“Khalistani Protests: Rising Tensions and Controversy Surrounding Demands for Khalistan”
Supporters of the Khalistan Freedom movement are organizing rallies on Saturday, July 8, at India’s consulates in Toronto and Vancouver following the killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Mr. Nijjar, who was president of a gurdwara in Surrey, B.C., was shot dead on June 18. He had been accused by India’s National Investigation Agency of being a terrorist and had advocated for Sikh independence, encouraging Sikhs worldwide to participate in an unauthorized international referendum for the secession of Punjab, a state in northern India. It’s important to note that these referendums are not endorsed by the Indian or Canadian governments.
Khalistani posters target top Indian diplomats ahead of July 8 rally in London.
The poster of the Khalistan “Kill India” rally features the names of two Indian diplomats – High Commissioner Vikram K Doraiswami and Dr. Shashank Vikram, Counsel General of India, Birmingham.
Just days after the Indian consulate was set on fire allegedly by Khalistani supporters, a poster threatening Indian diplomats in London has surfaced online. It promotes protests by pro-Khalistan outfits outside the Indian High Commission in London on July 8.
The poster of the Khalistan “Kill India” rally features the names of two Indian diplomats – High Commissioner Vikram K Doraiswami and Dr. Shashank Vikram, Counsel General of India, Birmingham
It falsely labels them as “the faces of Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killers in Vancouver”. It also wrongly refers to Dr. Shashank Vikram as being Counsel General of the Embassy of London.
Recently, Indian diplomats in Canada, US, and Australia were named in the July 8 Khalistan Freedom Rally pamphlets circulated by the extremists, claiming that India was responsible for the killing of Khalistani Hardeep Nijjar.
Khalistan Tiger Force chief Nijjar, one of the most wanted terrorists in India, was shot on June 18 by two unidentified men in the parking lot of Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, Canada.
Why are Protests planned on the 8 of July?
On July 8, a series of protests are set to take place outside Indian embassies in Toronto and Vancouver, along with demonstrations in other cities worldwide. These protests have been organized by individuals and groups advocating for the secessionist movement known as Khalistan. One prominent organization supporting these protests is Sikhs for Justice, which is based in Washington and banned in India due to its support for Khalistan.
The protests on July 8 aim to draw attention to the demand for Khalistan and express grievances related to issues such as alleged human rights violations, religious discrimination, and the perceived marginalization of the Sikh community in India. The event posters shared on social media indicate that similar demonstrations will also be held in cities like London, San Francisco, and Melbourne.
What is the Khalistan Movement?
The Khalistan movement is a Sikh independence movement that seeks to establish a separate ethnoreligious homeland called Khalistan in the Punjab region of India. The roots of this movement can be traced back to the end of the British Empire in India when the partition of the country occurred in 1947, resulting in the creation of India and Pakistan as separate nations.
The demand for Khalistan emerged as some Sikh leaders and activists believed that their distinct religious and cultural identity was not adequately represented in the newly formed Indian state. They felt that Sikhs, who form a significant minority in India, were marginalized and faced discrimination. The movement gained momentum in the 1970s and 1980s, during a period of heightened tensions between the Indian government and Sikh groups.
The Indian government has vehemently opposed the idea of Khalistan, considering it a threat to national unity and territorial integrity. The government views the movement as separatist and has taken measures to counter it, leading to a history of violence and conflict between authorities and some Sikh activists. The most notable incident was Operation Blue Star in 1984 when the Indian Army conducted a military operation to flush out armed Sikh militants hiding in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar, Punjab.
In recent years, the Khalistan movement has seen limited support among Sikhs in India. However, there is a small but influential number of Sikhs in other parts of the world, including Canada, who lend support to the idea of Khalistan. Canada is home to a significant Sikh population, with approximately 770,000 people identifying as Sikhs according to the last census. While the majority of Sikhs in Canada do not endorse the Khalistan movement, a fraction of them express sympathy towards the cause.
It is important to note that the Khalistan movement is considered by many as a fringe belief within the Sikh community. Experts on Sikh extremism, such as Dan Stanton, a former executive manager of operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, have stated that the movement has limited traction among Sikhs in Punjab, India, and among the broader Sikh diaspora. Stanton describes the extremists advocating for Khalistan as attempting to hijack the movement and regress to a time marked by violence and instability.
The Khalistan movement remains a subject of contention, both within the Sikh community and in the broader political landscape of India. While there are ongoing debates and discussions surrounding the demand for a separate Sikh homeland, the majority of Sikhs in India and abroad prioritize peaceful coexistence and the preservation of their religious and cultural identity within the existing framework of the Indian nation.