r n i n g to L u d h i - that attempts were being made to
The A k a l i Dal campaign was ana City in the evening which was undermine his influence in the Con-
reinforced by posters from the precisely the time to meet the gress he went over to the Akalis.
A k a l i Dal office in A m r i l s a r . These voters who were in the fit-Ids T h i s defection to the A k a l i D a l was
included : (1) an appeal from d u r i n g the daytime. They also influential in s w i n g i n g the Jat S i k h
Master T a r a Singh and Sant Patch criticised h i m for choosing K h u - votes to A j i t K u m a r in 14 of the
Singh to vote for A j i t K u m a r ; ( 2 ) shkismet Singh. vice-president of 70 p o l l i n g stations. In addition to
several pictures of maimed or dead the District Congress Committee of this major breakaway f r o m the
persons in an attempt to depict the L u d h i a n a , as his election aide Congress party, there was much fac-
atrocities committed by the party since Khushkismet Singh was not tionalism w i t h i n the party.
liked by certain sections of Congress Approach through Panchayats
in power; (3) a picture of the op-
voters in the villages. These Con-
ponent of Punjab Chief M i n i s t e r Khalsa's m a i n strategy, as of
gressmen said that Khushkismet
Pratap Singh K a i r o n in Sarhali most Congress candidates, was to
Singh was openly working for
constituency, shown contesting; his approach panches, sarpanches and
his close relative, Shamsher Singh
election f r o m b e h i n d prison bars; landlords, and take them along for
D h a n d a r i , who was r u n n i n g on the
(4) a poster c r i t i c i s i n g the Con- c a m p a i g n i n g among other voters. It
A k a l i Dal ticket from the adjoining
gress government's cultural pro- must be said that other political
L u d h i a n a South constituency. Con-
grammes, showing half-dressed parties also approach panches and
gress leaders and workers in the
dancing girls and drunken m e n ; sarpanches depending on whether
area were generally disappointed
(4) a poster showing the Congress they have their p a r t y men on the
at Khalsa's selection of people to
government as a demon-goddess, panchayats. A little more than 50
accompany h i m d u r i n g his camp-
crushing people and c i v i l l i b e r t i e s : per cent of the panchayats in the
aign in the villages. He had cho-
( 5 ) finally, a poster entitled " o l d constituency are controlled by the
sen people who were anathema to
souls, new lives" showing N e h r u Congress party, about 3() per cent
many Congress-men. Moreover he
w i t h Aurangzeb in the background, by the Akalis and the rest by the
had w i t h him workers from the
and Pratap Singh K a i r o n with Communist party and the Hepublic-
Chamar caste most of the time,
Nawab of S i r h i n d in the back- w i t h the result that he was unable an party. These are rough figures,
ground Aurangzeb and Nawab to gain an effective entry into the because, for one thing, the p a w h a -
of S i r h i n d are the two most hated Jat sections. At times he was vat elections are supposed to be
characters in Sikh history. In addi- even stoned and prevented from fought on a non-party basis and no
t i o n there was an appeal from the entering villages. records are kept as to w h i c h party
son of Dr B K A m b e d k a r to vote controls a particular panchayat. and.
for A j i t Kumar. emphasizing One of the reasons for Khalsa s secondly, at the time panchayat
for the benefit of the scheduled lack of attention to organization, elections took place the Akalis had
caste vote that Ajit K u m a r was was his over-confidence at the be- not completely separated themselves
a candidate of the Republican g i n n i n g , stemming from the feeling f r o m the Congress party. The A k a l i
Party. that A j i t K u m a r was "only a lad" panchayats today have broken away
The Congress Candidate in politics, a non-Sikh r u n n i n g in from the Congress Party after the
The Congress candidate's cam- a predominantly Sikh constituency panchayat elections. S i m i l a r l y , the
paign was, in contrast, highly dis- against a Sikh candidate of the Block Samiti was under the control
organized. Khalsa himself is a Congress party. Moreover. the of the Congress party, but its chair-
Republican Party was not influen- man went over to the A k a l i Dal on
w i t t y speaker, and could pour scorn
tial among the scheduled castes in the eve of the general elections and
and ridicule on the A k a l i D a l . its
the Ludhiana District, and Khalsa won a seat to the l e g i s l a t e assemb-
leader Master T a r a Singh and the
was well-known in the t e r r i t o r y be- ly on the A k a l i ticket from an ad-
opposing candidate. But, in con-
cause of his long history of p a r t i - j o i n i n g constituency. Initiallly domi-
trast to earlier elections, voters
eipation in politics. nated by the Congress, about 50 per
now - wanted the candidate to
visit them i n d i v i d u a l l y at their Another of the factors responsi- cent of its members are Akali now.
