CHAPTER – IV DALIT LEADERSHIP IN PUNJAB – GRASSROOT TO

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

With the dawn of independence, we adopted democracy. In a

democracy, the elected leadership plays a very significant role in

every politico-administrative organization. The elections have

provided for our polity a steady supply of leaders right from the

level of village Panchayat to that of the Parliament.1 For the process

and development of any community, leadership is considered to be

an important factor. As the Indian society is caste society and caste

continues to be a relevant factor in determining the leadership. For

a long time leadership invariable is drawn from among the higher

castes and in most of the cases leadership is an aspect of the

hereditary and family functions.2 However, the leaders come from

lower castes also. It is the constitutional provisions that force the

parties to allocate the tickets to the Dalit candidates from the

reserved constituencies. Robert D Putman has observed that

leaders who grew up in middle and upper class homes are likely to

have different political perspective from those leaders who, are

brought up in lower class homes.3 He also believes that leadership

generally favours the interest of those social groups from which

they come.4 So the study of socio-economic profile of leadership is

important because it is helpful to understand the behaviour of the

leadership. In this chapter an attempt has been made to analyse

the representation of Dalits in Panchayati Raj Institutions as well

as social and economic background of the Dalit legislators in

different Legislative Assemblies in Punjab.

Meaning of the Term Leadership

Leadership has been defined differently by different scholars.

There is no unanimity among the social scientists about the precise

meaning of leadership.

According to Bernard M. Bass "Leadership is a kind of

interaction between and among the people. Any attempt on the part

of group members to change the behaviour of one or more member

is an attempt at leadership".5

The word leadership has been widely used. Political orators,

business executives, social workers and scholars employ it in

speech and writing. Leadership is a group process through which

individuals initiate activities for achieving the common objective of

the group or community by working together, stimulating each

other, supplementing abilities and resources and evolving an

effective organizational and hierarchal pattern.6

J.M. Burns viewed leadership as a process, 'a reciprocal

process of mobilizing - with certain more or less clear motives and

objectives and, for that purpose, utilizing the resources. That

process, as he said, operated in the context of competition and

conflict. What was crucial was the nature of goals and the

reciprocal process between leaders and followers.7

Pigors says "leadership is a process of mutual stimulation

which by the successful interplay or relevant individual differences,

controls human energy in the pursuit of a common cause."8

Pennock Roland defined "leadership as the influencing and guiding

of the conduct of others in a situation where the followers act

willingly, not automatically and with some consciousness that the

leader is acting in pursuit of purposes they all hold in common."9

David Kingsley has defined leadership as, "the relation

between an individual and a group built around some common

interests and behaving in a manner directed or determined by

him."10

After going through the various definitions one finds three

main components of leadership: the leader, the follower and the

situation. Thus the leadership may be defined as a the interaction

of leader and followers in a particular situation. Leadership is a

tripartite situation because behaviour of one is generally influenced

by the behaviour of the other while the behaviour of both is

determined by the nature and structure of social system in which

they interact. Therefore, in simple words, the art of planning,

leading and guiding the activities of a group of people to achieve a

common goal is called leadership which is an act of persuading the

people to cooperate in the achievement of a common objective.

Dalit Leadership: Panchayati Raj Institution

In a vast country like India, the principle of democratic

decentralization needs to be promoted both in political and

economic spheres. People need to have the right to participate in

the decision making process and for this an appropriate institution

at the grassroots level is essential. Panchayati Raj Institutions have

emerged to serve this purpose. The objective of the PRI is to act as

an instrument of self- education for people and involve them in the

decision making process so as to ensure proper implementation of

policies and programmes meant for their development.

The creation of Panchayati Raj Institutions raised great hopes

among the rural people. The concept of Panchayati Raj has been

considered variously by different academicians and policy makers.

It has been regarded as the foundation of participatory democracy.

M.K. Gandhi said "true democracy cannot be worked by

twenty men sitting at the center, it has to be worked from below by

the people of every village", and Gandhi has also announced in the

golden words “my notion of democracy is that under it, the weakest

should have the same opportunity as the strongest.”11 This was the

dream of M.K. Gandhi about Indian democracy.

After Independence, Government of India under the influence

of M.K. Gandhis' ideology of Gram Swaraj was committed to set-up

Panchayati Raj system to provide real Swaraj to the people of rural

areas. Therefore, Union Government appointed many committees

and Commissions from time to time to suggest the structure and

functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions system which can help

the people to come out of abject poverty, unemployment, illiteracy,

squalor, disease etc. The most important committees were Balwant

Rai Mehta Committee, G.V.K.Rao Committee, Singhvi Committee,

Ashok Mehta Committee. All these committees recommended

'Democratic Decentralization through two or three tier system.

The latest development in this direction is the Constitutional

Amendment (73rd and 74th) of 1992 which aimed to provide

Constitutional status to Panchayati Raj system. This amendment is

considered a landmark in the history of local government in India.

The amendment provides the certain far reaching steps to

strengthen Panchayats. Article 243 (a) recognizes Panchyats as

institutions of self - Government with prime responsibility of

promoting economic and ensuring social justice.

The Amendment envisages the establishment of uniform three

tier system- Village Panchyats at village level, Panchyat Samities at

block level and Zila Parishads at district level.

