Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) is

separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...

political party led by

Simranjit Singh Mann Simranjit Singh Mann (born 20 May 1945) is a separatist politician and an MP representing the constituency of Sangrur since 2022. He is the president of the political party Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar). Mann is a three-time MP; once from Ta ...

, it is a splinter group of the

Shiromani 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 many ...

. Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) was formed on the 1st of May 1994.

Electoral success

The party's most significant success was in the 1989 Indian general elections when they won 6 out of the 13 seats in Punjab. The party espouses the ideology of

Punjabiyat Punjabiyat means "Punjabiness" and is the language revitalization movement of Punjabi. In Pakistan, its goal is a better status of Punjabi language along with Urdu at state level. In India, its goal is to bring together the Sikh, Hindu and Muslim ...

and Sikh nationalism. Moreover, the party won the parliamentary seat of

Sangrur Sangrur is a city in Sangrur district of the Indian state of Punjab, India. It is the headquarters of Sangrur District. Geography Sangrur is located at . It has an average elevation of 237 metres (778 feet). Climate Health s ...

in 1999 and the 2022 Sangrur (by-elections). Upon winning the seat in 2022, Simranjit Singh Mann gave credit to

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, ...

. Also, Mann emphasized his priority will be to "work with the Punjab government" to "raise the poor economic condition of Sangrur including the condition of farmers under debt". The party contested the

SGPC 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 union ...

elections on the same plank and won three seats.

History and Ideology

Akali politics in post-colonial India have organized around advancing and protecting Sikh political and cultural interests and Punjabi language. By 1973, the Akali's adopted the

Anandpur Sahib Resolution The Anandpur Sahib Resolution was a statement with a list of demands made by the Punjabi Sikh political party, the Shiromani Akali Dal, in 1973. Presentation in 1973 After the tenure of chief minister Gurnam Singh in the Punjab, newly demarcated ...

a document which advanced a desire for increasing regional autonomy within India's centralized structure of governance, as well as various socio political conerens. From 1975 to 1977, the president of India, Indira Gandhi would institute a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

suspending elections and civil liberties. During the early phases of the emergency, Akali and Sikh parties would meet in Amritsar to resist the "fascist tendency of the Congress". The Akali Dal would launch the "Campaign to Save Democracy". However, the period would see widespread human rights abuses including the mass detention of dissidents and opposition; forced sterilizations; constitutional modifications; demolition of homes and displacement of people and suspension of the press. Following the end of the emergency from 1977 to 1984, the Akali Dal would be re-elected in Punjab and constitute the main opposition to the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government. The period would see an increase in Punjabi nationalism. The party would continue to organize around the adoption of the

. The central government would treat the

as a secessionist document, eventually culminating in

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 buildings of ...

, an invasion of Harmindar Sahib on June 1, 1984. The operation would result in mass civilian casualties and precipitate an

insurgency in Punjab {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Insurgency in Punjab , image = Punjab in India (claimed and disputed hatched).svg , caption = Affected areas coloured in Red , image_size = 300px , date ...

for the formation of

Khalistan The Khalistan movement is a Sikhs, Sikh Separatism, separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing a sovereign state, called Khālistān ('-stan, Land of the Khalsa'), in the Punjab, Punjab region. The proposed sta ...

. The Khalistan movement would be brutally suppressed by the central Indian state leading to mass human rights violations including extrajudicial executions, torture, and mass detention. On May 1, 1994, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) would split from the traditional

. While there are overlaps in ideology between the two parties, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) remains more radical than its predecessor. The party continues to advocate for the formation of

and increasing the autonomy of the state of Punjab. Moreover, the party continues to advocate for the

which proposed several religious, economic and political aims for the state of Punjab. The party opposes the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal noting the canal violates the state's

riparian water rights Riparian water rights (or simply riparian rights) is a system for allocating water among those who possess land along its path. It has its origins in English common law. Riparian water rights exist in many jurisdictions with a common law herit ...

and will accelerate ongoing

desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...

. The party has also been critical of extrajudicial killings, torture and genocide of Sikhs by governmental authorities in the 1980-90s.

Anandpur Sahib Resolution

In short, the

aimed to: reiterate the separateness of the Sikh tradition from Hinduism; increase the devolution of power from the central government to the states, to provide states with more autonomy; eradicate poverty and starvation through increased production and a more equitable distribution of wealth and also the establishment of a just social order sans exploitation of any kind; remove discrimination on the basis of caste, creed or any other ground; and combat disease and ill health by reducing the use of intoxicants and provision of full facilities for the growth of physical well-being.

References

External links

Official Site of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)
{{Sikh politics Political parties in Punjab, India Sikh politics Amritsar Political parties established in 1994 1994 establishments in Punjab, India Shiromani Akali Dal