AMRITSAR: Giani Gurbachan Singh, the Akal Takht Jathedar, resigned from his post on Thursday just minutes after the executive body meeting of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) concluded at Sultanpur Lodhi.The 70-year-old cited health issues for his resignation, but also apologised to the Khalsa Panth if unknowingly he had made any mistake during his stint as the Akal Takht jathedar.Many in the SGPC and Shiromani Akali Dal felt the jathedar was responsible for the manner in which Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was issued a pardon by the Akal Takht on September 24, 2015, leading to massive backlash and criticism from the Sikh community. The hukumnama (edict) was withdrawn in less than a month on October 16, 2015. The jathedar, they felt, had failed to conduct due diligence into the issue and that had led to spiraling of anger against Sikh institutions such as the SGPC, Akal Takht and the Shiromani Akali Dal.About the controversial pardon to the Dera chief, the jathedar said that keeping in view the sentiments of the Panth, the decision to pardon him had been reversed immediately. There was speculation that the jathedar was being made a scapegoat for the growing anger against the Akalis over the Dera chief’s pardon and the incidents of sacrilege and their fallout.Born on April 6, 1948, in Muktsar’s Chakk Baja village, Gurbachan Singh was appointed the Akal Takht Jathedar in 2008.In his resignation letter, Gurbachan Singh wrote that he was facing various health ailments. These left him unfit to perform his duties and had led him to offer his resignation from the post. He urged SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal and the SGPC executive committee to appoint a suitable person and relieve him.During his nearly 10-year tenure, the jathedar wrote he had diligently performed his duties as the jathedar and mentioned his struggle to seek pardon for Davinderpal Singh Bhullar and Balwant Singh Rajoana, both of whom are on the death row. He also highlighted his contribution to Damdami Taksal for the construction of the “martyr memorial,” which was raised in memory Operation Bluestar victims.Resignation comes when focus is on sacrilegeRumours about the impending removal of the jathedar had been circulating for a while now and the jathedar could not ensure his survival as the religious figurehead of Panthic politics. He had even supported the November 1 Punjab bandh to protest the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the incidents of sacrilege during the Badal regime.The resignation comes at a time when the Bargari Morcha, led by the Sarbat Khalsa jathedars, has been getting increasing support for its drive to seek action against those accused of incidents of sacrilege and the Behbal Kalan police firing.Giani Gurbachan announced his resignation in a letter on his official Akal Takht letterhead that was circulated to the media by his secretariat. The typed letter did not have his signature, but instead had the name of his personal assistant Satinder Pal Singh.No SGPC official confirmed the jathedar’s resignation and all Akal Takht personnel, including the jathedar himself were incommunicado after the letter was circulated to the media.

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