The Amendment also laid down necessary guidelines for the

reservation of seats for the weaker groups including women.

1. Reservation of seats in favour of Scheduled Castes in

proportion to their population and reservation of one third seats

for women at all level (Including SC women).

2. Reservation of one office of Panch for BCs in a Gram

Panchyat where their population in the Gram Sabha area is more

than 20 per cent of the total population.

3. Reservation in the cases of Sarpanches and Chairman

/Vice Chairman in Panchayat Samiti has been provided on the

basis of the proportion of Scheduled Caste population in the

district, in the case of Chairman/Vice Chairman Zila Parishad on

the basis of SC population in the State.

It is a major departure from the earlier Panchyati Raj System

in the aspect of gender and caste reservation in all the three tier

system for both seats and positions. This kind of constitutional

provision has created scope for Dalits to exercise their political

rights in local governance and steadily give thrust to more of Dalit

friendly grassroot governance. Thus, the new Panchyati Raj system

brings all those whose interests are affected by the decisions, to

have voice in decision making through the participation in PRIs.

Panchayat In Punjab

In October 1961, the Punjab state government decided to

reorganize its Panchyati Raj system on the Balwant Rai Mehta

Committee's recommendation of three tier structure of PRIs.

The new three tired system became operative between 1962-

1963.The Gram Panchayat set - up under this new scheme

continued to function over the years but the Panchyat Samitis and

the Zila Parishads had breaks in their tenures.12 They functioned

as representative bodies from 1965 to 1970 and again from 1975 to

1978 and remained superseded in the intervening years. During

the period of suppression, these bodies were administered by

government officers.

Following the 73rd constitutional Amendment, the

government of Punjab enacted the Punjab Panchyati Raj Act,

1994. The New Act replaced the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952

and the Punjab Panchayat Samities and Zila Parishads Act, 1961.

The new Act came into force on 21 April 1994 and established three

tier Panchayati Raj system in the state.13

New rules were framed under the provisions of this new Act

and the first elections to 138 Panchayat Samitis and 14 Zila

Parishads were held in 1994. The next elections to existing 141

Panchayat Samitis and 17 Zila Parishads were held in 2003 and

after that elections to 141 Panchayat Samitis and 20 Zila Parishads

were held in 2008. Elections to the Gram Panchayats were held

almost regularly since independence with exceptions of 1988 due to

the turbulent situation in the state. The Gram Panchayat elections

were held in June 2008.At present 12821 Gram Panchayats exists

in Punjab.

Gram Panchayat

Under the three-tier system, Gram Sabha and Gram

Panchayat form the lower tier. Gram Sabha is the basic unit

declared in any village or group of contiguous village with a

population of not less than two hundred. After the demarcation of

the Sabha area, a Gram Sabha may be established by name in

every Sabha area. The government may include or exclude any area

from the Sabha area. Gram Sabha is the general assembly of all the

adults living in its area whose names are included in the electoral

roll.

Gram Panchayat is the representative body which consist of

elected members. Its importance lies in the fact that it is the base

of the true Panchayati Raj and, therefore, the success of PRI's

depends on the vitality and effectiveness of the village Panchayats.

It is, infact, the executive committee of the Gram Sabha.

Table 4.1 District-wise Number of Gram Panchayats in the State of

Punjab (1968-2008) District 1968 1973 1978 1983 1992 1998 2003 2008

Gurdaspur

Amritsar

Kapurthala

Jalandhar

Hoshiarpur

Nawansheshar

Rupnagar

Ludhiana

Ferozepur

Faridokot

Bathinda

Sangrur

Patiala

Mansa

Fatehgarh

Sahib

Moga

Muktsar

Barnala*

Tarntaran*

SAS Nagar*

Total

870

1009

236

833

835

-

611

805

658

536

481

574

970

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

8418

1056

1045

340

878

1035

-

629

824

756

542

510

657

1059

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

9331

1246

1080

427

1055

1294

-

716

877

907

552

516

683

1258

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

10611

1335

1088

449

1084

1350

-

757

884

931

552

516

685

1318

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

10949

1451

1164

490

1113

1432

-

805

840

1036

581

278

703

1035

241

428

-

-

-

-

-

11597

1589

1268

533

886

1314

440

456

871

1202

180

303

727

1063

243

438

191

265

-

-

-

12369

1592

1287

535

886

1317

445

852

876

1089

181

306

735

1079

242

430

326

265

-

-

-

12443

1659

817

549

886

1362

458

594

908

1139

190

314

585

981

544

431

337

264

157

543

376

12794

Source: Department of Panchahats and Rural Development, Punjab. * The panchayats of newly carved district of Barnala are included in Sangrur district, Tarantaran in (Amritsar district) and S.A.S. Nagar in (Rupnagar and Patiala Districts)

Table shows the number of Gram Panchayats since the re-

organization of Punjab in 1966. The number increased from 8418

in 1966 to 12794 in 2008 elections, On the same pattern, the

number of elected members of gram Panchayats also increased.

