Akhand Kirtani Jatha - History

History

Randhir Singh (1878–1961) was Jat from Ludhiana who was imprisoned by the British authorities. His followers were known as the Bhai Randhir Singh da Jatha The Akhand Kirtani Jatha was a group within this movement in the 1970s, headed by Amarjit Kaur, whose husband was killed fighting the Nirankaris in Amritsar in 1978. The AJK in turn gave rise to an extremist offshoot known as the Babbar Khalsa who were active in assassinations and religious violence against the Nirankaris during the 1980s. The AKJ appears as a group of the Sikh diaspora involved in the Khalistan movement in the 1980s. The AJK participated in a convention in Slough, Berkshire in 1987.

No estimates on the number of adherents is known. Outside of Amritsar Panjab, the AJK appear to have a chapter in Coventry, UK.

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