Beyond Canada: How Khalistani threat is growing in US, UK and Australia

The threat of pro-Khalistani elements against India is not just growing in Canada but has lately been making its presence felt in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. These nations have been reporting protests by Khalistani supporters against India for some time now. On 2 October, one such demonstration was staged outside the Indian High Commission in London. As per an India Today report, the Khalistani supporters set the Indian Tricolour on fire. Key Khalistani separatists, including Dal Khalsa UK leader Gurcharan Singh and Paramjit Singh Pamma, ‘most wanted’ by India, were also present at the demonstration. Singh poured cow urine on India’s national flag and was later removed from the site by the police, India Today reported.

#WATCH | Khalistan supporters have gathered outside the Indian High Commission in London, UK staging a protest. Heavy presence of British security forces at the High Commission. The protesters have been restricted to the opposite side of the High Commission. pic.twitter.com/RfIGXlneHi

— ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2023

The incident has put the spotlight on the Khalistani menace in other foreign countries amid India and Canada’s strain in diplomatic relations after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged New Delhi’s role in the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) head Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June. Let’s take a closer look. UK Last week, the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, was stopped from entering a gurdwara in Glasgow during a visit to Scotland. As per Indian media reports, three Khalistani extremists from outside Scotland were behind the incident. Condemning the “disorderly behaviour” of “unruly individuals”, the Glasgow Gurdwara Guru Granth Sahib Sikh Sabha said in a statement, “An incident occurred on 29 September 2023 at Glasgow Gurdwara where the Indian High Commissioner was on a personal visit, facilitated by a member of Scottish Parliament. Certain unknown individuals from outside the Glasgow area attempted to disrupt this visit, following which the visiting party decided to leave the premises”. India also flagged the incident to the UK government, demanding strict action against the culprits. Recently, a Sikh restaurateur in the UK claimed his cars were vandalised by Khalistani elements in retaliation to his video speaking against the Sikh separatist movement. “They came outside my house and threw red paint to symbolise blood as a threat. Later, they destroyed my car windscreen. In the past eight months, they have attacked me four times,” Harman Singh told India Today TV. He said he had been harassed since May when he posted a video on TikTok criticising the Khalistan movement. In September, British PM Rishi Sunak allayed fears of a rise in pro-Khalistani extremism in the UK, saying he takes the government’s duty to “disrupt and counter violent, divisive ideologies, whatever they may be, very seriously”. “We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government to tackle the threat from pro-Khalistan extremism and the British police are fully empowered to deal with violent acts,” he told the news agency PTI in an email. Earlier in August, United Kingdom’s security minister, Tom Tugendhat, announced a new funding of 95,000 pounds (around Rs 1 crore) to tackle “pro-Khalistan extremism”. In July, about 30-40 Khalistani supporters had gathered outside the Indian High Commission in London, raising anti-India slogans and carrying posters with images of Doraiswami and the Consul General of India in Birmingham, Shashank Vikram. New Delhi took strong objection after pro-Khalistan elements had pulled down the national flag from a pole outside the Indian High Commission’s London building in March. [caption id=“attachment_13203112” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Pro-Khalistan protesters demonstrated outside the Indian High Commission in London in March. AP File Photo[/caption] ALSO READ: What’s diplomatic immunity of Canadian envoys that India has threatened to revoke? United States Pro-Khalistan elements attacked the Indian consulate in San Francisco in July, trying to set it on fire. The US had “strongly condemned” the arson attempt, saying “vandalism or violence against diplomatic facilities or foreign diplomats in the US is a criminal offense."

#IndianConsulateAttack: India and U.S. strongly condemn the recent attack on consulate in San Francisco; 'they don't care about the type of publicity, they just need attention,' says Director of HfHR Australia @SarahLGates1

(@ridhimb) | #SanFrancisco #Khalistan pic.twitter.com/flaL4RADGI

— News18 (@CNNnews18) July 4, 2023

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The consulate in San Francisco also came under attack in March when protesters installed two Khalistani flags inside the its premises, which were soon taken down by the consulate personnel. Some pro-Khalistani supporters also entered the building and hit the door and windows with iron rods. Indian Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and Dr TV Nagendra Prasad, Consul General, Consulate General of India, San Francisco, have also been targeted in a poster purportedly spread by Sikh extremists over Nijjar’s killing. Security was intensified outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC on 15 August – India’s Independence Day – in view of protests by pro-Khalistani groups. In March, a group of Khalistan supporters staged a protest in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington DC, threatened Sandhu and tried to incite violence. They attempted to vandalise the Indian Embassy property but were stopped by law enforcement agencies, reported PTI. Australia A 23-year-old Indian student was reported to be attacked with iron rods by Khalistan supporters in Sydney’s western suburb of Merrylands in July after he opposed the Khalistani movement. “Police have been told a 23-year-old man was walking along Rupert Street before he was assaulted by four men armed with a metal pole. The 23-year-old was allegedly kicked, punched, and hit with the metal pole repeatedly before the four men left the scene in a grey sedan,” a New South Wales (NSW) police spokesperson had said. In March, Khalistani protesters had assembled outside Australian Parliament in Canberra against the police crackdown on Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh and his associates in Punjab. India had lodged protests with Australian authorities in February after Khalistani extremists targeted people of Indian origin who opposed the so-called “Khalistan referendum” organised by the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) in Melbourne on 29 January. Speaking to SBS Hindi, India’s High Commissioner to Australia, Manpreet Vohra, said at the time, “It is condemnable, of course. It is also disappointing because signals that this may happen were evident and we have been talking to the Australian authorities for several months.” Khalistani supporters also targeted the Honorary Consulate of India in the Brisbane city and raised the Khalistan flag at the office in February. Several Hindu temples were defaced with pro-Khalistan graffiti in January alone. The ISKCON temple in Melbourne’s Albert Park suburb was targeted in late January, the third incident in the month. On 12 January, the Swaminarayan temple in Melbourne’s Mill Park was defaced, while the Shri Shiva Vishnu temple in Carrum Downs was targeted on 16 January, as per SBS News. Why is Khalistan movement thriving abroad? While the Khalistan movement finds hardly any place in Punjab today, the demand for a separate Sikh homeland still resonates among some people in the diaspora, especially those who do not understand the changed realities of the Indian state. But, the separatist sentiment is popular only among a fraction of the Sikh diaspora in foreign countries. “Those who profess to bleed for the Khalistan movement abroad are merely serving their self-interest and not the communities they claim to uphold. It is well known that uprooted people cling to their roots,” Ashutosh Kumar, a professor teaching political science at Punjab University, told Outlook. “They try to relate to the issues happening in a faraway homeland to their brothers and sisters and get emotional. They want to show their solidarity with people they see as victims of the Indian system. The wounded psyche of the Blue Star period lingers on, though in Punjab much has changed. The story of the Sikhs as a minority community living in Hindu India, suits the narrative built around Khalistan,’’ he explained. With inputs from agencies