Akal Takht
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Contents |
History
1959: the verbal Nehru-Tara Singh Pact
Jaspreet Singh, July 4, 2026: The Indian Express
The debate over Punjab’s new anti-sacrilege law has opened up a debate over whether the Akal Takht is interfering in the state. But the apex Sikh body claims the state’s actions had violated the precedent set by the 1959 agreement.
The Sri Akal Takht Sahib’s challenge to the Punjab government’s new anti-sacrilege law and summons to its Sikh Ministers and legislators has provoked fresh debate about the supreme Sikh body’s alleged interference in the functioning of the state government, besides the latter’s supposed overreach beyond its ambit.
The apex body has given Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led government a one-month ultimatum to amend certain provisions of the new law, claiming it was not consulted by the ruling party before passing a law pertaining largely to Sikh affairs.
It all boils down to precedence set by the 1959 Nehru-Tara Singh Pact, a verbal agreement between then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Akali leader Master Tara Singh. Both the Centre and Punjab have upheld its spirit while legislating Sikh affairs, but the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government has seemingly deviated from this protocol.
How did the pact come about, and where does it stand as a historical precedent when it comes to matters of Sikh legislation? Here’s what to know.
Anti-sacrilege law
The Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026, commonly known as Punjab’s anti-sacrilege law, is an amendment to a 2008 state legislation pertaining to the publishing, storing and circulation of tomes of the Sikh scripture and charter. Beadbi, or sacrilege, has long been an emotive issue in the Sikh-majority state; Sri Guru Granth Sahib is considered the eleventh, eternal and living Guru of the Sikhs, and justice has long evaded in various sacrilege incidents involving tomes of the Sikh scripture.
Both the Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) have long sought stringent punishment for sacrilege. While Akal Takht (literally, throne of the timeless) is the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs and is situated right opposite to Sri Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar, the SGPC is the apex governing body responsible for managing Sikh places of worship in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.
The new law, passed unanimously in the state Assembly in April, has been criticised for expanding the definition of sacrilege to “hurt sentiments” and not consulting the Sikh bodies. At its outset, the law calls for stringent punishment for sacrilege — up to life in prison — but does not clearly define the term. This expanded definition can have a political fallout and a chilling effect on freedom of speech in the state. Even the Akal Takht has pointed out that the unclear definition of the term “custodian” can create fear in the minds of not just devotees but also the Granthis (readers or priests).
What is the Nehru-Tara Singh pact?
In 1959, the Partap Singh Kairon-led Congress government in Punjab decided to amend the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, without consulting the SGPC. This led to massive protests by the Akalis, and the then Shiromani Akali Dal president, Master Tara Singh, was put under arrest.
Tara Singh, a key figure in Sikh politics and freedom fighter, continued to have several correspondence and meetings with PM Nehru. On April 12, 1959, after multiple exchanges and a formal meeting with Tara Singh, Nehru assured him of no state interference in Sikh religious affairs. This verbal agreement between the two came to be known as the Nehru-Tara Singh Pact.
According to The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, the agreement was as follows: “It is common ground amongst all concerned that there should be no governmental interference in religious affairs; Nevertheless, complaints have arisen of such interference in regard to Gurdwara management and amendments made in the Gurdwara Act. Some machinery should be devised to ensure the implementation of the policy of noninterference in the Gurdwara management and to consider any complaints of such interference…”
Evidence in the Nehru Letters
While no written agreement was ever signed, the letters exchanged between the two leaders and other political leaders of the time have several references to the verbal pact. The Nehru Archives show that Nehru mentioned the said agreement just a week after the pact. In a letter titled “Gurdwara Politics” and dated April 19, 1959, he wrote to the then Punjab Governor N V Gadgil:
“My dear Gadgil, Thank you for your note of the 16 April. I see that Master Tara Singh is trying to exploit the fact that I agreed to a certain procedure and calls it a great victory for himself or for the Akali Dal… I think that in this matter of the Committee about which I wrote to you, Tara Singh should be made to realise that we have merely suggested a procedure for him to place his complaints before the Punjab Government. We are not putting him on the same level as the Punjab Government…Whatever I agreed to with Tara Singh, I did after consulting Partap Singh Kairon… Naturally, I could not tell him of the exact wording of the statement issued, but I got his agreement with the substance of it. I am answering a question in Parliament about the statement, and I am saying that, in accordance with constitutional procedure and propriety, I only acted after consulting the Chief Minister.”
