Beant assassin declared Akal Takht head priest

Assembly of radical Sikhs chooses killer of ex-CM

A well-participated ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ (assembly of Sikhs) on Tuesday “appointed” Jagtar Singh Hawara, the assassin of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh serving life sentence in jail, as the Jathedar (head priest) of the Akal Takht – the highest temporal seat of Sikhs. The event was organised by radical outfits. It witnessed the revival of the demand for a Sikh state.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which manages majority of Sikh shrines in the country, however, slammed the organisers saying they had no authority to call such an event. The SGPC said the event could only be called by the Akal Takht. Head priests of two other Sikh Takht’s were also “replaced”.

There are five revered Akal Takht's in the country. The Sarbat Khalsa also declared former Punjab Director General of Police K P S Gill and the Lt Gen K S Brar (retd), former Army commander behind Operation Bluestar, as “tankhaiya” (guilty of religious misconduct).

They directed the two to appear before the Akal Takht by November 30. Gill, who spearheaded various operations to wipe out militancy from Punjab, has rubbished the ‘diktat’ questioning the credentials of those passing such orders.

The event may not have any sanctity for the SGPC, Akal Takht or the ruling SAD, but the developments have once again stirred radical sentiments in a religiously surcharged atmosphere in Punjab in the backdrop of repeated incidents of sacrilege and the flip flop over clemency to head of prominent sect Dera Sacha Sauda.

Radical organizations had given a call for the event to discuss various issues concerning Sikhs, much against the severe opposition of the ruling party and the SGPC.

Thirteen resolutions passed at the event also includes a decision to revoke the titles (Fakhr-e-Qaum and Panth Rattan) bestowed upon Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal by the Akal Takht. SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar's title (Shiromani Sewak) too was “revoked”.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) led by Simranjit Singh Mann and the United Akali Dal led by Mohkam Singh and other outfits had organised Tuesday’s event. Former MP and SAD(A) leader Dhian Singh Mand was made the “acting head priest” of Akal Takht, since Hawara is in jail.