THE BROKEN | Dalit Sikhs Fight Back In Punjab

April 12, 2023
By Surabhi Singh

Gurwinder Singh is a Dalit Sikh. His family has a history of working as bonded labourers, known as "Seeris," for landowning farmers in Bauran Kala village in the Sikh-majority Punjab state. His father, now 65 years old, is still working as a "dung-rubbish picker," a job predominantly done by Dalit Sikhs, who are landless and impoverished. Despite a law passed by the Punjab legislative assembly in 1961, which reserves one-third of the government-owned panchayat land for Dalits, access to even this meagre land has come at a cost for these marginalised individuals. Although Sikhism promotes the idea of equality regardless of race, gender, caste, or social status, Gurwinder believes that these values are not genuinely reflected in society.