Khalistan

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Sikh Republic of Khalistan
Flag of Khalistan
Flag
Anthem: Deh Shiva Bar Mohe
Official languagesPunjabi and English[citation needed]

Khālistān (East Punjabi: ਖਾਲਿਸਤਾਨ), official title Sikh Republic of Khalistan, was the name given by Jagjit Singh Chauhan, to a proposed nation-state based on theocratic principles.[1]. The idea is highly controversial among Sikhs, Sikhs in India generally do not agree with the idea of Khalistan and while some NRI's do. Moreover, most major Sikh leaders, in the modern era, were not convinced and did not believe that like Muslims in Pakistan, Sikhs too should separate from India. Most neutral political commentators believe the violence against non-Sikhs and followed by the removal of gunmen from the Golden Temple was the next catalyst behind the separatist movement. The separatist movement for Khalistan rose to its crest in 1980s in India and then slowly ebbed out, however the movement now finds limited support among expatriate Sikhs[2]. Khalistan had some support from some sections of the Sikhs in North America, prior to the terrorist attack on Air India Flight 182[3]. The Khalistan movement is now widely seen as a smaller scale terrorist movement by youth living in the UK and North America, rather than Punjabis in India themselves wanting a separate state. Khalistani Terrorist groups are monitored by European and US Governments. [4]

Political lobbyists in the USA once included politicians Dan Burton[5], Jesse Helms[6], and Edolphus Towns[7]. Other lobbyists include Lord Avebury (Eric Lubbock) [8], and Lord Nazir Ahmed[9].

The Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh (d. 1839) had an independent state with Lahore as the capital. In 1849 his state was annexed and become part of British territory. Under the Treaty of Amritsar the state was to restored to the Sikhs once Duleep Singh attained the age of 21.[10] However, Maharaja Ranjit Singh was one of the most famous secular monarchs in South Asian history and respected all religions.[11] Therefore, his relevance and use by Khalistan separatists is viewed by most as politically mischievous. The ISI ran Operation K2 in the 90's to create both Kashmir and the remainder of Punjab with the hope of accession of both states to The Islamic State of Pakistan[12]

History

Main article: Khalistan movement

In the 1970s and 80s, a movement began in the Indian state of Punjab to secede from the Indian Union and create a separate sovereign Sikh state of Khalistan. Supported by the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence[13][14] agency,the movement reached its peak during mid 1980s under Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. It then slowly ebbed out, primarily due to the loss of popular support. The movement also hindered economic investment, became increasingly militant, and threw Punjab into a state of anarchy with increased levels of terrorism. The movement was also countered by counter-terrorism operations conducted by the Indian Army and the Punjab Police led by KPS Gill which caused the deaths of thousands of innocent Sikhs according to Human Rights Watch which also stressed that "In the beginning on the 1980s, Sikh separatists in Punjab committed serious human rights abuses, including the massacre of civilians, attacks upon non-Sikhs in the state, and indiscriminate bomb attacks in crowded places[15].

After the bombing of Air India Flight 182 that claimed the lives of 329 Canadian civilians over the Irish Sea, the worst aviation terrorist attack before September 11, 2001 attacks, support for Khalistan lessened to a large extent. Two of the accused in the case, the Sikh separatists Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri were found not guilty for lack of admissible evidence and released, while a third accused Inderjit Singh Reyat was sentenced to ten years after pleading guilty.[16] In 1989 Canadian journalists Zuhair Kashmeri and Brian McAndrew in their book Soft Target propounded a conspiracy theory that the Government of India could have staged the attack to portray the separatists in bad light. This book was later viewed by the official Commission of Inquiry in Canada as a work of fiction based on the events surrouding Flight 182 especially after the plead of guilt by Inderjit Singh Reyat[17]

Another book written by acclaimed investigative journalist Salim Jiwa titled 'Margin of Terror': A Reporter's Twenty-Year Odyssey Covering The Tragedies of the Air India Bombing, gives an eye-witness account of the terrorist bombing of Flight 182 and appears to be more in line with the findings of Canadian Law Enforcement.[18]

Other prominent journalists who have had death threats against them for their investigative journalism on Khalistan terrorism include Vancouver Sun journalist, Kim Bolan and Tara Singh Hayer who was murdered on November 18th 1998. In 1999, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression renamed its Press Freedom Award the "Tara Singh Hayer Press Freedom Award" in Hayer's honour. Each year, the award is given to a Canadian journalist who, through his or her work, has made an important contribution to reinforcing and promoting the principle of freedom of the press in Canada or elsewhere.

