NEW DELHI: A diplomatic rift has erupted between Canada and India as Canada accuses the Indian government of involvement in the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, on Canadian soil, a charge denied by New Delhi. The slain Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was an advocate for the establishment of “Khalistan,” an independent Sikh homeland in India.
The Khalistan movement traces its roots back to the post-independence era of India in 1947 when the Indian subcontinent witnessed the Partition. While Sikhs make up less than two percent of India’s population, they constitute nearly 60 percent of the population in the Indian northern state of Punjab, the heartland of Sikhism.
Calls for the creation of Khalistan, a sovereign nation governed by Sikh principles carved out of India’s Punjab state, grew louder in subsequent decades, particularly as the Punjab state became one of India’s wealthiest states due to a remarkable agricultural revolution.
Khalistan Movement and Indian Govt’s Brutalities
The Khalistan movement gained popularity in the early 1980s when a charismatic Sikh fundamentalist, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, initiated a separatist movement. Bhindranwale and his followers launched activities for establishing Khalistan.
In 1984, Bhindranwale’s armed supporters barricaded themselves in the Golden Temple, Sikhism’s holiest shrine in Amritsar. The Indian government’s subsequent military operation, codenamed Operation Blue Star, resulted in Bhindranwale’s death, along with hundreds of Sikh civilians, and extensive damage to the temple. The operation triggered worldwide Sikh outrage, accusing the troops of religious desecration.
To this day, the Indian government considers Khalistan a threat and has outlawed the movement, designating several associated groups as “terrorist organizations.”
Support for the Khalistan movement is primarily vocal among the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada, Britain, and Australia. Sikh groups often organize referendums to endorse the establishment of a Sikh homeland in India.
India has consistently raised concerns with foreign governments about the activities of Sikh hardliners, accusing them of attempting to revive the insurgency.