houses. Large meetings no longer ble for the mismanagement; of some. 12 per cent are Republicans
interested them. Besides, public Khaisa's campaign was a rift in and Communists and the rest are
meetings needed Organisation. This the Congress ranks. An i m p o r t a n t Congressmen. The Zila Parishad

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THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY
has a Congressman for its c h a i r m a n ,
hut some 40 per cent of the mem-
hers are Akalis. Except for a very
small number of cases such as
Pamali ( p o l l i n g station number 1)
and Pamal ( 2 ) and some v i l l a -
ges in the Sidhwan Bel area — the
panchayats, as far as the Congress
was concerned, were unable to exert
any special influence on the voters.
Khalsa's m a i n point of attack
was that A j i t K u m a r was not a S i k h
and that he was a chain-smoker,
which he indeed is ( i n Sikh r e l i -
gion smoking is t a b o o ) . To the Jat
Sikhs, A j i t K u m a r was presented by
the Congress workers as an advocate
of nationalization of land and of
industries, as belonging to a party
whose founder. B R Ambedkar, was
responsible for the H i n d u Succes-
sion Act ( w h i c h the jats opposed)
and as an anti-Jal. To the scheduled
casles, A jit K u m a r was presented
as having crossed over to the A k a -
lis and having favoured the f o r m a -
t i o n o f t h e Punjabi Suba i n w h i c h
scheduled cash's w o u l d find it hard
to live in the villages. The Congress
party, on the other hand, was pre-
sell led as the protector of the sche-
duled castes. It is an i r o n y of p o l i -
tics how roles can be reversed from
election to election. In the 1952
elections, A j i t K u m a r then cam-
p a i g n i n g f o r the S C F candidate
against Khalsa, warned the scheduled
castes that the A k a l i s w i l l "finish
t h e m " if they came into power.
Now, in 1962, Khalsa r u n n i n g on
the Congress p a r t y ticket was using
exactly the same argument. W o r k e r s
c a m p a i g n i n g for Khalsa also drop-
ped hints that Khalsa. because of
his close connections w i t h Chief
M i n i s t e r K a i r o n , w o u l d become a
minister after the elections and that
people should vote for h i m if they
wanted to get their w o r k done later.
T h e Election Results
The election for the S i d h w a n Bet
constituency, as f o r the rest of the
Punjab, was held on February 24,
1962. The results of the election are
Table 1 : E l e c t i o n Results f o r Sidh-
w a n Bet Constituency in 1962
Candidate Party Votes
Polled
Ajit Kumar Akali Dal 23,567
Gopal S i n g h
Khalsa Congress 11,763
B a c h a n Singh Independent 473
B i r Singh Swatantra 481
Lal S i n g h Independent 783
August 4, 1962
given in Table 1. The A k a l i - D a l - village or group of villages are
supported candidate won easily. split i n t o two or more p o l l i n g sta-
T h i s seat had been won by an A k a l i t i o n s ) . The analysis here will be
candidate in 1952 ( b y Khalsa, who based on the v o t i n g statistics for
was now r u n n i n g on the Congress p o l l i n g stations; one p o l l i n g station
t i c k e t ) , a Congress-Akali candidate covers approximately a thousand
i n 1957, and now in 1962 i t had voters.
