India
Khalistan Movement – India’s Unity Under Threat (A Brewing Civil War)
A force capable of breaking India into a civil war and driving a second
partition is simmering in Punjab. After losing popularity in one of the
most brutal times in Indian history, the Khalistan movement is rising once
again. With a new face but the same old demands, a separate Sikh nation.
Under Amritpal Singh Sandhu, the self-styled Chief of Khalistanis, the
movement is un-stabilizing the political landscape. And with a comparatively
weak government head of state, the future seems more brim.
But what is the Khalistan movement? Who is Amritpal Singh Sandhu? Why
should the central government be worried about the uprising? And what does it
mean for Punjab and India?
Here’s a detailed explainer:
Understanding the Khalistan
Movement
The Khalistan movement is a separatist movement that aims to establish a sovereign state for the Sikhs named Khalistan. This nation should include Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and a few districts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The movement first emerged ten years into independent India in 1960. Jagjit
Singh Chohan, the former Finance Minister of Punjab, demanded a separate Khalistan, which gave rise to the movement in the 1970s and reached its peak in the 1980s under Indira Gandhi’s government.
While Jagjit Singh created a Sikh extremist government in Pakistan and
collected millions of dollars from the US to form Khalistan; in India, the
reins of the movement were in Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale‘s hands.
Financed by Jagjit and supported by Pak ISI, Bhindranwale’s popularity
skyrocketed in Punjab. Under his leadership, the Khalistan movement grew, with
thousands of extremist Sikhs joining. He urged his followers to restore the Khalsa
(Orthodox Sikh religion) in Sikh society. His protests targeted Hindus and the ‘modernized
Sikhs.’
“He (Bhindranwale) used offensive language against Hindus. He exhorted every Sikh to kill 32 Hindus to solve the Hindu-Sikh problem”
These were very violent times in Punjab, but all this was coming to an end with Operation Blue Star in 1984. While in a hideout in the Golden Temple, Bhindranwale’s followers continued bombing across Punjab. However, in operation, the Khalistan
the leader was assassinated and took control of the temple.
According to official statements, about 500 militants and civilians died in
the attack, but independent organizations estimate over 3000 deaths. Four months
later, on 31st October 1984, Prime Minister Indra Gandhi was
murdered by her two Sikh bodyguards, which gave rise to anti-Sikh riots. This resulted in the deaths of 8000 Sikhs.
Resurfacing Khalistan Movement
The anti-Sikh riot rooted a hatred amongst Sikhs for the Indian government
and made Bhindranwale a freedom fighter. Post the attack, numerous incidents, including the attack on an Air India Plan that left over 300 dead, followed.
While the Indian government stabilized the situation in the country’s popular
Kahlistani militants started operating from the US, UK, and Canada. The group
even used the latest farmer’s protest to increase militancy in Punjab.
So Bhindranwale died, but the Khalistan movement survived, and now they have a new leader – Amritpal Singh Sandhu.
Who is Amritpal & How He Became the Leader of the Khalistan Movement?
Born in 1933, Amritpal Singh Sandhu was a normal man living in Dubai. But the
name, unfamiliar just a few months back, has now become a popular leader in
Punjab.
Named Bhindranwale 2.0, Deep Sidhu became a controversial figure during the
2020 farmer’s protest after starting the ‘Waris Punjab De’, a social
organization. After his death, Amritpal took the leading position in the
organization.
Before joining the organization two years back, Sandhu didn’t even wear a
turban. But soon after joining, he underwent a remarkable transformation,
rising to a position of influence and power in the Kahlistani movement.
Amritpal took his anointment in the native village of Bhindranwale, who
serves as Sandhu’s inspiration. Since September 2022, he started dressing like
his inspiration and even began carrying a steel arrow, precisely like
Bhindranwale has done in the past.
Amirtpal claims his agenda is to bring in the religious and social transformation
to Punjab. But his group has also attacked and vandalized Gurudwaras (Sikh
temples). Similar to Bhindranwale, Sandhu delivers ferocious speeches in an
effort to pique the interest of Punjab’s youth.
He urges them to give up narcotics and get involved in the effort to
resurrect the “panth” and rid it of its “slavery” mentality. He openly criticises other religions and supports “sampuran raj” in place of “Waziri,” or slavery, in a manner
reminiscent of Bhindranwale.
For his controversial remarks, most recently directed at Union Home Minister
Amit Shah, he said, “his fate will be similar to that of former prime minister
Indira Gandhi.“
All this soon bubbled up to the Anjala police station attack.
The Anjala Police Station Attack
“If the fire lodged against me isn’t scrapped within one hour, the administration
of Punjab should be held responsible for the consequences”
Amritpal Sandhu
Six months back, the Punjab police arrested Lavpreet Singh, a leading member
of the Waris Punjab De organization. Protesting against the arrest and the FIR on Amripal, the supporter of Sandhu surrounded the police station in massive numbers on 23rd February.
To impede the aggressive demonstrators – armed with swords – police
barricaded the area with additional forces brought in from five districts. In
now-viral videos of the violent protests, a huge number of Khalistanis were
seen breaking barricades and attacking the police with swords.
Some reports claim that the mob even took control of the police as the
forces were left overwhelmed by the crowd.
Where is India Going Wrong?
Much like during the Bhindranwale uprising, there’s a pungent political
complicity and opportunism in Punjab. In 1980, the ruling Congress Party and Akali Dal supported the movement in its early stages. That’s why Bhindranwale was not arrested based on myopic political reasoning, which led to violent protests and thousands, including Indra Gandhi’s dead.
History is repeating itself again.
The current AAP government won the state election with the support of
Kahlistani sympathizers. Unfortunately, despite seeing the spiking unrest
caused by the movement, the government is reluctant to intervene firmly, as
seen in the Anjala police station attack.
An annual police meeting held of January 2023 claimed that after 2015, the
attempt to revive militancy in Punjab in on the rise. Just like in 1980s and
90s, the Khalistanis are re-engaging with local criminals group to promote
their agenda.
Numerous reporters are proving that the current Khalistan uprising is fueled
by foreign and local actors. Targeting mostly youth, vulnerable Sikh into their
devious plans the organization is actively running misinformation campaigns on
social media against Indian establishments to dispel any disconnect between the
larger Sikh diaspora and the Indian government.
The Threat to India’s Unity
Instances of politics powered by religion are not uncommon in India. And
while some issues must be addressed within the bounds of the law and democratic
politics, but accepting it and legitimizing Hindu majority politics, as
represented by the demand for Hindu Rashtra is a whole other story.
The most obvious risk of religious politics, as seen in the Khalistan
movement, can also provoke other religious extremist communities to protest.
Once, Amritpal questioned why no legal action was taken against communities
calling for a Hindu Rashtra.
India’s civilizational unity is based on the diversity of different
religions and ethnicities. That’s why attempts to forcefully homogenize are
extremely dangerous for the nation.
Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Meghalaya are Christian-majority
states. Jammu & Kashmir is a Muslim-majority state. Similarly, Punjab is a
Sikh-majority state.
Figures like Amritpal try to ignite religious nationalism by infusing
competitive religious supremacism amongst the extremists. Sikhs have long lived
happily with different religions in India, but now harmony is under threat. And
nobody – the government, Punjab, and India – want to relive even a section of
the nightmare of the 1980s.