The Khalistan Issue

Why in the News?

The United Kingdom has announced ~1 Crore to tackle pro-Khalistan extremism that has threatened to damage Indian missions and its employees in the UK.

Khalistani separatist activities in Western countries:

Though the issue of pro-Khalistan separatist movements has emerged in the last two decades intermittently, it has gained a new momentum in the last two years.

1. The Indian High Commissioner in London was damaged by pro-Khalistan supporters at the start of the year, promoting India’s strong reaction
2. In July 2023, the Indian Consulate in San Francisco was set on fire by a group of pro-Khalistani separatists.
3. Sikhs for Justice, a separatist organisation
   1. put out posters instigating the radical elements to kill Indian top diplomats in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
   2. Conducted ‘Referendum 2022’ for the establishment of State of Khalistan in the UK, Canada, the US and Australia which led to a tussle between Khalistanis and pro-India supporters at the voting site in Melbourne.

Sikh population distribution across the world

Khalistani separatist activities inside India:

Two major incidents that unfolded recently includes:

1. Active involvement of Khalistan elements during the farmers’ agitation in 2020 which was confirmed by intelligence reports.
2. Emergence of Amritpal Singh as an advocate of a separate state of Khalistan who was arrested in April, 2023.

Khalistan factor in Canadian politics:

1. Canada is home to the second-largest Sikh population in the world, after India, accounting for 2% of the former’s population with ~8 lakh people.
2. They also form the fastest-growing and fourth-largest religious community in Canada.
3. Sikh migration including the dreaded terrorists into Canada was advocated by the country in 1980s as it was guided by the Cold war dynamics.
4. Currently, the actions of the Canadian govt are guided purely by Vote bank politics.
   1. Out of 338 seats in the Canadian parliament, Sikhs are elected on 18 seats which speak of their political influence.
   2. The Trudeau-led government is under political compulsion to not antagonize their coalition partners, thus showing reluctance in confronting the Khalistan separatist’s anti-Indian activities.

Response of the Indian Government:

1. The Indian govt. is rising concerns consistently with respective governments that inaction of the latter can lead to adverse impacts on the bilateral relationships.
2. India strongly urged Canadian Government to take appropriate action against the anti-India ‘Khalistan Freedom Rally’, which was conducted in July 2023.
3. At the 5th India-UK Home Affairs Dialogue, Indian Government reiterated their concern regarding the Khalistan issue and the misuse of UK’s asylum status by the pro-Khalistani elements to aid and abet terrorist activities in India.
4. In response to the inaction of the UK Government against Khalistani separatists in the London incident, New Delhi removed the outer security cover of the British High Commission and High Commissioner’s residence. 

About:

The Khalistan Movement:

1. A separatist movement intending to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing an ethno‐religious sovereign state called Khalistan in the Punjab region.
2. The proposed territories of Khalistan include the entirety of the Indian state of Punjab, while larger claims include Pakistani Punjab and other parts of North India such as Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh.
3. The capital has been proposed to be Shimla and Lahore.
4. Though the call for a separate Sikh state began in the wake of the fall of the British Empire. The first explicit call came in 1940 and continued unto 1980 when the movement reached its zenith.
5. Following the Operation blue Star in 1984 and in the 1990s the insurgency was petered out and failed to attain its stated objectives.