‘Removed’ overnight, Giani Harpreet Singh sent 2 reminders to SGPC to make rules on appointing Takht Jathedars

On March 29, 2000, the then Jathedar, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, who was appointed in place of Giani Puran Singh, had instructed the SGPC to establish the procedure for the appointments of Takht Jathedars. Following this, a draft was prepared by some Sikh bodies, including the Dal Khalsa, suggesting that the Jathedar should be independent of all kinds of political and administrative pressures and manipulations and answerable only to the Panth (community). It also suggested that the Jathedar should be independent of any pecuniary authority and that the Panth should create a financial corpus for its sustenance and for running the affairs of the Akal Takht secretariat.

The blueprint of the draft was handed over to the Akal Takht for further discussions and implementation in March 2008. However, it did not see the light of day as Jathedar Vedanti was removed unceremoniously in August 2008.

Recently, Giani Harpreet Singh said that he had sent two reminders to the SGPC to establish the rules and regulations for the appointments of Jathedars, as requested by Vedanti.

Vedanti had also developed differences with the SGPC and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leadership. He was unwilling to toe the SAD(B) line, especially after the party came to power in 2007. After his resignation on August 5, 2008, Vadanti claimed he had been forced to resign. Now, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami has said that Giani Harpreet Singh has resigned on his own.

The meeting of the executive committee that took the decision on Friday was called overnight without sending the agenda to members.

“There are rumours circulating that Giani Harpreet Singh is being removed from the position of Jathedar but if this is true, the Akali Dal should understand that it will create a costly rift with religious institutions. If there is a need for restructuring, it should be done openly and with the consensus of the Sikh community. Emergency meetings should not be held without an agenda,” SAD SGPC member Kiranjot Kaur had said just before the meeting.

While maintaining that their statement was not for or against any Jathedar, the Dal Khalsa said that the SGPC had an opportunity to build consensus to make a Jathedar acceptable to all but unfortunately, it preferred to maintain its control over the post.

Sikh preacher Baljit Singh Dadduwal, who is close to the BJP, said that the SGPC treats Jathedars as “tissue paper”. “They are appointed with much fanfare only to be removed unceremoniously,” Dadduwal said.

There is no fixed term for the Akal Takht Jathedar. This means an Akal Takht Jathedar can continue to occupy the seat all his life. Yet, no Akal Takht Jathedar in recent memory has lasted in the post for more than a few years, nor has anyone escaped the blemish of controversy. In the case of most, a direct clash with the SGPC has been the reason for relinquishing their authority.