Sikh political party in India.
The term Akali was first applied to suicide squads that appeared in the Sikh armies 0441; 1690 in response to Mughal persecution. The Akali name was revived in the 1920s during the gurdwara reform movement to refer to a semimilitary corps of volunteers opposed to British rule. Akalis took the lead in agitation for a Punjabi-speaking Sikh-majority state, a goal achieved in 1966 with the establishment of the Indian state of Punjab . The modern Akali Party participates in national elections but is mainly concerned with the status of the Sikhs in Punjab.