The Akal Takht ("Throne of the Timeless One") is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

s. It is located in the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in

Amritsar, Punjab Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha ...

, India. The Akal Takht (originally called Akal Bunga) was built by Shri Guru Hargobind Ji as a place of justice and consideration of temporal issues; the highest seat of earthly authority of the

Khalsa Khalsa ( pa, ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, , ) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith,Kha ...

(the collective body of the Sikhs) and the place of the

Jathedar A jathedar ( pa, ਜੱਥੇਦਾਰ) is a leader of high regard chosen to head and ensure discipline within a jatha, a body of Sikhs. The Jathedar of the Akal Takht is the central head of the Sikhs worldwide, who makes all important decisions ...

, the highest spokesman of the Sikhs. The current jathedar is Jagtar Singh Hawara, who was appointed by the

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 literally t ...

on 10 November 2015. Due to the political imprisonment of Hawara,

Dhian Singh Mand Dhian Singh Mand (born 3 May 1961) is a Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, ...

appointed by the

and Harpreet Singh appointed by

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 ...

have been serving as the acting jathedars.

History

Akal Takht and Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Originally known as Akal Bunga, the building directly opposite the Harmandir Sahib was founded by sixth

Sikh Guru The Sikh gurus (Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established this religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year 1469 marks the birth of Guru Nanak, the found ...

Guru Hargobind Gurū Hargobind (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿਗੋਬਿੰਦ, pronunciation: l 19 June 1595 – 28 February 1644), revered as the ''sixth Nānak'', was the sixth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He had become Guru at the young age of e ...

, as a symbol of political sovereignty and where spiritual and temporal concerns of the Sikh people could be addressed.Fahlbusch E. (ed.
"The encyclopedia of Christianity."
Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2008. Along with

Baba Buddha Baba Buddha ( Gurmukhi: ਬਾਬਾ ਬੁੱਢਾ; ''bābā buḍhā''; lit. meaning "wise old man") (6 October 1506 – 8 September 1631) was a prime figure in early Sikhism. He was born in 1506 in the village of Kathu Nangal, in Amritsar ...

and

Bhai Gurdas Bhai Gurdas ( pa, ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ; 1551 – 25 August 1636) was a Sikh writer, historian and preacher who served as the Jathedar of the Akal Takht from 1606 to his death in 1636. He was the original scribe of the early version o ...

, the sixth

built a 9-foot-high concrete slab. When

revealed the platform on 15 June 1606, he put on two swords: one indicated his spiritual authority (''piri'') and the other, his temporal authority (''miri''). In the 18th century,

Ahmed Shah Abdali Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

and Massa Rangar led a series of attacks on the Akal Takht and Harmandir Sahib. Takht which is on the first floor was rebuilt in brick between 1770 and 1780, under Sultan-ul-Qaum

Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Sultan-ul-Qaum Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (3 May 1718 – 23 October 1783) was a Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy, being the Supreme Leader of the Dal Khalsa. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia Misl. This period ...

(1718–1783) – the leader of the

Sikh Confederacy The Misls (derived from an Arabic word مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent and is cit ...

in Punjab.

Hari Singh Nalwa Hari Singh Nalwa (1791–1837) was Commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshawar and Jamrud. Hari Singh Nalwa was respon ...

, a general of

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He ...

, the

maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

, decorated the Akhal Takht with gold. On 4 June 1984, the Akal Takht was damaged when the Indian Army stormed Harmandir Sahib under the order of

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 and was al ...

, then Prime minister of India, during

Operation Blue Star Operation Blue Star was the codename of a military operation which was carried out by Indian security forces between 1 and 10 June 1984 in order to remove Damdami Taksal leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the building ...

Design

The Akal Takht was built on a site where there existed only a high mound of earth across a wide-open space. It was a place where Guru Hargobind played as a child. The original Takht was a simple platform, high, on which Guru Hargobind would sit in court to receive petitions and administer justice. He was surrounded by insignia of royalty such as the parasol and the flywhisk. Later, there was an open-air semi-circular structure built on marble pillars and a gilded interior section. There were also painted wall panels depicting Europeans. The modern building is a five-story structure with marble inlay and a gold-leafed dome. Three of the stories were added by Ranjit Singh in the 1700s. Contemporary restoration work found a layer of paint decorated lime plaster that might have been part of the original structure but later than the time of Harminder.

Operation Blue Star

In July 1983, the Sikh political party

Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) ( translation: ''Supreme Akali Party'') is a centre-right sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are ...

's President

Harcharan Singh Longowal Sant Harchand Singh Longowal (2 January 1932 – 20 August 1985) was the President of the Akali Dal during the Punjab insurgency of the 1980s. He had signed the Punjab accord, also known as the Rajiv-Longowal Accord along with Rajiv Gandhi on ...

and 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 ...

invited the fourteenth jathedar of Damdami taksal

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (; born Jarnail Singh Brar; 2 June 1947– 6 June 1984) was a militant leader of the Sikh organization Damdami Taksal. He was not an advocate of Khalistan. "Bhindranwale was not an outspoken supporter of Khalistan, ...

, who was on the run for radicalized militancy in Punjab, popular in much of rural Punjab, to hide in the Golden Temple Complex, later moving to the Akal Takht to protect himself from getting arrested.Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Volume II: 1839-2004, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 337. Between 3 June and 8 June 1984, the

Indian army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

conducted a counter-insurgency operation, ordered by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to arrest Bhindranwale. The Akal Takht was heavily damaged during this operation by the Indian Army. Bhindranwale was killed in action during exchange of fire between the armed Militants and the Indian Army.

Re-building

After Operation Blue Star, the Akal Takht was rebuilt by the Jathedar of Budha Dal, Baba Santa Singh. Many institutions such as the Damdami Taksal felt that the Nihang Singhs should not have taken money from the government to rebuild the Takht. A few years later, Bhindranwale's successor from Damdami Taksal, Baba Thakur Singh, had the Akal Takht demolished, and rebuilt after resolutions were passed by Sarbat Khalsa 1986.

References

Sources

* Harjinder Singh Dilgeer ''The Akal Takht'', Sikh University Press, 1980. * Harjinder Singh Dilgeer ''Sikh Twareekh Vich Akal Takht Sahib Da Role'', Sikh University Press 2005. * Harjinder Singh Dilgeer ''Akal Takht Sahib, concept and role'', Sikh University Press 2005. * Harjinder Singh Dilgeer ''Sikh Twareekh'', Sikh University Press 2008. * Mohinder Singh Josh ''Akal Takht Tay is da Jathedar'' 2005. * Darshi A. R. ''The Gallant Defender'' * Singh P. ''The Golden Temple''. South Asia Books 1989. . * Singh K. (ed.) ''New insights into Sikh art.'' Marg Publications. 2003. . * Nomination of Sri Harimandir Sahib for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List Vol.1 Nomination Dossier, India 2003. * Macauliffe, M. A. ''The Sikh religion: Its gurus sacred writings and authors'' Low Price Publications, 1903. .

External links

WorldGurudwara.com Akal Takht, Amritsar established in 1606

Takht Sri Darbar Sahib Akal Takht

Shri Akaal Takhat images
{{coord, 31, 37, 14, N, 74, 52, 31, E, region:IN-PB_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Buildings and structures in Amritsar Gurdwaras in Punjab, India Sikh places Tourist attractions in Amritsar