Disillusioned ‘premis’ denounce many wait for dust to settle
While a few stay loyal, some feel confused in the face of disgrace
mob has become the face of a sect that claims a following of 60 million. While many Dera followers remain loyal to the 70-year-old institution because of its place in their social and economic lives, some feel confused or conflicted in the face of their leader’s disgrace. There are a number of factors that attracted people to Singh’s cult; their reactions to his fall are equally diverse.
“It was after I saw a film of his — the one in which he plays an adivasi in Chhattisgarh — that I became inspired to follow him,” said 21-year-old Pooja Insan, who was leaving the sect’s Sirsa headquarters on August 30 with her mother at the urging of Haryana police. Enraptured by Singh’s larger-than-life movie persona in MSG 2, Pooja persuaded her mother to travel from their home in Rohtak to the Dera’s Sirsa estate within days of the film’s release in 2015. “We felt so good. We were first given the naam (Insan), then there was a satsang and dance performances by children.” Since then, she has visited the Dera at least once a month. Now headed back home, Pooja and her mother said they didn’t know if they were ever coming back. “We didn’t know anything about the rape charges. We have never spent a night inside the Dera. We don’t want to be a part of any controversy,” she said.
Ramji Insaan, a 35-year-old engineer, isn’t a recent follower. Like most Dalit families in Bajeka village of Haryana, he has followed the sect since its founding in 1946.
“I took the name 15 years ago. The Dera is a big part of the village’s life. Hundreds of young men are employed by it.” Since August 25, the day of Singh’s conviction by a CBI court, though, most of them have been avoiding the subject. “We are waiting and watching,” said Ramji, playing cards with his friends under a shed in the village. Asked if he is going to return to the Dera for the usual satsang, he said, “Abhi kuch nahi kah sakte. Aage dekhenge (Can’t say anything now, will see how things go).”