Trudeau, India and Sikh separatism

Justin Trudeau’s accusation last week that India was responsible for the assassination of the Khalistani Hardeep Singh Nijarr in Canada may go down as one of the most detrimental foreign policy gaffes of the decade. Nijarr was a leading figure in the Sikh separatist movement that seeks an independent state of Khalistan. Wanted in India on terrorism charges, he was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia last June.

The Canadian Prime Minister’s comments risk ruining trade opportunities, diplomatic relations and even the movement of Indian professionals and students into Canada. As the row escalates, both Canada and India have expelled diplomats. If Trudeau’s claim is proven to be true, India will have to answer serious questions regarding infringement of Canada’s sovereignty. However, while the focus remains on the Khalistan movement in Canada, the larger issue at hand is Canada’s alleged harbouring of individuals with ties to terrorism, intent on inciting violence and dividing India. Canada has the largest Sikh community outside Punjab, estimated at between 1.4 and 1.8 million, or 2.1 per cent of the population — a higher proportion than in India itself, where Sikhs are a minority of 1.7 per cent.

Meanwhile for the UK it is an opportunity for introspection. This period of reflection may lead to the liberation of Sikhs who have suffered at the hands of Khalistani extremists and the strengthening of India-UK relations. Could this mark the beginning of the end for the Khalistan movement?

A proxy war is raging in Canada, Australia, America and the UK within the South Asian diaspora. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former prime minister for Pakistan, promised to avenge the loss of Bangladesh in 1971 with a similar succession within India.^[1] Since then Pakistani intelligence services have funded, trained and housed Khalistani separatists.^[2] Many argue that there is evidence that their aim is to help carve out a Sikh independent state in the northern Indian state of Punjab.

The year 1984 marked a tragic turning point, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. This came in response to her role in the operation that led to the death of Khalistani militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and many of his followers in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. It is alleged that the Indian Congress party encouraged anti-Sikh violence in the aftermath, resulting in the estimated deaths of 8,000 Sikhs.

In 2006, India’s Sikh Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, officially apologised for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. More recently, the present Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a corridor between the Indian state of Punjab and Lahore in Pakistan to facilitate the unrestricted movement of Sikhs across the Pakistan-India border, granting them easier access to their holy places. Yet Khalistani extremists continue to exploit old wounds, using the victims of the 1984 violence to fuel hatred against India and Hindus.

Last month the Khalistani leader and Sikhs for Justice legal advisor, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, called for all Canadian Hindus to return to India. In response to Nijarr’s murder, Sikhs For Justice has offered 10,000 dollars for the address of the High Commissioner of India in Canada.

While parts of the Sikh diaspora call for Khalistan, Pew research evidence that 95% of Indian Sikhs are proud to be Indian^[3] and only 0.3% of the Sikh majority state voted for the pro-Khalistan state party SADA in 2017.^[4] There is simply no genuine appetite for Sikh emancipation from India. Instead, the calls hail from Sikhs in America, Canada, the UK and Australia. There have been attacks on embassies, multiple assassination attempts, organised crime and threats and assaults on Sikhs who stand against them.^[5] Khalistani militants claim to be freedom fighters, but their activism draws Sikh youth into criminality and indoctrinates them into hate whilst supporting unrest in the Punjab.

Earlier this year, pro-Khalistan separatists stormed the Indian embassy in London, injuring two staff members. Additionally, a British Sikh family went into hiding due to death threats and attacks on their property, stemming from their vocal opposition to Khalistan.

The Government’s independent faith engagement adviser Colin Bloom’s review Does government ‘do God’? was published last April. The report dedicated significant attention to the issue of pro-Khalistan separatism. At its launch, Bloom explained how a Sikh parliamentarian had tearfully described the misery inflicted upon him by pro-Khalistan extremists in the UK. Bloom’s report highlights how these groups, with deep connections to proscribed terrorist organisations, have infiltrated the very core of parliamentary institutions, exploiting the pretext of human rights advocacy. These activities have not gone unnoticed by India, which raised concerns over the UK’s approach to Khalistani extremism following the attack on the Indian High Commission. These concerns are alleged to have compromised the UK-India trade deal.

I spoke with a Sikh man who was radicalised into Khalistani extremism in his youth and has since de-radicalised. He tells me how he lost years of his life, sacrificing good grades, friendships and relationships. How he learnt to hate and even stockpiled weapons. A cursory look at Khalistani activists on social media reveals music that glorifies killing and martyrdom, alongside a display of toxic masculinity.

The silver lining: the idea is so very easy to knock down. Once one looks at the reality on the ground in the Punjab and the complex geopolitical nature of the historic violence, the nefarious nature of the ongoing movement becomes evident. Then there is Sikhism’s resilience in and of itself. Sikhism does not lend itself to battles over land, but instead has a universal appeal beyond geographical constraint. Sikhism is inclusive: one in five Sikhs have prayed in a Hindu temple in India, according to Pew research.

Sikhs need to answer the question that really sees the Khalistan movement lose its appeal: would you want to live there? In a tiny landlocked state between two larger states in perpetual conflict with one another? No longer able to move freely across India and the world? De-radicalisation efforts may be challenging with the understandable emotions attached to the 1984 Sikh massacre, but they are relatively straightforward when compared with other forms of extremism that lean on religious texts and ongoing grievances.

Rishi Sunak stated at the G20 in India that he was committed to tackling Khalistani extremism. It would be wise for Sunak to work with the Indian diplomatic services at this sensitive time to ensure their safety and their confidence that the Government will deliver on this promise. Sunak faces a delicate balancing act, needing to stand against any potential encroachment on Canadian sovereignty by India, while also addressing the UK’s own recent questions regarding the harbouring of Khalistani extremists. For the sake of Sikhs and Hindus in the UK, for peace and security in India, and for the strength of the India-UK relationship, Sunak must step up and turn Trudeau’s diplomatic blunders into the catalyst for the end of Khalistanism in the West.

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^[1] Khalistan is Pakistan’s project designed to subvert national security of Canada, India | India News | Zee News

See Terry Mileski’s Blood for Blood

^[2] 20200820_Khalistan_Air_India_Milewski_PAPER_FWeb.pdf (macdonaldlaurier.ca) See book blood for blood for further evidence but this report is a good start. See also: https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.hudson.org/Pande_Pakistan%27s+Destabilization+Playbook+-+Khalistan+Separatist+Activism+Within+the+US.pdf

^[3] Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation | Pew Research Center

^[4] 2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election – Wikipedia

^[5] See Colin Bloom faith report. See: Sikhs tried to kill general in revenge for temple massacre (thetimes.co.uk) See attack on Kapoor family lead by ‘injection’ who has been in prison for kidnap and torture.