ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀ ਤਰਕਸ਼ੀਲ ਲਹਿਰ

ਜਸਦੀਪ 'ਤੁੱਕੜ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਕਵੀ' ਤੋਂ ਕੌਮਾਂਤਰੀ ਲੇਖਕ ਬਣ ਚੁੱਕਿਆ ਹੈ।ਅੱਜਕਲ੍ਹ ਓਹਦੀਆਂ ਲਿਖਤਾਂ ਅੰਗਰੇਜ਼ੀ ਭਾਸ਼ਾ 'ਚ ਪਾਕਿਸਤਾਨ 'ਚ ਛਪਦੀਆਂ ਹਨ।ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਕਮਿਊਨਿਸਟ ਪਰਿਵਾਰ 'ਚ ਜੰਮਿਆ ਜਸਦੀਪ ਬੇਹੱਦ ਗੰਭੀਰ ਤੇ ਮਲਟੀ-ਟੇਲੈਂਟਡ ਬੱਚਾ ਹੈ।ਸੌਫਟਵੇਅਰ ਇੰਜੀਨੀਅਰ,ਬਲੌਗਰ,ਸਕਰਿਪਟ ਰਾਈਟਰ,ਫਿਲਮਸਾਜ਼,ਸਵਮਿੰਗ,ਸਾਈਕਲਿੰਗ,ਉਰਦੂ ਗਿਆਨ।ਮੈਂ ਵੀ ਓਹਦੇ ਵਾਂਗ ਮਲਟੀ-ਪਲਾਈ ਹੋਣ ਦੀ ਕਈ ਵਾਰ ਕੋਸ਼ਿਸ਼ ਕੀਤੀ ਹੈ,ਪਰ ਸਾਡੇ ਵਰਗਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਤਾਂ 'ਅੱਗਾ ਦੌੜ,ਪਿੱਛਾ ਚੌੜ' ਹੀ ਹੋਣਾ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ।ਕੁਦਰਤ ਨੇ ਓਹਨੂੰ ਗੁਣਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਭਰਿਆ ਹੈ,ਮੇਰਾ ਭਰਾ ਹੈ ਤੇ ਮੈਂ ਆਪਣੀ ਸੱਜੀ ਬਾਂਹ 'ਤੇ ਮਾਣ ਕਰ ਸਕਦੇ ਹਾਂ।ਉਸਦਾ ਇਹ ਲੇਖ ਪਾਕਿਸਤਾਨ ਦੇ ਰਸਾਲੇ 'ਦ ਰੈਸ਼ਨਲ' 'ਚ ਛਪਿਆ ਹੈ।---ਯਾਦਵਿੰਦਰ ਕਰਫਿਊ 

Baba ji ikk purhi baksh deo

Main karma vich rurhi baksh deo
Munda nahin taan kurhi baksh deo
Too ne taa man kare bathere berhi beh gaee ve
Marr gae echa ukiaaN bhardi godtaaN sakhni reh gaee ve

Baba ji give me some miracle pill
I have been drowned by ill fate
If not boy please bless me with a girl
I have tried all the remedies but in vain
I have consulted so many Babas, but my lap is devoid of a child

These above mentioned lines come from a Punjabi duet by Amar Singh Chamkila and represent the everyday reality in rural Punjab where villagers, in the absence of basic medical facilities, seek consultation from a local Baba/Tantrik/Pir (who apparently also claims to possess supernatural powers). The Baba organizes a meeting day, called chaunki. He listens to the sorrows and problems of his devotees/clients, charges them a nominal fee, or some time a bigger seva [gift]. Baba's solutions are holy water or a packet of ash, or some mantra. The remedy works at times, as many ailments are psychological problems. But most of the time, the devotee gets duped of their money, sometimes emotionally and even physically abused. So, they end up developing more problems rather then getting healed.

Tarksheel (Rationalist) Society Punjab is, an organization that spreads awareness in rural masses about false promises of these Babas, self-proclaimed God-men. It aspires to propagate rational and scientific views among the people of Punjab. The Society was founded in 1984; its formation was associated with the Punjabi translation of the book 'Begone God-men' by Dr. Abraham T Kovoor. Dr. Kovoor was a free thinker, rationalist and psychiatrist from Kerala, South India. He worked in Sri Lanka and South India, but his experiences with the rationalist movement there, were equally relevant in North Indian society. Dr. Kovoor had announced a challenge that he would pay Rs0.1 million to any person who demonstrated supernatural or miraculous powers. So Tarksheel Society Punjab, taking inspiration from this, shouldered the same challenge, to challenge the growing influence of these ‘God-men’ in the region.

After its foundation, the Tarksheel Society started many activities to reach out to the people and first of all formed the trick-teams. These teams performed lecture-cum-magic tricks in schools and village community centers. Tarksheel volunteers give lectures about the importance of having rational and scientific attitude in life; then they perform magical tricks that the Babas claimed to be supernatural powers. As this involved magical tricks, it attracted a huge positive response especially among the children and the youth. These programs have provoked discussions and people ask questions about superstitions, palmistry and concept of God. Tarksheel Society also devised a structure, where rather than working from one centre, local societies were formed at the village and the city levels. These local societies share their experiences with each other, train volunteers to spread awareness, perform tricks and advise people on their problems. This helped a lot in that its reach spread far and wide very fast, all across Punjab. Not just that, taking inspiration from the Punjab experience, progressive people in the neighboring states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh also started their own rationalist activities and formed Tarksheel societies.