To ensure equality of participation and involvement, provision

have been made to involve the weaker sections by reserving seats

for them in the Gram Panchayat. The Act provides that seats are be

reserved for SCs, BCs and women. Within the seats reserved for

SCs, one third of the seats are further reserved for SC women

If no SC got elected as panch, a defeated candidate belonging

to this category and getting the highest number of votes was made

a panch, and failing that, a SC was co-opted if the population of

SCs was five perecent or more of the total population of the

Panchayat Area.14

A Panchayat consists of several Panches and a Sarpanch. The

Sarpanch occupies a leading status in village activities and affairs.

There has been great difference over the manner of elections of

Sarpanch. In some states Sarpanch is directly elected by the

members of Gram Sabha while in some states Sarpanch is elected

by Panches. Earlier, In Punjab Sarpanches were elected by the

voters of the whole Panchayat area. But in the 2008 Panchayat

elections Sarpanches were elected by the elected member of

Panchayat i.e. Panches.

Table 4.2 District-wise Number of Scheduled Castes Sarpanches in

Punjab (1978-2008) District 1978 1983 1992 1998 2003 2008

Gurdaspur 124 100 92 266 275 290

Amritsar 44 32 32 278 276 259

Kapurthala 59 49 67 111 116 176

Jalandhar 257 217 45 252 267 314

Hoshiarpur 186 202 201 313 311 483

Nawanshahr - - - 112 119 122

Rupnagar 65 51 20 143 152 135

Ludhiana 46 41 49 206 206 216

Ferozepur 21 16 25 166 152 156

Faridkot 8 9 14 45 46 39

Bathinda 16 7 7 62 70 91

Sangrur 31 13 29 140 146 177

Patiala 104 37 58 153 190 295

Mansa - - 8 51 50 48

Fatehgarh Sahib

- - 24 90 89 109

Moga - - - 42 71 111

Muktsar - - - 69 62 72

Barnala* - - - - - 48

Tarntaran* - - - - - 121

SAS Nagar* - - - - - 91

Total 961 774 671 2499 2598 3353 Source: Department of Panchayats and Rural Development, Punjab

Panchayat Samiti-The Middle Tier

In the hierarchical set-up of Panchayati Raj, Panchayat

Samiti is the intermediate tier. It has emerged as a pivot of the

entire Panchayati Raj system as most of the functions reated to

rural development are entrusted to this tier. The Panchayat Samiti

acts as it bullock.

Panchayat Samities are governed by the Punjab Panchayat

Samitis and Zila Parishads Act, 1961; According to this Act, the

government is authorized to form a Panchayt Samiti either for every

tehsil or for every Block in a district.15 However, Punjab

government preferred to constitute this body at the Block level

which coincides with the Community Development Blocks

demarcated in 1952. The jurisdiction of a Panchayat Samiti is

confined to the rural areas of a community development blocks.16

Like the Gram Panchayat every Panchayat Samiti is a corporate

body having perpetual successions and a common seat with power

to acquire, hold and dispose of property and to contract and is

capable of sue and being sued by others.17

There is also a provision for the reservation for the office of

chairman and vice-chairman. The number of the offices reserved

for SCs in a district is to be in the same proportion as the SC

population to the total population in the State. The reservation is to

be allotted by rotation.18

Table 4.3 Elected Members of Panchayat Samitis in Punjab

General Scheduled Caste BC Total Districts

Male Female Total Male Female Total

Gurdaspur 133 70 203 54 25 79 7 289

Amritsar 75 37 112 38 21 59 2 173

Kapurthala 38 18 56 19 11 30 2 88

Jullundhar 65 35 100 55 27 79 2 184

Hoshiarpur 82 42 124 50 24 74 5 203

Nawanshahr 89 33 122 25 12 37 2 89

Rupnagar 42 22 64 17 8 25 2 91

Ludhiana 96 45 141 56 30 86 - 227

Ferozepur 102 51 153 33 17 50 6 209

Faridkot 20 10 30 14 6 20 - 50

Bathinda 62 29 91 28 19 47 - 138

Sangrur 80 38 118 34 17 51 1 170

Patiala 78 39 117 32 16 48 3 168

Mansa 39 20 59 19 9 28 - 87

Fatehgarh

Sahib

34 15 49 17 10 27 - 76

Moga 49 25 74 26 13 39 - 113

Muktsar 37 17 54 24 13 37 - 91

Barnala* 28 13 41 12 6 18 - 59

Tarntaran* 61 35 96 31 17 48 1 145

SAS Nagar* 42 22 64 17 8 25 2 91

Total 1187 592 1779 596 307 903 33 2715 Source: Department of Panchayats and Rural Development, Punjab

In Punjab the total Panchayat Samitis are 141 having 2715

members. Out of the total members 1187, 592, 896, 307 and 33

are General, women, Dalits, Dalits women and backward castes

respectively. The Dalit elected members represent 21-95 per cent of

the total members. Percentage of the Dailts in Panchayat Samitis is

33.25 per cent if we include the Dalit women members that are

higher than their population in Punjab.

Highest number of Dalit Panchayat Samiti members 29.9 per

cent in Jalandhar which is the part of Doaba region where the

concentration of Dalit population is higher then the Majha &

Malwa.

