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Sikhs for Justice
AbbreviationSFJ
FormationOctober 2007; 16 years ago (2007-10)
FounderGurpatwant Singh Pannu
Founded atUnited States
TypeNGO
Legal statusBanned in India
PurposeSecession of Punjab from India as Khalistan
HeadquartersNew York, United States
Official languages
Punjabi, English
Legal advisor
Gurpatwant Singh Pannu
International policy director
Jatinder Singh Grewal
Websitesikhsforjustice.org

Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) is a US-based human rights advocacy [1]group that supports the secession of indian state of Punjab from india as Khalistan, founded and primarily headed by lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannu. This organisation was established in 2007. It had fought long battle to serve justice for 1984 Sikh Genocide[2].

  • Sikhs For Justice took many leaders of Indian National Congress into US court as accused for their role in 1984 Sikh Genocide [3]. September 2013, when Sonia Gandhi (then president of ruling alliance in India) was in united states. Sikhs for justice went to US court against her, seeking punishment for her protecting members of her party whom the SFJ said were involved in Sikh genocide 1984. US court then summoned Sonia Gandhi. SFJ were going to subpoena Rahul Gandhi as he admitted 'some congress men were involved in Sikh Genocide'[4].
  • Feburary 2014, SFJ filed human rights violation case against then 13th Indian Prime minister Manmohan Singh for his role as finance minister of india in 1990s accusing him for "funding crimes against humanity perpetrated upon the Sikh community in India"[5]. Manmohan Singh was in US at that time. US court allowed this criminal case to proceed and allowed to serve notice[6]. July 2014, Department of Justice (US) informed court that even though Mr Singh no longer head of state but he still enjoys legal immunity in US[7]. Hence case faced some serious legal and technical challenges.

It was banned by India in 2019 as an unlawful association after consultation with major representatives bodies of the Sikh community, which was followed by mass appreciation for the Punjab and Indian government by the international and local Sikh community.[8] As of 2019, it campaigns for a Punjab independence referendum to carve out a separate Khalistan as a part of its separatist agenda.[9][10]

As of July 2019, there were 12 criminal cases that were being pursued by Indian agencies namely National Investigation Agency, Punjab Police and Uttarakhand Police who have also arrested 39 people associated with the SFJ in India.[9] In lieu of the activities by SFJ, a red corner notice has also been issued by INTERPOL in October 2019,[11] against Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, and other Khalistani terrorists.[12][13] According to Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh, SFJ "had unleashed a wave of terror in Punjab in recent years" and deserved to be called a terrorist organisation. He welcomed the decision to ban the SFJ as a step towards protecting India from secessionist and anti-Indian plans of the organisation he described as backed by Pakistan's ISI.[9] Later in January 2020, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) tribunal chaired by Delhi High Court Chief Justice DN Patel sustained the decision of ban on the secessionist group. Citing the evidences presented, as the reason for the decision, the committee said that since the activities of the group were "unlawful", "disruptive" and "threaten the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of India" and SFJ was "working in collusion with anti-India entities and forces", therefore, "the Central Government had sufficient cause to take action under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for declaring Sikhs For Justice as an unlawful association."[14] Following the verdict of the Delhi High Court Chief Justice, Pannu has appealed to the persecuted minorities of Pakistan to support the Referendum 2020 in a Facebook video. In the video, he said, "This is also for all the Muslims and Christian brothers that the referendum is not closing. We will be sending the registration forms to every household and the voting will start on June 6, 2020." [15] The Sikh delegation in the United States of America also met the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to highlight their support of India as one country, espousing the agenda of Sikhs for Justice.[16]

A member of the group was arrested in Malaysia and deported in September 2019.[17] Also, out of the four terrorists arrested in Tarn Taran blast case in Punjab, one revealed that they were tasked to kill the leaders of various Deras in India by Sikhs for Justice. [18] Furthermore, the Kartarpur Corridor that has been opened up for Sikhs, is reportedly being used for Khalistani propaganda by SFJ.[19]

