The Akali Dal reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Akali Dal

Akali Dal, also termed as Shiromani Akali Dal, is a regional political party based in Punjab, India.

It was formed in the 1920s after the formation of SGPC (Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee), a religious body formed as a result of movement to secure Sikh temples (Gurudwara) from corrupt priests. So in a sense Akali Dal considers itself as a religio-political party and principal representative of Sikhs. Baba Kharak Singh was the first president of the Akali Dal but it was under Master Tara Singh that Akali Dal became a force to reckon with.

They launched Punjabi Suba agitation to get a Sikh majority state made from undivided Punjab based on language under the leadership of Sant Fateh Singh. In 1966, Punjab was formed but its division led to bitter conflict as neither parties were satisfied. Akali Dal came to power in Punjab but many a times their governments were dismissed by the Congress Party ruling at the federal level.

Akali Dal's history is also full of divisions and factionalism. Each faction claims to be the real Akali Dal. As of 2003, Akali Dal Badal headed by Prakash Singh Badal is the largest faction. Other factions include All India Akali Dal led by Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Akali Dal Amritsar led by Simranjit Singh Mann, and Akali Dal Panthic led by Ravinder Singh.

The basic philosophy of Akali Dal is to give political voice to Sikh issues (Panthic cause) and it believes that religion and politics go hand in hand.

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