Zila Parishad-The Upper Tier

A Zila Parishad, constituted for every district is the third and

apex tier of the Panchayati Raj setup. It is the successor to the

district boards in Punjab. Unlike Maharahstra, where it is vested

with wider powers, Zila Parishad is a coordinating and advisory

body in Punjab. Like other two tier of Panchayati Raj, it is also a

corporate body, having perpetual successions and a common seat,

can sue and be sued and is empowered to enter into contracts.19

In Punjab right from the very beginning of the introduction of

these institutions, the government has been in favour of a strong

Zila Parishad various committees and study teams appointed by

the government of Punjab from time to time favoured the creation

of a strong body at the district level. Despite all the

recommendations, the Zila Parishad in Punjab is purely and

advisory and co-coordinating body.

Table 4.4 Elected Member of Panchayat Samitis in Punjab

General Scheduled Caste BC Total Districts

Male Female Total Male Female Total

Gurdaspur 12 6 18 5 2 7 - 25

Amritsar 8 5 13 6 2 8 - 21

Kapurthala 4 2 6 2 1 3 1 10

Jullundhar 7 4 11 7 3 10 - 21

Hoshiarpur 10 5 15 6 3 9 - 24

Nawanshahr 4 2 6 3 1 4 - 10

Rupnagar 4 3 7 2 1 3 - 10

Ludhiana 11 5 16 6 3 9 - 25

Ferozepur 12 6 18 4 2 6 1 25

Faridkot 3 2 5 2 2 4 - 9

Bathinda 8 3 11 3 2 5 - 16

Sangrur 8 7 15 4 2 6 - 21

Patiala 10 5 15 4 2 6 1 22

Mansa 4 3 7 3 1 4 - 11

Fatehgarh Sahib

4 3 7 2 1 3 - 10

Moga 7 3 10 3 2 5 - 15

Muktsar 5 2 7 3 2 5 - 12

Barnala* 5 2 7 2 1 3 - 10

Tarntaran* 7 4 11 4 2 6 - 17

SAS Nagar* 5 2 7 2 1 3 - 10

Total 138 74 212 73 36 109 3 324 Source: Department of Panchayats and Rural Development, Punjab

After coming to power in March 2007, the newly formed SAD-

BJP government headed by Parkash Singh Badal announced the

Zila Parishad elections in Punjab. The elections was conducted in

one single phase on 12th May while some polling station was

declared sensitive, where elections were holding on 26th may with

Panchayat elections. After the announcement of elections the

political parties comes up before the electoral with their respective

manifestos.

After issuing the notification of election congress, SAD-BJP

alliance and BSP selected their candidates. Besides these parties,

other political parties who were also involved in Zila Parishad

elections were CPI and CPM, but their role was not very effective

because the main competition was between congress and SAD-BJP

alliance.

If the village Panchayat Election in 2008 were aimed at

acquiring Legitimacy, rebuilding people's confidence and restoring

democratic political process in the state of Punjab, the objective of

the Zila Parisahd/Panchayat Samiti polls in May 2008, particularly

according to the opposition parties, was to consolidate the position

of the ruling party in the state. These parties alleged large-scale

electoral malpractices. The congress party members accused the

ruling party of throwing overboard all democratic norms. They

termed these elections as a fraud which violated all democratic and

normal values. Although Akali rejected these allegations as false

and politically motivated. The elections overwhelming majority of

Akali's as Chairman and Vice-Chariman of Panchayat Samitis and

Zila Parishads.

As the consequence of the reservation policy for Scheduled

Castes in Panchayati Raj institutions following the 73rd & 74th

constitutional amendment, it was expected that Panchayat Raj

Institutions would now ensure representation to Dalits, so as to

make it more democratic. Through structural changes, it was that

the new leadership would be different from traditional leadership in

the sense that it would not represent just the dominant strata of

society, as has been the case so for.

The literature on grassroot leadership studies shows that

number of Dalits in Panchayati Raj institutions was meager before

73rd constitutional Amendment Act. One or two Dalits were either

co-opted or nominated.20 People of upper castes and political

influential families dominated positions reserved for Scheduled

Castes in PRIs.21 The Panchayat election of 1994 have brought a

major change in the character and composition of Panchayati Raj

institutions. A large number of people from the underprivileged

section of society have not only been elected to various position

but have also come to occupy important positions like chairman of

Panchayat Samiti and president of Zila Parishad22 Reservation may

be the only way to ensure the presence of Scheduled Castes in the

PRIs as the traditions and conservations of rural areas, patriarchal

nature of family, the lack of education and access to information

and media, the poor exposure of outside would etc have been

obstructing the opportunities of the SCs earlier.23

The influence of caste on the politics of Punjab is evident. One

has seen that the person who occupied the top position socially,

economically and educationally is the one who actually dominate

the politics of Punjab. In reality, it is not the people of all categories

who control the politics of this state but it is guided by a limited

category of people. As far as leadership at the grassroots level is

concerned the village scene reflects the tradition of leadership role

of the landed class. The important fact is that a handful of the

landed elite have been dominating the Gram Panchayat and the

other two Panchayati Raj Institutions. The poor and marginal

farmers are not allowed to have any effective say in village affairs.

Elite among the Dalits have been recognized as leaders of their

castes and communities. In some areas where they were

numerically or economically dominant, leadership role was

assumed by them at the district, sub-division or village level.

