Beadbi
Desecrations of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and the Panth's search for justice.
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- Aug 11, 1740Bhai Mehtab Singh and Bhai Sukha Singh avenge the desecration of Sri Harmandir SahibIn August 1740 Zakariya Khan's kotwal Massa Ranghar was carousing inside Sri Harmandir Sahib. Bhai Mehtab Singh and Bhai Sukha Singh entered in disguise and beheaded him.
- Nov 11, 1757Shaheedi of Baba Deep Singh at AmritsarAged 75, Baba Deep Singh marches on Amritsar to free Sri Harmandir Sahib from Afghan forces and falls in its precincts; he is also honoured as a founder of the Damdami Taksal.
- Apr 1762; rebuilt from 1764Ahmad Shah Abdali blows up Sri Harmandir Sahib and the Sikhs rebuild itAfter the Vadda Ghallughara, Ahmad Shah Abdali blows up Sri Harmandir Sahib with gunpowder in 1762, and from 1764 the Dal Khalsa rebuilds it from the plunder of Sirhind.
- Sep 20, 1981Chando Kalan raid, then firing at Mehta ChowkSacred texts burnt; at least 12 killed at the surrender
- Jun 2015Saroop stolen, Burj Jawahar Singh WalaOpening of the Beadbi crisis
- Sep 24, 2015Akal Takht pardons Gurmeet Ram RahimHighest Sikh authority seen operated by a party
- Oct 2015Bargari Beadbi: torn angs foundPanth-wide mobilisation
- Oct 14, 2015Behbal Kalan police firing: 2 shaheedState fires on peaceful Sikh protest
- Nov 10, 2015Sarbat Khalsa at ChabbaOver a lakh by same-day count; 13 resolutions; bound nobody
- Jun 1 to Dec 9, 2018Bargari Insaaf Morcha: a 192-day sit-in for justice over the 2015 beadbi and the Behbal Kalan firingA sit-in at Bargari demanded arrests for the 2015 beadbi and for the Behbal Kalan firing. It was wound up on Dec 9, 2018 as ministers announced steps, and its leaders split over the decision.
- Jun 2020 onward328 saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib missing from SGPC recordsAn Akal Takht inquiry found 328 saroops unaccounted for in 2020. Only after Bhai Baldev Singh Wadala's morcha of more than five years did police register an FIR, in December 2025.
- Aug 30 and Dec 2, 2024Akal Takht declares Sukhbir Badal tankhaiya, then pronounces his tankhahInstitution judges its former operator
- Jan 14-20, 2026CM Mann's 169 saroops claim at Muktsar and the government's U-turnsMann said the SIT had found 169 of the 328 missing saroops at a shrine near Banga. The shrine denied it, and within days his Finance Minister twice changed the government's line.
- Apr 13-19, 2026Punjab passes a stricter sacrilege law, the Jaagat Jot Satkar Amendment ActThe Vidhan Sabha unanimously raised penalties for sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib to 20 years, or life for conspiracy. The Akal Takht objected that Sikh bodies were not consulted.
- Jun 15, 2026Akal Takht declares CM Mann Guru Dokhi and anti-Khalsa PanthOn 15 June 2026 the five Singh Sahiban declared Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann Guru Dokhi and Khalsa Panth Virodhi over a video and the sacrilege law; Mann denies the video is his.
Also in this topic
- Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)The party founded in 2012 that has governed Punjab since 2022. It pressed for a 1984 inquiry from Delhi, and as Punjab's government it is now in open conflict with the Akal Takht.
- BargariVillage near Kotkapura in Faridkot where torn pages of Sri Guru Granth Sahib were found on 12 October 2015, the beadbi that led to the police firing at Behbal Kalan; who is guilty is still in court.
- Behbal KalanVillage in Faridkot district where police fired on Sikhs protesting the Bargari sacrilege on 14 October 2015, killing Krishan Bhagwan Singh and Gurjeet Singh; the case has not reached a verdict.
- BBhagwant MannChief Minister of Punjab since 16 March 2022; leader of the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab
- BBhai Baldev Singh WadalaFormer Hazoori Ragi at Sri Darbar Sahib; head of Sikh Sadbhawna Dal; founder of Sher-e-Punjab Dal
- DBhai Dhian Singh MandActing Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib named by the 2015 Sarbat Khalsa; Akali Dal (Amritsar) leader; former MP
- Bhai Gurdas HallA hall near the Golden Temple in Amritsar used for Panthic gatherings, among them Dal Khalsa's seminar of 29 April 2025 and an Akal Takht meeting of scholars on 3 May 2026.
