Akal Takht Declares SAD Chief Sukhbir Singh Badal ‘Tankhaiya’. What Happens to His Party?

The Akal Takht’s decision is over Sukhbir Badal’s time as deputy chief minister of Punjab from 2007 to 2017 during which he took some controversial decisions.

Jalandhar: The Akal Takht on August 30 declared Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal a ‘tankhaiya’.

In term, given by the supreme body of the Sikh religion, implies that a person is guilty of religious misconduct.

The decision to declare Sukhbir Badal ‘tankhiaya’ was taken by the five Sikh high priests of Akal Takht, over his tenure as Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab from 2007 to 2017 during which the decisions that he took were seen to have harmed the image of the panth  – the path established by Sikh Gurus. The Akal Takht held that it caused huge damage to Sikh interests and led to the decimation of the SAD.

Sri Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Raghbir Singh, while addressing the gathering on the premises of Golden Temple in Amritsar asked Sukhbir Singh Badal to appear before the Akal Takht within 15 days. He also asked all Sikh cabinet ministers in the previous SAD-Bharatiya Janata Party government to appear before the Akal Takht and offer explanations.

Akal Takht was founded by sixth Sikh Guru Hargobind Singh on June 15, 1606, on the principle of miri and piri. Miri signifies temporal authority and piri means spiritual authority. The Akal Takht issues all hukamnamas or edicts related to the Sikh community. Any person found violating the moral code of conduct is declared tankhaiya by Akal Takth and must complete penance as decided by the Sikh clergy.

Notably, the SAD rebel group led by former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur, former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra, former SAD leaders Gurpartap Singh Wadala and Surjit Singh Rakhra on July 1 appeared before the Akal Takht Jathedar and apologised for “mistakes” committed when the SAD-BJP government was in power from 2007 to 2017. The leaders called their group Shiromani Akali Sudhar Lehar.

The rebel group leaders had been demanding the resignation of Sukhbir Badal as SAD president and holding rallies across Punjab on this issue.

Sukhbir Badal, too, in response to the rebel group’s demands had admitted to his mistakes without making a direct mention to them, and sought atonement from Akal Takht in a letter shared on social media.

He wrote on X: “Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh. ‘Dass’ bows his head and accepts the order issued by Sri Akal Takth Sahib, the highest shrine of Miri Piri. As per order, I will soon appear before in front of Sri Akal Takth Sahib and seek forgiveness.”

On August 31, Sukhbir Badal appeared before the Akal Takht. Badal’s former Cabinet ministers Daljit Singh Cheema, Gulzar Singh Ranike, Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and Mahesh Inder Grewal  – the latter was advisor to the CM – also gave their explanations.

Many leading Sikh leaders like Master Tara Singh, Sant Fateh Singh, former Punjab CM Surjit Singh Barnala, former President Giani Zail Singh and former Union Minister Buta Singh had also earlier been declared tankhaiya by the Akal Takht.

Allegations against Sukhbir Badal:

As deputy CM of Punjab from 2007 to 2017, Sukhbir Badal’s role had been under the scanner. Some of his controversial moves were granting pardon to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, allegedly getting the Akal Takht to appoint Sumedh Singh Saini as Punjab Director General of Police in 2012, the sacrilege cases of 2015, the killing of Sikh youths in Bargari and the alleged failure to provide justice to the victims.

Though Saini was removed from the post of DGP Punjab, the allegations damaged SAD’s image among core Sikh voters. Since 2017, SAD’s image as a ‘pro-farmer’ party also took a major hit despite it breaking away from the BJP over the now repealed farm laws in 2020.

SAD rebel group leader speaks

Former SGPC president and member of SAD’s rebel group leader Bibi Jagir Kaur welcomed the Akal Takth’s decision.

Bibi said, “Since Sukhbir Badal committed mistakes, he has been declared tankhiaya by the Akal Takht. If anybody violates the sanctity of the path, he will have to face punishment. Sukhbir Badal has already said that whatever punishment he will be given by the Akal Takht, he will accept it.”

