Shiromani Akali Dal

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)  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 many parties with the name Akali Dal but the party recognised as "Shiromani Akali Dal" by the Election Commission of India is the one led by Sukhbir Singh Badal. It controls Sikh religious bodies Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee and is the largest and most influential Sikh political party worldwide.The basic philosophy of Akali Dal was to give a political voice to Sikh issues and it believed that religion and politics go hand in hand but after 1996 the Moga Conference party adopted a moderate Punjabi secular agenda. On September 26th,2020 they left the NDA over the farms bill.

Akali Dal was formed on 14 December 1920 as a task force of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, the Sikh religious body. The Akali Dal considers itself the principal representative of Sikhs. Sardar Sarmukh Singh Chubbal was the first president of a unified proper Akali Dal, but it became popular under Master Tara Singh.Akali movement influenced 30 new Punjabi newspapers launched between 1920 and 1925.

In the provincial election of 1937, the Akali Dal won 10 seats. The Khalsa Nationalists won 11 seats and joined the coalition government headed by the Unionist leader Sikander Hyat Khan. The Akalis sat in opposition and made occasional forays into reaching an understanding with the Muslim League, which never reached fruition.

In the provincial election of 1946, the Akali Dal won 22 seats and joined the coalition government headed by the Unionist Khizar Hayat Khan Tiwana, along with the Indian National Congress. The Muslim League was unable to capture power, despite having won the largest number of seats, which perhaps suited it fine as it strengthened its Pakistan demand. The Muslim League launched a civil disobedience campaign, bringing down the Tiwana government by March 1947. The rest of the period till Indian independence was filled by Governor's Rule.

As with other Sikh organisations, Master Tara Singh and his Akali Dal strongly opposed the partition of India, which he thought would create an environment of possible persecution.

Independent India

In the 1950s, the party launched the Punjabi Suba movement, demanding a state with majority of Punjabi speaking people, out of undivided East Punjab under the leadership of Sant Fateh Singh. In 1966, the present Punjab was formed. Akali Dal came to power in the new Punjab in March 1967, but early governments didn't live long due to internal conflicts and power struggles within the party. Later, party strengthened and party governments completed full term.

Ideology

Shiromani Akali Dal's party constitution has important agenda as protection of Sikh religion and objectives of the community as initially it was a youth wing of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Protection of Punjab's waters and opposition to Sutlej Yamuna link canal is main agenda of party.

1996 Moga Conference

In 1996, at a historic conference in Moga, Shiromani Akali Dal adopted moderate identity from Panthic (Sikh) to secular Punjabi and shifted party headquarters from Amritsar to Chandigarh.

Party Dispute

On 7 July 2020, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Sewa Singh Sekhwan along with many more leaders from the Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiromani Akali Dal (Taksali) came together at a gurdwara in Ludhiana and form Shiromani Akali Dal (Democratic) and made Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa the new president of the Akali Dal democratic.When asked the new Party’s name, he said it will be Shiromani Akali Dal (Democratic).

He said that this is the real Akali Dal, and that the other so called Akali Dal has a “(Badal)” behind it. He said that the party will push the Election commission to make the party’s symbol the same type of weigher as the Badal’s Party, they will also push the BJP to break it’s alliance with the Badal’s and add his party to the National Democratic Alliance.

Because of this dispute, removing Both Dhindsa and Badal from President Rank’s will cause fire between supporters and may make the Akali dispute deeper. So any Article including the Akali Party will have to also include either Badal or Dhindsa as Presidents of the party. Daljit Cheema has called this move un Democratic and fraud and theft, however nobody took that serious... ever since then many people have been joining Dhindsa’s faction, he said to the Punjab Democratic Alliance, Navjot Sidhu, Aam Aadmi Party, and all Akali Factions except for Simranjit Mann’s to all come together and form a strong third front.

At first everybody thought it was a joke, they said they were all standing with the Badal’s when they did the beadbi, but later on, the Lok Insaaf Party admitted that they were having talks. Many Political parties and families have joined with his faction, United Akali Dal merged with the party on July 25th 2020, the Sandhu and Talwandi Families have merged with the party, and so have many more politicians. Dhindsa said that he is waiting for the Shiromani Akali Dal (Taksali) to merge.