Failed Canada-India Diplomatic Relations

"To remain somewhat viable and respectable in the eyes of the United States and Canada and Britain -- the Western world -- he claims to be non-violent."

"And if he didn't [the media] wouldn't give him a nano-second of coverage."

"I think he has bamboozled all of you for a long time."

Ujjal Dosanjh, Sikh, former B.C. premier/federal cabinet minister

"We are just trying to tell India and the world that it's a ticking time bomb which could detonate due to India's constant policy of violently crushing even the peaceful initiative of a referendum."

"The [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi regime's constant policy of crushing the Sikh peoples' initiative of ballots with bullets may, against our wishes, push this purely political conflict into a cycle of violence...SFJ's videos are not inflammatory but rather informatory."

"People under occupation from Punjab to Palestine will react and violence begets violence. If India is going to keep occupying Punjab, there will be a reaction."

"SFK believes in ballots, SFJ believes in votes. The liberation of Punjab is on the cards. India, the choice is yours: ballot or bullet."

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, exponent, Sikh independence movement: Khalistan

Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun stands for a photograph in New York City on Oct. 25. Jeenah Moon for NPR

 

Pannun is a Canadian-American lawyer who has raised an issue of a global referendum to verify the Sikh independence-from-India movement, in a call to split India for the purpose of dividing the Punjab as a gift to Sikhs who view it as their homeland, one they call Khalistan. He is at great pains to deliver the message to Western democracies that his is the voice of reason, and his movement is one of moderation, wanting nothing other than recognition of the right of Sikhs to become a sovereign nation free of India.

He heads the group Sikhs for Justice. And in his online presence speaking for Sikhs for Justice, Pannun's rhetoric is volatile, his social-media posts appear to promote violence. Based in New York, Pannun speaks of the need to "balkanize" India in his mission to carve Punjab away from India's 'occupation', and includes support for other independence movements as well. Including common cause with Chinese President Xi Jinping, recommending he forcefully seize a disputed corner of Indian territory.

"President [Xi] Jinping -- now is the time to order the Chinese army to take Arunachal Padesh back."

"By 2047, the current boundaries and borders of India will be redrawn, and the current borders and boundaries will be wiped out from the world map."

"2024, one India. 2047, none India."

Gurpatwant Singh Pannum

Protesters hold yellow flags with the word Khalistan, as well as a banner with the picture of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh. Photograph:(Reuters)

 

"Violence begets violence" he warns; India has a choice between his referendum and possible armed rebellion: "ballots or bullets", comparing Palestinians to Sikhs in Punjab. In November, Sikhs, he said, should boycott Air India; those who fly on November 19 could endanger themselves. The shadow of 1985's bombing of an Air India flight by Sikh terrorists in Canada. Present at a Calgary rally for Sikhs, he led a chant: "Liberate Punjab, Kill India", a mild display of 'moderation'.

The non-binding referendum run by Sikhs for Justice asks whether Sikhs in Canada, Europe and anywhere the Sikh diaspora exists, asks whether there is support for making Punjab an independent country. Within India itself the issue appears to be of no moment. It is among the large expatriate Sikh community outside India -- particularly in Canada where the largest expatriate community lives -- that the issue of Sikh separation from Hindu India resonates and where Sikh fanatics overwhelm the Sikh-Canadian population uninvolved in the movement.

New Delhi, for which the prospect of such a separation is a non-starter, views Pannum as a terrorist. Interpol has been asked by India to issue a "red notice" for the arrest of the man. After deeming the request political or religious, not criminal, Interpol refused. Canada's large and influential Sikh population -- some 800,000 in number -- does not support political Sikhism/Khalistanis, but they are threatened and silent, harassed and fearful. Canada's Liberal government, however, appears to cater to the Khalistanis; some high-ranking Cabinet members who are Sikh are sympathetic to the Khalistan cause.

 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau waits to speak to a crowd during Khalsa day celebrations at City Hall in Toronto, Sunday, April 28, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

 

Narendra Modi's government is fiercely opposed, needless to say, and disappointed and frustrated with the Trudeau government's response to its request for extradition of a number of Sikh-Canadians who have been found guilty of violent criminal activities in India. Justin Trudeau's public accusation of the government of India's involvement in the assassination of a committed Khalistani, denied by India, has caused a diplomatic rift in relations between the two countries, each expelling the others' diplomats.

Pannum, from his social media pulpit speaks of "genocidal violence" against Sikhs. In particular memory of the 40 years that have passed since a massacre of Sikhs by Hindus enraged after Indira Ghandi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. Sikhs for Justice, he announced in a video, was in support of independence movements in the Indian states of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Kashmir. Another, earlier video had him connecting the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to the situation in Punjab: "People under occupation from Punjab to Palestine will react and violence begets violence".

 

 

 

 

"We have repeatedly raised our strong concerns regarding the violent imagery being used by extremist elements in Canada against our political leadership. Display of posters of Indian diplomats have also been put out across Canada threatening violence against them."

"Celebration and glorification of violence should not be a part of any civilized society. Democratic countries which respect the rule of law should not allow intimidation by radical elements in the name of freedom of expression."

"[We are concerned over the] security of our diplomatic representatives in Canada. [Ottawa should stop giving space to] criminal and secessionist elements."

Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson, India’s foreign ministry