Why the demand for Khalistan, which continues
to raise its head in a section of Sikh diaspora, strikes no echoes in Punjab

The diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of a pro-Khalistan activist
brought back a memory. It was the post-Blue Star year of 1989, and I happened to deliver a
talk on the genesis of Violence in Punjab in Montreal, Canada. The argument advanced was
that ‘the invasion of the sacred precincts of the temple complex left a trail of misery,
violence and sense of hurt amongst the members of the Sikh Community, including the
Secular Panjabi Hindus. It blemished the stature of leaders like Indira Gandhi and Rajiv
Gandhi. If Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale could not become an unquestioned icon of the Sikh
masses, the former Indian Prime Ministers, responsible for Operation Blue Star and the
1984 Sikh carnage, also got marginalised in the Indian secular democratic civilisational
matrix’.
After the talk, a young Canadian lady asked me, ‘Are you a Punjabi Hindu’? My affirmative
answer surprised her and she observed; ‘How can a Punjabi Hindu be secular? May I invite
you home for dinner tomorrow’? The next day, she rushed towards me and told me that she
can’t host me in her house as her husband is a Sikh who had refused to dine with a Punjabi
Hindu as the latter, as per his information, never owned the Punjabi language as their
mother tongue, Punjabi culture and its history. My answer to her was that in Indian Punjab,
not many Sikhs held that view. As they believed and practised the teachings of the Gurus,
which were inclusive. Those who believed the contrarian view were either fanatics or
ignorant. That was at a time when terrorism was at its peak in Punjab.
Why did the qualitatively divergent views existed in a section of Diaspora Punjab and the
Indian Punjab? Metaphorically speaking, there are three Punjabs, that is, ‘Diaspora Punjab’
(settled in Canada, US, UK and Europe), Indian Punjab, and Pakistan Punjab. In Indian
Punjab, the support for Khalistan is only amongst the fringe element. And, the Pakistan
Punjab political establishment provides teeth to these elements which in turn create inter-
State tensions. In Diaspora Punjab, the radical Khalistani groups’ political narrative
resonates with the Khalistan slogan, divisiveness on communal lines and violative of Indian
symbols.
They function as an exclusive group. They are not integrated into the Canadian Society as
politically, they are well entrenched and hold the balance of power even in the present
regime. The New Democratic Party (NDP) led by Jagmeet Singh is a pro-Khalistan group and
is the fourth largest party which occupies a balancing position in the present coalition
government.
In a nutshell, in ‘Diaspora Punjab’, the articulations of distinct religious identity co-exist with
the assertions for separate Khalistan. The younger generation of the Canadian Punjabi Sikhs
have been socialised into the tragic events of the 1980s. These events have been used as a
source of justification for revengefulness for the hurt Sikh psyche. And the divisive and
separatist fringe groups continue to be actively engaged in making the brutal legacy go on
simmering and to regenerate itself.
A leading political leader, (three times Member Parliament in Canada) Gurmant
Grewal, had observed, ‘Canadian Sikhs are affected by events concerning Sikh
and Sikhism in India, like the nationalist movement for Sikh rights and an
independent State, specifically after the attack on the Golden Temple, backlash
and riots against Sikhs after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi’.
The unjust fact that no one was ever charged with the 1984 riots / killings further
alienated the Sikhs from the Indian government, and besides fuelling separation.
The Air India Flight 182 tragedy was regarded as a revenge against the
government of India. Heightened Sikh consciousness led to an increase in their
faith, even among the second and third-generation Canadian Sikhs’.
Whereas, in Indian Punjab, history moved on. The Operation Blue Star became a marker for
respecting religious groups rather than be a symbol of social divisiveness, politics of religious
dominance and assertion of theocratic Sikh State. The hurt which was felt by the members
of the Sikh community after four decades of churning seemed to have become universal. It
transcended the boundaries of religion. In fact, there is a consensus to ensure justice for the
Sikhs killed mercilessly in 1984.
Unlike ‘Diaspora Punjab’, the Indian Punjab has nurtured a secular Punjabi identity. No
doubt, it has co-existed with the assertions of distinct religious identities. For instance,
according to 1991 census 83.87 per cent of the Punjabi Hindus mentioned their mother
tongue to be Punjabi. Further, the adoption of Moga declaration by the SAD and the BJP
emphasising Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat was a testimony to the space available for a
secular Punjabi identity. Simply put, Panjabi Hindus continue to exhibit dominant traits of
Sikhism, alongwith the Arya Samajist Values and Sanatan Dharam rituals. Both the
communities organically respond to Punjabi cultural traditions and Punjabiat.
