KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR

According to intelligence sources, pro-Khalistan terrorist groups have infiltrated gurudwaras in Pakistan’s Lahore under a “new game plan” by Pakistan in a bid to promote extremism in the Indian Sikh community against Hindus and the Indian government. The intelligence inputs said that the alleged hijacker of the Srinagar-Lahore flight in 1984 was seen meeting Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh in Panja Sahib Gurdwara in Lahore. Pakistan’s game plan as such is to keep Khalistani extremists in gurudwaras in Lahore so that they can “radicalize” Sikh devotees, sources said. Intelligence sources further said the alleged flight hijacker Ravinder Singh Pinka and his associates were meeting Sikh devotees from India, who have gone to Pakistan to observe the 100th anniversary of Saka Panja Sahib. Pinka deliberately clicked a photo with Giani Harpreet Singh. Later, however, when officials of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) were informed about Pinka, the video was immediately taken down from the SGPC website. Sources also said the Jathedar belonged to the entire community and nobody was prohibited from meeting him, and that Giani Harpreet Singh might not even know or recognize Pinka.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has strongly condemned the murders and said in a statement that, "This is not the first time that the Sikh community in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, (KP) has been targeted and we demand that the KP police identify and arrest the perpetrators promptly." The brutal incident took place on May 15, in which two Sikh traders--Kuljeet and Ranjit Singh got killed on the outskirts of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. This was the 'twelfth' such incident since 2014 when Sikhs were targeted by extremists in KP province alone.

According to Pakistani media report, a life-size statue of the first ruler of the Sikh Empire Maharaja Ranjit Singh has been restored and is soon expected to be reinstalled at a safer place at Lahore Fort, months after it was last vandalised by an activist of a banned Islamist party.

In a bid to facilitate a number of Sikh pilgrims arriving in Lahore from India via Wagah, the Pakistan Railways (PR) has decided to run nine special trains. The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) said that as many as 2,500 Sikh pilgrims will enter Pakistan on foot via the Wagah border to attend the Vaisakhi festival. Some pilgrims will also reach Pakistan from the UK and Canada too. At Wagah, the ETPB officers and Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) office bearers will welcome the pilgrims.

India Government has formally expressed its 'serious concern' to Canada over the appearance of an elected mayor of a city in Canada’s Greater Toronto Area at an event that featured Khalistan flags as well as anti-India slogans. The Indian government’s concern was related to flags of the Khalistan movement being seen in the backdrop to Brampton mayor Patrick Brown’s speech. The demarche issued by India’s High Commission in Ottawa, was related to the mayor of Brampton Patrick Brown attending and addressing a vigil at City Hall for Deep Sidhu, who emerged as a significant figure during the protests against farm laws in India, was arrested for violence at Red Fort on Republic Day last year, and died in an accident this month. The Indian government’s concern was related to flags of the secessionist Khalistan movement being seen in the backdrop to Brown’s speech, as other attendees held placards reading ‘#IndiaKills’.

A wanted drug smuggler, Sarbjit Singh Sander was found murdered in Langley, Canada, on February 10, central and state security agencies confirmed on February 23. Sander was a co-accused in the Rs 6,000-crore drug smuggling case, in which dismissed cop Jagdish Bhola’s name also cropped up. He was among 11 wanted drug smugglers hiding in Canada. In February 2018, then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had handed over the list of the 11 smugglers to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for their speedy extradition. The Punjab Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also moved applications for the extradition of the accused. According to Police, the murder of Sander ahead of the Assembly elections in Punjab was a curious development. “Sander’s murder is a setback to the investigation into the international drug smuggling that involves big fish,” said a police official.

An Indo-Canadian media person and host of a Punjabi-language talk show network in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Deepak Punj was assaulted by a group of three persons, for apparently criticising pro-Khalistan elements in Canada. Deepak Punj, host of Frontline Radio, was accosted by three young men at around 12.30pm local time on February 23, while he was preparing to enter the building housing his studio. The day prior, he had featured a show during which he had criticised the display of Khalistan flags and anti-India slogans during a vigil in Brampton, a GTA town, on February 20. Deepak said, that appeared to be the provocation for the attack. “They asked me if I did a show on this topic, and then attacked me,” he said. One of the as yet unidentified assailants was armed with a handgun, while another hit Punj on the head with an empty beer bottle and punched him. Punj said he reported the assault to local law enforcement and it was being investigated. He said the attackers spoke to him in English and Punjabi. “I’m being harassed because I’m from Punjab and I oppose Khalistan,” he added.