Another online platform that SFJ planned to use for spreading its propaganda was Google Play, where an application was uploaded to register for Referendum 2020. The application was reported, and thereafter removed by Google Play Store. [20][21]

Agenda behind Kartarpur Corridor

Kartarpur Corridor, Pakistan's initiative for its Sikh and Punjabi population to help them visit one of the most relevant places in Sikh history, was also used by SIkhs for Justice for promoting the secessionist campaign 'Referendum 2020'. which is a close ally of Khalistanis. [22][23][24][25]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Sikhs for Justice". www.idealist.org. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  2. ^ "It's Time India Accept Responsibility for its 1984 Sikh Genocide". Time. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  3. ^ "US court summons Congress for Sikh 'genocide' in 1984". The Economic Times. March 3, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  4. ^ "Sikh rights group to subpoena Rahul Gandhi before US Court". The Economic Times. January 30, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  5. ^ IANS (March 1, 2014). "US court permits Sikh group to summon Manmohan Singh". Business Standard India. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  6. ^ "Sikh Genocide 1984 case - US court allows Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) to serve notice on Dr. Manmohan Singh". Sikh Siyasat News. March 2, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  7. ^ "Case against Manmohan Singh by Sikhs for Justice: DoJ tells US court that ex-Indian PM still enjoys immunity". Sikh Siyasat News. July 12, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  8. ^ hermes (July 27, 2019). "Separatist Sikh group draws more scrutiny". The Straits Times. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c Sen, Sudhi Ranjan (July 10, 2019). "Government bans US-based pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice". Hindustan Times. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  10. ^ Kalvapalle, Rahul (October 3, 2018). "Sikh group plans to hold Khalistan referendum polling in Canadian cities in 2020". Global News. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  11. ^ "India for Interpol notice against 3 Khalistan ultras". Tribuneindia. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  12. ^ "India Today". www.zengatv.com. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  13. ^ Mir, Zubaida (November 20, 2019). "What does the red corner notice issued against Khalistani Gurpatwant Singh Pannu mean?". Medium. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  14. ^ PTI (January 9, 2020). "UAPA Tribunal upholds ban on pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice". India Today. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  15. ^ Sehgal, Manjeet (January 30, 2020). "Khalistani outfit SFJ wants Greater Khalistan with headquarters in Pakistan's Lahore". India Today. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  16. ^ Rajghatta, Chidanand (September 22, 2019). "Modi in Houston: PM Modi meets minorities in Houston to showcase India's diversity and complexity | World News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  17. ^ "Sikh Woman Among 16 Terror Suspects Arrested By Malaysian Police". NDTV.com. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  18. ^ Sehgal, Manjeet (September 23, 2019). "Punjab: Four Khalistan Zindabad Force terrorists arrested in Taran Taran". India Today. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  19. ^ "Security increased at Kartarpur Corridor after 'terror camps' were spotted near Gurudwara Darbar Sahib | Liist Studio". Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  20. ^ Pioneer, The. "Google removes '2020 Sikh Referendum' app from Play Store". The Pioneer. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  21. ^ "Google takes down pro-Khalistan "2020 Sikh Referendum" app from its play store". The Statesman. November 19, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  22. ^ Chaudhury, Dipanjan Roy (August 9, 2018). "Website of Sikhs for justice has links with Pakistan". The Economic Times. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  23. ^ Dec 1, PTI | Updated; 2019; Ist, 18:22. "Pak minister's disclosure on Kartarpur Corridor has exposed their nefarious designs: Amarinder Singh | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved December 20, 2019. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ SINGH/IANS, RAJNISH. "U.S.-Based Sikhs For Justice, Banned by India, Has Pakistani Links". India West. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  25. ^ "India won't let ISI-backed SFJ disturb its stability: Captain Amarinder Singh - Kashmir Times". www.kashmirtimes.com. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
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