While the articulation of Punjabi identity is yet to take off in Canada. The Diaspora is either
Sikh or non-Sikh. As a result, in the ‘Diaspora Punjab’, the ruling establishment provided
space to the Sikhs, which has been appropriated by the vocal section of the Khalistan
separatists who continue to enforce revengefulness-vendetta-for the hurt Sikh psyche. They
continue to articulate the demand for a separate Sikh State. The political alliances are
constructed with these elements, which is a death knell for liberal politics. History has a
lesson. The radical religious fanatics shall thrive if they are allowed to get away with their
violative actions. For example, the radicals were allowed to take out a procession showing
the violent assassination of the former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, leading to
legitimisation of violence. Further, many of the Khalistan activists involved in various violent
crimes in India are allowed to continue with their political activities in Canada.
The political assertion in the ‘Diaspora Punjab’, remained Sikh-centric with a nurtured
revenge psyche. In Indian Punjab, it has been transformed from a source of justification of
revenge for hurting the Sikh psyche into ongoing political discourse for respecting the
democratic rights of the religious groups besides ensuring restorative justice.
No doubt, there is an urgent need to bring about a decisive closure. However, the closure
does not amount to wreaking revenge and registering a claim that ‘my use of violence is
privileged, therefore, the same cannot be brought to justice’. The main focus should be the
de-legitimisation of violence, reduce incentive to violence and deliver restorative justice.
The recent political controversy between the Canadian and Indian political establishments
over the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, acted as trigger and added new dimensions to the
ongoing separatist movement. The issue of Khalistan had remained specific to Punjab and
India in the 1980s’, and of course, had an international dimension. Even now, the political
narrative is being shaped by the ‘Diaspora Punjab’. The separatist demand of a miniscule
section has been internationalised. Interestingly, it has a background. The Indian political
establishment has been engaged to mobilise Indian Diaspora for their integration into Indian
politics, culture, and religions and also facilitating their linkages with the politics at the place
of migration. Simultaneously, counter mobilizations amongst this section holding divergent
views also happened. This is a matter of serious concern.
Further, both the Indian and Canadian political establishments have overreached. The
Canadian political establishment rushed to accuse the Indian government without credible
evidence even as the Indian political establishment, instead of building consensus on the
shared values of peace acted rather undiplomatically. As a result, both the countries took
the hasty decision to suspend trade talks, put restrictions on Human Resource Exchange and
Knowledge Sharing Avenues. The suspension of trade and restricted human resource
mobility have serious implications for both the political establishments besides creating
hardships for the Canadians, Indo-Canadians and Indians in general. Such a negative
spectacle has been witnessed earlier in the case of Pakistan also.
This purblind politics shall not only aggravate the inter-country crisis, but shall provide
enough space to the fringe groups to fuel and appropriate competitive religiosity under the
garb of freedom of speech. The absence of market exchange and secular Panjabi culture
shall provide justification to the socially divisive tendencies and create tensions amongst
religious groups in Canada, i.e., the Sikhs and the non-Sikhs. On the contrary, in Indian
Punjab, secular Punjabi identity has strong historical roots and co-exists with other identities
while communalism is known for its long tongue but no teeth.
Politics has its strange ways. The partition of Punjab at the time of Independence,
reorganization of the States on linguistic basis in mid-sixties, and the Sikh identity assertions
in ‘Diaspora Punjab’ now-all of these have long term serious implications. Given the
demographic transition in Canada where the Sikhs are one of the largest non-Christian
religious group with over two per cent of the population, they have emerged politically
significant, electoral game changer with a claim to have made substantial contribution in the
last century to the Canadian society, culture and economy. There is a distant possibility that
the demand for an autonomous (Sikh) State in Canada might become a logical corollary
some day.
The lesson for both the political establishments is that, rather than eulogising or denigrating
merely the instruments, both political establishments should work together to deliver
justice by following the rule of law and protect the rights of the religious groups. The
practice of secular democratic norms is the only insurance against the emergence of a
theocratic State and an environment surcharged with violent, and divisive political
articulations.