Tarksheel Society Punjab also established a publishing house, where they published Punjabi translations of works by Abraham T. Kovoor, American rationalist James Randi, biologist Charles Darwin, physicist Stephen Hawkings and psychologist Sigmund Freud. Apart from these translations, they published books on evolution, atheism and applied sciences written by the local authors. Later on, they published books of all sort of literature, like novels, short stories, poetry and songs. Book prices were kept very nominal so that everybody including the poor one could access them. Tarksheel books are easily available in public and community libraries. For these reasons, Tark Bharti Parkashan is one of the most selling publishing houses in the region.

In addition to the above, Tarksheel Society Punjab also publishes two magazines. One is on its name Tarksheel (TheRational), and the other is called Vigyan Jyoti (Flame of Science). The content of Tarksheel magazine includes rationalist articles, stories and case reports, answers to the queries of readers etc. Information about the recent Tarksheel activities in the region and upcoming events are also included. Complementing this, Vigyan Jyoti publishes scientific articles in Punjabi to attract the students. Both the magazines have a wide circulation.

Psychological problems in rural households of under-developed societies are often considered to be an act of supernatural powers, such as people claim to be possessed by evil spirits. So, even if medical facilities are accessible, people look for solutions to such problems from Babas or ‘God-men’ and most of the time, these remedies do not work, rather they intensify the problem. Moreover, visiting a psychiatrist is considered a taboo even in urban/developed regions. One of the greatest achievements of Tarksheel Society has been the formation of teams of amateur psychiatrists from the same communities. Therefore, people are not skeptical in consulting them. Once such case is reported to Tarksheel members, the psychiatrist team visits the household, talks to every family member and other persons involved. Then, they try tracing the cause of the problem and take steps to devise a solution.

The socio-political scenario in the 1980s was such that there was an on-going Sikh nationality movement on one hand, and its repression by state on the other. In that context, people of the region faced immense psychological pressure resulting in many such issues, which could not be healed through normal medical procedures. So, these amateur psychiatrists, as they were very approachable, did remarkable work in handling these cases.

The song mentioned in the beginning of the article deals with the yearning of a woman (not just her, but of the whole family) for having a child (mostly a boy), which is another big reason to seek Baba's advice. Again, Baba's solution is a tricky one, having mostly a placebo effect on people. Moreover, in the extreme cases, there are also chances of the women are physically exploited at the hands of these Babas. Tarksheel Society advises people about how medical science can help them fulfill their wish of having a child.

Tarksheel Society has also made efforts to educate people about human biology including how the father and not the mother is responsible for the gender of a newborn child. In a context where the popular myths stay, this education by Tarksheel Society challenges the common practice of teasing women for not being able to produce a male heir. Efforts are made to tell people how the male and the female child are equal in the changing society. Punjab has a rich tradition of melas (festivals). These melas are organized mostly to pay homage to some religious or cultural personalities. As melas traditionally have a celebratory fervor, Tarksheel Society has also started organizing melas. Initially, Tarksheel Mela was organized on the birth anniversary of Dr. Abraham T. Kovoor. But later on, Tarksheel natak melas were organized regardless of any specific occasion. People from neighboring villages came on tractors-trailers/jeeps/buses to attend these melas, which included Tarksheel plays performed by local theatre groups, magic tricks and lectures. There were also book stalls of literature published by the Tarksheel Society.

Lately, just as a huge part of the Punjabi community has migrated to Canada, they have also taken along the same superstitions with them. Even in Canada, the Punjabis are still tend to seek advice from Babas for their problems. Moreover, as most of them have moved from the rural areas, they have to suddenly adapt to urban lifestyle. Alienation from one’s own land and many other factors make this community vulnerable to psychological ailments. It is interesting to know that there is a notable presence of Tarksheel societies in Canada too, where they are helping out the people in dealing with these issues.

Tarksheel Society does have a political dimension too. In the1970s, the Left movement was at its peak, not just in Punjab but also all over the world. The Tarksheel Society Punjab, formed in 1984, had most of the members who were communists. They had good experience and reputation of working among the people. The first generation of the members of Tarksheel Society had ideological solidarity with the progressive politico-social struggles of the region, but its next generation started to consider Tarksheel Society as a separate entity. Sometimes, Tarksheel members do consider themselves holier than others, which is plain irrational, and hence in contradiction with the basic premise of rationalism. The success of Tarksheel society is limited by the fact that they fail to look into why there is a sudden proliferation in the number of such Babas in this region. In spite of its many positive influences, the rationalist movement has faced some stagnation over the time. It has not been able to acknowledge the dominant socio-cultural heritage of Sikhism, Islam and Hinduism in the region, and this has been the primary reason for its failure to grasp the issues in their entirety. Many cultural practices and myths of the region have evolved over along period of time and many of them claim to have a scientific rationale. Tarksheel Society’s complete dismissal of this fact negates years of cultural wisdom of the society. The propagation of atheism without a sense of respect for the socio-cultural heritage does not serve the purpose.

In all, the Tarksheel movement has had a very positive impact on Punjabi society till now; it has been successful in building an alternate platform for spreading education and awareness amongst the people in the region.


Jasdeep Singh works as Software Engineer in Chandigarh. He regularly translates Punjabi poetry and maintains a blog. He can be contacted at jsbhangra@gmail.com


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Originally published in Pakistani Magazine The Rationale