Several Indian media outlets published a report calling out Jagmeet Singh’s denunciation of trucker’s strike, support of farmers protests as they term it is a hypocritical move. The report said “The Sikh-origin leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP) who is now condemning truckers strike in Ottawa, had staunchly supported the farmers' protests in India last year.”

United Kingdom (UK) regulator Ofcom suspended the license of Khalsa Television Limited which broadcasts to the Sikh diaspora on its pro-Khalistan Punjabi TV channel KTV after one of its programmes called on UK-based Sikhs to travel to Punjab to engage in violent crime and disorder to achieve a separate Khalistan state. The license was suspended with immediate effect on March 31 when UK foreign secretary Liz Truss landed in Delhi. “The presenter of the programme made a number of statements throughout the programme which, taken together, promoted violent action, including murder, as an acceptable and necessary form of action to further the Khalistani cause. This was a serious breach of our rules on incitement of crime and disorder,” Ofcom said in its written decision.

According to intelligence sources, the banned “Punjab Politics TV” operating from the United Kingdom (UK) had been spreading hate against India and propagating pro-Khalistani sentiments in the country and in Punjab for the last one year. Sources confirmed that this social media channel and application was launched by pro-Khalistan sympathisers just ahead of the Punjab elections, and was being widely circulated in the hinterlands of Punjab with the agenda of keeping some political party out of power in the state and to spread Khalistani sentiments among the people of Punjab. The digital platform “Punjab Politics TV” bears the company name “Politics Punjab Broadcasting Ltd” and is registered in the UK with the Companies House, under the government of the United Kingdom. The company was incorporated in March 2021 and since then, it has been active both in the UK and in Punjab. Intelligence agencies have said that they were tracking the activities of this digital media since the last six months when it became quite active in Punjab, keeping in mind the recently held Assembly elections in the state. The intelligence agencies had shared a detailed report with the Ministry of Home Affairs about the activities of this media company and how they had been propagating hate, fake news against Sikhs in India.

A peer in the House of Lords and chairman of the British Sikh Association, Lord Rami Ranger, said that United Kingdom (UK) home secretary Priti Patel was “right” to say during a speech to a United States (US) think tank that "Sikh separatist extremism has caused considerable tensions in recent years”. He said that as home secretary of the UK, Patel “is right to ensure Britain never becomes a launchpad for terrorists”. “Every British citizen who has taken an oath of alignment to Her Majesty the Queen must be loyal and work hard to become an asset to the nation. Engaging in criminal activities against any nation is punishable by law. With the new nationality bill, they could be removed from the country and stripped of their citizenship,” he said. Ranger urged “anti-India Sikhs” to be like the Sikh Gurus who “were committed to their Mother India and paid supreme sacrifices to preserve India’s ancient civilization”. “Anti-India Sikhs should learn from the Kashmiri militants who have been terrorizing their fellow Kashmiris for three decades and have gained nothing except to hinder the progress of Kashmiris along with causing death and destruction to their fellow citizens,” Ranger added.

United Kingdom (UK) home secretary Priti Patel has been accused of smearing Sikhs after she referred to Sikh separatist extremism as a “shared security threat” the UK had with the US in a speech she gave on November 19, 2021. In the speech in Washington DC to the Heritage Foundation, a think tank which promotes Conservative public policies and values, Patel spoke about “the global picture and the various threats” that the UK and US face as allies, all of which “endanger our shared freedom and prosperity”. While discussing Islamist extremism, Daesh and extreme right-wing terror groups, she said, “Sikh separatist extremism has also caused considerable tensions in recent years. While we stoutly defend freedom of expression, it must always be within the law. We have expanded our disruptions capability to better address those people who seek to radicalize but who operate, often intentionally, below legal thresholds.” Meanwhile, Dabinderjit Singh, principal adviser of the Sikh Federation (UK), said that he had been raising this “quietly” with ministers ever since November asking them to explain her comments. He said, “No one has been able to. This is not just a speech but a speech on the UK government website. If Sikhs had carried out a bomb blast in Britain, it may have been legitimate to say that. We are shocked the home secretary has made such remarks… What incident in Britain would make the home secretary start saying she is worried about Sikh separatist extremists? Is it on the back of the 2020 Khalistan referendum in Britain? She says she has banned the political wing of Hamas and the undertone is that is why she is mentioning Sikhs.”

The Akal Takht on May 3 declared a United States (US)-based Sikh publisher, Thaminder Singh Anand, a “tankhaiya” (guilty of religious misconduct) for making distortions in the Gurbani (hymns) and asked the community to boycott him till he appears before the Takht to apologise for his offence.

