Jathedars who were shown the door abruptly
This is not the first time that the SGPC has removed jathedars, whose positions are considered sacrosanct within the community, with many critics dubbing it as a direct attack on the supremacy and sacredness of Sikh temporal seats founded by the Gurus.
The unceremonious removal of Giani Raghbir Singh as Akal Takht jathedar and Giani Sultan Singh as Takht Kesgarh Sahib head by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Friday has drawn sharp reactions from the various sections of the Sikh community.
This is not the first time that the SGPC has removed jathedars, whose positions are considered sacrosanct within the community, with many critics dubbing it as a direct attack on the supremacy and sacredness of Sikh temporal seats founded by the Gurus.
In the last two and half decades, during which Badal family dominated the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) which further controls the SGPC due to its majority in its general house, six jathedars have been removed.
Bhai Ranjit Singh (1996-1999)
In recent decades, Bhai Ranjit Singh became the first victim of the unceremonious exit. He took charge as Akal Takht jathedar upon his release from Tihar Jail after serving 13 years sentence in the assassination case of Nirankari sect head Gurbachan Singh during the 1978 Sikh-Nirankari clash.
Ranjit Singh remained jathedar from December 1996 to January 1999 and was removed from the post, along with SGPC head Gurcharan Singh Tohra, when Parkash Singh Badal was the SAD president. Following Tohra’s removal, Bibi Jagir Kaur was appointed the SGPC head and Giani Puran Singh was made Akal Takht jathedar. Giani Puran Singh also had a controversial stint.
Giani Puran Singh (1999-2000)
Giani Puran Singh was removed unceremoniously two months after he excommunicated Bibi Jagir Kaur, the then SGPC chief on January 25, 2000, by issuing a controversial hukamnama (edict) from Guna in Madhya Pradesh. On March 28, 2000, the SGPC’s executive body sacked him as the jathedar of Akal Takht and appointed Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti as the acting head. Hours before being sacked, Giani Puran Singh had excommunicated four executive members of the SGPC. After being sacked Giani Puran Singh was placed under suspension as granthi of the Golden Temple. “Though Giani Puran Singh was removed unceremoniously, in this case, panthic sentiments were against him due to the controversial hukamnama that was not accepted by the community”, said advocate Jaswinder Singh, the then SGPC member.
Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti (2000-2008)
A rare scholar of old Sikh scriptures, Giani Joginder Singh was removed unceremoniously in August 2008. Ruling out the claims of the then SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar that he resigned from the post, Vedanti had said he was forced to quit. Prithipal Singh Sandhu, who was the then personal assistant to Vedanti, had said that the main reasons behind his removal were— the issuing of an edict directing the Sikhs to boycott controversial Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim after he committed blasphemy in 2007; Issuing ‘sandesh’ asking Sikhs to stay away from a procession organised by RSS’s affiliate Rashtriya Sikh Sangat in 2004; Terming the RSS and its affiliates as ‘anti-panthic forces’ ahead of the 2007 assembly polls; Praising the then PM Manmohan Singh ahead of the 2008 voting over no-confidence motion. He was replaced by Giani Gurbachan Singh, who later issued a decree (now withdrawn) granting pardon to the Dera Sirsa chief in 2015 in a blasphemy case.
Prof Manjit Singh (1990-2004)
Then jathedar of Takht Kesgarh Sahib, Prof Manjit Singh, who was also acting Akal Takht jathedar (1990-1996), was part of the famous ‘Amritsar Declaration’ in 1994 which advocated for a separate Sikh state during a meeting of all Akali factions, barring Parkash Singh Badal camp. The leaders, who adopted the declaration included the then SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra, former CM Amarinder Singh and former CM Surjit Singh Barnala and Simranjit Singh Mann. He was removed as acting Takht jathedar on the release of Bhai Ranjit Singh and later faced outrage for honouring the then Punjab CM Amarinder Singh at Takht Kesgarh Sahib in 2002. Amid Badal’s tussle with Tohra, he was sacked on February 23, 2004, on charges of corruption, which were not disclosed “in the larger interests of Panth”.
Giani Balwant Singh Nandgarh (2003-2015)
A key figure in Sikh politics, Giani Balwant Singh Nandgarh was a known hardliner on Sikh issues and launched an organisation ‘Ek Noor Khalsa Fauj’ which had considerable sway in the Malwa region. Amid the controversy over the Nanakshahi calendar, he opposed the release of its amended version by the SGPC. He was removed on January 18, 2015, by the SGPC during the presidency of Avtar Singh Makkar.
Giani Gurmukh Singh (2015-2017)
He was earlier head granthi of Akal Takht and was given additional charge of Takht Damdama Sahib jathedar after the exit of Giani Balwant Singh Nandgarh. He was part of the Sikh clergy which granted pardon to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in 2015. However, he revolted in 2017 and alleged that the Sikh clergy took the decision under pressure of SAD honchos who called the jathedars to CM’s official residence at Chandigarh to manage the decision that created unrest in the community. After his allegations, he was not only removed but also transferred to Gurdwara Dhamdhan Sahib in Haryana as a punishment.
Giani Harpreet Singh (2017-2025)
After controversial jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh resigned, Giani Harpreet Singh was named as acting jathedar of Akal Takht (2018-2023) on October 30, 2018, while he was serving as jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib (2017-2025). Days after he attended the engagement of AAP Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha in 2023, Giani Harpreet Singh ‘stepped down’ as the acting jathedar of Akal Takht and the SGPC in an emergency meeting appointed Giani Raghbir Singh as jathedar. He continued his services as Takht Damdama Sahib jathedar. Post the December 2 decree, which pronounced tankhah (religious punishment) on Sukhbir Singh Badal and other SAD leaders, he was sacked as Takht Damdama Sahib jathedar by the SGPC executive panel on February 10 which accepted a controversial probe report against him.
Giani Raghbir Singh (2023-2025)
Nearly four weeks after the removal of Giani Harpreet Singh as head of Takht Damdama Sahib, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh and Takht Kesgarh Sahib jathedar Giani Sultan Singh were sacked by the executive committee of the SGPC on Friday. Giani Raghbir Singh had objected to the SGPC’s decision following which Harjinder Singh Dhami resigned as the president of the apex gurdwara body. With this, all jathedars, who had on December 2 last year pronounced a “hukamnama” (Sikh decree) for the exit of Sukhbir Singh Badal as president of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), have been removed from their posts. SGPC senior vice-president Raghujit Singh Virk, who chaired the meeting in the absence of Dhami, defended the decision, stating that the leadership of Giani Raghbir Singh was deemed inadequate for guiding the panth in the face of contemporary challenges.
