What to find out about Sikh independence motion following U.S. accusation that activist was focused

NEW DELHI — The U.S. has charged an Indian nationwide in what prosecutors allege was a failed plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on the behest of an unnamed Indian authorities official.

The prices introduced Wednesday in opposition to an Indian nationwide arrested in June in Europe come two months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mentioned there have been credible accusations that India could have been linked to the killing of a Sikh activist close to Vancouver, straining relations between the 2 international locations.

The U.S. case is especially delicate given the excessive precedence that President Joe Biden positioned on enhancing ties with India and courting it to be a significant accomplice within the push to counter China’s rising assertiveness.

India, which has banned the Sikh independence – or Khalistan – motion, denied having a task within the Canada killing and mentioned it was analyzing info shared by the U.S. and taking these accusations significantly.

Here are some particulars concerning the difficulty:

India‘s Sikh independence movement eventually became a bloody armed insurgency that shook India in the 1970s and 1980s. It was centered in the northern Punjab state, where Sikhs are the majority, though they make up about 1.7% of India’s total inhabitants.

The insurgency lasted greater than a decade and was suppressed by an Indian authorities crackdown by which hundreds of individuals have been killed, together with outstanding Sikh leaders.

Hundreds of Sikh youths have been additionally killed throughout police operations, many in detention or throughout staged gunfights, in response to rights teams.

In 1984, Indian forces stormed the Golden Temple, Sikhism’s holiest shrine, in Amritsar to flush out separatists who had taken refuge there. The operation killed round 400 individuals, in response to official figures, however Sikh teams say hundreds have been killed.

The lifeless included Sikh militant chief Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, whom the Indian authorities accused of main the armed insurgency.

On Oct. 31, 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who ordered the raid on the temple, was assassinated by two of her bodyguards, who have been Sikh.

Her loss of life triggered a collection of anti-Sikh riots, by which Hindu mobs went from home to deal with throughout northern India, significantly in New Delhi, pulling Sikhs from their houses, hacking many to loss of life and burning others alive.

There isn’t any lively insurgency in Punjab immediately, however the Khalistan motion nonetheless has some supporters within the state, in addition to within the sizable Sikh diaspora past India. The Indian authorities has warned repeatedly over time that Sikh separatists have been making an attempt to make a comeback.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s authorities has additionally intensified the pursuit of Sikh separatists and arrested dozens of leaders from numerous outfits which are linked to the motion.

When farmers camped out on the perimeters of New Delhi to protest controversial agriculture legal guidelines in 2020, Modi’s authorities initially tried to discredit Sikh contributors by calling them “Khalistanis.” Under strain, the government later withdrew the legal guidelines.

Earlier this 12 months, Indian police arrested a separatist chief who had revived requires Khalistan and stirred fears of violence in Punjab. Amritpal Singh, a 30-year-old preacher, had captured nationwide consideration by his fiery speeches. He mentioned he drew inspiration from Bhindranwale.

India has been asking international locations like Canada, Australia and the U.Ok. to take authorized motion in opposition to Sikh activists, and Modi has personally raised the difficulty with the nations’ prime ministers. India has significantly raised these considerations with Canada, the place Sikhs make up almost 2% of the nation’s inhabitants.

Earlier this 12 months, Sikh protesters pulled down the Indian flag on the nation’s excessive fee in London and smashed the constructing’s window in a present of anger in opposition to the transfer to arrest Amritpal Singh. Protesters additionally smashed home windows on the Indian consulate In San Francisco and skirmished with embassy staff.

India’s international ministry denounced the incidents and summoned the U.Ok.’s deputy excessive commissioner in New Delhi to protest what it known as the breach of safety on the embassy in London.

The Indian authorities additionally accused Khalistan supporters in Canada of vandalizing Hindu temples with “anti-India” graffiti and of attacking the places of work of the Indian High Commission in Ottawa throughout a protest in March.

Last 12 months, Paramjit Singh Panjwar, a Sikh militant chief and head of the Khalistan Commando Force, was shot lifeless in Pakistan.