 This attempt to cause a division along religious lines had the tacit support of the government and its impact echoed down the years.In 2005, 56 expelled employees of the SGPC abandoned Sikhism and alleged that they were being discriminated against because they were Mazhabis.According to a report published in "The Tribune" on 16 March 1966, a spokesperson for the Federation of Mazhabi Sikhs stated that "the Sikh Scheduled Castes had been reduced to a position of mere serfs by the Sikh landlords who would literally crush the Mazhabi Sikhs if Punjabi Suba was formed."