Singh Sahib Giani Kirpal Singh

Singh Sahib Giani Kirpal Singh was a theologian and writer who was Jathedar of the Akal Takht when the army entered the Golden Temple complex in June 1984. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says he was born on 10 June 1918 at Vairoke, in Moga tahsil, the son of Mall Singh and Ram Kaur. On 15 February 1939 he joined the jatha of Sant Gurbachan Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale and studied scripture, philosophy, theology and history with him. In 1944 he formed a group of his own to preach gurmat, and during the Sant's illness in 1956 to 1958 he taught at the Bhindran Kalan seminary.

Key moments

• 2 April 1958: appointed a granthi at Harimandar Sahib, Amritsar.
• 1962: nominated to the religious tribunal that tried and punished Master Tara Singh, Sant Fateh Singh and members of the Akali Dal's central executive for a disciplinary lapse, according to the Encyclopaedia, which dates it to 1962. Gurmit Singh lists Giani Kirpal Singh among the five Panj Piare whose verdict was announced on 29 November 1961; the Encyclopaedia's account of the Punjabi Suba movement names Bhai Kartar Singh in that place.
• 1963 to 1965: acting Jathedar of the Akal Takht.
• 2 June 1973 to 16 April 1983: Head Granthi of Sri Harmandir Sahib. After a preaching tour of the United Kingdom in 1980 and 1981, he took over as Jathedar of the Akal Takht on the sudden death of Giani Gurdial Singh Ajnoha.
• December 1983: Khushwant Singh writes in A History of the Sikhs that Gurcharan Singh Tohra, as SGPC president, pressed a very reluctant Giani Kirpal Singh to let Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers occupy the upper storeys of the Akal Takht.
• June 1984: Gurmit Singh's History of Sikh Struggles says the army forced Giani Kirpal Singh, Giani Sahib Singh, the Head Granthi, the Golden Temple's manager and others, at gunpoint, to sign a statement that they had inspected the Toshakhana, that everything except the canopy was intact, and that the ash of the diamond-studded canopy had been sealed in a bag. Khushwant Singh writes that the Jathedar was made to read out a statement placed in his hands saying that the damage was minimal.
• After June 1984: Khushwant Singh writes that Buta Singh, acting for Indira Gandhi, wanted the Akal Takht rebuilt quickly, and that Giani Kirpal Singh and Giani Sahib Singh, who had earlier given the army clean chits, sensed the resentment in the community and refused to oblige.
• 24 December 1986: resigned as Jathedar of the Akal Takht, according to the Encyclopaedia. Wikipedia's table gives a different end date, 26 July 1986, and this page follows the Encyclopaedia.

He wrote Sam Arth Kosh, a dictionary of Punjabi synonyms, and a six-volume commentary on Giani Gian Singh's Panth Prakash. The Encyclopaedia says his detailed account of Operation Blue Star was being serialised in the Punjabi daily Ajit when he died suddenly at his house in Amritsar on 26 July 1993. He is remembered as the Jathedar of the Akal Takht in the year of the army action, and for the statements the army obtained from him.