Sikh Separatist Activism Impacts India’s Relations With the West

A massive crackdown against supporters of Khalistan, an independent homeland for Sikhs, that was launched in March in the Indian state of Punjab has caused ripples abroad. It prompted hundreds of Khalistan supporters among the Sikh diaspora to protest outside Indian diplomatic missions in the U.K., U.S., Australia, and Canada.

On March 19, a mob carrying Khalistan flags and shouting pro-Khalistan slogans attempted to storm the Indian High Commission in London. They hurled smoke flares and water bottles at the building and brought down the Indian flag. Similar anti-India protests involving vandalism followed outside the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and consulates in San Francisco, Vancouver, and Brisbane. 

The protests have again brought to the forefront the Khalistan issue, which has troubled India’s ties with several Western countries that not only host Khalistan supporters but have been reluctant to take strong action against them. 

It was the nationwide manhunt for Amritpal Singh, leader of the pro-Khalistan Waris Punjab De (Heirs of Punjab), that triggered the recent protests outside Indian missions abroad. That manhunt was prompted by Singh’s sword- and gun-wielding supporters storming a police station at Ajnala in Punjab on February 23 to press for the release of a jailed aide.

The Punjab government buckled under pressure from the mob and freed the aide, giving the Khalistanis a major victory. The incident propelled Singh and Waris Punjab De into the media spotlight, triggering debates over the possible revival of the Khalistan militancy in Punjab.

After working as a truck driver in Dubai for a decade, Singh returned to Punjab in September 2022 to take over the leadership of Waris Punjab De. Until he went underground in mid-March, Singh traveled across rural Punjab brandishing guns at public rallies and urging youth to join him in the quest for a Sikh homeland. 

He was finally arrested on April 23, over a month after the search began.

In the course of the hunt for Singh, police arrested hundreds of Waris Punjab De supporters and confiscated weapons caches. It has raised apprehensions of a revival of terrorism in Punjab.

Punjab, which borders Pakistan, was convulsed in bloody violence in the 1980s and 1990s, when an armed insurgency with the goal of creating an independent Khalistan rocked not just the border state but the rest of India as well. 

In June 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sent the Indian Army into the Golden Temple, Sikhism’s holiest shrine, to flush out Khalistan militants led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who had fortified themselves there.

“Operation Bluestar” resulted in Bhindranwale’s death but also set off a chain of events including Gandhi’s assassination, anti-Sikh riots, and another decade of terrorism and counterterrorism operations in Punjab.

While terrorism in Punjab was eliminated in the mid-1990s, support for Khalistan has lingered abroad, especially in the U.K. and Canada, where a sizable Sikh diaspora lives, as well as in the U.S. and Australia. 

Khalistan propaganda targets human rights violations by the Indian state, which has led to Western governments turning a blind eye to their activities. This and the support of Pakistani intelligence agencies have kept the Khalistan movement alive abroad. 

Successive Indian governments have called on their Western counterparts to take action against Khalistanis living there and deport those wanted in India for terrorist crimes. In recent years, New Delhi has objected to other countries allowing Sikhs for Justice, a pro-Khalistan group that is banned in India, to hold referendums on the creation of Khalistan.

While some governments “did ban a few outfits declared terrorist in India, robust action on fundraising and public advocacy for an independent Khalistan is missing,” a former Indian diplomat told The Diplomat. 

Canada has been of particular concern in this regard. “Pro-Khalistan propaganda and rallies are permitted in the name of freedom of expression,” the former diplomat said. Not only are “known Khalistanis part of governments at the national, provincial, and local levels but also Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet includes Khalistan supporters.” 

Trudeau has participated in Khalsa Day parades organized by radical gurudwaras (Sikh shrines) in Canada, where floats of Bhindranwale and other Khalistan terrorists are on display. Jaspal Atwal, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Canadian court in 1987 for the attempted assassination of a Punjab minister, Malkiat Singh Sidhu, in Vancouver the previous year, was an invitee to events hosted by the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi during Trudeau’s visit to India in 2018. 

The Khalistan issue has been an irritant in India’s relations with Western countries, especially Canada. Trudeau’s India visit was a diplomatic disaster; the Canadian prime minister was snubbed by the Indian leadership.

When Canada went ahead with the Khalistan “referendums” last year, India hit back with travel advisories warning its nationals of “hate crimes, sectarian violence and anti-India activities” in Canada. Ottawa responded with its own advisory calling its nationals to avoid the Indian border states of Gujarat and Punjab due to the threat of landmines.

Indian and Canadian officials admit that the Khalistan issue is a major obstacle in the way of the two countries realizing the full potential of bilateral cooperation. Trade is almost insignificant, a symptom of an “underperforming economic relationship,” as the Canadian high commissioner in New Delhi told an Indian business daily last year. Negotiations toward a free trade agreement have moved at a snail’s pace.

Will the recent vandalization of Indian missions abroad set off problems in India’s relations with host countries? It’s possible.

The incidents evoked a strong response from India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). 

Following the vandalism in London, the United Kingdom’s Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi Christina Scott was summoned to the MEA, where officials conveyed India’s “strong protest” over the actions by “separatist and extremist elements.” MEA officials demanded an explanation for the “complete absence of British security that allowed these elements to enter the High Commission premises” and conveyed that the U.K.’s “indifference” to India’s concerns over the lack of security at its diplomatic premises and for its personnel is “unacceptable.” 

New Delhi followed that up by reducing security outside the British High Commission and the envoy’s residence in New Delhi. 

While Britain did subsequently condemn the attack by Khalistan supporters on the Indian High Commission building, improve security around it, and arrest the person who brought down the Indian flag – he is said to have links with the banned Khalistan Liberation Force – New Delhi seems far from satisfied. 

There are apprehensions in the U.K. that the spat could impact ongoing talks toward the conclusion of a free trade agreement between the two countries.

According to a report in The Times, India has “disengaged” from trade talks on the FTA. It cited a U.K. government official as saying that they [India] don’t want to speak about trade, they don’t want to do trade negotiations because they think it’s part of a wider problem of us not taking the attack against the Indian high commission and the wider Sikh separatist movement seriously.” Apparently, India will not resume FTA talks until the U.K. “issues a public condemnation of the Sikh separatist movement.”

Although both India and the U.K. governments have rejected reports of the stalled talks, India’s pique with London over the Khalistan issue is running high and unlikely to be appeased easily.

The coming weeks and months could see activism of Khalistan supporters in the diaspora gather momentum, especially if the crackdown in India continues following Singh’s arrest. It could lead to protests by Khalistan supporters, perhaps even violence abroad. The possibility of clashes between Sikh and Hindu extremists cannot be ruled out.

How Western governments respond to such incidents will be closely watched in New Delhi.