Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)
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Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) is a hard-line Sikh nationalist political party led by
Simranjit Singh Mann Simranjit Singh Mann (born 20 May 1945) is a former Indian Police Service officer and a former Member of the Parliament in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India, representing the constituency of Sangrur since 2022. He lost e ...
, it is a splinter group of the
Shiromani Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Eternal Party'') is a centre-right Sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are ma ...
in
Punjab, India Punjab () is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states ...
. They use 'Balti', the Punjabi term for bucket as their official election symbol. Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) was formed on 1 May 1994. The party has seen a resurgence in support after the death of Deep Sidhu who was a supporter and seen as sympathetic to the cause of Simranjit Singh Mann. Their 2022 Lok Sabha victory after more than two decades has been viewed as a resurgence in a political vacuum due to collapse of other traditional political parties in Punjab. The last major victory for Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) was in the 1989
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
elections, where the party and their allies won 10 out of 13 seats from Punjab.


Electoral success

The party's most significant success was in the
1989 Indian general election General elections were held in India on 22 and 26 November 1989 to elect the members of the ninth Lok Sabha. The incumbent Indian National Congress (Indira) government under the premiership of Rajiv Gandhi lost its mandate, even though it was ...
s when they won six out of the 13 seats in Punjab. The party espouses the ideology of
Punjabiyat Punjabiyat, meaning "Punjabiness", is a movement amongst Punjabis that supports closer links with their cultural traditions and lifestyle. It also supports language revitalization of Punjabi. Aims and goals In Pakistan, its goal is a better ...
and Sikh nationalism. Moreover, the party won the parliamentary seat of
Sangrur Sangrur is a city in the Indian state of Punjab, India. It is the headquarters of Sangrur District. Geography Sangrur is located at . It has an average elevation of 237 metres (778 feet). Climate Health services City has PGIM ...
in 1999 and 2022 (by-elections). Also, Mann emphasized his priority will be to "work with the Punjab government" to "raise the poor economic condition of Sangrur including the condition of farmers under debt". The party contested the
SGPC The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; Supreme Gurdwara Management Committee) is an organization in India responsible for the management of ''gurdwaras'', Sikh places of worship, in the states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and t ...
elections on the same plank and won three seats. The only time an MLA belonging to SAD (A) was ever elected to the
Punjab Legislative Assembly The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab (India), Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 M ...
was in the election of
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
when Sardar Ajit Inder Singh won from the constituency of Sardulgarh by defeating the
Shiromani Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Eternal Party'') is a centre-right Sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are ma ...
candidate by 3,117 votes.