Geography

According to the Khalistan web-site:

The geographical boundaries of Khalistan will include current East Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pardesh, part of Rajasthan and small part of Uttar Pardesh. River Ravi on the west and river Jamuna on the east will be some of the boundary lines between Khalistan & Pakistan, Khalistan & India respectively. In the north, part of Himalayan range and in south, part of Thar Desert will make the geographical boundaries of Khalistan. (Source: http://www.khalistan.net)

This would still end up making the proposed region a Hindu majority by default[19]. Paramjit Singh Ajrawat states that Khalistan will be a theocratic state with a non-secular based fundamentalist constitution.

References

  1. ^ Website of Paramjit S. Ajrawat
  2. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/national/blog/video/politicseconomy/canadas_political_culture.html
  3. ^ http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:NCQL2LxTSTYJ:www.sikhtimes.com/news_031705a.html+Khalistan+Alive+In+Sikh-Canadian+Hearts+and+Minds&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us Khalistan Alive In Sikh-Canadian Hearts and Minds,The Globe and Mail, Mississauga, Ontario, Mar. 17, 2005, By ROBERT MATAS
  4. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/file_on_4/7263211.stm Sikh separatists 'funded from UK', BBC
  5. ^ http://www.khalistan.com/PressReleases/PR051204_DrAulakhTestifies.htm Dr. Aulakh, Others Expose Indian Human Rights Violations at Congressional Hearing
  6. ^ Studying the Sikhs: Issues for North America By John Stratton Hawley, Gurinder Singh Mann, Published 1993 SUNY Press
  7. ^ http://bulk.resource.org/gpo.gov/record/1998/1998_E02197.pdf DR. AULAKH OF COUNCIL OF KHALISTAN NOMINATED FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS OF NEW YORK IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Thursday, October 15, 1998
  8. ^ https://www.ihro.in/?q=book/print/132
  9. ^ http://www.panthic.org/news/121/ARTICLE/1619/2005-07-31.html Self Determination: The Only Basis for Human Rights in South Asia Sunday 31st of July 2005
  10. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2242/is_1618_277/ai_68157986
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ http://kashmirherald.com/main.php?t=OP&st=D&no=325
  13. ^ Jaffrelot, Christophe (2004). A History Of Pakistan And Its Origins. Anthem South Asian Studies. Anthem Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-1843311492.
  14. ^ Shah, Mehtab Ali (1997). The Foreign Policy of Pakistan: Ethnic Impacts on Diplomacy, 1971-1994. I.B.Tauris. p. 23. ISBN 978-1860641695.
  15. ^ Human Rights Watch; Time for India to Deliver Justice in Punjab]
  16. ^ Sentencing Inderjit Singh Reyat
  17. ^ Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India Flight 182 TERRORISM, INTELLIGENCE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT – CANADA’S RESPONSE TO SIKH TERRORISM http://www.majorcomm.ca/documents/dossier2_ENG.pdf DOSSIER 2)
  18. ^ Salim Jiwa, Donald J Hauka (2006). Margin of Terror - A Reporter's Twenty-Year Odyssey Covering The Tragedies of the Air India Bombing. Key Porter Books. p. 288. ISBN 1552637727.
  19. ^ A Demographic Case Study of Forced Migration:The 1947 Partition of India Authors: Hill K, Seltzer W, Leaning J , Malik SJ, Russell SS4, Makinson C, http://paa2004.princeton.edu/download.asp?submissionId=41274

Sources

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