- MBhai Mehtab Singh BhanguSikh warrior and Shaheed; killer of Massa Ranghar in 1740
- Dera Sacha SaudaSirsa-based sect with a large Dalit following. Its chief's 2007 imitation row, the 2015 pardon and its reversal, and his convictions and paroles shape recent Panthic politics.
- GGiani Gurbachan SinghFormer Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib (2008 to 2018)
Giani Kuldeep Singh GargajActing Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib and Jathedar of Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib (from March 2025)- GGiani Raghbir SinghJathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib (2023 to 2025); former Head Granthi of Sri Harmandir Sahib
- Golden Offset PressThe SGPC's printing press at Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib, Amritsar, where saroops are printed; the 2016 fire at its publication branch is a central point in the 328 missing saroops case.
- GGurmeet Ram Rahim SinghHead of Dera Sacha Sauda (since 1990); serving 20 years for rape (2017)
- GGurpartap Singh WadalaFormer Akali MLA (Nakodar); convener of the SAD Sudhar Lehar (2024); member of the Akal Takht's seven-member Akali Dal committee
- HHarjinder Singh DhamiPresident of the SGPC (since November 2021); advocate
- Justice Ranjit Singh CommissionOne-member inquiry set up by Punjab's Congress government in 2017 into the 2015 Bargari beadbi and the Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firings. Its 2018 reports named Parkash Singh Badal.
- KKanwarpal SinghSpokesperson of Dal Khalsa
Kultar Singh SandhwanSpeaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha; Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Kotkapura- MMassa RangharMughal-appointed kotwal of Amritsar who desecrated Sri Harmandir Sahib in 1740
- MMohinder Pal Singh BittuDera Sacha Sauda follower; prime accused in the 2015 Bargari sacrilege cases; killed in Nabha jail in 2019
- PParamraj Singh UmranangalIPS officer, Inspector General of Police; accused in the 2015 Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firing cases
- PParkash Singh BadalFive-time Chief Minister of Punjab; patriarch of the Shiromani Akali Dal
- PParminder Singh DhindsaAkali leader; former Punjab finance minister; senior leader of the SAD Sudhar Lehar
- Punjab PoliceThe state police force that carried out the 1984 to 1995 counter-insurgency. Courts and rights groups document illegal cremations and disappearances; rights groups say its architects were never tried.
- RRajvinder Singh BainsSenior advocate, Punjab and Haryana High Court; counsel in the Khalra case; special public prosecutor in the 2015 sacrilege-firing cases (appointed 2021)
- RRoop SinghFormer Chief Secretary of the SGPC
- Sarbat KhalsaThe assembly of the whole Khalsa Panth, meeting before the Guru Granth Sahib at the Akal Takht. Its gurmatas bound every Sikh. Revived in 1986 and 2015, its authority is still contested.
- Sher-e-Punjab DalPolitical party announced in June 2024 by Bhai Baldev Singh Wadala, a former Hazoori Ragi of Sri Darbar Sahib, on a Panthic platform against SGPC faction control and Akali Dal family rule.
- Sikh Sadbhawna DalA Panthic reform group led by Bhai Baldev Singh Wadala. Its sit-in on Heritage Street, Amritsar, over the 328 missing saroops began in November 2020; an FIR followed in December 2025.
- Sikh Youth of Punjab (SYP)The youth wing of Dal Khalsa, formed after a general body decision on 8 August 2008; it campaigns on Bandi Singhs, Sikh symbols and student causes.
- Sri Akal Takht SahibThe senior seat of Sikh religious authority, raised opposite the Harmandir in Amritsar by Guru Hargobind in 1606. Its hukamnamas bind the Panth, and who holds its jathedar's office is hotly contested.
- SSukhbir Singh BadalPresident of the Shiromani Akali Dal; former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab
- SSumedh Singh SainiFormer Director General of Police, Punjab (until October 2015); accused in the Behbal Kalan, Kotkapura and Multani cases
- Was the 2015 Sarbat Khalsa legitimate?The SGPC called the 13 resolutions of Chabba void and police filed sedition charges, later annulled. What the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, the record and Panthic voices say about who may call one.
- Who was behind the 2015 Bargari beadbi and the Behbal Kalan firing?Three agencies gave three answers on who did the 2015 Bargari beadbi; the charges over Behbal Kalan are denied. No court has decided. The record in order, and the Panthic answer.