gone to an Akali-supported but non-
Theory of Factions
S i k h candidate. T h i s testifies to the
ability of the A k a l i Dal to swing One approach by Congress candi-
the vote to any candidate of its dates in their election campaigning
is based on what may he called
choice in this Sikh m a j o r i t y consti-
' T h e Theory o f Factions." A c c o r d -
tuency.
i n g to this theory, every village,
II more p a r t i c u l a r l y the Jat section of
every village, is divided into two
Analysis of V o t i n g Behaviour
factions, resulting f r o m a variety of
A b o u t 30 per cent of the popula-
factors in village life. These factions,
t i o n of the Sidhwan Bet constituen-
it is said, govern the whole life of
cy belong to the scheduled castes,
the village. At the time of the gene-
the non-scheduled caste population
ral elections, these factions align
consisting p r i m a r i l y of Jat Sikhs,
themselves w i t h different political
w i t h a s p r i n k l i n g of caste H i n d u s
parties, characteristically one a l i g n -
and some other backward classes.
i n g itself to the Congress p a r t y and
The Hindus are mostly shopkeepers
the other to the A k a l i D a l . In other
and small-scale businessmen. Data
words, the voter's loyalty is not to
on the population of H i n d u s and
any political party, or to a p o l i t i -
b a c k w a r d classes in the villages is
cal appeal, or to a p a r t i c u l a r candi-
not available, but on the basis of
date, but to the local faction whose
interview's some estimate of these
leaders can s w i n g the vote to any
w i l l be given where possible and
p a r t y . These factions may switch
necessary. The Jat Sikhs are the
their loyalties at the last m i n u t e ;
cultivator-farmers who o w n their
if one changes one way, its oppo-
l a n d . The scheduled castes are land,
nent w i l l go the other way. In other
less a g r i c u l t u r a l labourers. They
words, the main determinant of the
also engage in leather and scaveng-
voter's choice is loyalty to the local
i n g w o r k . W h i l e no figures are
faction rather than to a p o l i t i c a l
available, in the Dakha part of the
p a r t y or candidate. To be sure,
constituency, about 50 per cent of
most villages are faction r i d d e n .
the scheduled caste population is
Even where panchayat elections have
etigaged in shoemaking, the other
taken place unanimously, factions
50 per cent in agriculture, h a l f of
are present, because u n a n i m i t y in
them being tenants and the other-
most cases emerged as a result of
half agricultural labour. I n the S i d h -
candidates w i t h d r a w i n g after h a v i n g
wan Bet area, 75 per cent of them
been convinced of certain defeat —
work as a g r i c u l t u r a l labourers, and
not f r o m an absence of contest.
about 20 per cent w o r k as labour-
However, if the election results of
ers engaged in d i g g i n g wells, cons-
S i d h w a n Bet constituency are any
t r u c t i n g roads or m a k i n g mats and
guide, the theory does not seem to
baskets. About 5 per cent: or so are
hold. It is significant that the Con-
small l a n d o w n i n g cultivators ,. Except
gress candidate could get more than
for this last category, in both D a k -
51 per cent of the vote at only two
ha and Sidhwan Bet sections, the
of the 70 p o l l i n g stations in the
landowners arc i n v a r i a b l y Jat Sikhs.
constituency. At 25 p o l l i n g stations
he got less than 25 per cent of the
Data on the population of sche-
vote. Except for 12 p o l l i n g stations.
duled castes in the various villages
was obtained f r o m the Office of the his vote at every other p o l l i n g sta-
Superintendent of Census Operations t i o n was less than 41 per cent. On
( P u n j a b ) i n Chandigarh. However, the other hand, except for I I p o l -
l i n g stations, the A k a l i - D a l - R e p u b l i -
i t was difficult to locate all the v i l -
lages w h i c h f o r m part of the p o l l - can candidate got more than 51
per cent of the vote at every one
i n g stations in the constituency, but
data is available for a total of 58 of the 70 p o l l i n g stations. Table 2
p o l l i n g stations — either by i n d i - sets out in detail the vote percent-
v i d u a l p o l l i n g stations or a combina- ages of the candidate by p o l l i n g
stations.