In a separate correspondence to Nehru on August 27, 1959, also available in the Nehru Archives, Tara Singh wrote: “When in April last, after I had been complaining about Governmental interference in religious matters, I got that pact of 12th April 1959 from you. I considered it a sort of Magna Carta for autonomy to the Sikhs in the management of their religious matters… Thus the above documents will make it clear to you that so far the pact of 12.4.59 has not deterred the Punjab Government or its Ministers from interference in Sikh religious affairs…”
These references provide ample proof regarding the said pact.
Has AAP departed from convention?
Critics and legal experts have pointed out that the AAP has departed from the pact, which has been followed in spirit, if not in letter, for over six decades by both the Centre and the Punjab government. Despite multiple requests, neither the Akal Takht nor the SGPC was given an advance copy of the draft Bill before it was tabled in the Assembly. This remains a prime point of contention, which led to the party’s clash with the apex Sikh body.
On the day it was tabled, April 13, 2026 — a day carefully chosen to coincide with the Punjabi folk festival of Vaisakhi and the Khalsa Srijna Diwas (Foundation Day of the Khalsa) — it was almost railroaded through the House, with even the Speaker raising religious slogans of “Bole So Nihaal” after the Bill was unanimously passed.
While appearing before the Akal Takht on June 29, several of AAP’s Sikh MLAs accepted that they had not read the law before supporting it in the House. Many had not read it even until the meeting with the Jathedar, the leader of the Akal Takht.
During the June 29 meeting, the Jathedar also referred to the Nehru-Tara Singh Pact as a historical precedent, and said that any state interference into the SGPC goes against the agreement.
Harinder Singh, Sikh scholar and cofounder-CEO of the US-based Sikh Research Institute, said: “The recent legislative shifts concerning Gurdwara management, especially in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Jammu and Kashmir, strike at the very heart of the autonomous status guaranteed to religions under Article 26 of the Indian Constitution. While the State possesses the authority to regulate strictly secular or financial administration under Article 25(2)(a), it must recognise that the management of Sikh institutions is completely inseparable from Sikh tradition, ethics, and the sovereignty of Akal Takht Sahib.”
According to him, the government was crossing its constitutional limits and “fragmenting the unified fabric of the Guru Khalsa Panth” by bypassing historical conventions like the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, and the 1959 Pact to create “localised, parallel state boards”.
“The SGPC derives its mandate from the democratic will of the Sikh community, which continues to equally question its governance, representation, and functions; but diluting its territorial and structural integrity without Panthic consensus is an unconstitutional infringement on minority rights that the global Sikh community cannot ignore,” he said.
Jathedars
1982-2023 June
Kamaldeep Singh Brar, April 13, 2023: The Indian Express
There’s no fixed term for the Jathedar (custodian) of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat in Sikhism. That means an Akal Takht Jathedar can continue to occupy the seat all his life. Yet, no Akal Takht Jathedar in recent memory has lasted the crown of thorns for more than a few years, nor has anyone escaped the tar of controversy by the time they disembarked from it. In the case of most, the cause of their relinquishing the authority has been a direct clash with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the authority that appoints the Jathedar.
One of the first instances that brought the spotlight on the role of Jathedars was Operation Blue Star of 1984. As the Army made its way into the Golden Temple, Sikh anger was also directed at the contemporary Sikh religious and political leadership.
In the latest instance, the Amritpal Singh episode has dragged the current Jathedar into the row, as the self-declared preacher chased by the Punjab Police has reached out asking Jathedar Harpreet Singh to intervene.
Kirpal Singh [1982 to 1986]
Kirpal Singh was the Akal Takht Jathedar during Operation Blue Star in June 1984. He was seen as unpopular among Sikh militants and survived an attack on his life by militants. He also earned the ire of the Sikhs by denying any considerable damage to the Akal Takht Sahib after the Army action, before the shrine was again opened to the public. Later, he came close to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) government headed by Surjit Singh Barnala, which didn’t go down well with SGPC head Gurcharan Singh Tohra. The SGPC removed Kirpal Singh as Jathedar on December 24, 1986.
In between, a Sarbat Khalsa (a deliberative assembly of the Sikhs) was called on January 26, 1986, by Sikh militants, in which Jasbir Singh Rode, a nephew of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was appointed a “parallel” Akal Takht Jathedar, with Gurdev Singh Kaunke already appointed acting Jathedar. Rode was at the time in jail under the NSA. That still left Kirpal Singh as the official Jathedar, till he was dismissed and Sikh militants and the SGPC agreed on Darshan Singh Raggi as the acting Akal Takht Jathedar.
