Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal was on Saturday declared "tankhaiya" (guilty of religious misconduct) by Takht Patna Sahib for his failure to appear before it despite being summoned twice.
Takht Patna Sahib (Bihar) is one of the five seats of temporal authority in Sikhism; the other four are Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Amritsar, the highest temporal seat, the Takht Kesgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib (district Rupnagar), Takht Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda) and and Takht Hazur Sahib (Nanded, Maharashtra).
The "panj pyaras (the five beloved ones) at the Takht Patna Sahib had first summoned Sukhbir on May 21, last, for allegedly intervening in the functioning of the Takht. They had also declared Akal Takht officiating Jathedar and Takht Kesgarh Sahib Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj and Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Baba Tek Singh "tankhaiya" for reinstating former excommunicated Takht Patna Sahib Jathedar Giani Ranjit Singh Gauhar and summoning the Takht head granthi and additional head granthi among others at the Akal Takht.
Sukhbir had cited ill health and sought more time following which Takht issued a fresh edict granting him 20 more days before it. However, Sukhbir did not respond to the Takht summons which led to the declaration of ``tankhaiya’’, a term in Sikh tradition for those found guilty of religious misconduct.
It may be recalled that Sukhbir had earelier been declared a ``tankhaiya’’; in December 2024, when the Akal Takht, declared Sukhbir and some other SAD leaders 'tankhaiya' for "some of SAD's decisions" during his tenure as deputy chief minister from 2007 to 2017 following which they served various "tankhah" (punishments) including cleaning utensils, shoes and washrooms for 10 days at different gurdwaras.
Notably, Sukhbir Badal had narrowly escaped an assassination bid when an ex-Khalistani militant opened fire at him outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar where the Sukhbir was serving his religious punishment as a "sevadar’’ on December 4, 2024.
These "mistakes" included - revocation of the blasphemy case against Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for imitating Guru Gobind Singh in 2007, the failure to punish perpetrators of the Bargari sacrilege and police officials for the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan firing incidents, besides some others.
Notably, it was because of these "mistakes’’ that some of the senior SAD leaders had rebelled against Sukhbir last year and approached Akal Takht admitting mistakes and stating that these "mistakes’’ had damaged the image of Panth and weakened the SAD.