tion of p o l l i n g stations ( i n case a
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August 4, 1962 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY
 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY August 4, 1962

It is true that a p a l l i n g station ency is an exception, b u t a look at scheduled castes, convinced as they
may include more than one village the p o l l i n g station figures does not are that they w o u l d i n e v i t a b l y vote
and the results w o u l d thus be dis- show any consistent correlation be- for the Congress candidate). More
torted, but the election figures for tween the percentage of scheduled
those single villages for w h i c h data T a b l e d : V o t e Percentages o f Con-
caste persons in the total p o p u l a t i o n
are available, indicate the same gress a n d A k a l i Candidates i n Sidh-
of a p o l l i n g station and the v o t i n g
trend, as w i l l be seen f r o m Table 3. percentage of the Congress candi- w a n Bet Constituency
If the theory of factions had been date (See Table 5 ) ,
true, it is odd that the Congress Percentage o f Number of Polling
To be sure, in this constituency Votes Polled Stations
candidate gets the smaller faction
the sharpness of the contest between Ajit Kumar Khalsa
i n the o v e r w h e l m i n g m a j o r i t y o f
the Congress p a r t y and the A k a l i 10-20 13
the cases. Data f r o m the S i d h w a n
D a l , as f a r as the scheduled castes 21-25 1 12
Bet constituency shows a m a j o r i t y 26-30 10
for the A k a l i D a l candidate in most were concerned, was blunted by the
81-35 7
villages. However, the theory is not fact that t w o scheduled caste candi- 36-40 2 16
to be dismissed entirely for it does dates opposed each other w i t h a 41-45 2 6
contain some t r u t h in regard to resultant d i v i s i o n of the scheduled 46-50 6 4
those villages where factionalism is caste vote. It may be that the sche- 51-55 5
bitter, or the prestige of the leaders duled caste p o p u l a t i o n does vote for 56-60 12 2
of the factions is at stake in the a Congress candidate b u t only 61-65 9
election. In these villages, each fac- where the choice is between a -fat 66-70 8
t i o n , whether large or small, does S i k h of the A k a l i D a l and a Jat 71-75 18
S i k h of the Congress p a r t y ( i n such 76-80 5
align itself w i t h opposing political
81-85 1 —
parties. On the basis of i n f o r m a t i o n constituencies, the A k a l i D a l candi-
86-90 1 —
available f r o m interviews, factional- dates do not even approach the
ism in the village was influential in
the f o l l o w i n g p o l l i n g stations or
villages mentioned in Table 4 (these
examples are i l l u s t r a t i v e and not
exclusive).
Scheduled Caste Vote
An essential supplement to the
so-called "theory of factions' 1 is
that scheduled castes — at least in
the M a l w a area of w h i c h L u d h i a n a
D i s t r i c t is a p a r t - and the H i n d u s
i n v a r i a b l y vote for the Congress,
when the choice is between an A k a l i
S i k h and a Congress S i k h . The
H i n d u s vote for the Congress be-
cause the A k a l i Dal is professedly
a single c o m m u n i t y p a r t y standing
for S i k h interests exclusively. The
scheduled castes are sympathetic to
the Congress, it is said, because the
Congress Government has abolished
untouehability, has p r o v i d e d for the
reservation of seats in legislatures
and posts in Government offices for
scheduled castes, and enacted v a r i -
ous measures f o r their welfare and
advancement. A n o t h e r reason is that
the scheduled castes f o r m the under,
p r i v i l e g e d sections of the village,
and come i n t o conflict w i t h Jal
S i k h landlords. The Jat Sikhs are
behind the A k a l i Dal and its de-
m a n d for the P u n j a b i Suba. where-
at* the scheduled castes are against
P u n j a b i Suba because of the p o l i t i -
cal power it w i l l vest in the Jat
Sikhs. Consequently, it is said, the
scheduled castes overwhelmingly
vote for the Congress p a r t y . It m a y
w e l l be that S i d h w a n Bet constitu-
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THE BIG HURRY IN THE WORLD OF SURGERY

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 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY
i m p o r t a n t , i n t h i s case, the n o n -
Congress scheduled caste candidate
t h o u g h r u n n i n g o n the A k a l i D a l
ticket in f a c t belonged to a distinct
p o l i t i c a l p a r t y w h i c h , i n spite o f its
name — the R e p u b l i c a n P a r t y — re-
presents exclusively the interests of
the scheduled castes. M o r e o v e r , he
h a d w o r k e d i n the constituency over
a p e r i o d of f o u r or five years and
h a d been able to b u i l d an i m a g e of
h i m s e l f as a sincere a n d dedicated
w o r k e r f o r the cause of the sche-
d u l e d castes. I t m a y b e noted t h a t
e v e n i n 1957, w h e n r u n n i n g o n his
o w n party's ticket in the Raikot
double member constituency, of
w h i c h the present constituency was
t h e n a p a r t , he was able to secure
43.2 per cent of the vote as against
the Congress candidate's 56.8 per
cent, at a t i m e w h e n t h e A k a l i s
were m e r g e d o r g a n i z a t i o n a l l y w i t h
the Congress p a r t y .
