With Canada being seen as going ‘soft’ on Khalistani extremists amid strained relations with India, the pro-Khalistan radicals in India’s Punjab and outside could get spurred on, even as the movement finds little support in Punjab, yet the demand keeps resurfacing by minuscule sections of Sikh diaspora abroad.
Observers of the State’s politics and law and order situation fear that if Canada allows anti-India activities by radical pro-Khalistan elements in the name of freedom of expression, then it is but natural for these extremists to get emboldened, which is dangerous for Punjab that shares an International border with a hostile nation — Pakistan.
Punjab went through a traumatic phase of militancy between the mid-1980s and early-1990s over the demand for Khalistan, a proposed ethno-religious sovereign land for the Sikhs, which saw the killing of tens of thousands of people.
While the Khalistan movement may have lost popular support in Punjab, security experts have been pointing out for a long time that there are people abroad and elsewhere in India who have an interest in keeping the embers of the long-dead movement alive. Over the past two years, there has been a rise in the spate of Khalistan-linked incidents in Punjab and neighbouring Himachal Pradesh. The grand rise of Amritpal Singh, the pro-Khalistan preacher, who was eventually arrested on charges under the National Security Act (NSA), had only created ripples across the State and beyond.
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Soon after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that there were credible allegations linking Indian government agents to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the pro-Khalistan leader in Canada, the Punjab-based radical outfits — Dal Khasla and Sikh Youth of Punjab — were quick to hit out at the government of India. Asserting that the “Khalistan movement was alive even today in India”, they appreciated the Canadian Prime Minister and sought a reply from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the accusation.
Simranjit Singh Mann, a known hardliner Sikh leader and representative of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) from Punjab’s Sangrur parliamentary constituency, also took the opportunity to make his point. His party in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stated: “What Simranjit Singh Mann feared and raised in Indian Parliament has finally been confirmed today by Canadian PM Justin Trudeau in Parliament that Canadian intelligence believes that the Indian state was involved in the extrajudicial assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar…” Mr. Mann’s electoral victory in the year 2022 was already been seen by many as a message that the radicals were getting stronger in Punjab.
“India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has given several requests to Canada for the extradition and deportation of terrorist operatives and pro-Khalistan elements, who are wanted for their alleged involvement in cases of terrorism and other related offences, but these requests have been pending with the Canadian authorities for years. Does it not show the Canadian government is trying to side with pro-Khalistan elements or other such elements? It could be for vote bank politics or any other reason, but eventually, it gives a clear impression of the safe retreat available in Canada for notorious elements. It’s surely a dangerous trend,” said Shashi Kant, former Director-General of Police (DGP), Punjab.
“Khalistan has lost popular support in Punjab, but yet it has some pockets of support among a few sections of the Sikh diaspora in countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States of America. These people have money power and no doubt which can be used against India to ferment trouble through their ‘sleeper cells’ in Punjab and possibly other parts of the country. Also, drugs, money, weapons, and explosives are being pushed from across the Indo-Pak border from Pakistan into Indian territory over drones, there must be some recipients of all these. The concern against this backdrop can’t be ignored and brushed aside,” he added.
Surinder Singh an assistant professor of Political Science at Panjab University’s Rural Centre at Kauni in Muktsar Sahib district, said that given the substantial number of people from Punjab settled in Canada it is difficult to separate both, and hence a cautious approach to deal with both India and Canada’s interest is needed.
