Gurbachan Singh | |
---|---|
Jathedar of the Akal Takht [lower-alpha 1] | |
In office 6 August 2008 –18 October 2018 (Served with Dhian Singh Mand from 10 November 2015) [1] | |
Appointed by | SGPC |
Preceded by | Joginder Singh Vedanti |
Succeeded by | Giani Harpreet Singh |
Personal details | |
Born | Gurbachan Singh 6 April 1948 Chakk Baja,Muktsar,Punjab,India |
Giani Gurbachan Singh (born 6 April 1948) is a Sikh preacher who served as the jathedar of the Akal Takht from 2008 to 2018.
Gurbachan Singh was born in village Chakk Baja of Muktsar,Punjab,India on 6 April 1948. [2] He joined Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee as a granthi on 29 February 1972 of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Muktsar,where he became the head granthi in 1996. [3]
Subsequent to the dismissal of Joginder Singh Vedanti,the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee appointed Singh as the jathedar of the Akal Takht on 06 August 2008. [4]
Along with jathedars of the other four takhts,Singh awarded the titles of Panth Rattan (jewel of the community) and Fakhr-e-Qaum (pride of the nation) to then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. He was awarded this title from the Akal Takht for his service to the Sikh community,for imprisonment and atrocities faced during various Akali movements and for building Virasat-e-Khalsa. [5] A Sarbat Khalsa held on 10 November 2015 withdrew the title due to allegations of civil rights violations and failure to recognize the oppression faced by the Sikhs in Punjab. [6]
In October 2015,the five beloved of the Akal Takht:Satnam Singh Khanda,Mangal Singh,Tarlok Singh,Satnam Singh and Major Singh summoned Singh along with jathedars of the other four takhts:Mal Singh,Gurmukh Singh,Iqbal Singh and Ram Singh to clarify their reason for pardoning Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for the imitation of Guru Gobind Singh in 2007. [7] After the jathedars refused to recognise the summon,the five beloved directed the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to dismiss the jathedars from their duties. [8] The Shiromani Committee ignored the gurmata and instead suspended the five beloved. [9] The jatherdars later revoked their decision to pardon Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. [10]
A Sarbat Khalsa convened by Sikh organisations at Chabba village in Amritsar,Punjab dismissed Singh and declared Jagtar Singh Hawara as the jathedar of Akal Takht on 10 November 2015. [11] Due to the political imprisonment of Hawara,the deliberative assembly appointed Dhian Singh Mand as the acting jathedar. [12] However,Avtar Singh Makkar,the then president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee condemned the convening as against the principles of Sikhism and its decisions null and void. [13]
After being continuously pressured by the Sikhs to resign,Singh gave his resignation citing health reasons to the Shiromani Committee president Gobind Singh Longowal on 18 October 2018. [14] The Shiromani Committee executive held a meeting at the Teja Singh Samundri Hall in Amritsar and assigned Harpreet Singh as the acting jathedar of the Akal Takht on 22 October 2018. [15]
Panth Rattan Shiri Gurcharan Singh Tohra was a president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), a Sikh body in charge of controlling Gurdwara. He died of a heart attack in New Delhi on 1 April 2004 at the age of 79. He remained the head of the SGPC for a record 27 years, and was one of the most influential and controversial Sikh leaders of the 20th century.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee is an organization in India responsible for the management of Gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the union territory of Chandigarh. SGPC also administers Darbar Sahib in Amritsar.
The Damdamī Ṭaksāl, also sometimes referred to as Giani Samparda, Jatha Bhindra(n), or Sampardai Bhindra(n) is an orthodox Khalsa Sikh cultural and educational organization, based in India. They are known for their teachings of vidya as well as gurbanisanthiya. Its headquarters are located in the town of Mehta Chowk, approximately 40 km north of the city of Amritsar. It has been described as a seminary or “moving university” of the Sikh countryside.
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Teja Singh Akarpuri was an Indian and Sikh politician who served as the 11th Jathedar of Akal Takht from 1921 to 1923 and 1926 to 1930. He was the First MP from Gurdaspur constituency In Lok Sabha from 1952 to 1957 and was succeeded by Diwan Chand Sharma.
A jathedar is a leader of high regard chosen to head and ensure discipline within a jatha, a troop of Sikhs.
Jagtar Singh Hawara is a high level member of Babbar Khalsa who is currently serving life imprisonment at Tihar Jail. He was convicted as a conspirator in the assassination of 12th Chief Minister of Punjab, Beant Singh.
A takht, or taḵẖat, literally means a throne or seat of authority and is a spiritual and temporal centre of Sikhism. There are five takhts, which are five gurudwaras that have a very special significance for the Sikh community. Three are located in Punjab whilst the remaining two are located outside of it.
The Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, also known as the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC), is an organization responsible for the upkeep of Sikh Gurdwara in Haryana, India. It was formally formed on 11 July 2014 by the bill was passed by Haryana Legislative Assembly. Before this the Gurdwaras of Haryana were officially under Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). HSGPC is headquartered at Kurukshetra.
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The Jathedar of the Akal Takht is the head of the Akal Takht and head of the Sikhs worldwide. The jathedar has the de facto power as the supreme spokesperson of the Khalsa to summon, trial and sentence any person who identifies as a Sikh from the Akal Takht.
Partap Singh was a Sikh priest and Panjabi writer. He served as the first acting Jathedar of Akal Takht from 19 December 1937 to 1948 and 19th Jathedar of Akal Takht from 1952 to 15 February 1955.
Dhian Singh Mand is a Sikh politician who has been serving as the Sarbat Khalsa appointed acting jathedar of the Akal Takht since 2015 due to the imprisonment of its permanent jathedar Jagtar Singh Hawara.
Giani Harpreet Singh is a Sikh preacher who served as the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee-appointed acting jathedar of the Akal Takht from October 2018 to June 2023. He has also served as the acting jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib since April 2017.
The Sarbat Khalsa of 1986 was one congregation of the Guru Khalsa Panth, including the Damdami Taksal, Akal Takht, Panthic Committee (Manochahal), Panthic Committee (Zaffarwal), Kharku Sikhs, Tarna Dal (Hariabelan), Tarna Dal, Bidhi Chand Dal and the Shiromani Budha Dal.
The Sarbat Khalsa of 2015 was held on November 10, 2015, in Chabba village on the outskirts of Amritsar, with the purpose to strengthen all Sikh institutions and traditions. As many as 550,000 to over 600,000 Sikhs from around the world attended the event. A few Sikh organizations in support of the Shiromani Akali Dal did not attend the event and refused to recognize the resolutions passed. The event was also opposed by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his Party Akali dal. But Few Sikh organizations supported to Sarbat Khalsa attended the event and recognized the resolutions passed. The event was called by Simranjit Singh Mann and Mohkam Singh, leaders of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and United Akali Dal respectively. The Sikh congregation passed 13 resolutions to be implemented.
Giani Raghbir Singh is a Sikh preacher who has been serving as the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee's appointed Jathedar of the Akal Takht since 2023. He served as the Jathedar of Takht Kesgarh Sahib from 2017 to 2023 and also served as one of the Panj Pyare at the Akal Takht from 1995 to 2014.