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Akal Takht
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ ਸਾਹਿਬ; lit. 'Throne of the Timeless'), also spelt as Akal Takhat and historically known as Akal Bunga, is the most prominent of the five takhts (seats of authority) of the Sikhs. Located within the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, Punjab, India, it was established by Guru Hargobind in 1606 as a place to uphold justice and address temporal matters.
The Akal Takht represents the highest seat of earthly authority for the Khalsa, the collective body of initiated Sikhs and serves as the official seat of the jathedar, the supreme spokesperson and head of the Sikhs worldwide. The position of the jathedar is currently disputed between two factions. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) appointed Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj as the acting jathedar in 2025. However, the Sarbat Khalsa, organised by several Sikh organisations in 2015, had earlier declared Jagtar Singh Hawara as the jathedar.
Due to Hawara's political imprisonment, the Sarbat Khalsa appointed Dhian Singh Mand as the acting jathedar in his stead. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, however, has refused to recognise the authority of the 2015 Sarbat Khalsa and does not accept its appointments.
Originally known as the Akal Bunga, the building directly opposite the Harmandir Sahib was founded by the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind, as a symbol of political sovereignty, and where the spiritual and temporal concerns of the Sikh people could be addressed. Along with Baba Buddha and Bhai Gurdas, the sixth Sikh Guru built a 9-foot-high concrete slab. When Guru Hargobind revealed the platform on 15 June 1606, he put on two swords: one indicated his spiritual authority (piri) and the other, his temporal authority (miri). According to Kanwarjit Singh Kang, the platform raised by Guru Hargobind was built in 1609, a later dating.
The first-ever structure erected on the premises was an open brick platform consecrated by Guru Hargobind. Later, a hall would be erected at the site. In the 18th century, Ahmed Shah Abdali and Massa Rangar led a series of attacks on the Akal Takht and Harmandir Sahib. Takht which is on the first floor was rebuilt in brick in 1774, under Sultan-ul-Qaum Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (1718–1783) – the leader of the Sikh Confederacy in Punjab. The renovations during the 18th century gave the building a "better shape". An Udasi mahant by the name of Pritam Das (founder of Akhara Sangalwara, also located nearby) was responsible for originally installing the dual Nishan Sahibs at the Akal Takht.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh's revamping of the building in the first half of the 19th century raised the number of stories of the structure to five. Hari Singh Nalwa, a general of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, decorated the Akal Takht with gold and is responsible for adding the golden dome at the top of the edifice. The murals that had existed in the original building had been painted around the mid-19th century. There were murals decorating the walls of the first and second stories. The structure was then rebuilt twice: once immediately after Operation Blue Star in 1984 and then again in 1986.
The Akal Takht was built on a site where there existed only a high mound of earth across a wide-open space. It was a place where Guru Hargobind played as a child. The original Takht was a simple platform, 3.5 metres (11 ft) high, on which Guru Hargobind would sit in court to receive petitions and administer justice. He was surrounded by insignia of royalty such as the parasol and the fly whisk. Later, there was an open-air semi-circular structure built on marble pillars and a gilded interior section. There were also painted wall panels depicting Europeans.
According to Teja Singh and Ganda Singh, the structure was built so close-by to the Harmandir Sahib because whilst the Akal Takht represents politics, the Harmandir Sahib symbolizes spirituality. People at Harmandir Sahib could glance at the Akal Takht and remember temporality whilst those in the Akal Takht can look upon the Harmandir Sahib and remember the importance of spirituality. Thus, it is a representation of the co-dependence of religion and politics and that one cannot exist without being balanced by the other, just like limbs of a body.
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Akal Takht
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ ਸਾਹਿਬ; lit. 'Throne of the Timeless'), also spelt as Akal Takhat and historically known as Akal Bunga, is the most prominent of the five takhts (seats of authority) of the Sikhs. Located within the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, Punjab, India, it was established by Guru Hargobind in 1606 as a place to uphold justice and address temporal matters.
The Akal Takht represents the highest seat of earthly authority for the Khalsa, the collective body of initiated Sikhs and serves as the official seat of the jathedar, the supreme spokesperson and head of the Sikhs worldwide. The position of the jathedar is currently disputed between two factions. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) appointed Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj as the acting jathedar in 2025. However, the Sarbat Khalsa, organised by several Sikh organisations in 2015, had earlier declared Jagtar Singh Hawara as the jathedar.
Due to Hawara's political imprisonment, the Sarbat Khalsa appointed Dhian Singh Mand as the acting jathedar in his stead. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, however, has refused to recognise the authority of the 2015 Sarbat Khalsa and does not accept its appointments.
Originally known as the Akal Bunga, the building directly opposite the Harmandir Sahib was founded by the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind, as a symbol of political sovereignty, and where the spiritual and temporal concerns of the Sikh people could be addressed. Along with Baba Buddha and Bhai Gurdas, the sixth Sikh Guru built a 9-foot-high concrete slab. When Guru Hargobind revealed the platform on 15 June 1606, he put on two swords: one indicated his spiritual authority (piri) and the other, his temporal authority (miri). According to Kanwarjit Singh Kang, the platform raised by Guru Hargobind was built in 1609, a later dating.
The first-ever structure erected on the premises was an open brick platform consecrated by Guru Hargobind. Later, a hall would be erected at the site. In the 18th century, Ahmed Shah Abdali and Massa Rangar led a series of attacks on the Akal Takht and Harmandir Sahib. Takht which is on the first floor was rebuilt in brick in 1774, under Sultan-ul-Qaum Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (1718–1783) – the leader of the Sikh Confederacy in Punjab. The renovations during the 18th century gave the building a "better shape". An Udasi mahant by the name of Pritam Das (founder of Akhara Sangalwara, also located nearby) was responsible for originally installing the dual Nishan Sahibs at the Akal Takht.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh's revamping of the building in the first half of the 19th century raised the number of stories of the structure to five. Hari Singh Nalwa, a general of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, decorated the Akal Takht with gold and is responsible for adding the golden dome at the top of the edifice. The murals that had existed in the original building had been painted around the mid-19th century. There were murals decorating the walls of the first and second stories. The structure was then rebuilt twice: once immediately after Operation Blue Star in 1984 and then again in 1986.
The Akal Takht was built on a site where there existed only a high mound of earth across a wide-open space. It was a place where Guru Hargobind played as a child. The original Takht was a simple platform, 3.5 metres (11 ft) high, on which Guru Hargobind would sit in court to receive petitions and administer justice. He was surrounded by insignia of royalty such as the parasol and the fly whisk. Later, there was an open-air semi-circular structure built on marble pillars and a gilded interior section. There were also painted wall panels depicting Europeans.
According to Teja Singh and Ganda Singh, the structure was built so close-by to the Harmandir Sahib because whilst the Akal Takht represents politics, the Harmandir Sahib symbolizes spirituality. People at Harmandir Sahib could glance at the Akal Takht and remember temporality whilst those in the Akal Takht can look upon the Harmandir Sahib and remember the importance of spirituality. Thus, it is a representation of the co-dependence of religion and politics and that one cannot exist without being balanced by the other, just like limbs of a body.