JATHEDAAR
Jathedaar literally means the: ‘Daar’ (the keeper, the head) of a ‘Jathaa’ (group, band) i.e. one who heads a Jathaa (the leader of a group, band).
The presidents of the Sikh organizations e.g. Shiromani Akaali Dal, are known as Jathedaars.
During an agitation, each Jathaa (band, unit) has a leader, who is called Jathedaar.
This term has been used in the Sikh literature since seventeenth century. In the eighteenth century, the whole of the Sikh army had been in action in the form of Jathaas (bands), and each band was headed by a leader who was known as Jathedaar.
On October 12, 1920, when the priests of Akaal Takht left the building of the Takht unattended, the Sikhs there appointed a Jathaa (band) of 25 Sikhs, to take care of the building. Since then, the ignorant leaders of the Sikh nation have been wrongly using the term Jathedaar for the caretaker of Akaal Takht. The designation Jathedaar of a Takht is not in consonance with the Sikh philosophy.
Also see: Akaal Takht.
(Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer)