Akal Takht

The Akal Takht (; literally means The Seat (Throne) of the Timeless One or Seat (Throne) of God. It is one of the five seats of temporal physical religious authority of the Sikhs. Akal means The Timeless One - another term for God. Takht means 'seat' or 'throne' in Persian. Akal Takht is located in the Harmandir Sahib complex in Amritsar, Punjab, and faces the Darshani Deohri.

History

The Akal Takht was begun by the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Har Gobind as a symbol for political sovereignty of Sikhs. It stood as a symbol of political and military resistance against the tyranny and cruelity of the rulers the 17th and 18th century. In the 18th century, Ahmed Shah Abdali led a series of attacks on the Akal Takht and Harmandir Sahib.

On June 4, 1984, the Akal Takht building was destroyed during Operation Bluestar launched by the Indian Army on controversial orders of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to evict a group of armed Sikhs separatists that had fortified the buildings.The Akal Takhat was founded by Guru Hargobind on June 15, 1606 (now celebrated on 2 July) and was established as the place from which the spiritual and temporal concerns of the Sikh community could be acted upon.

It stood as a symbol of political bulwark against the Mughal Emperors in the 17th and 18th century. Various attacks on the Akal Takhat and Harimandir Sahib have been led in past by Ahmed Shah Abdali and Massa Rangar in the 18 century. On June 4, 1984, the Indian Army did more than just damage the outer...
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