Jathedar (Punjabi: ਜਥੇਦਾਰ ), refers to a leader of a Jatha (a group, a community or a nation). Among the Sikhs, a Jathedar is an ordained leader of the clergy and leads a Takht, a sacred and authoritative seat.
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Sikh clergy consists of five Jathedars, one each from five takhts or sacred seats. The Jathedar of Akal Takht makes all the important decisions after consultations with the Jathedars of the other four Takhts. The highest seat of the Sikh nation is called Akal Takht.
History
During the 18th century, Jathedars of Takhts were appointed by the Sarbat Khalsa, a biannual deliberative assembly of the entire Khalsa held at Amritsar in Panjab.
From 1920 to 2008, Jathedars were appointed by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), an elected body of the Sikhs sometimes called "Parliament of Sikhs".
In November 2015, the Sikh diaspora appointed four interim Jathedars through the traditional Sarbat Khalsa at the Chabba village on the outskirts of Amritsar, Panjab. Some 100,000 to 500,000 Sikhs attended the event from around the world. A few Sikh organizations did not attend and refused to recognize the resolutions of the event. The congregation of Sarbat Khalsa 2015 dismissed the SGPC Jathedars and appointed interim Jathedars for Akal Takht, Damdama Sahib and Anandpur Sahib.