SGPC removes Jathedars of Akal Takht, Takht Kesgarh Sahib; former SAD district chief among new picks

Now, all three Sikh Jathedars who had sentenced then Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal for religious misconduct and stripped former Punjab chief minister, the late Prakash Singh Badal, of the Panth Rattan Fakhr-e-Qaum title on December 2 last year, have been removed from their posts.

“Sikh preacher Kuldeep Singh Gargaj is appointed Jathedar of Takht Kesgarh Sahib with officiating charge Akal Takht Jathedar. SGPC member Tek Singh Dhanaula will serve as Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar,” an SGPC spokesperson told The Indian Express.

Giani Raghbir Singh had objected to the SGPC’s decision to sack Giani Harpreet Singh and this had led to Harjinder Singh Dhami resigning as the committee president.

On December 2 last year, the Sri Akal Takht Sahib had pronounced a religious sentence for Sukhbir Singh Badal and other senior party leaders for the SAD’s alleged misrule when it was in power in Punjab between 2007 and 2017. It also formed a seven-member committee to reorganise the SAD by initiating a membership drive and making arrangements for the election of its top leadership within six months.

The SAD had accepted the religious sentence but said that it could not allow the seven-member committee to run a membership drive as it could lead to its registration with the Election Commission of India being cancelled.

New faces in charge

The SGPC has appointed Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, 40, as the Jathedar of Takht Kesgarh Sahib, giving him additional charge as Akal Takht Jathedar. Gargaj, who has an MA in History, has been working as a preacher with the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee for the past two decades. He has also been preaching at a gurdwara in Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar.

He reportedly has a good command over delivering discourses on Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and explaining key Sikh historical texts such as Sri Gurpratap Suraj Granth and Prachin Panth Prakash, among others. He has also been rendering Katha (religious discourse) service in the Diwan Hall of Gurdwara Manji Sahib at Sri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar.

Gargaj has reportedly also been taking care of orphaned Sikh children, supporting their education and well-being.

The SGPC has also named former SAD Barnala district president Tek Singh Dhanaula as the Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar.

A former SGPC member, Dhanaula had lost the SGPC elections in 2011 to a SAD candidate. A member of Shiromani Akali Dal (Longowal), he had joined the Congress in 2011. Later, he returned to SAD and became the Barnala district president in 2020.

Dhanaula was seen as former Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s rival in Barnala and the police had arrested Dhanaula in 2010 after which he had accused Dhindsa of political vendetta as the SAD government was in power at the time. He joined SAD after Dhindsa developed differences with Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Dhanaula sacked SGPC member Baldev Singh Chunga from the SAD for alleged anti-party activities in April 2022.

In February last year, Dhanaula had become the head of the Sikh religious sect Mastuana.