Khalistan movement

IN NEWS:

• Recently, tensions between India and Canada have surged following statements made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linking Indian government agents to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Haredeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada. The deceased leader had been advocating for the establishment of an independent Sikh homeland known as "Khalistan."
• Also, due to certain incidents associated with the Khalistan movement in Punjab as well as multiple attacks on Indian missions in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, etc. by Khalistani extremist elements, there is rising concern about a revival of the Khalistan movement.

KHALISTAN:  

• The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing a sovereign state, called Khalistan (Land of the Khalsa)
• The proposed state would consist of land that currently forms Punjab region in India and Pakistan.

EVOLUTION OF ISSUE:

Pre independence:

• The Punjab region has been the traditional homeland for the Sikhs. Before its conquest by the British, the region had been ruled by the Sikhs for almost 100 years.
• In the 1940s, when the Lahore Resolution of the Muslim League demanded Punjab be made into a Muslim state, a section of Sikh leaders, led by Akalis, grew concerned. They put forward the idea of Khalistan as a theocratic state covering the greater Punjab region.

Early days of Independence:

• The fight for a separate Sikh state owes its origins to the Punjabi Suba Movement. The Akali Dal – a Sikh-dominated political party – sought to create a separate Sikh Suba or Province.
• Following the 1947 independence of India, the Punjabi Suba movement, led by the Akali Dal, sought the creation of a province for Punjabi people.
• But the States Reorganization Commission rejected the Akali Dal’s demand, fearing that creating a Punjabi-majority state would effectively mean creating another state based on religious grounds.
• But after a series of violent protests, the Indira Gandhi government accepted the demand and the Punjab Reorganisation Act was passed in 1966.
  • The state was trifurcated into Punjabi-majority Punjab, Hindi-majority Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
  • Chandigarh was made a centrally administered Union territory.
  • Some hilly regions of the state were merged into Himachal Pradesh.
• However, several issues created resentment among Sikhs in Punjab:
  • Sharing of the capital of Chandigarh
  • Tripartite agreement on sharing of surplus waters of the Ravi and Beas rivers

1972-1982:

• The 1972 election proved to be blip in the Akali’s political growth. The Congress swept to power, prompting the Shiromani Akali Dal to introspect.
• To regain public appeal, the party put forward the Anandpur Sahib Resolution in 1973. The resolution document included both religious and political demands, like:
  • Creation of an autonomous region for sikhs
  • Recognition of Sikhism as a religion separate from Hinduism
  • Transfer of Chandigarh and certain other areas to Punjab
  • Radical devolution of powers from the Central to state governments
• The document gained attention in the 1980s when it found an admirer in Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale – a religious scholar.
  • If the Akalis were a moderate faction espousing Sikh pride and politics, Bhindranwale represented the extremist view
  • In 1982, the Akali Dal and Bhindranwale joined hands to launch the Dharam Yudh Morcha.
• In 1982, Akalis announced that they would disrupt the 9th annual Asian Games to be held in Delhi. While it had limited success, it helped many Sikhs sympathize with the Akali Morcha.

• Bhindranwale emerged as the extremist voice of Sikhs, over-ruling the moderate voices of leaders declared himself as the protector and arbiter of Sikh rights.
• Widespread murders by followers of Bhindranwale occurred in 1980s' Punjab, particularly against Hindus and Nirankaris. Following the murder of six Hindu bus passengers in October 1983, an emergency rule was imposed in Punjab. The Akali Dal began more agitations.

1984- Operation Blue Star:

• In 1983, Bhindranwale and his followers took up residence inside the Harmandir Sahib complex (aka the Golden Temple) in Amritsar. He converted the holy shrine into an armed fortress from where he ran a virtual parallel government.
• To capture them, Operation Blue Star was carried out by the Indian army.
  • The Army, equipped with tanks and heavy artillery, rolled up to the Temple on 5^th June.
  • But they faced stiff resistance from the militants, who were armed with Chinese-made anti-tank and machine-guns.
  • Operation Bluestar finally ended in the afternoon on 10 June 1984. According to the government, 493 militants and civilians were killed in the attack.
• Clean-up operations, codenamed Operation Woodrose and Operation Black Thunder were initiated in the subsequent years.

WHAT CAUSED KHALISTAN TO RISE:

• Historical factors: The Punjab region has been the traditional homeland for the Sikhs. The acceptance of an Islamic majority Pakistan made a reason for the Sikhs to protest for the demand of Separate Khalistan.
• Partition: The Indo-Pak partition along Punjab region does not adhere to the cultural boundary. Large portions of the area got separated between the two countries. This created dissent amongst the people.
• Mixing of religion and politics: All major parties relied on the religious sentiments of people for their political gains. Efforts like the Anandpur sahib resolution fueled regionalism and communalism.  
• Radical leadership: Leaders like Bhindranwale traveled across Punjab advocating a return to a more orthodox form of Sikhism. His message appealed to the youth, who later became his avid followers.
• Foreign funding: The movement received patronage of not only Sikh diaspora, but also from external actors like organized crime groups who wanted to destabilise India.
• Role of external state actors: To avenge the separation of Bangladesh, Pakistan covertly supported Khalistan movement. Pak’s ISI provided training, arms, ammunition and safe havens for Khalistan.
• Government’s failures: Though it was known that militants were taking shelter in gurdwaras and amassing arms, the INC Government of India chose not to take action, for the fear of hurting Sikh sentiments. Also, intelligence gathered prior to the operation was limited, which increased the casualty rate.
• Failure of green revolution: Bhindranwale’s message appealed to the Jat peasants who had lost out on the gains of the Green Revolution to large landowners.