Will Akal Takth’s decision revive SAD’s fortune?

Talking to The Wire, the former head of the sociology department at Panjab University, Manjit Singh said that this is not the first time that a sitting party president has been declared tankhaiya by the Akal Takht.

“In the past, the Akal Takht had declared Surjit Singh Barnala, Jagdev Singh Talwandi and dozen other Sikh religious leaders as tankhaiya. At the same time, those who had committed serious violations were expelled from the panth as well. However, after two years or so they were mostly taken back in the panth by the Akal Takht”, he said.

In the past two decades, two premier institutions of Sikhs – the SAD and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC), the ‘mini parliament’ of Sikhs, has been weakened because of their connections with the BJP, the professor said. He said that it is an open secret that both SAD and the SGPC share an umbilical cord as well.

Manjit Singh said that this, however, is the first time that SAD and its rebel factions have wholly accepted the Akal Takht’s decision – a move that he feels could signal its revival.

“Though it is an in-house issue of the SAD, the way the Akal Takht jathedars conducted the meeting and declared Sukhbir Singh Badal tankhiaya…it was an assertion of spiritual power. This will give a push to panthic politics,” he said.

The rebels could also lose ground, as a result, he added.

“In connivance with the BJP, the rebels perceived that Sukhbir Badal would succumb to pressure. However, approaching the Akal Takht became their biggest misadventure. The rebels were under the impression that Sukhbir Badal would not back out but instead he appointed SAD leader Balwinder Singh Bhundar as the party’s acting president. Since Sukhbir Badal stated that as SAD president, he takes all the blame on himself, it left no room for rebels to attack him further,” the professor added.

Professor Manjit claimed that as there was no glue to keep the rebels together now.

‘Mounting pressure’

Another prominent Sikh affairs expert Malvinder Singh Mali, who worked with former CMs Parkash Singh Badal and Captain Amarinder Singh, and also served as liaison officer of former SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra, said that though it is not exactly clear that on which grounds the Akal Takht acted against Sukhbir Badal, it is clear that he will have to resign from the position of SAD president.

He asserted that this would pave the way for the unity of breakaway Akali factions, who were disenchanted by SAD’s politics but said, “There was no chance of a revival of SAD under Badal’s control.”

Mali emphasised that it was not leadership but a shakeup of Akali politics which was the need of the hour.

“The SAD will have to stick to its core principles of Anandpur Sahib resolution, Amritsar declaration, 1994 and the idea of federal and confederal politics. Instead of wavering between panthic and moderate Sikh politics and blindly following the Central government, the Akalis will have to fight for the rights of Punjab by staying within the parameters of the Indian constitution,” he added.

Another Sikh historian Dr Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon termed this a major development in Sikh and Akali political history.

“Sikh history is replete with examples of how even some close to the Sikh Gurus were declared tankhaiya by the Akal Takht. From Sri Guru Hargobind whose grandson was expelled from the panth to Sri Guru Har Rai whose son was excommunicated from the panth to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, whosoever violated the religious order were declared tankhaiya. Sukhbir Badal will also have to accept Akal Takth’s punishment as a humble Sikh,” he said.

SAD’s future

Facing one electoral defeat after the other, SAD has been reduced to a party led by the Badal family alone. Recently, a close aide of Sukhbir Singh Badal, Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon quit SAD and joined AAP to contest the upcoming by-election from Gidderbaha assembly constituency in Muktsar district.

Dhillon had been with the party for 38 years but quit after rumours swirled that Sukhbir might field his estranged cousin Manpreet Badal, who is now with the BJP from Gidderbaha seat.

Similarly, a fortnight ago, sitting SAD MLA Dr Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi from Banga reserve assembly constituency in Nawanshahr district also quit Akali Dal and joined AAP.

After Dr Sukhi’s exit, SAD’s strength was reduced to two MLAs only in the 117-seat Punjab assembly – Ganieve Kaur, the wife of Bikram Singh Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of Sukhbir Badal and Manpreet Aiyali. Even in the parliament, SAD’s lone MP is Sukhbir’s wife and four-time Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal.