Summary

From the descriptions given of the old Singhs, it is clear that the original Khalsa was the Akali Nihang Singh Khalsa. All of the greatest military leaders of the Sikhs up to the Misl period (e.g. Baba Bidhi Chand, Baba Piraga, Baba Mathura, Baba Jaita, Baba Binodh Singh, Baba Deep Singh, Baba Natha Singh, Baba Bagelh Singh, etc.) were titled and recognised as Akalis or Akali Nihangs, the soldiers of the Akal Takht. So too were the Sikh warrior Gurus, Akali Guru Hargobind and Akali Nihang Guru Gobind Singh.

Jathedar Baba Sohan Singh Ji
A painting of Sach Khand Vassi Mahapursh Jathedar Baba Sohan
Singh Ji the once great head of the Baba Biddhi Chandi Nihang Dal

If present day Sikhs observe modern day paintings of the warrior Gurus and their warriors (e.g. Baba Deep Singh) which are based on early images, they will notice a farla dangling from the top of their turbans, the symbol of an Akali.

Akali Nihang Baba Phoola Singh Ji
A minature depicting a portrait of Akali Nihang Baba Phoola Singh Ji, one of
the greatest Sikh generals and heads of the Akali Nihang Singh Khalsa Budha
Dal. The portrait clearly shows the 'Farla' which was a sign of an Akali Nihang Singh

So to reiterate again, fully mindful of hurting sentiments of the majority of modern Sikhs, in accordance with the indisputably overwhelming historical evidence found, the Akali Nihangs were, and still are, the original form of the Khalsa. They were never a sect within Sikhism, rather, they were considered its truest representatives and champions.

The Akali Nihang Singh Khalsa is the true face of Guru Gobind Singh's Khalsa Panth. As Baba Choja Singh (of Baba Deep Singh Misl, Taruna Dal, Baba Bakala) states:

In regards the present confused state, Baba Udey Singh (present secretary of the Budha Dal) comments:

For nearly seventy years after Guru Gobind Singh, the Khalsa (led by the Akali Nihangs) fought a life and death struggle with the Moguls and the invading Afghans.

The Farla
An Akali Nihang Singh clearly showing the 'Farla'
(a loose piece of cloth that extends from the top of the turban

Eventually, towards the end of the 18th century, the Khalsa established several independent kingdoms in northern India. The Khalsa had just attained it's freedom when another, more formidable enemy, came on the scene - the British.

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