Dalit Leadership in Punjab Legislative Assembly

In the democracy, the Legislators are so significant that they

represent the sentiments, psyche as well as the physical entities of

their people. Members of the legislative Assembly are chosen

through direct elections by territorial constituencies in the state.24

Legislators are the key figures in the socio-economic and political

affairs of the state. The role of legislative leadership is important in

the developing countries where the gap between political elite and

masses is wide. Leaders are perhaps the only link between rulers

and the masses and between upper and lower classes.

The term legislative leadership is restricted in its application.

It generally includes all those leaders, who happen to be members

of the representative Assemblies or Legislatures. Since these

Legislators play a decisive role in the management of the state

affairs and to that extent they can be termed as political leaders.25

The Punjab Legislative Assembly was formed after independence in

the year 1952. The number of members of the Punjab Legislative

Assembly has been revised several times. In 1952, the number of

members was curtailed and reduced from 154 to 81. The strength

of the Assembly was again revised after the general elections of

1967 and the Assembly was given the permission to accommodate

104 members. Again in 1977, the number of seats in the Assembly

was increased to 117 on the basis of the 1971 census.26 Presently

the strength of the Punjab Legislative Assembly is 117. Similarly,

the Dalits representation in Punjab Legislative Assembly has also

been revised. In 1967 to 1977, 23 out of 104 seats were reserved

for Dalits. Since 1977 the number of reserved seats was increased

to 29. However it needs to be noted that with the latest delimitation

of the constituencies the number of reserved seats in Punjab has

been raised to 32.

The politics of Punjab has been eventful since its re-

organization on November 1966. The Congress party and the

Shiromani Akali Dal have been the main power contenders in

Punjab. Before 1967 elections, there was the dominance of the

Congress party in the state political system but after 1967

elections, the Shiromani Akli Dal has broken its dominance. After

1967, Akali Dal formed its government. And in subsequent years,

both Congress and Akali Dal formed governments in the state by

rotation.

Political parties have politicised the caste system because

they take caste into consideration not only while selecting

candidates for elections but also while assigning ministerial berths

and even filling the posts of organizational hierarchy. The economic

status of Jat Sikhs has been enhanced by the benefits of the Green

Revolution and this led to the politicization of their caste

affiliations.27 As they constitute the majority of the rural

population, they obviously control the strings of the political power

in the state and command a position of considerable influence in

both the major political parties- the Akali Dal and the Congress.

The Jat Sikhs form the main support base of the Akali Dal and it

always selects a Jat Sikh as the Chief Minister and the party

President. Even the Congress party, which is based on secularism,

is not immune from the caste and religion. There were always a Jat

Sikh Chief Minister in Congress except the one OBC Chief Minister.

In the context of Dalit politics, Punjab is an important state

because it has the highest proportion of Dalits in its total

population (Census, 2001). The Dalits account for approximately

30 per cent of the total population of the state. The position of

Dalits in Punjab is different from the rest of the country. They are

more educated, conscious, liberated and empowered. The Sikhism

is supposed to have been one of the liberalising influence on the

lives of the Dalits of Punjab which has also provided enormous

scope for Dalit identity formation and assertion.28 The Sikh Gurus'

opposition to Brahminical orthodoxy and caste reduced the

oppressive nature of casteism in Punjab. In Punjab, Dalit leaders

have not been able to mobilize Dalit people politically on the basis

of caste because the question of untouchability is not so strong as

in other north Indian states.

Dalits in Punjab have experienced political power either

through two main political parties i.e. the Congress and the Akali

Dal or through BSP which claims to be their representative. The

support base of the Communist Parties (CPI or CPI (M) is not

limited to any single caste, rather it is broad based. Infact, Dalits

have been numerically dominant amongst the Communist

leadership also.

As the main focus of this part is on the profile of the Dalit

Leaders in the Punjab Legislative Assembly, the data for the same

has been collected from 1967 to 2007. Table 4.5 shows the number

of the Dalit leaders who were able to become members of the

Legislative Assembly from different political parties from 1967 to

2007.

The perusal of the data given in the Table shows that the total

members of the Punjab Legislative Assembly from 1967 to 2007

were 1131. Out of the 1131 members of the Punjab Legislative

Assembly, 272 belonged to the Dalits. Out of 272 legislators 42.64

per cent belonged to the Akali Dal, 38.97 per cent to the Congress,

5.14 per cent to the CPI, 4.77 per cent to BJP (JP, Jan Sangh), 4.04

per cent to CPI(M) and 2.57 have been from the BSP. The figures

(Table 4.5) show that on the whole Akali Dal has been in the

dominant position as far as the Dalit Legislators are concerned.

Closely following the Akali Dal is the position of the Congress. The

Communist Parties and BSP have a marginal share among the

state Legislators as a whole but they have largest number of Dalit

Legislators as compared to the main parties.

Age

All the world constitutions require the attainment of a certain

age by the representatives for reasons of experience and knowledge.

This is necessary for the discharge of legislative duties which are

not likely to be possessed by minors. India is no exception. Here

the qualifying age for entry into the state Legislative Assembly as

well as the Lok Sabha has been fixed as 25 years by the Indian

Constitution. It was assumed by the Constitution makers, that a

person is mature enough at that age for active participation in

Legislative. The constitution lays down no upper age limit.

