**1. Introduction**

The Akal Takht, originally known as the Akal Bunga, is the seat of temporal and spiritual authority of the Sikh tradition. The Akal Takht is literally translated as the "Throne of the timeless one." The foundation of the Akal Takht was laid by Guru Hargobind after the execution of his father, Guru Arjan, by the Mughal Regime. The exact date that the construction started is disputed, sometime in between 1606 and 1609 (Dilgeer 1980, p. 20). Since then, the Akal Takht has served as the political center of the Sikh tradition. Guru Hargobind would sit on the Takht, or throne, and hold court to give his commands, listen to queries, and have bards sing heroic ballads. The Takht was initially built twelve feet high as a challenge to the Mughal government, as only superior governmen<sup>t</sup> officials were permitted to sit on elevated platforms and address the populace. It was likely built higher than typical Mughal thrones to signify the higher authority that the Guru possessed in comparison to the Mughal rulers, as the physical elevation of a person is a sign of royalty, sovereignty, and respect in South Asia.

When the young Guru Hargobind received the guruship, he adorned himself in royal clothing and a kalgi1, differentiating himself from the previously more humbly dressed gurus. He requested two swords from Baba Buddha, which he named *m¯ır¯ı* and *p¯ır¯ı*. *P¯ır¯ı* represents spirituality and devotion, while *m¯ır¯ı* represents sovereignty and temporal power.<sup>2</sup> The sword of *m¯ır¯ı* was slightly shorter than the sword of *p¯ır¯ı*, signifying the superiority of spirituality over temporal power. However, the presence of both signify the importance of both spirituality and temporal power within the Sikh tradition. This was the point in history where the Guru instructed Sikhs to carry arms and the first Sikh militia arose (S. Singh 2011, p. 2403). With the use of the *Chaur* (royal whisk), *Takht*, *chando¯a* (royal canopy), and the Guru holding court at the Akal Takht, it ran as typically as any South Asia royal *darbar,* or court.

**Citation:** Singh, Gurbeer. 2021. The Institution of the Akal Takht: The Transformation of Authority in Sikh History. *Religions* 12: 390. https:// doi.org/10.3390/rel12060390

Academic Editors: Pashaura Singh and Knut Axel Jacobsen

Received: 2 April 2021 Accepted: 12 May 2021 Published: 27 May 2021

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The idea of *m¯ır¯ı* being connected to *p¯ır¯ı* can be seen within the design of the Darbar Sahib complex as well. The two *nishan sahibs,* or flags, outside of the Akal Takht are slightly different in length, with the *nishan* representing *m¯ır¯ı* being slightly shorter than the *nishan* representing *p¯ır¯ı;* the two *nishans* are connected by a circular insignia with the inscription of "Ik Onkar and Khanda" to show the connectedness of the two structures. Another example of this significance is how Harmandir Sahib, or the Golden Temple, is visible from almost all angles of the Akal Takht, but the Akal Takht is not visible from any part of the Golden Temple. This signifies the importance of religious and spiritual consciousness, while addressing temporal issues and the ignorance of the temporal world while focused upon one's own spirituality; in the Sikh consciousness, secular temporal power does not exist, and must be conducted with a religious mindset.

Today, the Akal Takht does not hold power over a state or direct power over any state affair, but it represents the spiritual and political affairs of the Sikhs. The Akal Takht issues commands to Sikhs, holds the power of banishment, brings forward Sikh issues to governments, holds ultimate power over the gurdwaras in Punjab, and holds the authority to command gurdwaras and congregations across the world. Many powers of the Akal Takht have been delegated to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), but the Akal Takht holds superiority in the eyes of Sikhs. This view of superiority will be explained later in the article.

Scholars have written about the intertwined nature of spirituality and politics in the Sikh tradition and the lack of secularity in the Sikh psyche (P. Singh 2019). Sikhs have been actively working in the temporal realm since the inception of the tradition, with the first instance being Guru Nanak challenging Babur in his *Babarvani*. 3 However, there is a lacuna in scholarship on the origin of the authority of the Akal Takht, the institution specifically built for the representation of the temporal authority of the Sikh body, into the politicized institution that it is today. The purpose of the article is to argue that the Akal Takht has not been a static institution with consistent amounts of authority, but rather an institution that has behaved according to the expectations of the larger community and political powers in play in order to retain authority and legitimacy in the Sikh community. The institution of the Akal Takht has not been static; it has had shifts in authority and public opinion throughout history, and it has navigated the change of the institution into what it stands as today. Since the founding of the Akal Takht, wider Sikh temporal activism has typically been centered around the Akal Takht; however, there have been instances of it taking place away from the Akal Takht, and even against the institution of the Akal Takht itself. The article will address these trends throughout history.

#### *1.1. Theoretical Framework*

## 1.1.1. Symbolic Universe

Berger and Luckmann (1966) highlighted that institutions are the outcomes of social constructs. Active institutions exist in symbolic universes, a set of beliefs held by society and considered to be common sense or self-evident knowledge. The institution often goes unquestioned, as it is supposed to be the way that society is. In order for an institution to enter the symbolic universe, the process of legitimization must take place, where the ideas of the institution are passed on to different generations. Berger and Luckmann explained the process as follows:


This framework was used by the authors to describe the institutionalization of large societal behaviors. However, I use this framework to examine the legitimization of the formal institution, the Akal Takht. The incipient legitimization of the Akal Takht took place with the authority of Guru Hargobind4. As the Guru of the Sikhs, his command was considered sacred, and contemporary Sikhs regarded the Takht as the political institution for Sikhs. The folklore, histories, and stories involving the Akal Takht and its superiority emerged during and after this time. For Sikhs, the Guru is equal to God, as highlighted in the verse *"guru paramesaru eko jan. u"* (GGS, p. 864), meaning "know the Guru and God as one". Therefore, when the command of the Guru is transmitted through the folklore, histories, and stories, Sikhs instill them in their hearts as the command of God himself. This helps to solidify the legitimization of the institution of the Akal Takht in the fabric of Sikh Society. Muslim and Sikh bodies of knowledge and literature accepted the legitimacy of the Akal Takht. Sikhs wrote about the authority in their literature, Mughal and Durrani forces would specifically attack Harmandir Sahib and the Akal Takht during battles and invasions, knowing that it is the spiritual and political center for the Sikhs. As time went on, Sikhs and non-Sikhs accepted the Akal Takht as the center of authority of Sikh tradition which led into level four of legitimization, where the institution of the Akal Takht became a part of the symbolic universe in the Sikh universe, wherein it became the seat of Sikh temporal and spiritual authority.