IMPACT OF THE EVENTS:

• Death of civilians: Operation Bluestar coincided with the annual commemoration of the martyrdom of the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev, which led to a large number of pilgrims flocking to the temple complex. Because of this, many innocent civilians were killed in the cross fire between the Indian Army and the terrorists.
• Assassinations & riots:
  • On 31 October 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards.
  • More than 8,000 Sikhs were killed in the ensuing anti-Sikh riots in 1984.
  • In June 1985, Canadian Sikh extremists blew up an Air India flight (Flight 182) killing all 329 people on board.  
  • On 10 August 1986, former Army Chief General AS Vaidya, who led Operation Bluestar, was assassinated by Sikh militants of the Khalistan Commando Force.
  • On 31 August 1995, a suicide bomber took out Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh inside the Punjab civil secretariat in Chandigarh.
• Rajiv-Longowal Accord: In 1985, the Government attempted to seek a political solution through the accord. It agreed to establish commissions and independent tribunals in order to resolve the Chandigarh issue and the river dispute.
• Human rights violation: Various human rights organisations have strongly criticized the Punjab police for their misuse of power during the 1980s and early 1990s.
• Creation of NSG: The National Security Guard was created as an elite counter-terrorism unit following Operation Blue Star and the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
• Strain in India-Canada relations: Canada has a large expatriate population of Sikhs and has several active pro-Khalistan groups. Hence, Khalistan has been a thorny issue in Indo-Canadian relations.

WHAT CAUSED THE REVIVAL OF KHALISTAN SENTIMENT?

• Social media:
  • The present re-emergence of ideas related to Khalistan is mainly done through social media, especially by some sections of the Sikh diaspora who have pro-Khalistan sentiments in Western countries.
  • Also, various pro-Khalistan organisations like Sikhs for Justice, Khalistan Liberation Force, and Babbar Khalsa International run misinformation campaigns on social media through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
  • For instance, the Referendum 2020 campaign in social media, which attracted enormous attention, was designed to get the opinion of the Sikh diaspora across Europe and North America regarding the establishment of the Republic of Khalistan.
• Identity consciousness:
  • The sudden increase in activity on social media reflects that the interest groups are seeking a platform to unite and target the Sikh population, and it signifies a trend of identity consciousness among the youth residing in the West and Punjab.
  • Through the calculated use of social media as a tool to mobilize the Sikh diaspora and rural Punjabi youth, Khalistani elements are infiltrating young minds with selective information regarding Operation Blue Star and Bhindranwale.
• Pakistan’s role:
  • Intelligence agencies report that Pakistan’s ISI's active role is in reviving the Khalistan movement in Punjab by using drugs as a means to radicalize the Punjabi youth.
  • For instance,although the Kartarpur corridor was exclusively established for pilgrimage purposes, intelligence agencies have reported that ISI is facilitating and promoting the exchange of pro-Khalistan thoughts among pilgrims visiting Pakistan through the Kartarpur Corridor.
  • A report by a social media monitoring lab working with the Punjab Police states that the number of propaganda social media posts has increased since the Kartarpur Corridor's announcement.
• Propaganda during the farmer's protest:
  • Some extremist elements in the diaspora have used the 2020–2021 Indian farmers’ protests as grounds to portray how the Indian state mechanism works against the Sikhs, implying that agriculture and Sikhs are in danger due to the proposed farm bills.

HOW TO TACKLE THE RE-EMERGENCE OF THE KHALISTAN MOVEMENT?

• Collaborate with foreign governments:
  • In order to track the anti-Indian actions carried out by the Khalistani forces and restrict their financing sources, the Indian security and intelligence agencies need to collaborate with other countries.
• Positive relationship with the Sikh diaspora:
  • Indian missions in the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries must diplomatically engage with the Sikh diaspora to tackle the misinformation campaign being peddled by Khalistani organizations.
  • Also, such engagements will facilitate a positive relationship between the Indian state and the Sikh diaspora.
• Improved preparedness:
  • Indian security forces need to step up their preparedness, especially in border areas, to tackle the increase in drones used to deliver weapons and drugs to Punjab.
  • Also, the government should monitor and identify any organizations pumping money into protests and spreading false propaganda.
• Improve socio-economic condition of Punjab:
  • The governments and security forces must collaborate to improve the socio-economic condition of Punjab and again put the state on the path of development, which will curb the spread of extremist ideologies in the state.

CONCLUSION:

• Though the violent Khalistani movement has vanished, the idea of a separate Sikh nation is yet to disappear, so government mechanisms, including security agencies, must keep vigil.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. "The violent Khalistani movement has vanished; however, the idea of a separate Sikh nation is yet to disappear". Discuss the factors that are associated with the revival of Khalistan sentinemts and suggest measures to tackle them.