Shiromani Akali Dal Foundation Day: from the jathas of 1920 to a political party

The Shiromani Akali Dal was founded on 14 December 1920, a month after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. The SGPC's calendar keeps its foundation day because of the place the Akali Dal held in the Gurdwara Reform Movement, the struggle to bring the historic gurdwaras into the Panth's own hands.

The Akali jathas

The word akali means a follower of the Timeless One, Akal, and recalls the Akali Nihangs of the eighteenth century, who served the Panth and guarded its shrines. In 1920, as Sikhs began to take over gurdwaras from the mahants, local bands of volunteers called Akali jathas formed across Punjab. The Shiromani Akali Dal was created to coordinate them as a central body, with Sardar Sarmukh Singh Jhabal as its first president.

The morchas

Akali volunteers carried the weight of the reform movement. They faced the massacre at Nankana Sahib in 1921, the beatings at Guru Ka Bagh in 1922, and the firing at Jaito in 1924, keeping to their pledge of non-violence. Their sacrifices led to the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925 and earned the respect of the national movement.

A political party

After 1925 the Akali Dal became the main political voice of the Sikhs. It led the Punjabi Suba movement, which created the Punjabi-speaking state in 1966, opposed the Emergency of 1975, and led the Dharam Yudh Morcha of the 1980s. It has formed governments in Punjab several times. Today there are several groups claiming the Akali name, and views of the party's record differ, as with any political body.

How the day is observed

The day is marked with Ardas and gatherings, especially at Sri Akal Takht Sahib.