A study of socio-economic profile of dera followers in Punjab

Religious institutions are experiencing many changes, particularly in their functioning. One of the important changes is the emergence of various Deras (Cults). The study was aimed to examine the socio-economic profile of Deras followers. The random sampling technique was used for sample selection. A total of 150 respondents consisted of 75 respondents each DSS, Sirsa and DJJS, Nurmahal from Ludhiana and Jalandhar districts, respectively. The results revealed that more than half of the respondents were between 40–60 years of age, mostly married and females. Most of them had education upto matric level. Nearly half of the respondents belonged to schedule caste and housewives. Most of the followers belonged to the Sikh religion followed by the Hindu religion. Half of the respondents had an income below 50,000 per annum.