Table 4.6 Age Profile of Dalit Legislators in Punjab Vidhan Sabha,

1967-2007 Age

Group 1967 1969 1972 1977 1980 1985 1992 1997 2002 2007 Total

25-35 5 3 1 6 3 3 5 2 2 1 31

(11.39)

36-45 5 8 7 7 6 11 7 5 6 5 67

(24.63)

46-55 8 9 9 11 12 10 15 9 10 14 107

(39.33)

56-65 5 3 3 2 7 4 1 7 8 6 46

(16.91)

66 &

above

- - 3 3 1 1 1 6 3 3 21

(7.72)

Total 23 23 23 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 272

(100)

Source : Punjab Vidhan Sabha Compendium who's who, 1960-2007. Note : Figures in Parenthesis Denote Percentage Share

From the Table 4.6 it is clear that the largest percentage of

Dalit Legislators in the Punjab legislative Assembly from 1967 to

2007, belonged to 46-55 age group. They constitute 39.33 per cent

of the total Dalit members, followed by age group of 36-45 i.e.

24.63 per cent. Those who were in the age group of 25-35 were only

11.39 per cent which was lower than the age group of 55 and above

55 age group. So it is clearly proved that the middle age group

dominates among the Dalit leadership in Punjab.

Table 4.7 Party-wise Age Profile of Dalit Legislator in Punjab, 1967-2007 Age

Group Congress Akali

Dal CPI CPI(M) BJP/JP BSP Others* Total

25-35 8 12 3 3 01 4 - 31

(11.39)

36-45 24 34 03 - 01 2 2 67

(24.63)

46-55 48 40 07 06 03 01 3 107

(39.33)

56-65 20 20 1 2 03 - - 46

(16.91)

66 and

above

6 10 - - 05 - - 21

(7.72)

Total 106

(38.97)

116

(42.64)

14

(5.14)

11

(4.04)

13

(4.77)

7

(2.57)

5

(1.83)

272

(100)

Source: Punjab Vidhan Sabha Compendium who's who, 1960-2007. Note: Figures in Parenthesis Denote Percentage Share. * Including smaller parties like RPI, P.S.P., S.S.P., Swatantra, Independent.

While analysing the party wise position of Dalit leaders it is

clear from Table No. 4.7 that only BSP has proportionately more

young M.L.As. (out of its total 7 as many as four were in the age

group of 25-35). Another noticeable fact that emerges from the data

is that CPI, CPI(M) and BSP has never been able to return a Dalit

Legislator in the age group of 66 and above.

Education

Education is a pivot around which the gradual development

of a country revolves. There are no two views about the desirability

of educated persons being returned to the legislatures because

education level is not only a major indicator of one's personality,

but also enables him to think and tackle the problems being faced

by the people. Bhatt (1967) accorded importance to education and

observed that illiteracy restricts one's capacity to give thoughtful

judgement on issues of importance. Education facilitates the

development of a progressive attitude in individuals towards social

and economic problems.29 For the present analysis, the educational

qualification of the members has been classified into 5 categories

i.e. (i) illiterate (ii) under matriculates (iii) matriculates/Higher

secondary or intermediates (iv) graduate (v) post graduates

including, Law, M.Ed. and Technical qualification.

Table 4.8 Educational Qualification of Dalit Legislators in Punjab

1967-2007 Qualification 1967 1969 1972 1977 1980 1985 1992 1997 2002 2007 Total

Illiterate 4 5 3 6 3 1 1 1 - 2 26

(9.55)

Under Matric 4 5 7 7 8 3 1 6 3 2 46

(16.91)

Matriculation 9 11 8 10 8 13 11 10 13 7 100

(36.76)

BA/B.Com, B.Sc.

5 1 4 4 5 7 7 8 7 13 61

(22.42)

M.A/ LL.B MEd. Eng.

1 1 1 2 5 5 9 4 6 5 39

(14.35)

Total 23 23 23 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 272 (100)

Source: Punjab Vidhan Sabha Compendium who's who, 1960-2002. Note: Figures in Parenthesis Denote Percentage Share

The Table 4.8 clearly demonstrates that out of the total Dalit

M.L.As elected from 1967 to 2007 the largest number of Dalit

leadership i.e. 36.76 per cent had education only upto

matriculation. 22.42 per cent leaders were found to be graduates,

whereas 16.91 per cent were under matric. Only 14.33 per cent

were post graduate or with technical degree. 9.55 per cent were

found to be totally illiterate. After 1985 the number of illiterate

members drastically decreased. It may also be observed that the

educational qualification of the Dalit Legislators improved after

1997 when more Dalit law graduates were found to be in the

Vidhan Sabha. Moreover, the highly educated Dalit members

increased since 1980. Before that, only 1 to 2 members were found

to be from this category.

Table 4.9 Party-wise Educational Profile of Dalit Legislators in Punjab

1967-2007 Qualification Congress Akali

Dal CPI CPI(M) BJP/JP BSP Others* Total

Illiterate 4 12 8 - 1

- 1 26

(9.55)

Under Matric 17 21 1 5 2 - 1 46

(6.91)

Matriculation 51 34 1 3 6 2 2 100

(36.76)

BA/B.Com,

B.Sc.

16 33 2 3 2 4 1 61

(22.42)

M.A/ LL.B

MEd. Eng.