Darshan Singh Raggi [December 1986 to March 1988 and 1989 to 1990]
Upon appointment as the acting Jathedar, Raggi tried to bring all SAD factions on one platform. However, Barnala was against this move, and Raggi excommunicated him on February 14, 1987. In response, Barnala called a gathering at village Longowal in Sangrur on February 20, 1987, which was seen as a challenge to the Akal Takht Jathedar’s decision.
In May 1987, the Barnala government was sacked by the Centre. Barnala himself could never recover from his excommunication and slowly faded from mainstream Sikh politics. He later appeared before the Akal Takht on December 5, 1988, seeking atonement.
Raggi also became unpopular among Sikh militants after he called a convention on August 4, 1987. Some militant groups alleged that at the convention, he had confused Sikh youth regarding the aim of ‘Khalistan’. Later, Raggi resigned on November 17, 1987. Many years later, in a turn of events, he was himself excommunicated in 2010.
Jasbir Singh Rode [March 1988 to 1989]
The Union government surprised many by releasing Jasbir Singh Rode on March 4, 1988, who had been appointed Akal Takht Jathedar at the Sarbat Khalsa of 1986. Rode took charge as Akal Takht Jathedar on the same day he was released. At one point, he tried to mediate between the Union government and Sikh militants. Despite being a close relative of Bhindranwale, Rode failed to win the confidence of militants. The SGPC asked Rode to resign on May 28, 1988, soon after Operation Black Thunder, in which the police entered Harmandir Sahib to arrest militants hiding inside. In no time, Rode lost his popularity as he was accused by Sikh militants of aligning with Union government agencies.
Manjit Singh [1990 to 1997]
The SGPC then appointed Ranjit Singh, convicted in the murder of Nirankari head Gurbachan Singh, as Akal Takht Jathedar while he was still in jail since 1984. Again, Manjit Singh was appointed acting Akal Takht Jathedar. Manjit Singh too made several attempts to bring all SAD factions together, and once, even managed to bring most of the big Akali leaders together, including Captain Amarinder Singh, Simranjit Singh Mann and Gurcharan Singh Tohra, but failed to get Parkash Singh Badal to follow Akal Takht directions in uniting all SAD factions. In fact, he faced stiff resistance from the Badal faction of the SAD throughout his tenure.
Ranjit Singh [December 1996 to February 1999]
Efforts by Akali leaders to get Ranjit Singh, another convict in the murder of Nirankari head Gurbachan Singh, released from jail, succeeded in 1996. His release ensured the departure of Manjit Singh as acting Jathedar. Ranjit Singh, who took charge on December 31, 1996, was popular in his initial days, but he too soon sparked controversies and came into conflict with then CM Parkash Singh Badal, as the latter saw Ranjit Singh as Tohra’s man. Ranjit Singh was accused of saving Tohra from the allegations that the latter had attended a congregation of the Nirankari sect, which had been excommunicated. Caught in the intra-party crossfire between Badal and Tohra, Ranjit Singh was removed from the post as soon as Badal had outplayed Tohra within the SAD(B).
Puran Singh [February 1999 to March 2000]
The next Jathedar, Puran Singh, proved to be more controversial than Ranjit Singh, after he came into conflict with SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur over the issue of the Nanakshahi calendar and the Sikh code of conduct. He excommunicated Bibi Jagir Kaur, who took revenge by using her hold on the SGPC to remove Puran Singh from office.
Joginder Singh Vadanti [March 2000 to August 2008]
Puran’s replacement, Joginder Singh Vadanti, immediately declared every decision and diktat issued by his predecessor null and void. He was the first to give a call to make rules and regulations for the appointment of the Akal Takht Jathedar, which the SGPC is yet to formalise. He was also the first Jathedar to issue directions against the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, an R S S affiliate. Vadanti spent eight years in office but was not immune to controversies. He also issued important diktats against the Dera Sacha Sauda in 2007, excommunicating the Dera. However, Vadanti developed differences with the SGPC and the SAD leadership. He was unwilling to toe the SAD(B) line especially after the party came to power in 2007. After his resignation on August 5, 2008, Vadanti claimed he had been forced to resign.
Gurbachan Singh [August 2008 to October 2018]
Vadanti’s replacement, Gurbachan Singh, was arguably the weakest Jathedar in recent times. The low-profile Jathedar lived under the allegation that he worked under the SAD(B)’s influence, and became highly unpopular among Sikhs in 2015 after he issued a pardon to the Dera Sacha Sauda. Although he revoked the pardon later, it didn’t repair his image. His unpopularity was also a reason behind the success of the Sarbat Khalsa called by anti-SAD(B) Sikh bodies in 2015, which had even gone on to appoint parallel Jathedars Jagtar Singh Hawara and Dhian Singh Mand. Finally, the SAD(B)-controlled SGPC quietly asked Gurbachan to resign in October 2018, and appointed Giani Harpreet Singh as the new Jathedar. Interestingly, Gurbachan’s departure also led to a fall in the popularity of the Sarbat Khalsa-appointed Jathedars.
