Sukhbir Singh Badal, the former deputy chief minister of Punjab, has been removed from his position as president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) by the Akal Takht, the highest temporal body of Sikhs, as “punishment” for “sins” against the Sikh community for which he was found guilty.
The title “Panth Rattan Fakhr-e-Qaum” (pride of community), which was given to Sukhbir’s father Parkash Singh Badal in 2011, has also been revoked by Akal Takht. Senior Badal received posthumous punishment for his involvement in “anti-Sikh” decisions while serving as chief minister.
On December 3 and 4, Akal Takht gave Sukhbir the task of “cleaning the toilets” in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar as retribution for his “sins.” The Akal Takht subsequently changed the punishment in light of Sukhbir’s wheelchair-bound condition following a fracture last month. He will now have to fulfill the role of a guard at the Golden Temple main gate for one hour Tuesday and Wednesday, wearing the appropriate robe and holding a spear.
Sukhbir Badal will declare him a “sinner” at this period by wearing a wooden board around his neck. This will then need to be repeated at Keshgarh Sahib and Fatehgarh Sahib, as well as four additional gurdwaras in Punjab.
After a joint assembly of the jathedars of the five takhts (Sikh seats of authority), Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh announced the penalty from the ramparts of the Akal Takht Sahib at Golden Temple. Sukhbir was present to accept the punishment, as were nearly all of the SAD’s senior leadership. On August 30, the 62-year-old was deemed a “tankhaiya,” or a sinner who had engaged in religious misbehaviour.
On Monday, Akal Takht also virtually handed over the reins of the Akali Dal to a six-member committee led by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami. The committee has been tasked with starting a fresh membership drive and overseeing the election of a new party president and executive committee.
A day prior to being deemed “tankhaiya,” Sukhbir Badal submitted his resignation as SAD president to the party’s working committee. Balwinder Singh Bhunder was made acting president, but the working committee has yet to accept Badal’s resignation—for which Akal Takht pulled it up Monday, asking it to expedite the process.
The Akal Takht held Sukhbir guilty for taking decisions that led to “severe depletion of the image of the Sikh community, deterioration of the condition of the Shiromani Akali Dal and damaging Sikh interests”. On July 1, a rebel group within the SAD filed a complaint with the Akal Takht jathedar, claiming that Sukhbir had made a number of poor choices while serving as the SAD chief (since 2008) and deputy chief minister (2007–17). He was blamed by the rebel group for not apprehending those behind the 2015 sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib and for arranging the pardon of Dera Sacha Sauda founder Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh through the Akal Takht, which was later withdrawn in response to criticism.
On July 15, Sukhbir appeared before the Akal Takht, acknowledged the accusations, and expressed regret for his choices. The Akal Takht also asked members of Parkash Singh Badal’s cabinet, who it said were party to the acts of religious misconduct, to explain their position.
The Akal Takht jathedar questioned Sukhbir on six counts before imposing the punishment: did he promote police officers who massacred innocent Sikhs during the militancy years? Did he facilitate the Dera chief’s pardon by inviting the then-jathedars to his Chandigarh residence? Did he fail to apprehend the guilty in cases of sacrilege? Did he misuse donations made to the Golden Temple to issue advertisements on behalf of the Akali Dal justifying the decision to pardon the Dera chief?
To all these questions Sukhbir Badal replied in the affirmative, adding that he and his party made several mistakes while in power.
While Takht Sri Damdama Sahib jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh questioned party veteran Prem Singh Chandumajra, Jathedar Raghbir Singh continued questioning other SAD officials about their alleged involvement in these choices.
Giani Harpreet Singh read out a news report that refuted Chandumajra’s account after he denied endorsing the decision to pardon the Dera chief.
In addition to Badal, the Akal Takht found six additional top Akali Dal leaders guilty of participating in the Badals’ decisions: Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Daljit Singh Cheema, Gulzar Singh Ranike, Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Hira Singh Gabria, and Sucha Singh Langah.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, all six—aside from Dhindsa—were required to spend an hour cleaning the restrooms at the Golden Temple compound. They will then have to perform seva (service) in the langar hall, wash utensils, listen to kirtan for an hour and complete one reading of the Sukhmani Sahib (Sikh scripture).
Due to his advanced age, Dhindsa is exempt from cleaning restrooms. He will first accompany Sukhbir Badal at the Golden Temple’s main gate before moving on to the other gurdwaras.
Additionally, the Akal Takht has ordered all seven, including Sukhbir, to return funds that they “misused” to the SGPC—with interest—in the form of advertisements that support the Dera chief’s amnesty.
In addition to cleaning gurdwaras in their neighbourhood, ten other senior Akali Dal leaders—including former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur and former state minister Bikram Singh Majithia—were also ordered to clean toilets on Tuesday for either openly endorsing Badals’ decisions or staying silent during that period.
In addition, the Akal Takht asked the rebel faction inside the party to settle its disputes with the leadership and instructed Akali Dal workers to plant 1.25 lakh saplings between March 1 and April 30 of the next year.
“The Akali Dal failed the community and as a result the community had to resort to protecting itself using weapons. That led to much bloodshed. The police barbarically killed hundreds of innocents including women and children,” he said.
It was anticipated that the Akalis would mend open wounds when they took power in 1985 following Operation Blue Star. However, the Akalis applied salt to the injuries. Giani Harpreet Singh claimed that the Akalis began pushing Dera culture in Punjab rather than providing justice to those who opposed the brutal system that had murdered hundreds of Sikh youth.
Even though the Akali Dal is a panthic party, Giani Raghbir Singh stated it is shameful that the Sikhs were unable to enjoy political power. “The Akali Dal has deviated from its original duty. For the past 5-10 years, even the act of the jathedars have become suspect,” he said.
Additionally, Akal Takht denounced SAD’s Virsa Singh Valtoha and Harwinder Singh Sarna, the former leader of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, for “demeaning the position of the Akal Takht by their public utterances.” It forewarned Valtoha and proclaimed Sarna a “tankhaiya.”
Any Sikh found guilty of breaking the rehat maryada (Sikh code of conduct) or doing something that is thought to be harmful to the Sikh faith is loosely referred to as a “tankhaiya.” It is a centuries-old tradition. A person can only be declared a “tankhaiya” after following the proper procedures by the Akal Takht jathedar and the four Singh Sahibaan, who are the jathedars of the four sacred takhts of Sikhism in addition to the Akal Takht, which is the ultimate seat of power.
According to Akal Takht, a Sikh who is labelled a “tankhaiya” is viewed as a “sinner” by the Sikh community and must undertake atonement, or tankha. The “tankhaiya” is pardoned after the penalty is finished. Excommunication from the Sikh community may follow noncompliance with the penalty.
