India, June 15 -- The Akal Takht on Monday declared Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann a "Guru Dokhi (anti-Guru)" and "Panth Virodhi (anti-community)" over an objectionable video purportedly showing him in an act that hurt Sikh sentiments.

Pronouncing the decree from the "faseel (platform)" of the highest Sikh temporal seat, the Sikh clergy led by Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj directed the Sikh Panth to shun ties with Mann. This severe edict followed a crucial meeting with various Sikh bodies, which was convened amid intensifying objections to certain provisions of the newly enacted Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026.

Beyond the excommunication of the chief minister, the Sikh clergy ha...