Shiromani Akali Dal

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Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) ( Panjabi ਸ਼੍ਰੋਮਣੀ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਦਲ , also just Akali Dal , "Supreme Party of God") is a political party of the Sikhs in the Indian state of Punjab .

It was founded with substantial support from the Khalsa in the 1920s after the formation of the SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee), a religious group that emerged as a result of the movement to protect Sikh temples ( Gurdwara ) from corrupt priests. Akali Dal sees itself in a certain sense as a political-religious party and the most distinguished representative of the Sikhs. Baba Kharak Singh became the first president of Akali Dal, and under Tara Singh Akali Dal grew into a power factor that should not be underestimated.

The party agitated for a Sikhist-ruled state from an undivided Punjab under the leadership of Sant Fateh Singh . In 1966, Punjab was established, but its partition resulted in bitter conflict, so neither party was satisfied. Akali Dal came to power in Punjab, but the conflicts remained unsolved.

The story of Akali Dal is a story of divisions and factions. Each faction claimed to be the real Akali Dal. In 2003, the SAD under Parkash Singh Badal was the largest parliamentary group and recognized as SAD by the Indian Electoral Commission . Other factions include Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal under Gurcharan Singh Tohra , Shiromani Akali Dal (Simranjit Singh Mann) (also "SAD (Amritsar)"), and Shiromani Akali Dal (Panthik) under Amarinder Singh (later united with the Congress Party ) , Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi , Shiromani Akali Dal (Democrats) , Haryana State Akali Dal and Shiromani Akali Dal (Longowal) . In autumn 2003, the Badal and Tohra factions united.

In the state of Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal was able to replace the previously dominant Congress party in government for the first time in 1967 . Since then, the two parties have alternated as the strongest party in virtually every election in the state. In 2012 the Shiromani Akali Dal was able to repeat its electoral success for the first time. Because they are on the votes of the Hindu is -Minderheit which provides more than a third of the population in Punjab instructed the Shiromani Akali Dal formed a coalition since the late 1990s with the Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In addition to Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal is represented in parliament in Haryana and Delhi , both states with significant Sikh minorities. Here, however, with only one seat each, it plays a subordinate role.

At the all-Indian level, Shiromani Akali Dal has been a member of the BJP-led party alliance of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) since 1998 and is represented in the Modi I cabinet (2014-2019) with ministerial posts.

The Shiromani Akali Dal's program is to give the interests of the Sikh a political voice. Religion and politics are not seen as separate, but belong together.

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