Akal Takht Jathedar Rejects SAD Membership Drive

On 2 Mar, Jathedar (leader) Akal Takht (Eternal Throne, AT) Giani Raghbir Singh has rejected the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) membership drive. He instructed the remaining five members of the seven-member committee to begin fresh enrolment for the SAD. Earlier Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami had resigned from his post and the chairmanship of the committee. Later former SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar had also resigned from the committee. Giani Raghbir Singh said he would soon convene a meeting to appoint a coordinator from the remaining five members. The ongoing controversy over questioning of authority of the AT Jathedar by the SGPC has intensified following the resurfacing of a 1999 resolution. The resolution was passed by the SGPC’s Dharam Parchar (religious preaching) Committee on 20 Feb 1999 which states, ‘Akal Takht Sahib is the supreme institution of Sikhs and cannot be confined to the management of Gurdwaras under the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925. The jurisdiction of Takhts (seats) is worldwide, whereas the SGPC’s authority, as per the Act, is limited. Therefore, Guru Khalsa Panth should recognise Takht Sahib as free from the 1925 Act.’ It further says, only the Sarbat Khalsa (Sikh Plenary) holds the right to suspend a Jathedar. As the resolution went viral on social media, it sparked heated debates within the Sikh community. SGPC chief secretary Kulwant Singh Manan confirmed its authenticity but clarified that it was rejected by the SGPC’s General House on 30 Mar 1999. Since this resolution exceeded the jurisdiction of the Dharam Parchar Committee, it was dismissed under the presidency of Bibi Jagir Kaur. Meanwhile, frustrated by the delay in the full implementation of the AT directives, a coalition of Sikh groups has called upon AT Jathedar to summon former SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and others and excommunicate them from the Sikh community.