The Chairman of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), Thomas Abraham said that the group's Connecticut chapter will meet the legislators behind the General Assembly's pro-Khalistan statement and explain the situation. He deplored the statement calling it "terrible". Abraham, who is based in Connecticut, said that a "fringe group got it adopted at the tail-end of the Assembly session without the knowledge of most elected officials". GOPIO's Connecticut chapter "deplores such act by Connecticut legislators who initiated and/or endorsed this legislation and will meet them personally to correct the situation", he said.

The Indian World Forum raised concern over the US State provocation of pro-Khalistani groups. The forum stated that the resolution passed by the US State of Connecticut influences and promotes Khalistan and thereby challenging the sovereignty of India. The Indian World Forum President, Puneet Singh Chandhok condemned the resolution and said, "The Sikhs living in India are the law-abiding citizens who even have any differences or grievances with the government still remain within the system and seek their demands within the judicial system. Unfortunately, Anti-India elements sitting outside the country and working at the behest of different countries and security agencies have been again and again trying to sabotage and disturb the communal harmony in the state of Punjab in particular". "With such resolution being passed by the state of Connecticut in the US, it will be clearly influencing a separatist ideology that Sikhs of India don't advocate. There were certain differences during the 1984 riots, certain resolutions were passed. Sikhs always thrive for a progressive and prosperous India and never strive to disrupt the peace of any country. It's shocking to know that the state of Connecticut's general assembly has passed an official citation and the Mayor has tendered his resignation. Such activities clearly instigate a separatist ideology that we don't advocate. I was brutally attacked on August 25, 2018, by the Khalistan agents working at the behest of ISI Pakistan and by the activists of Sikhs for justice. To date, I have not received justice from the US authorities instead they are more interested in passing such a kind of resolution which indirectly promotes Khalistani ideologies," said Indian World Forum President.

The United States (US) state of Connecticut recognized April 29 as the ‘Anniversary of the declaration of Sikh Independence Day’. The letter reads, “Be it hereby known to all that: The Connecticut General Assembly offers its sincerest congratulations to the World Sikh Parliament in recognition of the 36th anniversary of the declaration of Sikh Independence. We join with you, your friends, and your family in commemorating the historic resolution passed on April 29th, 1986 by the collective Sikh Nation gathering known as ‘Sarbat Khalsa,’ Sikhs Political Centre, situated in the holy city of Amritsar in Punjab.” However, the Connecticut general assembly’s decision has attracted sharp criticism by leaders across party lines in India. The controversial declaration came in the backdrop of violent clashes which broke out between Shiv Sena and pro-Khalistan groups on April 29 in Patiala in Punjab, India.

A video surfaced on YouTube in which a group of pro-Khalistani Sikhs accused the Craigieburn Gurudwara committee members of calling the Police on them. According to the reports, the committee members had called the Police as they felt threatened by the behavior of the pro-Khalistani group that was scheduled to hold a function inside Gurudwara premises. Australian Hindu Media (AHM), the media wing of the Australian Hindu Association, identified a few of the people in the video as Gurbax Singh Bains, Charanjit Singh, Kuldip Singh and Gurvinder Singh Randhawa. A man armed with a sword accused the committee members of committing sacrilege against the Gurus and weapons of Sikhism.

Pro-Khalistani outfit, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) announced its support for Ukraine and urged Khalistanis to raise an army of ‘foreign fighters to defend Ukraine. SFJ released a video message and a letter supporting Ukraine. In the letter, SFJ leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun urged the Ukrainian President to raise a Sikh Regiment as part of the international legion of foreign fighters. Pannun said in the letter that, unlike India, is supporting Russia in the conflict by abstaining from voting at UNSC, Khalistani Sikhs were ready to “defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. He further claimed that this was the right time for Sikhs to “liberate Punjab” by siding with the “anti-India block at international level”.

The Australian Hindu Association (AHA) revealed how four Victorian Gurudwaras had jointly planned a pro-Khalistani and anti-India event that took place on February 20, 2022, in Australia in the memory of Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu. It also revealed that these Gurudwaras regularly organize incendiary pro-Khalistani, anti-India, and anti-Hindu speeches and events to radicalize young Sikhs on the foreign land. On 20th February 2022, a Sikh Gurudwara in Australia showcased an Anti-India/Hindu poster blatantly in between two so-called Khalistan flags. The poster had hate-filled slogans like ‘End Hindu Fascism’ and ‘India kills Sikhs’ printed on it. It also bore the image of the deceased Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu, one of the accused in the 2021 Republic Day riots. The poster was found hanging at the entrance of the Craigieburn Sikh Gurudwara in Australia.

According to sources, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) recorded a symbolic protest in the Indian High Commission Room by hanging posters. A large number of protesters were also gathered in the European Union capital Brussels. However, none of these protests was televised because of a ban by the Indian government.