Return to Panthic agenda, Jathedar urges Akali leaders

Amritsar, March 12

After the crushing defeat of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in the Assembly elections, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh has asked the party to return to Panthic agenda.

The SAD got only three seats and its vote share dipped from 25.2 per cent in 2017 to 18.48 per cent. The Jathedar termed it fatal for the country and the Sikh society. Giving a clarion call to all factions of the SAD, he asked them to come together at the Akal Takht to chalk out the future course. He said this after the release of the Nanakshahi calendar here today.

Stressing the Akali Dal had played a major role in liberating the country from foreign yoke, he said the party was not constituted for acquiring political power, but for the ‘Charadi Kalan’ of Khalsa Panth. He also expressed concern over the rise in caste and factionalism in the Sikh community.

The Jathedar’s call for return to the Panthic agenda is in contravention to the moderate Punjabi secular agenda of “Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat” adopted by the SAD in the 1996 Moga conference.

Meanwhile, a calendar of Nanakshahi Sammat 554 (Year 2022-23) was released today by Panj Singh Sahibans — Giani Raghbir Singh, Jathedar of Takht Kesgarh; Giani Malkiat Singh, Head Granthi of Akal Takht; Bhai Sukhwinder Singh; and Bhai Baljinder Singh — besides Jathedar Akal Takht. This year’s Nanakshahi calendar is dedicated to the first centenary of the martyrdom of Panja Sahib, as the massacre was a watershed event in the recent Sikh history. —