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SIKHISM
Politics of pardonK S Chawla Seat of Akal Takhat Sucha Singh Langah a former Minister of the SAD-BJP Government, has been excommunicated by the Akal Takhat – the supreme temporal authority of the Sikhs. This action against Sucha Singh Langah has been taken as he has been booked and arrested on charges of rape, cheating and intimidation of a woman. Sucha Singh Langah With this action, the Akal Takhat has come into limelight. Otherwise, the Akal Takhat has remained in controversy for wrong reasons. The promptness with which the Shiromini Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal has acted against Sucha S i n g h L a n g a h , once the blue eyed boy of the Akali Dal, h a s surpr i sed everyone. Langah has been divested of all the posts he was holding in the Akali Dal and expelled from the primary membership of the Akali Dal. Langah was considered a prominent figure of the Akali Dal and his writ ran high in the SAD-BJP Government. For the first time, the Akal Takhat and the Shiromini AkaliDal have taken such a 'bold' step.
Guru Gobind Singh
Although Guru Gobind Singh
d e c l a r e d
Akal Takhat
as the
s u p r eme
t emp o r a l
authority of
the Sikhs,
the first
r e l i g i o u s
punishment in the Sikh history was
granted by the second Guru Angad
Dev to a Ragi Jatha of Satta and
Balwant.
According to Professor Prithipal
Singh Kapur, a renowned Sikh
scholar and former pro-Vice
Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev
University, Satta and Balwant used to
recite kirtan in the congregation of
Guru Angad Dev and sangat would
give daily offerings.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh
In the modern times some
prominent Sikh leaders have been
excommunicated by the Akal Takhat
and given religious punishment. They
i n c l u d e
Giani Zail
Singh, late
President of
India and
Buta Singh,
f o r m e r
U n i o n
H o m e
Mi n i s t e r .
They were
excommunicated for the Operation
Bluestar and destruction of Akal
Takhat. Giani Zail Singh did not
appear personally at the Akal Takhat
but sent his emissaries with his
explamation. He said that he was
pained at the Operation Bluestar and
damage to the Akal Takhat. He was
forgiven for accepting his guilt. Giani Zail Singh Prof. Darshan Singh a former jathedar of Akal Takhat who was excommunicated did not appear at the takhat and remains excommunicated. He is now settled in Canada. Buta Singh However, the Akal Takhat has not punished Bibi Jagir Kaur, former president of the SGPC, who was c h a r g e d with the murder of h e r d a u g h t e r u n d e r mysterious circumstances and was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment. She is on bail and is heading the Istri Akali Dal a wing of the Akali Dal. This indicates, the partiality of the Sikh clergy and the leadership of the Shiromini Akali Dal. Bibi Jagir Kaur The Akal Takhat also came into controversy when it granted pardon to dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in 2015 without his personally appearing at the Akal Takhat. This was done at the behest of the leadership of the Shi romini Akali Dal… a n d particularly S i k h b i r S i n g h Badal. T h e leadership of the Shiromini Akali Dal was exposed by Giani Gurmukh Singh, former jathedar of Takhat Damdama Sahib Talwandi Sabo who was transferred to a gurdwara in Haryana. Ram Rahim T h e leadership of the Shiromini Akali Dal was exposed by Giani Gurmukh Singh, former jathedar of Takhat Damdama Sahib Talwandi Sabo who was transferred to a gurdwara in H a r y a n a . The pardon granted to Ram Rahim w a s withdrawn by the Akal Takhat as there was a l r e a d y h u g e resentment against the Akali Dal leadership over the incidents of sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib at Behbabl Kalan and police firing at Kotkapura.
Talwandi Sabo
The real picture of pardon was
exposed by Giani Gurmukh Singh when
he appeared before the parallel panj
piaras a few days ago. Following his appearance before the panj piaras, the
SGPC cut off supply of water and
electricity of his house at Amritsar and
also asked him to vacate the house. This
further exposes the Badal's claim of not
interfering in the affairs of the SGPC. Even
the younger brother of Giani Gurmukh
Singh has been transferred from
Amritsar. |