Khalistan remains a saleable idea for Sikhs overseas, many of whom also use it for political gain, writes Vishal Rambani
Even though most people in Punjab have rejected the
idea of a sovereign Khalistan – it has never been an election issue – there are radical pockets in Canada, Europe and the US that continue to battle for “the cause”. In all three countries the pro-Khalistan movement remains alive through rallies and conventions, and the Internet has copious material on the controversial subject.
Indeed there has been no year since the movement was crushed when hardliners have not raised funds to revive it. Millions of dollars have poured in down the years, and this year, which marks the 25th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, this camp is all the more active.
One can expect more dollars falling into the Khalistani kitty as also pro-Khalistan marches, conventions and conferences. A grand Khalistani convention was recently held in the UK to celebrate the silver jubilee of the separatist notion that was born in Punjab in 1986. For years it exerted a fanatical pull on even a large number of previously moderate Sikh youth, who till then had been happy to coexist within a constitutional framework.
The UK convention was organised in style. The Sikh diaspora was connected via smart telephone link-ups; there was robust reaffirmation of the idea; and members demanded speedy resolution of the “Indo-Sikh conflict”. Going by the members’ rhetoric, there was very much a Khalistan in exile – its jurisdiction being the “true” Sikh heart.
What was especially disquieting about the convention was that it found a rapt audience in even Naga, Kashmiri and Assamese leaders. They were all for a separate state for themselves and the pro-Khalistan proponents. Similar conferences have been reported from Calgary, London and parts of Canada and the US.
Of course there are mercenaries in it as well; while others use the Khalistan bait to get votes. For as Sikhs form large communities in both the UK and Canada, few politicians wish to antagonise them over an issue that does not directly impact on the natives. “This has turned the idea into an excellent tool to make money and attain political power,” says a Punjab Intelligence official, adding that the government was keeping tabs on the movements of pro-Khalistan leaders in foreign countries. But he didn’t seem in the least alarmed, seeing almost no possibility of a resurgence of the movement that had been widely rejected in the state of its origin.
Those who have kept a track of it overseas say each year during the Baisakhi festival pro-Khalistan slogans resound in Pakistan. They report seeing pro-Khalistan literature being exchanged between the radicals and visiting jathas of Sikh pilgrims. Pro-Khalistan hardliners like Wadhwa Singh Babbar and Paramjit Singh Panjwar – both in the list of 20 most wanted criminals of India – are currently based in Pakistan.
In the past two years many pro-Khalistan militants who were trying to cross the border to reignite insurgency in Punjab were arrested. Arrests were made even by the Punjab Police, which found some of the men dealing in drug money for luring youngsters into the pro-Khalistan fold.
In India, fortunately, the pro-Khalistan movement is as good as dead, with the ballot convincingly triumphing over the bullet. Contestants like Atinderpal Singh, Wassan Singh Jaffarwal and Simranjit Singh Mann, who took the hard line, were routed. Yet that hasn’t prevented some Khalistan dreamers from retaining their constituency, however slight; one, moreover, that still has the power to sway gullible and impressionable youngsters. “Who says our freedom struggle is over? The idea is very much alive. Only, now we are trying to achieve a Sikh homeland through peaceful means because the people have rejected the armed movement,” insists Dal Khalsa general secretary Kanwarpal Singh Bittu. He and 53 others were accused of sedition after they unfurled the Khalistan flag 2005.
Pro-Khalistan material (printed and on the Internet) has proliferated hugely over the past few years. Booklets containing separatist literature are displayed even in kiosks – all with the same message: the dream of Khalistan will not die. Only the means to turn it into a reality have changed.
But the pain associated with Operation Blue Star simply refuses to go away. Organisations like Dal Khalsa and Damdami Taksal are deeply upset with the SGPC for failing to erect a memorial for those who perished inside the shrine complex during the intensive operation.
"While the SGPC has passed a resolution to that effect, it has not cared to implement it. This is because it has bowed to pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party, an alliance partner of the Akali Dal in Punjab. Having a memorial outside the complex, which is controlled by the SGPC, cannot do justice to the martyrs," says Kanwarpal.
There are now also plans to prepare a comprehensive directory containing the names of all those who were killed inside the shrine. They included many innocent civilians who were stranded inside it when the army moved in. Every year, the first week of June is observed as ghallughara (genocide) week. Although terrorism in Punjab was crushed years ago, radical organisations have never failed to observe the anniversary of the operation that the Golden Temple's misuse by the militants provoked.
