Akal Takht
The Akal Takht (Gurmukhi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ, Punjabi pronunciation: [äːkäːl t̪axt]; lit. 'Throne of the Timeless One'; originally Akal Bunga) is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikhs. It is located in the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, Punjab, India. The Akal Takht (originally called Akal Bunga) was built by Guru Hargobind as a place of justice and consideration of temporal issues; the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa (the collective body of the Sikhs) and the place of the Jathedar, the highest spokesman of the Sikhs.
| Akal Takht | |
|---|---|
Nishan Sahib | |
Photograph of Akal Takht | |
| Alternative names | Akal Bunga |
| General information | |
| Status | First Takht of the Sikhs |
| Architectural style | Sikh architecture |
| Address | Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Golden Temple Rd, Amritsar, Punjab, India |
| Town or city | Amritsar |
| Coordinates | 31°37′14″N 74°52′31″E |
| Completed | 15 June 1606 (Akal Bunga) Rebuilding of structure demolished in 1986 completed in 1995 |
| Destroyed | Heavily damaged in 1984 (Misl-era structure) Fully demolished in 1986 to protest damage and spurn completed government-sponsored repairs |
| Part of a series on |
| Sikhism |
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The position of the jathedar is disputed between the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee who appointed Giani Harpreet Singh as the acting jathedar in 2018, and the Sarbat Khalsa organized by some Sikh organizations in 2015. Due to the political imprisonment of Jagtar Singh Hawara, Dhian Singh Mand was appointed as the acting jathedar by the Sarbat Khalsa. The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee however refused to accept its authority.