Chandigarh: The Akal Takht turned judge, jury, and moral enforcer—while a gunman nearly became the executioner this week.
It started with the highest temporal body of Sikhs, doling out verdicts and punishments to the top leadership of the Shiromani Akali Dal, including party president and former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, for the ‘sins’ they had committed when their government was in power. These included “religious misconduct” and “favouring” Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a 2015 sacrilege case.
Sukhbir was “ordered” to step down as party president and perform sewa at the Golden Temple, which included cleaning toilets, washing utensils, and polishing shoes. He was also made to wear a placard declaring himself a sinner, though he was later spared toilet cleaning and assigned guard duty instead. The Akal Takht also stripped his father, former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, of the Fakhr-e-Quam (Pride of the Community) title it had awarded him in 2009.
Humiliation turned to high drama on Wednesday when Sukhbir narrowly escaped an assassination bid while on guard duty near the Golden Temple gates. The alleged attacker, former militant Narain Singh Chaura, was arrested on the spot. The incident, which brought back memories of Punjab’s dark decades of militancy in the 1980s and 1990s, was condemned by political leaders across the board and sent shockwaves throughout Punjab.
But the real blow came from the Akal Takht itself. By publicly punishing Sukhbir—who returned to sewa duty even after the attack—and revoking Parkash Singh Badal’s honour, the Akal Takht delivered a direct hit to the Akali Dal’s credibility. And it didn’t stop there. On Monday, it virtually handed over the functioning of the Akali Dal to a six-member committee, led by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami. The committee was tasked with restarting the party’s membership drive and overseeing elections for a new president and executive committee.
In Punjab, where religion and politics are inseparable, the Akal Takht’s actions this week are a powerful reminder of who holds ultimate authority.
This is why the Akal Takht is ThePrint’s newsmaker of the week.
Medieval punishments, modern politics
From the ramparts of the Akal Takht in the Golden Temple complex on Monday, its head Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh pronounced medieval-style punishments for Shiromani Akali Dal leaders, following a joint meeting of the jathedars of the five Takhts (seats of authority of the Sikhs).
Sukhbir Singh Badal and his party’s senior leadership stood below with folded hands and bowed heads, waiting for their fate to be announced.
The entire exercise was conducted in accordance with the historical ritualistic tradition of announcing punishments and edicts.
Established in the early 17th century by the 6th Sikh Guru, Hargobind Singh, the Akal Takht or “the throne of the immortal” represents the confluence of Sikhism’s spiritual and temporal authority. Historians say Guru Hargobind felt the need for such an authority to “fight for justice” after the martyrdom of his father Guru Arjun Dev at the hands of the Mughals.
All major decisions related to the Sikh community are taken during congregations by the Akal Takht. It functions as Sikhism’s “religious court,” issuing binding edicts (hukamnamas), addressing petitions, and designating sinners (tankhaiyas)— Sikhs deemed guilty of violating the religion’s code of conduct (rehat maryada).
The Akal Takht Jathedar as well as the heads of the four other Takhts—Keshgarh Sahib (Anandpur Sahib), Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo), Patna Sahib (Bihar), and Hazur Sahib (Nanded, Maharashtra)—have the authority to declare a Sikh a tankhaiya after following established procedure.
On 30 August, the Akal Takht declared Sukhbir Singh Badal a tankhaiya. This came after a rebel faction of the Akali Dal accused him of betraying Panth principles during the tenure of the SAD-BJP government. The allegations included failing to nab those responsible for the incidents of sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib in 2015 and influencing the Akal Takht to condone an earlier act of sacrilege by Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim. That decision, made in 2015, was later retracted after a backlash from the Sikh community.
But the timing of the complaint was notable— it came in the wake of the Akali Dal’s humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. The rebels, seeking forgiveness from the Jathedar as Akalis, highlighted the party’s repeated rejection by the people of Punjab. While Sukhbir visited the Akal Takht on 15 July to admit his mistakes and ask for forgiveness, he and other senior leaders were not let off the hook.
As a tankhaiya, Sukhbir joined a list of prominent Sikhs who have faced similar consequences. These include Sikh emperor Maharaja Ranjit Singh, former President Giani Zail Singh, and former Punjab Chief Minister Surjit Singh Barnala, former Union home minister Buta Singh, and former Akali Dal president Jagdev Singh Talwandi.
Sikh reformers, authors, journalists, SGPC members, and even jathedars of the Takhts have not been immune to the Akal Takht’s judgments and punishments.
Refusing to undergo the prescribed tankha (punishment) can lead to excommunication through a hukamnama. This involves a complete social boycott of the ‘sinner’. Ignoring an Akal Takht order— especially for a politician— is looked upon as a grave insult to the institution, which is regarded as the moral and religious authority of the community.
But politics is often part of the equation. And this is far from the first time that the Akal Takht has intervened in political disputes or dealt with factionalism in the Akali Dal.
Also Read: Declared ‘tankhaiya’, Badal steps down as Akali Dal chief. What his resignation means
Power and peacemaking
The Akal Takht has long played mediator in Punjab’s turbulent political history, stepping in when divisions threatened to derail Sikh unity.
During the Punjabi Suba movement in the early 1960s to carve out a Punjabi-speaking state, the Akal Takht tried to reconcile Master Tara Singh and Sant Fateh Singh—two prominent but warring Akali leaders— to work unitedly for the cause
In the late 1970s, it intervened to patch up differences between then CM Parkash Singh Badal and SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra. The latter had joined hands with Akali Dal president Jagdev Singh Talwandi against Badal. In this situation, a resolution only came in 1982 when they joined forces for the Dharam Yudh Morcha. Similarly, in 1987, the Akal Takht united splintered factions under the banner of the United Akali Dal.
This week, the Akal Takht once again played not just punisher but peacemaker, urging the factions of the Shiromani Akali Dal to join hands for the future.
Yet, as one commentator put it, Punjab’s “Panthic politics” are now firmly in the hands of the Akal Takht.
The Badals, however, face a more precarious situation. After 10 years in power since 2007, public anger against them for alleged corruption and misgovernance remains strong.
Sikh scholar Jagrup Singh Sekhon summed up the situation while speaking to ThePrint: “Even if the Akal Takht forgives them after the punishment, the big question is whether the people of Punjab will forgive them or not.”
(Edited by Asavari Singh)