After Canada stated it was investigating into “credible allegations potentially linking” the Indian state to the death of a separatist leader in British Columbia, diplomatic tensions over calls for a separate homeland for Sikhs in India have risen.
India has refuted the claims and called them “absurd.”
Here is a quick overview of the background and current situation for anyone who is unfamiliar with this protracted controversy:
Where do Sikhs reside and who are they?
One of the great faiths in the world, Sikhism was established in the 16th century in the Punjab region of what is now Pakistan and India; the territory was split between the two nations in 1947 with the end of British administration.
The fifth-largest religious group in the world is the Sikhs, who number about 25 million.
The vast majority of them are found in India, where they account for 2% of the 1.4 billion citizens. But there are also sizable diaspora populations.
With 780,000 Sikhs living in Canada, the country has the highest Sikh population outside of India (more than 2% of the total population), followed by the US and UK with 500,000 and Australia with 200,000.
Why are some Sikhs advocating for their own country?
The Khalistan movement demands that Sikhs have their own nation in India.
When there were numerous violent attacks and fatalities in the Punjab state of India in the 1980s, the movement was at its height.
After the Indian military conducted special operations against the movement, it lost momentum.
According to Prof. Shruti Kapila of the University of Cambridge, modern Punjabi politics have moved away from the movement and aspirations for independence are not supported by the majority.
However, many who seek a separate state among the Sikh diaspora have persisted in doing so, with demands for independence becoming louder in recent years.
Why does the Indian government find Khalistan to be so sensitive?
The Khalistan movement has faced fierce opposition from India. In Punjab, all major political parties have condemned violence and secession.
The invasion of the Golden Temple and Indira Gandhi’s assassination, two of the most contentious events in contemporary Indian history, were brought on by the long-standing tensions.
In order to remove a preacher and dissident who had taken up residence in the compound of the temple in the city of Amritsar, the Indian military invaded the holiest Sikh site in June 1984.
Indira Gandhi, the Indian prime minister at the time, had authorized the attack, which left a number of people dead and the Golden Temple significantly damaged.
Gandhi was murdered by two of her Sikh bodyguards a few months after the operation, which sparked four days of riots and intergroup fighting.
Numerous thousands of people died, the majority of whom were Sikhs. There are between 3,000 and 17,000 dead, according to estimates.
India has a strict policy regarding Khalistan because of the still-visible wounds left by the 1980s’ bloodshed.
In the interest of bilateral diplomatic relations, the Indian government can afford to ignore the Khalistan issue as all political parties there are unified in opposing Sikh independence.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar: who was he?
On June 18, a 45-year-old Canadian man named Hardeep Singh Nijjar was fatally shot outside a Sikh temple.
He migrated to Canada in 1997 after leaving his birthplace of Bharsinghpur village in Jalandhar, Punjab.
He began his career as a plumber before rising to prominence as a Sikh leader in British Columbia, a province in western Canada.
For his claimed ties to the Khalistan Tiger Force, a group fighting for an independent Khalistan in India’s Punjab area, India branded him a terrorist in 2020.
His backers dismissed these charges as “unfounded” and claimed that he had previously received threats due to his activity.
According to reports in the Indian media, around the time of his passing, he was planning an unofficial Indian referendum for an independent Sikh state.
Mr. Nijjar is the third well-known Sikh leader to pass away suddenly in recent months.
How does India exert pressure on Sikhs living abroad?
The backdrop to the diplomatic difficulties is the mounting pressure India has applied to the governments of Canada, Australia, and the UK, three nations with sizable Sikh populations.
The government of India has stated outright that a failure to combat what it refers to as “Sikh extremism” would be a barrier to good ties.
The damage of Hindu temples by pro-Khalistan campaigners would be investigated, according to Australian officials, but they would not prevent Australian Sikhs from advocating for an independent country.
Delhi has publicly criticized Canada for what it perceives to be a lack of action against the pro-Khalistan movement there. While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged to put an end to the violence, he has also resisted “foreign interference”.
In the UK, a dispute began in March following demonstrations outside the Indian High Commission in London, where people waved yellow “Khalistan” banners and a man tore down the Indian flag from the building’s first-floor balcony.
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