No ‘Sarbat Khalsa’: Akal Takht rules out Amritpal meet on Baisakhi day

Akal Takht jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh has ruled out the possibility of calling 'Sarbat Khalsa' on the appeal of radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh by announcing a three-day annual congregation at Takht Damdama Sahib, to celebrate the festival of Baisakhi.

In a statement, the jathedar has appealed to the community to gather in maximum numbers for the three-day congregation and makes no mention of 'Sarbat Khalsa'.

A heavy police force has been deployed at Talwandi Sabo ahead of the gathering to avoid any untoward situation. The police anticipate that Amritpal Singh might surrender before the jathedar during the event.

This comes after the fugitive Waris Punjab De chief, in his two video messages, asked Akal Takht to call 'Sarbat Khalsa' (Sikh religious congregation).

He also appealed to the jathedar to take out a "khalsa vaheer" (religious procession) from the Akal Takht in Amritsar to the Damdama Sahib in Bathinda and hold the congregation there on Baisakhi day.

"If we have to save the youth and Punjab, then we should be part of the Sarbat Khalsa," he said in his appeal. "For a very long time, our community has got entangled with holding small morchas on many issues," he said. "We know the path which we have tread, we will have to face all this. It was our duty to raise voice against it," he added.

Jathedar Harpreet Singh had earlier issued an ultimatum to the Punjab government to release the Sikh youths picked up during the crackdown against Amritpal Singh and his Waris Punjab De outfit that began on March 18.

What is Sarbat Khalsa?

Sarbat Khalsa literally means gathering of the 'entire Sikh society'. The Sarbat Khalsa was called on a number of occasions during the 18th century but got discontinued in the beginning of the 19th century.

The last Sarbat Khalsa was held on February 16, 1986, when Gyani Kirpal Singh was the jathedar of Akal Takht. Prior to that, the SGPC executive committee in its meeting on January 28, 1986, had raised the demand for it.

Sarbat Khalsa was also called two other times by radical Sikhs through their self-styled jathedars in 1986 and 2015, but they are not recognised officially.