History and ideology

Akali politics in post-colonial India have organized around advancing and protecting Sikh political and cultural interests and Punjabi language. By 1973, the Akali's adopted the
Anandpur Sahib Resolution The Anandpur Sahib Resolution was a statement with a list of demands made by a Punjabi Sikh political party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), in 1973. Presentation in 1973 After the tenure of Chief Minister Gurnam Singh in the Punjab, India, Punja ...
a document which advanced a desire for increasing regional autonomy within India's centralized structure of governance, as well as various socio political conerens. From 1975 to 1977, the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi would institute a
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
suspending elections and civil liberties. During the early phases of the emergency, Akali and Sikh parties would meet in Amritsar to resist the "fascist tendency of the Congress". The Akali Dal would launch the "Campaign to Save Democracy". However, the period would see widespread human rights abuses including the mass detention of dissidents and opposition; forced sterilizations; constitutional modifications; demolition of homes and displacement of people and suspension of the press. Following the end of the emergency from 1977 to 1984, the Akali Dal would be re-elected in Punjab and constitute the main opposition to the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government. The period would see an increase in Punjabi nationalism. The party would continue to organize around the adoption of the
Anandpur Sahib Resolution The Anandpur Sahib Resolution was a statement with a list of demands made by a Punjabi Sikh political party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), in 1973. Presentation in 1973 After the tenure of Chief Minister Gurnam Singh in the Punjab, India, Punja ...
. The central government would treat the
Anandpur Sahib Resolution The Anandpur Sahib Resolution was a statement with a list of demands made by a Punjabi Sikh political party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), in 1973. Presentation in 1973 After the tenure of Chief Minister Gurnam Singh in the Punjab, India, Punja ...
as a secessionist document, eventually culminating in
Operation Blue Star Operation Blue Star was a military operation by the Indian Armed Forces conducted between 1 and 10 June 1984 to remove Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh militants from the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib), a holy site of Sikhism, and i ...
, an invasion of
Golden Temple The Golden Temple is a gurdwara located in Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is the pre-eminent spiritual site of Sikhism. It is one of the Holy place, holiest sites in Sikhism, alongside the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Kartarpur, Pakistan, ...
on 1 June 1984. The operation would result in mass civilian casualties and precipitate an
insurgency in Punjab The Insurgency in Punjab was an armed campaign by the separatists of the Khalistan movement from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Economic and social pressures driven by the Green Revolution prompted calls for Sikh autonomy and separatism. This ...
for the formation of Khalistan. The Khalistan movement would be brutally suppressed by the central Indian state leading to mass human rights violations including extrajudicial executions, torture, and mass detention. On 1 May 1994, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) would split from the traditional
Shiromani Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Eternal Party'') is a centre-right Sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are ma ...
. While there are overlaps in ideology between the two parties, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) remains more radical than its predecessor. The party continues to advocate for increasing the autonomy of the state of Punjab. Moreover, the party continues to advocate for the
Anandpur Sahib Resolution The Anandpur Sahib Resolution was a statement with a list of demands made by a Punjabi Sikh political party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), in 1973. Presentation in 1973 After the tenure of Chief Minister Gurnam Singh in the Punjab, India, Punja ...
which proposed several religious, economic and political aims for the state of Punjab. The party opposes the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal noting the canal violates the state's
riparian water rights Riparian water rights (or simply riparian rights) is a system for allocating water among those who possess land along its path. It has its origins in English common law. Riparian water rights exist in many jurisdictions with a common law heri ...
and will accelerate ongoing
desertification Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of Soil fertility, fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities. The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This i ...
. The party has also been critical of extrajudicial killings, torture and genocide of Sikhs by governmental authorities in the 1980-90s. Upon winning the seat in 2022, Simranjit Singh Mann gave credit to
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (; born Jarnail Singh Brar; 2 June 1947– 6 June 1984) was a Sikh militant. After Operation Bluestar, he posthumously became the leading figure for the Khalistan movement, although he did not personally advocate for ...
. The Mann family can be paired with the Shiromani Akali Dal's
Badal ''Badal'' () is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Raj Kanwar. The film stars Bobby Deol and Rani Mukerji in lead roles with Amrish Puri. It was a commercial success. Plot Badal is a young man with a tragic childhood ...
and Majithia families through their association with dynastic politics. Large leaders in the Panthic political sphere are generally sidelined like Daljit Singh Bittu, Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, Amritpal Singh Mehron and others. When there was a inter-party debate on who would be the next leader of the party, Simranjit Singh Mann chose his son Emaan Singh Mann over long-time party worker Jaskaran Singh Kahan Singh Wala who was made to leave soon afterwards.


Anandpur Sahib Resolution

In short, the
Anandpur Sahib Resolution The Anandpur Sahib Resolution was a statement with a list of demands made by a Punjabi Sikh political party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), in 1973. Presentation in 1973 After the tenure of Chief Minister Gurnam Singh in the Punjab, India, Punja ...
aimed to: reiterate the separateness of the Sikh tradition from Hinduism; increase the devolution of power from the central government to the states, to provide states with more autonomy; eradicate poverty and starvation through increased production and a more equitable distribution of wealth and also the establishment of a just social order sans exploitation of any kind; remove discrimination on the basis of caste, creed or any other ground; and combat disease and ill health by reducing the use of intoxicants and provision of full facilities for the growth of physical well-being.


Electoral performance


Punjab


Lok Sabha


See also

*
List of political parties in India India has a multi-party system. The Election Commission of India (ECI) grants recognition to national-level and state-level political parties based on objective criteria. A recognised political party enjoys privileges such as a reserved party ...


References


External links


Official Site of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)
{{Khalistan movement Political parties in Punjab, India Sikh political parties Amritsar Political parties established in 1994 1994 establishments in Punjab, India Shiromani Akali Dal Regionalist parties in India Recognised state political parties in India Khalistan movement