Why West is never tired of invoking democracy, but remains silent on rising anti-India forces on its soil

The impact of anti-terror operations across the country will be observed for a while to come. As the noose tightens around Khalistani operations in Punjab and surrounding regions, there remain questions about the efficacy of these undertakings. With funds for many of these terrorist activities coming in from international sources, the arrest of the middlemen may not be enough. India will require global cooperation to stem the terrorism-driven secessionist movement. India remains in a hostile neighbourhood, surrounded by nations dependent on China for trade and other economic interdependencies. While an aggressive China attempts to unilaterally challenge the status quo in the Indo-Pacific, India bears much of the brunt of a belligerent middle power threatening border incursions. This international threat has been one of the most prominent in the region since years now, and as India battles unfriendly State actors, a global pandemic, inflation due to geopolitical concerns not of its making, it continues to be threatened internally by non-State actors bent on encouraging separatism. Based on terrorising a population that has co-existed with Sikhs peacefully for centuries, Khalistani elements use Pakistani training and funds to remake a martyr out of a dead terrorist, as Prof Christine Fair points out. Since 1996, India has actively pushed the proposal for the  (CCIT). As of 2022, the UN has not seen progress on the draft resolution, unable to get member countries to agree on a definition of the term. The country sees non-State actors actively engage in inhuman terror at the cost of human lives and millions of dollars’ worth of resources. The last time Khalistani activity was at its peak, the CIA is said to have participated in fanning the flames of separatism. As members of a liberal rule-based order, it would seem to be incumbent to support fellow democracies in their quest to subdue terrorism within democratic borders. As the US stood shaken by 9/11, India stood in support of its war on terror within US borders, as a fellow victim and democracy. The ISI has re-activated Khalistani networks, and it had plans to disrupt India’s 72nd Republic Day celebrations this year. Its Kashmir-Khalistan desk needs to keep the pot boiling in order to keep India busy with internal security concerns. Since decades, it is interesting to note how Canada, the UK, the US, and Germany has been safe haven for Khalistani terrorists. While the separatist movement itself has seen very little public support until recently in India, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a banned US-based group, has claimed responsibility for an RPG attack recently in Mohali. This violence has escalated, and Punjab seems to be on a slow boil again. With arrests of Khalistani elements underway in Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, it must be remembered that low profile arrests in such cases ensures public sentiment does not tip over and change to communal violence. As such, it is imperative that foreign funding be targeted as a means to subdue such terrorism.

In 2020, the NIA chargesheeted 16 people working out of Canada, the US and the UK.  

At least nine high-level Khalistani operatives are working out of Germany. The NIA has found that the SFJ acts toward indoctrination and instigation of Sikh personnel in the Indian Army to rise in mutiny, in addition to radicalisation of youth in Kashmir. SFJ has also donated $10,000 to the UN to enable propaganda during the “Farmers Protests”, gaining international ground for a purportedly domestic matter. Even as Canada shot down India’s request to allow for higher Minimum Price Support (MSP) for Indian farmers, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed open support for a movement against the welfare of Indian farmers, one that saw at least one brutal gang-rape, a caste-based murder, and a wide spread of Covid-19, in addition to the loss of livelihood of thousands of Indians. Canada’s politicians have continually expressed support for the separatist movement. As Boris Johnson expressed support to India and set up a task-force to address Khalistani terrorism and terror funding in the UK recently, the US, in contrast, has outright refused to aid in curbing Khalistani terrorism. SFJ has held protests outside the Indian Consulate, threatening the lives of Indians inside. This is despite India issuing a request for mutual legal assistance to the US to help curb terror activities on Indian soil, funded by US money. The state of Connecticut fears no reprisal as it calls to celebrate Sikh Independence Day, an actively communal and separatist call. Intelligence officers in India have cited how the recruitment of US lobbyists, politicians for propaganda has forwarded a terrorist cause within US borders. US president Joe Biden cites the US-India relationship as one of the most important in the world. India is too often sermonised to remember its place in a global democratic order, while the same call goes unheard when India makes smaller and particular requests. As democracies witnessing the rise of autocratic belligerence across the world, major democratic powers are seen as supporting terrorist acts against partner democracies and friendly nations on their soil, using their money. As calls for increased trade and defence cooperation is on the rise, it is incumbent India use all its persuasive powers to ensure cooperation on the front of anti-Khalistan activity. As Western hegemony fades, it becomes increasingly necessary that the partnerships the bloc forges be strong and based on strategic interests. One way values-based discourses are a disservice to partnerships that are going to be increasingly critical in coming years. The US cannot foment terrorism on its soil against a friendly nation State, encouraging non-State actors to communalise and terrorise innocent civilians. International hypocrisy in concerns about communalism in India will continue to be called out if the democratic community actively aids and abets terrorism by proxy. The single solution to the international Khalistani problem, now witnessing a rapid resurgence within Indian borders, is to stem the flow of foreign funds and propaganda with the assistance of fellow democracies. As India stands at the forefront of anti-terror resolutions and operations, it does so from the experience of continual resistance and victimhood. Partner democracies displaying a lack of proportionate concern cannot work in favour of true strategic alliances. India’s quest for a stable and secure social fabric within its democratic framework is incumbent upon protecting that framework through international cooperation. The author is a Masters in Biotechnology from the University of Bath, an MBA, a columnist, and a podcaster. Views expressed are personal. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News,  India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.