I n f a c t , the vote o f the scheduled
caste sections is f u l l of subtleties,
compounded of gratitude, fear, and
r e v o l t . T h e r e i s genuine g r a t i t u d e
o n t h e p a r t o f m a n y scheduled
caste persons f o r w h a t t h e Cong-
August 4, 1962
ress has done f o r t h e m . As one ance between the A k a l i Dal and
Ramdasia S i k h v i l l a g e r b e l o n g i n g t o the R e p u b l i c a n P a r t y w h i c h i n t u r n
the scheduled castes remarked, helped the j o i n t A k a l i - R e p u b l i c a n
" G u r u G o b i n d S i n g h made a c o n d i - candidate. S o m e t h i n g m a y also be
t i o n of these s y m b o l s " — p o i n t i n g t o - said f o r the loyalty of scheduled
w a r d his beard — " b e f o r e m a k i n g caste voters to the leadership of
us an equal of the other Sikhs. T h e the late B K A m b e d k a r , his p a r t y
Congress, however, granted us equa- — the SCF — and its successor,
lity unconditionally". A t the same the R e p u b l i c a n p a r t y . Khalsa who
t i m e there is a feeling that the h a d been elected in 1952 f r o m this
scheduled castes have got all they area h a d been a close associate of
could get f r o m the Congress, a n d A m b e d k a r , and A j i t K u m a r who
that they have now to adopt other won in 1962 is the general secretary
means and organizations to f u r t h e r of the P u n j a b State Republican
t h e i r ends. T h e element of f e a r Party.
springs f r o m the fact that the sche-
Hindus, Christians and Backward
duled castes can be subjected to
Classes
reprisals — social, economic and
p o l i t i c a l — if they go against the Hindus form an insignificant
wishes of the local village leaders p a r t o f the p o p u l a t i o n i n this con-
who come f r o m a m o n g the Jat stituency. B u t where there is a
Sikhs. I n the S i d h w a n Bet section concentration o f H i n d u s , this com-
of the constituency, m a n y scheduled m u n i t y votes f o r the Congress in
caste voters voted against the A k a l i the P u n j a b when the choice is bet-
candidate because, due to their o w n ween the Congress and the Akali
weak and dependent economic p o s i - Dal. T h i s i s obvious f r o m two
t i o n , they accepted the leadership of p o l l i n g stations: ( 1 ) S i d h w a n Bet,
the Jat S i k h leaders, some of w h o m p o l l i n g station n u m b e r 2 1 , where
were against the A k a l i candidate the Congress candidate received
f o r his p a r t i n f i g h t i n g f o r the 50.3 per cent of the vote p o l l e d , and
r i g h t s of the landless a g r i c u l t u r a l ( 2 ) A k a l g a r h , p o l l i n g station n u m -
labour i n the past i n t h i s area. One ber 6 1 , ( w h e r e H i n d u s constitute
S i k h v i l l a g e r was asked as to the about 50 p e r cent of the p o p u l a t i o n
v o t i n g i n t e n t i o n of his v i l l a g e : " W e a n d C h r i s t i a n s another 20 per cent)
are g o i n g t o vote f o r the m a n w h o where the Congress candidate re-
i s i n j a i l . " " B u t that i s i n A m r i t s a r ceived 60.2 per cent of the vote
District, far from here." " W e l l , we polled. Data o n the backward
are g o i n g to vote f o r the P a n t h . " classes is not available. These
" H o w about the scheduled castes classes consist largely of carpenters,
p e o p l e ? " " T h e y too w i l l vote w i t h i r o n s m i t h s a n d barbers, a n d are
u s . " " W h y , w o n ' t they vote f o r the present in every v i l l a g e . W h i l e they
C o n g r e s s ? " " N o , w e w o u l d stop t h e i r were converted to S i k h i s m long ago,
fodder," they are not completely accepted
into the S i k h f o l d by the Jat Sikhs
W h e n the relations between the w h o consider them i n f e r i o r Sikhs.
