Badal, who was in a wheelchair with a broken right leg in a cast, was unhurt when approached by the attackers.
The former deputy chief minister of Punjab has been sentenced to religious punishment by the Akal Takht, the highest temporary seat of the Sikhs, for the alleged misrule of the SAD government from 2007 to 2017.
Other members of the then Council of Ministers are also doing penance by cleaning the bathroom, utensils etc. on the order of Akal Takht.
What is the Akal Takht, what place does it occupy in the Sikh community, and what is the source of its authority over the Akali Dal?
When and why was Akal Takht established?
The Akal Takht, which faces the Harmandir Sahib in the Golden Temple complex, was founded by the sixth Sikh guru, Guru Hargobind, in 1606 after the execution of his father, Guru Arjan Dev, by the Mughals.
Sukhbir Singh Badal with others. (Express Photo by Rana Simranjit Singh)
According to Amarjit Singh, a Sikh studies scholar at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Guru Hargobind used this platform for governance, and is believed to have issued the first instructions (hukmanama) from here asking Sikh congregations to contribute horses and weapons.
The Guru is said to have requested two swords symbolizing Miri (mundane power) and Piri (spirituality). The sword representing Miri was slightly shorter, indicating the primacy of spiritual authority over temporal power.
The Akal Takht was also a symbol and representation of Sikh defiance of Mughal authority. Historian Joginder Singh, a former professor at Guru Nanak Dev University, who has written extensively on Sikh history, noted that the 12-foot-high platform of the Akal Takht was a symbol of challenge to the Mughal government in Agra (and later Delhi). Emperor Jahangir (1605-27), on whose orders Guru Arjan Dev was executed, sat on an 11-foot-high throne, and forbade anyone else to do so.
How did the Akal Takht function after the demise of the tenth and last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh?
The Akal Takht became a focal point for Sikhs during the difficult period after the execution of Khalsa army commander Band Singh Bahadur in 1716, said Prof Amarjit Singh.
As the Sikhs faced great persecution from the Mughal state, members of the community would gather at Akal Takht on Baisakhi and Diwali for Sarbat Khalsa assemblies where important decisions would be made.
The tradition of the Sarbat Khalsa continued, and one of the last conferences was convened by Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1801–39), the founder of the Sikh Empire, in 1805 to support him against Jaswant Rao Holkar, the Maratha prince of Indore. British.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal at the Golden Temple to serve the ‘tankah’ (religious punishment) awarded to him by the Akal Takht in Amritsar. (PTI photo)
How is the Jathedar (chief) of Akal Takht appointed?
Initially, the Sarbat Khalsa appointed a Jathedar of the Akal Takht in annual congregations. After the British established control over the country, however, the appointment of the Jathedar came under the influence of the Darbar Sahib Samiti, which was dominated by leaders loyal to the regime.
After the promulgation of the Sikh Gurdwara Act in 1925, Jathedars were appointed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prakhand Samiti (SGPC), formed in 1920 to manage Sikh shrines and free them from British-backed mahants.
The SGPC is currently the supreme governing body of all Sikh Gurdwaras in Punjab and the Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.
How does Akal Takht give religious punishment?
As the head of the supreme seat of temporal power of the Sikhs, the Jathedar of the Akal Takht is the supreme temporal and religious authority of the Sikhs, and has the final say in the affairs of the community.
A Jathedar must be baptized, have a deep knowledge of Sikh history and scriptures, and be free from moral defects.
Anyone who identifies as a Sikh can be summoned to the Akal Takht, tried and punished. Dr Sarbajinder Singh, Dean of Guru Nanak Dev University and Jagat Guru Nanak Dev Punjab State Open University, said that the justice of the Akal Takht applies only to those who voluntarily submit to its authority.
Sukhbir Singh Badal and former Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa were kept under guard. (Express Photo)
“The Takht calls only those who affirm their Sikh identity, and Tankah (religious penance) is meant to remove arrogance and instill humility. No one has rejected the instructions of the Takht,” he said.
Among the leading jathedars of the Akal Takht was Akali Phool Singh, who called out Maharaja Ranjit Singh for moral lapses, resulting in the Maharaja’s public flogging of the Akal Takht.
What is the relationship between the Shiromani Akali Dal (which is led by Sukhbir Singh Badal), and the SGPC (which appoints the Akal Takht Jathedar)?
The SGPC and the SAD share a historical affinity with each other rooted in the Gurudwara reform movement of the 1920s.
The SGPC was established on November 15, 1920 to manage historic Sikh shrines, while the SAD, formed on December 14 the same year, initially served as a task force of the SGPC to mobilize Sikhs against corrupt Mahants and British interference in Gurdwaras.
Both institutions institutionalized the Khalsa identity as central to Sikhism and became a pillar of Sikh religious and political leadership.
Ashutosh Kumar, professor of political science at Panjab University, Chandigarh, described the Akal Takht, SGPC and Shiromani Akali Dal as the “three poles” of Sikh politics.
Screengrab of the moment SAD leader Sukhvir Badal was shot outside the Golden Temple on Wednesday.
The SAD has mostly sought to control the SGPC through electoral dominance. The General Assembly of SGPC, with 191 members, consists of 170 elected members. Controlling the SGPC, which appoints the Akal Takht Jathedar, gives the SAD significant influence.
The Akalis dominated the SGPC in the 1960s and 1970s – and even in 1979, when unrest broke out in Punjab, they won a majority of seats in the SGPC. Akali control over the SGPC gradually began to erode after Gurcharan Singh Tohra was installed as SGPC president in 1973, a post he held for 27 years.
After Tohra’s death and the fall of militancy, the Akalis regained control of the SGPC. Elections to the body are supposed to be held every five years, but no elections have been held since 2011. Some critics say the SAD is dominant in the SGPC House because of this.
Some observers have suggested that the relationship between the SGPC and the SAD is similar to that between the RSS and the BJP. However, Dr Pramod Kumar, chairman of non-profit research organization Institute for Development and Communication (IDC), Chandigarh, said this was not an appropriate comparison.
“The RSS identifies itself as a social and cultural organization which is more about (nationalist) ideology, while the SGPC is a religious and social organization concerned with the management of Sikh shrines and charitable schools and hospitals,” he said.
How has SAD control in SGPC affected relations with Akal Takht Jathedar?
On several occasions, the decisions of the Akal Takht Jathedar appear to have been influenced by the SAD.
* In the 1990s, when Prakash Singh Badal led the SAD and Gurcharan Singh Tohra presided over the SGPC, concerns were expressed over the fairness and credibility of the Jathedars.
* In 1994, the acting Akal Takht Jathedar, Prof. Manjit Singh, tried to unite the divided Akali factions, but Badal’s faction resisted. Badal was summoned to the Akal Takht, which led to a public confrontation at the Darbar Sahib complex.
* During the Tohra-Badal clash in 1999, the Badal camp pressed for the removal of Akal Takht’s Jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh, which took place on 10 February 1999.
* After 2005, when the SAD leadership started deciding on the SGPC president, concerns about political interference grew. Avtar Singh Makkar, a relatively unknown figure in Akali politics, became SGPC president and held the post for 11 years.
* Akal Takht Jathedar Gurbachan Singh and other top priests faced backlash for announcing a controversial unilateral pardon to Sirsa Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in September 2015, which was later revoked. Many Sikhs alleged that the decision was influenced by the SAD – which was confirmed by Sukhbir Singh Badal when questioned by the Akal Takht Jathedar on December 2.