GLOBAL RESURGENCE OF 'KHALISTAN' MOVEMENT-INDIA IN TROUBLE

The idea of "Khalistan"(Land of Pure) movement  took birth during the partition of subcontinent in the 1940's as a separate homeland for Muslims(Pakistan) and Hindus(India) where the Sikhs felt left out and proposed a separate state of Khalistan. However, the majority Hindu population countered every such demand by the Sikhs and successfully annexed their homeland of Punjab with India. Indians suppressed the "Khalistan" movement for two decades after partition/freedom from the British Raj which gave momentum to the Sikh's demands of a separate homeland. In the 1971 the "Khalistan" movement took a sharp uprising under Jagjit Singh Chuhaun who raised international awareness among the global Sikh Diaspora and collected millions of US dollars contribution by the Sikh dissidents around the globe by publishing an add in The New York Times from New York, USA. Jagjit Singh announced the de-facto creation of Khalistan under his leadership and printed his own currency.  Within a decade, under Jagjit Singh, the "Khalistan" movement took full swing and Indian Punjab by early 1980s resembled a separate Sikh country with its own militant faction which was not acceptable to Ms Indira Ghandi, then Prime Minister of India under any circumstances.  

                                           

The picture above shows the aftermath of the ‘operation Blue Star’ in Indian state of Punjab in 1984 on orders of Indra Ghandhi which was commanded by the General Kuldeep Singh Brar. They entered the Harimandir Sahib, the golden temple, to destroy it and overpower the whole sikh militants. At that time Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale was the religious leader of the sikhs. He was fighting for the rights of the Sikhism. Indian Army reached the Golden Temple, Amritsar to destroy it and ruin the sikh history in order by Government. In 1984 Sikh genocide thousand of sikhs were massacred. Indian Army totally destroyed the Darbar Sahib.

The nefarious Operation blue Star by the Indian Army saw a rise in Sikh militancy and discontent with the Indian state by the majority of Sikhs. The result was the killing of Ms Indra Ghandi by her favourite Sikh bodyguard whom she trusted for over a decade long service. 

Pakistan started supporting the "Khalistan" movement after 1971 war with India. India broke Pakistan into two countries by helping create Bangladesh which was reason enough for the Pakistanis to return the favour.  Besides this, Pakistan has close links with the global Sikh diaspora for it hosts them over the most revered Sikh religious sites located at Pakistan. Pakistan helped the Sikhs in creation of an underground resistance within India propagating the Khalistan movement. Pakistani nationals also provided financial support to the Sikh independence movement and strengthened its core within India.     

       

At the end of Zia Era through a plane crash, democratic government returned to Pakistan. In the most controversial decision the latter slain prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto sold out the Khalistan movement to another slain prime minister of India Rajiv Ghandi , in a bid to turn the decades long rivalry between the two countries into friendship. However, it was never meant to be.The Indians used the sensitive information provided by the Pakistani Government to wipe out the underground Khalistan movement within India ruthlessly. In return none of the expectations of Benazir Bhutto were met in the realm of lasting Indo- Pakistan peace. Some say it was the promise of forces withdrawal from Siachin glacier, the highest battlefield of the world by Rajiv Ghandi, that made Benazir Bhutto gave up the secrets of Khalistan movement to him. Whatsoever the case and whatever transpired in the closed door one on one meeting between both the leaders, Rajiv charmed Benazir to get what he wanted by giving information on the movement responsible for the death of his mother. Rajiv Ghandi returned home to quash the Khalistan movement in an authoritarian move with the typical ruthless signatures of his late mother. However, shortly after that, Rajiv Ghandi was blown to bits by the Tamil separatists in a political rally in a suicide blast carried out by a woman. With that, any hope of a return gesture as anticipated by Benazir Bhutto by India for forging peace between arch rivals also died. Benazir was never forgiven by the Pakistani security establishment for the gross error in judgement, seen as a betrayal by Pakistani security institutions resulting in the alienation of Sikhs from them. The Pakistani security establishment could never reverse the effects of the Benazir debacle and hence lost their influence and goodwill with the global Sikh Diaspora supporting Khalistan.    

However, the Sikhs never gave up on their demands and kept the political struggle for Khalistan alive around the globe, supported by the Sikh Diaspora essentially in the UK, Canada and USA. Pakistan afforded maximum possible political support to the Sikh independence movement globally while the Pakistani population is naturally sympathetic to the Sikh cause of Khalistan.

The dramatic turn of events that took place after the warning of Indian spy arm RAW to the Indian parliament quite recently after successive likewise reports of the global resurgence of Khalistan movement. Incidents of cooperation between the Kashmir freedom fighters and Khalistan movement in Indian homeland and around the globe, raised red flags in India. The results are the joint protests in the western world by the Sikhs and Kashmiris of India raising the serious issues of human rights violations by the Indian security forces against the freedom fighters and general population of  Kashmir and Punjab. At the Indian homeland, only few days ago, the attack at a police station in the state of Punjab by armed militants is being termed as a joint operation by the Kashmiri and Sikh militant outfits by the Indian media.

The stakes are being raised by all the players in this game, with pawns being sacrificed to check the strength of opposition. However, a few facts have been established, not in favour of India. Firstly, the Khalistan movement is being taken seriously by the western audience under the protests by the global Sikh diaspora essentially in US/Canada/EU. Secondly, the human rights abuses by the Indian security forces during operation Blue Star is being seriously questioned after the draconian Indian rule over Kashmir and numerous established human rights violations. The situation certainly does not fair well with the Indian desires to acquire global power status like their desire of a permanent seat in the UN security council for instance. Thirdly, the cooperation between the militant factions of Khalistan movement and Kashmir freedom fighters is creating a serious security situation at hands for the Indians. Indians are underplaying the threat by traditionally blaming and firing at Pakistan, but it won't solve the issues for India.

Indians were repeatedly warned by Pakistan to refrain from financing and directing the Pakistani militants like the Taliban and Baluchistan separatists from Afghanistan soil. However, the advice fell on deaf ears in India for all practical purposes. Indians will have to face the music by tasting their own medicine while in the meantime, global resurgence of Khalistan movement is a reality only growing with every passing day....