Jats and the scheduled castes are On the other h a n d , they insistently
b a d , then the scheduled castes vote w a n t to p r o v e that they are as
against the side w i t h w h o m the Jat good Sikhs as any other, and the
Sikhs are a l i g n e d — and since in act of v o t i n g becomes a f o r m of
this area the Jat sections are, gene- self-assurance and a p u b l i c demon-
r a l l y t h o u g h not t o t a l l y , i n c l i n e d s t r a t i o n of b e i n g a complete S i k h .
t o w a r d the A k a l i D a l — a n d since T h e y v i g o r o u s l y and demonstratively
the contest is between the A k a l i D a l s u p p o r t e d A j i t K u m a r because he
a n d the Congress, the scheduled was a candidate of the A k a l i D a l
castes w o u l d tend to vote f o r the and all staunch Sikhs were supposed
Congress. I n S i d h w a n Bet constitu- to be w i t h that p a r t y .
ency, however, in 1962 relations be-
tween the Jals and the scheduled Jat Sikh Vote
caste sections were by and l a r g e A c c o r d i n g to some, a corollary
good, p a r t l y perhaps because of the of the p r o p o s i t i o n that scheduled
realization on the p a r t of Jat S i k h castes tend to vote f o r the Congress
voters that since this was a reserved p a r t y is that the Jat Sikhs are
constituency they had to work u n i t e d l y b e h i n d the A k a l i D a l . A
t h r o u g h a scheduled caste m e m b e r look at the v o t i n g returns f o r the
i n the legislature, a n d p a r t l y p e r - Congress candidate shown in Table
haps because of the electoral a l l i - 5 w o u l d indicate that at several
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 August 4, 1962 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY

places he secured a h i g h e r percent, candidate, An example of this is low, at B h u n d r i p o l l i n g s t a t i o n (18)

age of voles than the scheduled the village of A i t i a n a where the they w e n t up to 37.9 per cent be-
caste .percentage of the p o p u l a t i o n . A k a l i Dal candidate received 75.6 cause that p o l l i n g station includes,
W h i l e part of this may he f r o m per cent of the votes. T h i s village the village of L a i S i n g h , one of the
other categories of b a c k w a r d classes, was a p r o m i n e n t centre of the a n t i - other candidates. It was a c o m b i -
the evidence ' suggests that the Con- betterment levy a g i t a t i o n in 1959 nation of such factors that cut
gress candidate d i d cut i n t o the and witnessed a police f i r i n g in across ethnic and religious loyalties
Jat S i k h vole, and that the Jal Sikhs which a couple of people were that enabled the Congress candidate
d i d vole for the Congress p a r t y . k i l l e d , i n c l u d i n g a scheduled caste to cut into the Jat S i k h vote.
