Jathedar Avtar Singh Makkar

Jathedar Avtar Singh Makkar was president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) from 23 November 2005 to 4 November 2016, by the SGPC's own list, which names him Jathedar Avtar Singh. He took over from Bibi Jagir Kaur, who held the post from 23 September 2004 to 23 November 2005 by the same list.

How he was chosen: The Tribune reported on 24 November 2005 that Makkar had until recently been seeking the Ludhiana (urban) district presidency of the Akali Dal (Badal), and that as a Tohra loyalist he had not managed even that. Parkash Singh Badal, the party president, named him to the SGPC post, to the surprise of Akali leaders and others; the paper's headline was "Makkar's appointment as SGPC President surprises everyone". It gave his main qualifications as being a staunch loyalist of the party president and having a modest and clean image. Party sources, it said, read the choice as part of Badal's long-term plan to groom his son Sukhbir Singh Badal as his successor.

• 24 November 2005: he told The Tribune his priorities were clean administration with a revamp of the SGPC, promoting Sikh teachings, marking the 400th martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev and campaigning against living gurus.
• 27 November 2005: he dropped the caste name Makkar from his name. The Tribune reported that adding a caste as a suffix is considered a violation of the Rehat Maryada, and that SGPC advertisements thanking well-wishers now gave his name as Avtar Singh.
• 23 March 2012: the Sikh high priests asked him and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to meet President Pratibha Patil and work to save Balwant Singh Rajoana from the gallows, and to seek his release without condition (The Tribune).
• 2015: after the Panj Pyare summoned the five jathedars over the pardon given to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the Free Press Journal reports that Makkar issued the order suspending all the Panj Pyare. It says he called their decision contrary to Sikh tenets and rules and an attempt to divide the community that would not be tolerated.
• After the 2011 SGPC election: Amar Ujala says a dispute over the sahajdhari vote kept him in office under a Supreme Court order, with no General House session held in that period.
• 5 November 2016: the SGPC's list shows Prof Kirpal Singh Badungar succeeding him. Asia Samachar reported that Badungar "replaces Avtar Singh Makkar" and quoted an analyst calling him a stop gap because Makkar was becoming too much of a liability.
• 20 December 2019: he died at Fortis Hospital, Gurugram, aged 78, on the evening of Friday 20 December, according to Amar Ujala. Wikipedia gives 21 December.

He is remembered as the long-serving SGPC president chosen by Parkash Singh Badal, whose last years in office ran on a Supreme Court order.