Giani Harpreet Singh [ October 2018- 2023 June]
Giani Harpreet Singh was appointed the acting Akal Takht Jathedar when the SGPC was facing a crisis of credibility. Though he managed to win over the anti-SAD(B) sections with his friendly approach, he still carries the baggage of his appointing authority, the SGPC, with which, incidentally, his relations have also soured.
Giani Raghbir Singh: 2023 June
Kamaldeep Singh Brar, June 16, 2023: The Indian Express
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC) has appointed Giani Raghubir Singh as the new Jathedar of Akal Takht, one of the five takhts or seats of power of Sikhs. Akal Takht, located in Punjab’s Amritsar, is the highest seat of temporal power for Sikhs.
According to SGPC, Giani Harpreet Singh, who had been the acting Jathedar of Akal Takht for the past four and a half years, has resigned from his additional charge. But he will continue to serve as the Jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib. “Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee has appointed Giani Raghubir Singh as the new Akal Takht Jathedar,” said SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami after the SGPC executive committee meeting convened.
Regarding the new appointment, Dhami stated that “Raghubir Singh is presently the Jathedar of Kesgarh Sahib. He will be the new Akal Takht Jathedar.”
“Giani Harpreet Singh has resigned from the additional charge of Akal Takht. It is not easy to leave such a significant post, but he has set an example. We respect him for this. He will continue as the Jathedar of Takht Damdma Sahib. I have talked to him over the phone,” Dhami said.
Meanwhile, Giani Sultan Singh has been appointed the Jathedar of Takht Kesgarh Sahib, replacing Giani Raghubir Singh.
Giani Harpreet had come under fire from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leadership for attending the engagement ceremony of AAP leader Raghav Chadda. This incident has provided anti-Jathedar factions with an opportunity to escalate their efforts to remove Giani Harpreet Singh from his position.
But sources said that was not supposed to be the primary reason behind the confrontation between him and SGPC. A section of SAD leaders openly came out against Giani Harpreet Singh for not taking action against officials of the Haryana Gurdwaras Management Committee.
Giani Harpreet Singh had managed to gain the trust of a significant section of Sikhs after becoming the acting Jathedar.
YEAR-WISE DEVELOPMENTS
Dera Sacha Sauda/ Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan, relations with
‘Tankhaiya’: Akal Takht holds Badal guilty of religious misconduct. 2024 Aug
Yudhvir Rana & IP Singh, August 31, 2024: The Times of India
Amritsar/Jalandhar : Five Sikh high priests pronounced SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal guilty of religious misconduct, or “tankhaiya”, in a verdict Friday that requires him to appear before the Akal Takht and seek forgiveness for unspecified “mistakes” when his party was part of successive coalition govts with BJP in Punjab between 2007 and 2017.
“Some of the decisions taken by Badal as deputy CM and president of SAD caused huge damage to the panthic image. SAD was weakened, and Sikh interests were badly harmed,” Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh said in Amritsar after the verdict.
“Till Badal appears at Akal Takht in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib, Singh Sahibaans (high priests) and sangat (congregation) to apologise for his gunahan (crimes), he is declared tankhaiya.”
The panel directed all Sikh cabinet ministers of the two coalition govts of the specified period to appear before the Akal Takht within 15 days for clarifications.
Besides the Akal Takht jathedar, the high priests who gave the joint verdict included Takht Kesgarh Sahib Jathedar Giani Sultan Singh, Takht Harminder Ji Patna Sahib Jathedar Giani Baldev Singh, Takht Damdama Sahib jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, and Golden temple Granthi Giani Baljit Singh.
Sukhbir, who became acting president of SAD in March 2007 said he would soon appear before the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs. “I humbly accept the edict of the Akal Takht,” he said.
2024
Dec 20, 2024: The Times of India
Jathedar who punished Badal barred by SGPC
The executive committee of Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee has barred the jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib, Giani Harpreet Singh, from performing his duties over allegations of harassment and interference by a Muktsar resident. Harpreet Singh was one of the five Sikh priests who pronounced “tankhah” (religious punishment) for SAD president and former Punjab deputy CM Sukhbir Badal.