18 16 2 - 2 1 - 39

(14.33)

Total 106

(38.97)

116

(42.64)

14

(5.14)

11

(4.04)

13

(4.77)

7

(2.57)

5

(1.83)

272

(100)

Source: Punjab Vidhan Sabha Compendium who's who, 1960-2007. Note: Figures in Parenthesis Denote Percentage Share * Including smaller parties like RPI, P.S.P., S.S.P., Swatantra, Independent.

If we look at the party wise educational qualification of Dalit

legislators again the matriculate members were higher in both the

major political parties i.e. Congress 52.68 per cent and Akali Dal

33.33 per cent (Table 4.9) of the total Dalit legislators from the

respective political parties. In Congress Party, matriculate members

were above 50%. Again more MLAs from Congress party were

having post graduate degrees as compared to MLAs from other

parties.

Occupation

Modern era is an era of functional specialization. In the

present age, the society has been divided into numerous

occupational groups. The standard of living of the people in any

country largely depends upon the national income of the country.

National income depends upon the per capita income and per

capita income is the resultant of occupation. In Punjab, almost 90

per cent people directly or indirectly have a deep relation with

agriculture.

The members of Punjab Legislative Assembly come from

various walks of life. Income is one of the important criteria not

only to determine the social status of a member but also to enable

him to play a useful role as a legislator.30 To classify the Dalit

legislators according to their occupation was not an easy task. The

reason for this was that many Legislators had more than one

occupation but out of the fear of divulging their real income they do

not tell anything about their multifarious business activities. They

just record agriculture, business, advocate, politics or social service

as their main occupation. But they have additional sources of

income like - transport, contracts, mines, brick kiln, rice shellers

etc.

Table 4.10 Occupation wise Profile of Dalit Legislators in Punjab

1967-2007 Occupation 1967 1969 1972 1977 1980 1985 1992 1997 2002 2007 Total

Agriculture 7 8 8 8 9 13 11 9 14 10 97 (35.66)

Business 3 2 2 3 2 4 2 4 5 6 33 (12.13)

Politics and Social Service

11 9 10 12 15 4 12 12 8 9 102 (37.50)

Other professions

2 4 3 6 3 8 4 4 2 4 40 (14.70)

Total 23 23 23 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 272 (100)

Source: Punjab Vidhan Sabha Compendium who's who, 1960-2007. Note : Figures in Parenthesis Denote Percentage Share

Regarding occupation, the data demonstrates that politics

and social service has been recorded to be the main profession of

37.50 per cent of Dalit leaders, followed by 35.66 agriculturists.

12.13 per cent leaders were businessmen whereas 14.70 per cent

were from other professions (Tailoring, Medical Practice,

Journalism, Teaching and advocates). In 1967 there was not even a

single member who was a lawyer. Both the major political parties

have similar number of agriculturists and social workers. The BSP,

CPI and CPI(M) had not a single businessman or an advocate.

Legislative Experience It is a common practice of all political parties to re-nominate

the majority of its sitting members. A change is affected only when

it is warranted by local requirements. Old and experienced

members of the party are thus returned again and again and being

already conversant with rules of the game, they acquire influence

and power in the process.

Table 4.11 Party-wise Legislative Experience of Dalit Legislators in

Punjab 1967 to 2007 Group Congress Akali

Dal CPI CPI(M) BJP/JP BSP Others* Total

Once 61 62 9 6 7 7 4 156

(57.35)

Twice 28 30 4 3 5 - - 70

(25.73)

Thrice 13 17 1 2 1 - 1 35

(12.86)

Four or more

times

4 7 - - - - - 11

(4.04)

Total 106 116 14 11 13 7 5 272

(100)

Source: Punjab Vidhan Sabha Compendium who's who, 1960-2007. Note : Figures in Parenthesis Denote Percentage Share * including smaller parties like RPI, P.S.P., S.S.P., Swatantra, Independent.

The data reveals that of the total Dalit Legislative leaders an

over whelming majority of 57.35 per cent have been first time,

25.73 per cent became members for the two times, nearly 12.86 per

cent for third time and 4.04 per cent for the fourth and fifth time.

The Congress and Akali Dal has been re-nominating some of their

important Dalit members again and again. For example Gurdev

Singh Badal has been elected from Akali Dal from 1967 to 2002 i.e.

9 times. Similarly Darshan Singh K.P. got elected from 1967 to

1985 i.e. 5 times from the Congress ticket.

Dalits constitute the substantial part of population in the

Punjab, therefore representation in the political structure should be

accordingly, to make the democracy more healthy. Though the

number of Dalit Legislators has been increased since the inception

of Legislative Assembly in the state in 1952 but this is more due to

the reservation policy rather than the willingness of the social and

political structure of the state.

If one tries to find out if any Dalit leader has been elected to

the state Assembly from general constituency it is seen that only 3

Dalit candidates who were elected from general constituencies, one

was Madho Singh won from Anandpur Sahib (1977) seat on Janta

Party ticket, second was Surjan Singh Joga (1992), from Joga

Constituency who won on IPF's ticket and later on joined the

Congress party and third was Hargopal Singh (1992) who won from

Balachour Constituency on BSP ticket. The Joga and Balachour

constituencies have otherwise always been represented by Jat

Sikhs and Gujjar candidates respectively. This shows that political

parties generally do not allocate tickets to Dalit candidates from the

general constituencies and it is the Constitutional provisions that

compel the parties to allocate the tickets to Dalit candidates from

the reserved constituencies.