Precisely what the bases of this woman, and several were i n j u r e d .
loyalty are it is h a r d to say. O p p o - The Congress candidate, .because of Conclusion
sition workers a t t r i b u t e it to the the resentment against the G o v e r n , W h a t can we say in conclusion
g r a n t of quotas, allocation of depots ment among the villagers of A i t i a n a . about the factors that made possible,
and other favours shown by the was able to secure only 1.1,2 per the o v e r w h e l m i n g v i c t o r y of the
r u l i n g p a r t y . However, there is a cent of the vote. Akali-supported-Republican candi-
variety of factors involved, w o r k i n g dale? It can be said that, consider-
not only in the case of the Congress A g a i n , another factor is the pre- i n g the composition of the consti-
candidate hut also the other candi- sence in certain villages of extre- tuency since there is no large
dates. One of the most striking mely hostile and bitter factions t o w n h a v i n g a large H i n d u p o p u l a -
features of election c a m p a i g n i n g by which d i v i d e the village in its vot- tion and the scheduled caste popu-
all candidates in L u d h i a n a D i s t r i c t ing; The voting here is an ex- lation is o n l y 30 per cent — .the
is the extent to which affinal and pression of hostility against the candidate p u t up by the A k a l i Dal
agnatic ties are used by candidates opposing faction rather than of w o u l d have w o n , not only because
and their workers to put pressure political preference. Many Jat of the religious appeal the Akali
on voters to vote f o r a p a r t i c u l a r S i k h votes go to (he Congress Party Dal makes to the Sikhs but also in
candidate. These relatives help in this manner. T h e n , some vote its a b i l i t y to marshall on its side
irrespective of their own political f o r the Congress p a r t y because it anti-government sentiment. What
inclinations. The whole system of embodies governmental power. As made possible the overwhelming
relationships is reactivated d u r i n g one villager said, " W e voted f o r victory of A j i t K u m a r was h i s o w n
elections. Daughters-in-law, for the B r i t i s h Government when there work among the scheduled caste
instance, visit their ancestral villages was a B r i t i s h G o v e r n m e n t ; we vote population and his s u p e r i o r - o r g a n i -
to w i n support f o r a certain candi- for the Congress Government when sation.
date. Candidates depute special there is a Congress G o v e r n m e n t ; if
workers for a p p r o a c h i n g relatives. the A k a l i s ever f o r m a Government
Past p o l i t i c a l affiliations do not make we w i l l vote for them too. We
any difference, and helping relatives vote for the Government, whosoever
cuts across party-lines. A person it is - not the political party.' 1 On
may be h e l p i n g two opposing parties the other hand, it should be noted
i n a d j o i n i n g constituencies. While that the electorate voted over-
in this case the Congress candidate whelmingly against the Government
was a member of the scheduled in the S i d h w a n Bet constituency. As
castes, there were always a consider- a matter of fact, one could point
able number of people who were to the existence of an anti-govern-
interested in his v i c t o r y and had ment sentiment. T h i s is obvious
a stake in i t . Thus Jat S i k h leaders f r o m the fact that in 1957. when
having lies with the Congress p a r t y even the Akalis were in alliance
b r i n g along other relatives and w i t h the Congress p a r t y . A j i t K u m a r
friends into the p a r t y fold for vot- could secure 30,011 voles as against
ing f o r the Congress candidate. 39.166 votes f o r the Congress c a n d i -
date. Perhaps it may well be that
Another factor is the past p o l i t i c a l part of the reason for the success
history of the village. Villages w h i c h of the A k a l i Dal lies in its a b i l i t y
were strongholds of the Congress to attract to itself this anti-govern-
movement in the pre-independence ment sentiment.
p e r i o d find it difficult to break away
f r o m their old loyalty. Sometimes Still another factor influencing
old Congressmen, t o r n between their the voter's choice, though not in
loyalty to the o l d Congress and the case of the Congress candidate
N e h r u , on the one h a n d , and their here whose ancestral village lay
dissatisfaction with the present outside the constituency, is geogra-
Congress regime in the P u n j a b , on phical l o y a l t y . A j i t K u m a r polled
the other, just sit it out at home. 85,4 per cent of the polled voles at
On the other h a n d , the experiences p o l l i n g station number 48, which
w i t h the Congress Government may included his village D h a t . S i m i l a r l y ,
induce the voters of a particular while the election returns f o r the
village to vote against the Congress other candidates were extremely

1276