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Journalism of Courage
Pandit Brij Lal Dhaula,72,is busy transplanting paddy in his fields,undeterred by the harsh sun. A friend calls and this well-known kaveeshar (Punjabi folk poet) greets back,Jai jai Ram. He is not a Brahmin wearing a tilak or a sacred thread. A number of Brahmins in the Malwa region of Punjab keep beards and wear turbans,much like Sikhs. Some Brahmins,such as those of Bhaike Pishore village in Sangrur district,also use Singh with their names. Dhaula village has some 400 Brahmin families and most of them wear turbans and keep long,flowing beards.
This saroop (appearance) has nothing to do with Sikhism. Our ancestors used to live like this,and we are just following a tradition, says Dhaula,who gets his last name from his village. He says all farmers here have been wearing turbans and keeping beards and so do they. In fact,these have become a mark of the states agrarian culture. Most of the farmers are Sikhs and,therefore,even non-Sikh farming communities such as Brahmins,many Dalit communities and even a number of migrant labourers from other states wear turbans and grow beards to blend in.
This phenomenon is cultural. When I was studying Sanskrit at Barnala,I used to wear a dhoti and a bodi (a shock of hair on the head) but when I returned to the village and took over the seat of my father,I donned this look which was a common thing then. My son too follows the same, says Pandit Sadhu Ram,the village priest. When he and his son,Mangal Ram,say their names,they get curious looks from many. These villagers are Saraswat Brahmins,with a few Gaur Brahmin families too. The youth of the community,however,prefer to be clean shaven,obviously under modern influences.
Ram Swarup Sharma,a retired teacher,too looks like a Sikh. He says the phenomenon is cultural,not religious. We have been able to maintain it despite a divide between the Sikhs and the Hindus during terrorism. We did not convert to Sikhism,though many of us follow the Sikh way of life. This is a cultural mix, Sharma says. Well-known Punjabi writers such as Ram Saroop Anakhi and Om Parkash Gaso are also turbaned-bearded Brahmins.
However,these days,identities are hardening. Dhaula now has a Brahmin Sabha. My sons took to agriculture,and no one was educated enough to become a priest. Now my grandsons will go to Haridwar to study the scriptures and become priests, says Pandit Sadhu Ram. But will they support a turban and a beard? These days,everyone wants to keep their hair short. Even many Sikhs do not like wearing turbans any more, he says.
The land-owning,bearded-turbaned Brahmins are called Jatt-Bahmans. Parsa,the protagonist of Jnanpeeth Award-winning writer Gurdial Singhs famous novel of the same title,is a Jatt-Bahman. And many of them,even if they are not Sikhs,arent too conscious about their Brahmin identity eitherthey are plain farmers. Amrit Pal,another Brahmin of this village,cant even recall his gotra. My father wears a turban and his name is Sri Krishna. We have never used any surname, he says.
These Brahmins,who look like Sikhs,are different from Brahmin Sikhs. Brahmin Sikhs dont follow Vedic rituals,and many of them are even baptised Sikhs. They are spread in a large number of villages in this region. Brahmins,just like people from all other castes,embraced Sikhism,but in small numbers. Bhai Mati Das and Bhai Sati Das,who were martyred along with Guru Teg Bahadur at Chandni Chowk,were from the Chhibber clan of Brahmins.
