New Delhi: As Sikh extremists in Canada, the US, the UK and Australia prepare to hold large-scale “Freedom Rallies” Saturday, a complex web of politics lies underneath their growing influence.
Posters about rallies also included death threats against Indian diplomats in various countries — a coordinated effort believed to be organised by Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, the head of a banned group, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), and recently rumoured to have died.
According to Paramjit Singh Pamma, member of SFJ in the UK, “hundreds” of protesters are at expected at the protest outside the Indian mission in London. Pamma has been investigated by the National Investigation Agency in the past.
“Including the pictures of Indian diplomats on the posters was not to attract attention but to call out those we believe murdered of Hardeep Singh Nijjar at his place of worship,” he told ThePrint over phone. He further vowed that no harm would come to the diplomats.
Asked why he disputes reports that Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar died from gang killings, he said: “The Indian government was threatened by Nijjar’s influence and activism. Individuals aligned with the Indian government killed him.”
Interestingly, India summoned the Canadian High Commissioner over the posters but not the US ambassador over an arson attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco by Sikh radicals. (The same consulate had been attacked in March by Sikh extremists.) On its part, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) argued that the US brought the incident under control “very promptly”.
Also, while the UK Foreign Secretary condemned threats against Indian diplomats and the US State Department called the attack in San Francisco “vile” and “unacceptable”, the response from the Canadian government wasn’t well received in New Delhi.
On Thursday, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said India is “wrong” to suggest he’s soft on Sikh extremism — a remark that was met with a sharp response from the MEA. Some observers found Trudeau’s remark equivalent to a “shrug”.
These developments come after the deaths of three Sikh extremists — Avtar Singh Khanda, Nijjar and Paramjit Singh Panjwar, the latter two killed in shootings.
Political leaders in certain countries have condemned the recent posters, like US House Representative Ro Khanna. In March as well, after the Indian mission in London was attacked, UK MP Bob Blackman said the vast majority of Sikhs in the UK have rejected the Khalistani project.
However, such explicit condemnation of Sikh extremism rarely comes from Canadian politicians. So why are they silent on this issue? Further, where does the main Khalistani “threat” emanate from — the UK, Canada, US or Australia?
In short, the Sikh diaspora is a key vote bank for Canadian politicians — something External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar explicitly stated last month when he said at a town hall meeting in Delhi, “Their (Canada’s) responses (on Khalistan issue) have been constrained by what they regard as vote bank compulsions.”
The Sikh diaspora live in key electoral areas known as “swing ridings” such as Toronto, British Columbia and Ontario. The UK’s Surrey, home to a large Sikh population, has also traditionally been a closely fought election.
As for the main “threat”, it seems to emanate from Canada and the UK.
“The UK and Canada are home to the two largest Sikh diasporas in the world who mostly live in key electoral areas like UK’s Southall and Canada’s Surrey or British Columbia. They’re a vote bank for politicians,” Ajai Sahni, Director of Institute of Conflict Studies who also runs Khalistan Extremist Monitor, told ThePrint.
“Sikh extremists in these two countries are well organised and wield influence over the diaspora,” he added.
Also read: 2 Indian diplomats targeted in pro-Khalistan poster in Canada. ‘Will impact ties’, says Jaishankar
Should India consider retaliatory measures?
A consistent request from the Indian government to countries such as Canada, the UK, the US and Australia has been to avoid “giving space” to Sikh extremists and arrest those responsible for attacks on missions or religious spaces like temples.
Experts were divided when asked what India should do if certain countries continue to give space to such extremists and refuse to take sufficient action against them.
Take former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who is in favour of retaliatory measures on countries such as Canada which continue to “pander” to Sikh radicals.
“How long will India bang its fists on the table? How many times will we summon a Canadian High Commissioner? Sooner or later, we will have to consider retaliatory measures either in trade or reducing security at diplomatic missions in Delhi,” Singh told ThePrint.
In March, after Sikh extremists attacked the Indian mission in London, India notably removed security barriers outside the UK High Commission in Delhi in what was viewed as a tit for tat.
However, some fear retaliatory measures could backfire on the rest of the diaspora.
Speaking to ThePrint, G.B.S. Sidhu, former special secretary at R&AW, said: “Retaliatory measures, be it travel or trade, could end up hurting moderates in the Sikh diaspora.”
Who is soft-bending on Sikh extremism?
Canada, the UK, the US and Australia have large Sikh diasporas. They comprise about 2.1 per cent or 8 lakh of the Canadian population, 0.88 per cent or 5 lakh in the UK, 0.2 per cent or a little under 5 lakh people in the US and 0.8 per cent or 2.1 lakh in Australia, according the latest census in these countries.
However, the political influence of Sikh extremists in these countries varies.
In Canada, there are 18 Sikh (or Punjab-origin) members of parliament — five more than in the Indian parliament. Out of these, 13 are Liberals, four Conservatives and one from the National Democratic Party. Many support the Khalistan cause.
Take Jagmeet Singh who, in October 2017, refused to condemn posters glorifying Sikh militants as “martyrs” and questioned whether Sikh extremists were responsible for the 1985 Air India flight bombing that killed over 300 people.
“I don’t know who is responsible [for the 1985 Air India flight bombing]. I think we need to find out who is truly responsible,” Singh told CBC News.
Talwinder Singh Parmar, founder of banned terror outfit Babbar Khalsa and suspected mastermind of the flight bombing, fled Canada in 1988 to avoid arrest and was shot by police in India in 1992.
Four years later, Singh backpedaled his words. “The inquiry identified specifically Talwinder Singh Parmar, and I accept the findings of the investigation…displaying a picture of Mr Parmar is something that re-traumatises, hurts and injures people that are suffering so much in terms of that loss in their lives,” he told CBC.
Some Canadian politicians, like Lt Col. Harjit Sajjan, have been accused of dirty electioneering and having close links to the World Sikh Organisation, which has long advocated for a Khalistan state.
In 2014, Sikhs Liberals in Vancouver South threatened to quit the party after Trudeau picked Sajjan as a candidate. Sajjan’s rival, businessman Barjinder Singh Dhahan, backed out of the race last-minute with no explanation, triggering the resignation of the chairman of Vancouver South’s election readiness committee.
The situation “raised questions about leader Justin Trudeau’s vow to hold open contests to run in the 2015 election,” stated a report by Vancouver Sun.
Local politicians like Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown have also participated in parades glorifying Bhindranwale, Parmar and other militants as “shaheeds” or martyrs.
Meanwhile, the situation is slightly different in the UK, according to former UK High Commissioner Ruchi Ghanashyam. (The UK Parliament has five MPs of Punjab origin).
“In Canada, politics appears to be much more mixed up with the Khalistan issue. It is less in the UK,” she told ThePrint.
“There is a large section of the Sikhs in the UK that don’t want a separate Khalistan state. They may not speak out due to fear for their safety, but most are worried about radicalisation affecting their children and younger generations,” she added.
That said, there are few politicians who have championed the Khalistan cause like MP Preet Gill.
In February, The Guardian reported that the UK Home Office was handed evidence of Gill’s “links to hardline Sikh nationalists”. This allegedly included photos of Gill posing with Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, in a gurdwara next to a gallery of pictures of militants like Labh Singh who is accused of committing a bank robbery in India to fund the Khalistan Commando Force.
Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi was also accused of “nurturing Khalistani sentiments” when he criticised Punjab police’s manhunt for Sikh radical leader, Amritpal Singh earlier this year.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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