The profile of Dalit Legislators in the state from 1967 to 2007

clearly depicts that mostly the leaders come from middle age group.

As far as their education qualifications are concerned it may be

concluded that 70 per cent of the Dalit Legislators were educated

though many only upto Matriculate, though some have higher

educational degrees also.

It may be concluded that the maximum Dalit leaders have

been elected from Akali Dal and Congress party. Although, both the

major political parties are dominated by the upper strata of the

society. Out of the total of Dalit legislators 80 per cent belong to

both these parties. But it is observed that the Dalit leaders had

marginal share in ministerial portfolio and party organizational

hierarchy. Though the Bahujan Samaj party claims to be the party

of the Dalits, yet the party has failed to organize the Dalits.

Contrary to a state like UP, the BSP has not been able to mobilize

the Dalits in Punjab despite the fact that Dalits constitute the

substantial part of the population. BSP emerged in 1992 and got 9

seats but it happened only because the Akali Dal had boycotted the

elections. Dalits have been numerically dominant amongst the

Communist Parties.

To conclude, it may be stated that the reservation policy has

provided opportunity to the Dalits to become members of the PRIs

and the State Legislative Assembly. Other than the reserved seats

very rarely Dalits have been elected from a general seat. Dalits'

participation in Punjab politics has been far behind their numerical

and participatory strength. It is high time to pay attention to this

aspect, if Dalits have to improve their status in society as well as in

other walks of life.

REFERENCES

1. Hoshiar Singh, Leadership in Municipal Government, RBSA

Publications, Jaipur, 1984, p. 1.

2. Rangnath, "Rural Leadership-old and New" in L.P. Vidyarthi

(ed.), Leadership in India, AsiaPublishing House, New Delhi,

1969, p. 267.

3. Robert D Putman, The Comparative Study of Political Elites,

Princeton Hall, New Jersey, 1976, p. 42.

4. Ibid.

5. Bernard M. Bass, Leadership, Psychology and Organizational

Behaviour, Harper and Row, New York, 1960, pp. 89-90.

6. Krishna Chakraburthy and Swapan Kumar Bhattacharya,

Leadership, Factions and Panchayati Raj, Rawat Publication,

Jaipur, 1993, p. 15.

7. James Macgregar Burns, Leadership – Who Changed the

World, Penguin Books, New Delhi, 2003, p. 425.

8. Pigors Quoted by Harjinder Singh, Village Leadership - A Case

Study of Village Mohali in Punjab, Sterling Publishers, Delhi,

1968, p. 12.

9. Pennock Roland, Democratic Political Theory, Princeton

University Press, New Jersey, 1979, p.473.

10. David Kingley, "The Origin and Growth of Urbanization in the

World" in M. Mayer and Clyde F. Khan (ed.) Reading in Urban

Geography, Allahabad, 1967, p. 63.

11. The Tribune, Oct. 2, 1989.

12. Sec. 30, Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, p.3.

13. Sec. 32, Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, p.6.

14. B.S. Khanna, "Punjab" in George Mathew (ed.), Status of

Panchayati Raj in the State and Union Territories in India,

Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, 2000, p. 239.

15. Sec. 3 The Punjab Panchayat Samities and Zila Parishads Act,

1961, .

16. Sec.4, Ibid.

17. Sec. 3 (2), Ibid.

18. S.L. Goel & Shalini Rajneesh, Panchayati Raj In India - Theory

and Practice, Deep and Deep Publications, New Delhi, 2003,

p. 115.

19. Sec. 86, The Punjab Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad Act,

1961.

20. S.L. Kaushik, Leadership in Urban Government in India, Kitab

Mahal, Allahabad, 1986, p. 183.

21. Hazal D. Lima, Women in Local Government: A study of

Maharashtra, Concept Publishing, New Delhi, 1983, p. 194.

22. Prem Pranshant, Popular Participation in Rural Development :

Emaging Deynamics of PRIs in Haryana, HIPA, Gurgaon,

1996, p. 125.

23. Susheela Kaushik, Women and Panchayat Raj, Har Anand

Publications, New Delhi, 1993, p.3

24. D.S. Dayal, The Constitutional Law of India, Law agency, Law

Publishers, Allahabad, 1974, p. 30.

25. Ravinder Kaur, Legislative Leadership in Punjab, Madan

Publishers, Patiala, 2002, p. 15.

26. Devinder Singh, Akali Politics in Punjab, National Book

Organization, New Delhi, 1993, p. 89.

27. Ravinder Kaur, op. cit, p. 74.

28. Prakash Louis and S.S. Jodhka, "Caste Conflicts and Dalit Identity in Rural Punjab: Significance of Talhan", Social Action, 53(4), Oct.-Dec. 2003, pp. 41-46.

29. K.S. Bhatt, "Emerging Pattern of Leadership in Panchayati Raj set up in Mysore State" in George Jocob (ed.), Reading on Panchayati Raj, N.I.C.J. Hyderabad, 1967, p. 130.

30. K.V. Viswanathaiah, "An Empirical Study of Socio-Economic

and Political Background of the Members of Karnataka State

Legislative", Journal of Constitutional and Parliamentary

Studies, Vol. X, No. 3, July-Sept., 1976, p. 310.