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Sikh extremism is mainly encouraged by radical groups that want to carve out an independent Sikh theocratic state called Khalistan.[1] It has decreased significantly since mid-1992, although Sikh militant cells are active internationally and extremists gather funds from overseas Sikh communities.[1]
Almost all of the Sikh militant groups in Punjab aimed to create an independent theocratic state called Khalistan through acts of violence[2] directed not only at members of the police and security forces, but also specifically at Hindu[3] and Sikh civilians who did not share their political views.[4]
The FBI state: “The British Authorities have been made aware of our interest in certain individuals residing in the UK who may have connections to Sikh terror groups based in Pakistan.”[5][6][7]
The British Sikh writer Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti was forced into hiding after protests by Sikhs led to the cancellation of her play Behzti.[8] She was physically threatened and verbally abused, and her family was harassed, forcing her to leave her home.[8] However, she received messages of support from several fellow playwrights, actors and even some Sikhs across the world.[8]
The Chief of the Punjab Police, NPS Aulakh alleged in 2008 that supporters are transferring money to the militant groups via informal funding channels in the UK Sikh community[9]
Sikh extremism spread fast in Canada in the 1980s.[10][11] It ranges from raising funds for violent attacks to intimidation and assassinations.[12] Notable criminal activities include beatings, arson and threats of kidnapping and death.[13] Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh says he and others who spoke out against Sikh extremism in the 1980s faced a "reign of terror".[13]
Babbar Khalsa, founded by Canadian fundamentalist Sikhs, has been officially listed as a terrorist organization in the European Union, Canada, India, and the United States.[14] Ajaib Singh Bagri, the co-founder of the Babbar Khalsa, told the founding convention of the World Sikh Organization in 1984: "Until we kill 50,000 Hindus, we will not rest."[14] Another organization, International Sikh Youth Federation, has also been officially listed in Canada and The United States as an illegal terrorist organization.[14]
In 2008, CBC report stated that "a disturbing brand of extremist politics has surfaced" at some of the Vaisakhi parades in Canada.[14] According to Terry Milewski, CBC News, Canadian courts have established that that Talwinder Parmar, the founder of the Babbar Khalsa was the mastermind of the Air India bombings, but Sikh fundamentalists insist that he was a "shaheed" (martyr).[14] According to an Indian investigative journal Tehelka run by Tarun Tejpal, Parmar might have been liquidated by Indian security forces in a Fake Encounter who might have been involved into the bombing incident.[15]
Sikh extremist attacks on journalists, politicians and international media
Jagat Narain was the proprietor of two newspapers, he opposed Bhindranwale who was seen as the figurehead of extremism, Narain was later gunned down along with 62 members of his press staff in the early 80's.
Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards in 1984
On November 11, 1987, Mahraz Darshan Das Jee, a peace campaigner and humanitarian with two of his volunteers, Das Chacha Ji Joga Singh and Das Baba Ji Satwant, were assassinated by Sikh extremists in Southall, UK.
Tara Singh Hayer, a Canadian Sikh journalist and who was earlier a vocal advocate of Khalistan, who had written editorials denouncing Sikh extremists was murdered and his assailants have never been found.[14]
The Canadian journalist Kim Bolan has written extensively on Sikh extremism and has also received death threats[16]
Another journalist, Tarsem Singh Purewal,[17] 60, was editor of Britain's Punjabi-language weekly, Des Pardes, and was killed as he shut up his office in Southall[18]
Canadian Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh who represents the Vancouver South riding, spoke out publicly against Sikh extremism in Canada while a lawyer and activist in the early and mid-1980s. He was hospitalized in 1985 after being beaten by a Sikh extremist wielding an iron bar.[19]
In 2006, Terry Milewski reported in a documentary for the CBC News, that a minority within Canada's Sikh community was gaining political influence even while publicly supporting terrorist acts in support of the struggle for an independent Sikh state. A Sikh separatist group, The World Sikh Organization(WSO), later sued the CBC for slander and libel, alleging that Milewski linked it to terrorism and damaged the reputation of the WSO within the Sikh community. However, the WSO did not identify any factual errors in the broadcast.[20]
Condemnation by mainstream Sikhs
Sikh extremist groups were vociferously condemned by moderate Sikhs all over India and beyond.[21] Two of the well known moderate Sikh victims of Sikh militants were Harchand Singh Longowal and Beant Singh. Two leading Canadian Sikh politicians refused to attend the 2008 Vaisakhi parade in Surrey, saying it was a glorification of terrorism.[14]
Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh has been critical of Sikh terrorism,[22][23] he was once the finance minister under Indira Gandhi who was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards
