Akal "BUNGA" and its Jathedar !

-Professor Kawaldeep Singh Kanwal

There is no concept of Autocracy in Sikhism i.e. no authenticity of so called post of Jathedar of Akal Takhat to take single handed decisions for the whole community. The post is otherwise of a Head Minister of the Akal Takhat (if we quote the very first existing reference mentioning it by any kind in History i.e. Sikh Gurudwara Act 1925) who is just a paid priest to take care of the facilities at holy-shrine there and working only at a level almost equal to a class 2nd or 3rd grade employee of Government of India. Even Sikh Rehat Maryada or Sikh Gurudwara Act 1925 doesn't legalize any summoning and decisive power of so-called Jathedar of a building.

People who are illogically supporting this medieval concept of autocracy (due to their own hidden motives) use to give some out of context reference of Akali Phoola Singh as Jathedar of Akal Takhat during the govern of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. However, if facts be studied in actual senses, Akali Phoola Singh was not the Jathedar of Akal Takht, but Jathedar of Military of Nihung Singhs who used to take care of day-to-day activities at Akal Bunga (it was indeed not a Takhat but Bunga i.e. simply a building of some associated importance)..

There is no historical proof of the existence of so called autocratic seat or Takhat and its Jathedar even in contemporary texts of available Sikh History. The only reference of there was of a mere Bunga only (as name and structure as well) since the time of sixth Guru, who actually built it, and which too remained almost lost in time till the tenth Guru without any authority being associated as some kind of central seat, and was otherwise in the hands of Sodhi Meharban's clique or Sodhi Har Ji, but later in Post Guru Period somehow emerged as a place where on yearly basis Sikhs  used to gather and/or take decisions with consensus in between leaders of various factions on the larger issues related to Panth (not on day to day small things like a Panchayat). 

If some reference of Jathedar is being referred from one or other historical texts from post-Guru period to pre English period then there was a Jathedar of the group (Jatha) of Singhs who used to stay there  merely to take care the daily services at Bunga and in cases for its protection from small attacks in that disturbed period... (In English period till 1920, there was a Sarabrah i.e the chief caretaker of the arena.) The job of that Jathedar (or Sarabrah appointed by Governor of English state of Punjab) was simply limited to ensure the proper functioning of that particular arena and was never ever considered to behave like a pro-Guru of Sikhs, which is otherwise completely Anti-Gurmat, too. Guruship is confined with Guru Granth Sahib only, and under the guidance of that divine eternal light, only Sarbat Khalsa is authorized to take decisions on issues concerned to whole community..