Akal Takht vs Punjab govt: How Nehru-Tara Singh pact set a precedent in legislating Sikh affairs

How did the pact come about, and where does it stand as a historical precedent when it comes to matters of Sikh legislation? Here’s what to know.

Anti-sacrilege law

The Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026, commonly known as Punjab’s anti-sacrilege law, is an amendment to a 2008 state legislation pertaining to the publishing, storing and circulation of tomes of the Sikh scripture and charter. Beadbi, or sacrilege, has long been an emotive issue in the Sikh-majority state; Sri Guru Granth Sahib is considered the eleventh, eternal and living Guru of the Sikhs, and justice has long evaded in various sacrilege incidents involving tomes of the Sikh scripture.

Both the Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) have long sought stringent punishment for sacrilege. While Akal Takht (literally, throne of the timeless) is the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs and is situated right opposite to Sri Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar, the SGPC is the apex governing body responsible for managing Sikh places of worship in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.

The new law, passed unanimously in the state Assembly in April, has been criticised for expanding the definition of sacrilege to “hurt sentiments” and not consulting the Sikh bodies. At its outset, the law calls for stringent punishment for sacrilege — up to life in prison — but does not clearly define the term. This expanded definition can have a political fallout and a chilling effect on freedom of speech in the state. Even the Akal Takht has pointed out that the unclear definition of the term “custodian” can create fear in the minds of not just devotees but also the Granthis (readers or priests).

What is the Nehru-Tara Singh pact?

In 1959, the Partap Singh Kairon-led Congress government in Punjab decided to amend the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, without consulting the SGPC. This led to massive protests by the Akalis, and the then Shiromani Akali Dal president, Master Tara Singh, was put under arrest.

Tara Singh, a key figure in Sikh politics and freedom fighter, continued to have several correspondence and meetings with PM Nehru. On April 12, 1959, after multiple exchanges and a formal meeting with Tara Singh, Nehru assured him of no state interference in Sikh religious affairs. This verbal agreement between the two came to be known as the Nehru-Tara Singh Pact.

The Sri Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar. The Akal Takht is the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs and is situated right opposite to the temple. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

According to The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, the agreement was as follows: “It is common ground amongst all concerned that there should be no governmental interference in religious affairs; Nevertheless, complaints have arisen of such interference in regard to Gurdwara management and amendments made in the Gurdwara Act. Some machinery should be devised to ensure the implementation of the policy of noninterference in the Gurdwara management and to consider any complaints of such interference…”

Evidence in the Nehru Letters

While no written agreement was ever signed, the letters exchanged between the two leaders and other political leaders of the time have several references to the verbal pact.

The Nehru Archives show that Nehru mentioned the said agreement just a week after the pact. In a letter titled “Gurdwara Politics” and dated April 19, 1959, he wrote to the then Punjab Governor N V Gadgil:

“My dear Gadgil, Thank you for your note of the 16 April. I see that Master Tara Singh is trying to exploit the fact that I agreed to a certain procedure and calls it a great victory for himself or for the Akali Dal… I think that in this matter of the Committee about which I wrote to you, Tara Singh should be made to realise that we have merely suggested a procedure for him to place his complaints before the Punjab Government. We are not putting him on the same level as the Punjab Government…Whatever I agreed to with Tara Singh, I did after consulting Partap Singh Kairon… Naturally, I could not tell him of the exact wording of the statement issued, but I got his agreement with the substance of it. I am answering a question in Parliament about the statement, and I am saying that, in accordance with constitutional procedure and propriety, I only acted after consulting the Chief Minister.”

In a separate correspondence to Nehru on August 27, 1959, also available in the Nehru Archives, Tara Singh wrote:

“When in April last, after I had been complaining about Governmental interference in religious matters, I got that pact of 12th April 1959 from you. I considered it a sort of Magna Carta for autonomy to the Sikhs in the management of their religious matters… Thus the above documents will make it clear to you that so far the pact of 12.4.59 has not deterred the Punjab Government or its Ministers from interference in Sikh religious affairs…”

These references provide ample proof regarding the said pact.

Has AAP departed from convention?

Critics and legal experts have pointed out that the AAP has departed from the pact, which has been followed in spirit, if not in letter, for over six decades by both the Centre and the Punjab government. Despite multiple requests, neither the Akal Takht nor the SGPC was given an advance copy of the draft Bill before it was tabled in the Assembly. This remains a prime point of contention, which led to the party’s clash with the apex Sikh body.

On the day it was tabled, April 13, 2026 — a day carefully chosen to coincide with the Punjabi folk festival of Vaisakhi and the Khalsa Srijna Diwas (Foundation Day of the Khalsa) — it was almost railroaded through the House, with even the Speaker raising religious slogans of “Bole So Nihaal” after the Bill was unanimously passed.

While appearing before the Akal Takht on June 29, several of AAP’s Sikh MLAs accepted that they had not read the law before supporting it in the House. Many had not read it even until the meeting with the Jathedar, the leader of the Akal Takht.

During the June 29 meeting, the Jathedar also referred to the Nehru-Tara Singh Pact as a historical precedent, and said that any state interference into the SGPC goes against the agreement.

Harinder Singh, Sikh scholar and cofounder-CEO of the US-based Sikh Research Institute, said: “The recent legislative shifts concerning Gurdwara management, especially in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Jammu and Kashmir, strike at the very heart of the autonomous status guaranteed to religions under Article 26 of the Indian Constitution. While the State possesses the authority to regulate strictly secular or financial administration under Article 25(2)(a), it must recognise that the management of Sikh institutions is completely inseparable from Sikh tradition, ethics, and the sovereignty of Akal Takht Sahib.”

According to him, the government was crossing its constitutional limits and “fragmenting the unified fabric of the Guru Khalsa Panth” by bypassing historical conventions like the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, and the 1959 Pact to create “localised, parallel state boards”.

“The SGPC derives its mandate from the democratic will of the Sikh community, which continues to equally question its governance, representation, and functions; but diluting its territorial and structural integrity without Panthic consensus is an unconstitutional infringement on minority rights that the global Sikh community cannot ignore,” he said.