Even though most people in Punjab have rejected the
idea of a sovereign Khalistan – it has never been an election issue – there are radical pockets in Canada, Europe and the US that continue to battle for “the cause”. In all three countries the pro-Khalistan movement remains alive through rallies and conventions, and the Internet has copious material on the controversial subject.Indeed there has been no year since the movement was crushed when hardliners have not raised funds to revive it. Millions of dollars have poured in down the years, and this year, which marks the 25th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, this camp is all the more active.
One can expect more dollars falling into the Khalistani kitty as also pro-Khalistan marches, conventions and conferences. A grand Khalistani convention was recently held in the UK to celebrate the silver jubilee of the separatist notion that was born in Punjab in 1986. For years it exerted a fanatical pull on even a large number of previously moderate Sikh youth, who till then had been happy to coexist within a constitutional framework.
The UK convention was organised in style. The Sikh diaspora was connected via smart telephone link-ups; there was robust reaffirmation of the idea; and members demanded speedy resolution of the “Indo-Sikh conflict”. Going by the members’ rhetoric, there was very much a Khalistan in exile – its jurisdiction being the “true” Sikh heart.
What was especially disquieting about the convention was that it found a rapt audience in even Naga, Kashmiri and Assamese leaders. They were all for a separate state for themselves and the pro-Khalistan proponents. Similar conferences have been reported from Calgary, London and parts of Canada and the US.
Of course there are mercenaries in it as well; while others use the Khalistan bait to get votes. For as Sikhs form large communities in both the UK and Canada, few politicians wish to antagonise them over an issue that does not directly impact on the natives. “This has turned the idea into an excellent tool to make money and attain political power,” says a Punjab Intelligence official, adding that the government was keeping tabs on the movements of pro-Khalistan leaders in foreign countries. But he didn’t seem in the least alarmed, seeing almost no possibility of a resurgence of the movement that had been widely rejected in the state of its origin.
Those who have kept a track of it overseas say each year during the Baisakhi festival pro-Khalistan slogans resound in Pakistan. They report seeing pro-Khalistan literature being exchanged between the radicals and visiting jathas of Sikh pilgrims. Pro-Khalistan hardliners like Wadhwa Singh Babbar and Paramjit Singh Panjwar – both in the list of 20 most wanted criminals of India – are currently based in Pakistan.
In the past two years many pro-Khalistan militants who were trying to cross the border to reignite insurgency in Punjab were arrested. Arrests were made even by the Punjab Police, which found some of the men dealing in drug money for luring youngsters into the pro-Khalistan fold.
In India, fortunately, the pro-Khalistan movement is as good as dead, with the ballot convincingly triumphing over the bullet. Contestants like Atinderpal Singh, Wassan Singh Jaffarwal and Simranjit Singh Mann, who took the hard line, were routed. Yet that hasn’t prevented some Khalistan dreamers from retaining their constituency, however slight; one, moreover, that still has the power to sway gullible and impressionable youngsters. “Who says our freedom struggle is over? The idea is very much alive. Only, now we are trying to achieve a Sikh homeland through peaceful means because the people have rejected the armed movement,” insists Dal Khalsa general secretary Kanwarpal Singh Bittu. He and 53 others were accused of sedition after they unfurled the Khalistan flag 2005.
Pro-Khalistan material (printed and on the Internet) has proliferated hugely over the past few years. Booklets containing separatist literature are displayed even in kiosks – all with the same message: the dream of Khalistan will not die. Only the means to turn it into a reality have changed.
But the pain associated with Operation Blue Star simply refuses to go away. Organisations like Dal Khalsa and Damdami Taksal are deeply upset with the SGPC for failing to erect a memorial for those who perished inside the shrine complex during the intensive operation.
"While the SGPC has passed a resolution to that effect, it has not cared to implement it. This is because it has bowed to pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party, an alliance partner of the Akali Dal in Punjab. Having a memorial outside the complex, which is controlled by the SGPC, cannot do justice to the martyrs," says Kanwarpal.
There are now also plans to prepare a comprehensive directory containing the names of all those who were killed inside the shrine. They included many innocent civilians who were stranded inside it when the army moved in. Every year, the first week of June is observed as ghallughara (genocide) week. Although terrorism in Punjab was crushed years ago, radical organisations have never failed to observe the anniversary of the operation that the Golden Temple's misuse by the militants provoked.
