Gurbachan Singh ( pa, ਗੁਰਬਚਨ ਸਿੰਘ; born 6 April 1948) is a Sikh preacher who has served as the

jathedar of the Akal Takht The Jathedar of the Akal Takht ( pa, ਜੱਥੇਦਾਰ ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ ਸਾਹਿਬ) 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 ...

from 2008 to 2018.

Early life

Gurbachan Singh was born in village Chakk Baja of

Muktsar Sri Muktsar Sahib (/ʃriː ˈmʊktsər saːhɪb/) (often referred to as Muktsar (/ˈmʊktsər/)) is a historical city and district headquarters in Punjab, India. The 2011 Census of India put the total population of Sri Muktsar Sahib municipality ...

Punjab, India Punjab (; ) is a state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and ...

on 6 April 1948. He joined

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; "Supreme Gurdwara Management 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 unio ...

as a

granthi A Granthi ( pa, ਗ੍ਰੰਥੀ, ) is a person, female or male, of the Sikh religion who is a ceremonial reader of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, which is the Holy Book in Sikhism, often read to worshipers at Sikh temples called a Gurdwara. The n ...

on 29 February 1972 of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Muktsar, where he became the head granthi in 1996.

Jathedar of the Akal Takht (2008-2018)

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.

Honoring Parkash Singh Badal

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 A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Parkash Singh Badal Parkash Singh Badal ( pa, ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ; born 8 December 1927) is an Indian politician who was Chief Minister of Punjab state from 1970 to 1971, from 1977 to 1980, from 1997 to 2002, and from 2007 to 2017. He ...

. He was awarded this title from the

Akal Takht The Akal Takht ("Throne of the Timeless One") is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikhs. It is located in the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, Punjab, India. The Akal Takht (originally called Akal Bunga) was built by ...

for his service to the Sikh nation, for imprisonment and atrocities faced during various Akali movements and for building Virasat-e-Khalsa. A

Sarbat Khalsa Sarbat Khalsa (lit. meaning ''all the Khalsa''; Punjabi: ( Gurumukhi)), was a biannual deliberative assembly (on the same lines as a Parliament in a Direct Democracy) of the Sikhs held at Amritsar in Panjab during the 18th century. It literal ...

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.

Pardoning Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

In October 2015, the five beloved of the

: 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 Dera Sacha Sauda ("Camp True-Deal"; colloquially DSS) is an Indian non-governmental organization described as a "religious cult" and "non-profit social welfare dera" that was established on 29 April 1948 by Mastana Balochistani, an ascetic f ...

head

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan (born 15 August 1967), known also as MSG, is the head of the Indian social group Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) since 1990. Prior to a 2017 rape conviction, he was a religious leader, actor, singer, writer, songwriter, ...

for the

imitation Imitation (from Latin ''imitatio'', "a copying, imitation") is a behavior whereby an individual observes and replicates another's behavior. Imitation is also a form of that leads to the "development of traditions, and ultimately our culture. ...

of Guru Gobind Singh in 2007. After the jathedars refused to recognise the summon, the five beloved directed the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to dismiss the jathedars from their duties. The Shiromani Committee ignored the

gurmata A Gurmata ( Punjabi: ਗੁਰਮਤਾ, literally, 'Guru's intention' or 'advice of the Guru'), alternatively romanized as Gurumatta, is an order upon a subject that affects the fundamental principles of Sikh religion and is binding upon all ...

and instead suspended the five beloved. The jatherdars later revoked their decision to pardon Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

2015 Sarbat Khalsa

A Sarbat Khalsa convened by Sikh organisations at Chabba village in Amritsar, Punjab dismissed Singh and declared

Jagtar Singh Hawara Jagtar Singh Hawara ( pa, ਜਗਤਾਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਹਵਾਰਾ; born 16 May 1973) is a Sikh political prisoner and member of Babbar Khalsa who has been serving as the Sarbat Khalsa appointed jathedar of the Akal Takht since 2015. He wa ...

as the jathedar of Akal Takht on 10 November 2015. Due to the political imprisonment of Hawara, the

deliberative assembly A deliberative assembly is a meeting of members who use parliamentary procedure. Etymology In a speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke described the British Parliament as a "deliberative assembly," and the expression became th ...

appointed Dhian Singh Mand as the acting jathedar. However, Avtar Singh Makkar, the then president of the

condemned the convening as against the principles of Sikhism and its decisions null and void.At Sarbat Khalsa, hardliners appoint Hawara Akal Takht Jathedar
/ref> 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. 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Giani Gurbachan 1948 births Jathedars of the Akal Takht Living people