The question of an independent Sikh homeland, Khalistan, has recently been in the news again. But it has a long and exceptionally violent history. But is this really the start of a new independence campaign? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and comments below.
definitely a violent history, in terms of the killings sikhs endured by the state estimated at 200,000 baptised sikhs killed in numerous genocide initiatives by gov.
As a Sikh I can say that Amritpal is not that popular and have no support .It's just incompetent government of Punjab and media hype which is responsible for all this drama.
As a Sikh I can certainly say you have no support nor are you popular whatsoever. In fact I'm certain your neighbors must likely don't even know you. Therefore, any comments you make will be weighed accordingly.
@@YuvrajSingh-fg8sc only punjabi sikh sheeple fall for Amritpal's extremist bullshit. He has very valid points about the issues he highlights but the solutions aren't sufficient at all, if not just wrong.
@@YuvrajSingh-fg8sc As a Sikh living in india panjab Amritpal Singh I'm ashamed of calling Amritpal Singh a Sikh he used people for his own benefits by spreading hate and got attention ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਇੱਕ ਹੋਰ ਪਾਕਿਸਤਾਨ ਬਣਾਉਣ ਦੀ ਕੋਸ਼ਿਸ਼ ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ (Amritpal shigh is trying to create another Pakistan To stop India's raise)
As a French born British national converted to Sikhism and settled in Chandigarh, and running an organic farm near Anandpur Sahib for over 24 years, I see very little support for Khalistan in India. Many issues are yet to be addressed, going back to India ‘ s independence, but it doesn’t mean Sikhs want a so-called Khalistan. . Those issues concern pujabis , Hindus and Sikhs. As in the past, communal violence can only serve politicians, who will exploit it for their political agenda. Jagjit Singh Chohan was a fake separatist, anti so-called Sikh separatists from the diaspora don’t have a clue about the situation in Punjab, where people just try to get on with their lives. Let’s pray peace will prevail.Sat Sri Akal, Salam, shalom, Shanti.
Fair point Darshan Singh, but I think it's easy for you to dismiss people's desire for self determination since your place(s) of origin (France and UK) are sovereign states. As you saw with the recent Amritpal matter, making comments about independence from India is dangerous. Many who were suspected of supporting khalistan ended up tortured and/or dead during 80s and 90s. India considers the perpetrators of those human rights abuses as heroes.
@@sandeepk4093 Sandip ji , ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕਾ ਖਾਲਸਾ , ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕੀ ਫਤਹਿ । actually I am now a British national, and I have renounced my French nationality, ( as a protest against French secular bigotry) due to the fact that a French court didn’t allow me to change my name from Michel Rudel to Darshan Singh, name I’ve received when it took Amrit in Anandpur sahib in 1991 .. I can stay in India because my wife is Indian. I also come from the south of France known as Languedoc , or Occitan country, colonised by the French. Now the Occitan language is recognised, and taught in schools , but it was forbidden to speak it in the past. I spent 10 years in Southall, near London to be with the Sikh community, since I was not allowed to travel to Punjab for a few years, I had my visa refused, and I faced hostility from embassy staff, as I visited Indian embassies wearing a Sikh turban. Something I do since my second visit to India end of 1979 . I was in Punjab beginning 1983 , I have lost Sikh friends , who were not involved in politics, during the blue star tragedy. I was in Japan in1984 , then spent two years in Taiwan to learn martial arts. I realised how Sikhs were demonised by the media. However, I believe partition was a tragedy, especially the division of Punjab , that should have been avoided at all cost, and an other partition must be avoided. I also believe Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims should live together peacefully. As Sikhs, we should win the heart of the people by practicing Sikhi . Our so-called Sikh leaders , these days, have sold their souls and are only concerned about making money. And Punjab is presently the Shrabistan of India . We as Sikhs must try to reform ourselves.
@@darshansingh4375 Exactly the British were always determined to separate the Hindus and Muslims. But anything to do with Sikhs was always treated with hard ruthless approach. Sikhs have been bystanders whilst everyone has strengthen themselves. Sikhs have been left in harsh conditions to keep them marginalised. It is for those reasons they have stopped working together as a collective, but just trying to get by everyday. Being poor certainly does put you up against it when it comes to having the political will for self determination. You kind of get used to it.
There was recently an actual petition for Canada to sell Brampton to Denmark to lower Canada’s crime rate. Maybe someone should create a petition to make Brampton Khalistan. 😂
@@sajidnayyar3392 Yes, West Punjab could be made Khalistan soon with the help of Modi and Pakistan as Khyber Pakhthunkhwa goes to Afghanistan, PoK to India, and Balochistan and Sindh gets independence.
Yup Sikhs are one of the most patriotic people of our country. They also make up the vast majority of Punjab security so they're the most at risk of khalistani terrorists
@@amrutheshumashankar4996Why brand people who want freedom, terrorists? Khalistan sounds like a reasonable idea. Now, if someone is aggressive, criminal or brutal then call him simply terrorist. But there's no need to add nationality to it. Imagine Britain 100 years ago called you a Hindu terrorist. Like what the fuck?
While that seems a lot, it would be better to compare with the percentage of Sikh troops back in 1947, through out the last 7 decades and now. The number has been growing smaller year after year.
@@bilic8094Pakistan supports Khalistan because they think they can avenge the loss of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) with it. US CIA supported them in the 80’s but not really now. Other than that, the third largest party in Canada (NDP) is headed by a Khalistani sympathizer and the ruling Liberals want his support.
It's weird that almost all Khalistan supports are ready to forfeit entire West Punjab which is the Homeland and birthplace of Sikhism, thereby appeasing Pakistan, this itself shows some Hypocrisy. Anyway even at the peak of the Khalistan movement in the 90's there was very little support for it, because most of the victims of this movement were Sikhs themselves. Sikhs are one of, if not THE most Patriotic group in the country.
@@jkmcgregor7797 Punjab as a geographical region always existed as the riverlands regions in northwestern india, and the people in this region speak a common language and have common culture, Himachal is in the HImalayas, Haryana is the region between Yamuna and Sutlej, the Punjab Province created by the British is mostly based on their convenience just like Madras or Bombay, one can draw lines however one wants on a map, one can include Rajhastan or Sindh into Punjab region as well if someone wanted to.
@@saureld2229 punjab always existed in the most western india. India did exist prior 1947 it waa the British raj .India was created with pakistan in 1947.before 1910 no Indian identity everyone identified with their ethnic group or kingdom.
@@jkmcgregor7797 The provisional government of India that came out of bri’ish chains in 1947, was a fractured polity of the British provinces , not including the 500+ petty kingdoms. The modern Indian republic was made by the concerted efforts of the Sardar Patel, KM Munshi and the PM Nehru, not by crooked borders made by angloids probably based on their crooked teeth. The common Indian identity existed through the struggles of the freedom movement, especially by Gandhi and Congress in their attempts to unite people from each corner and ideology. For all the fractured states it made perfect sense to join a larger union geographically and economically.
@@sangtea_fanai Its a minority, majority see benefit of being in democratic Indian union and not a tiny land locked state with Burma. Which has no access to ocean and stuck suffering with Burmas problems unable to gain access to the world.
@@sangtea_fanai Bro, we wil, we will..?? Nagaland 41 lakh population, Delhi alone is 3.5cr. If not for India offering stability you will be in constant ethnic hate and war like in burma... everybody are human beings so what is so special about you? You are genuine or what? You can't even understand how to coexist.
A separate Sikh state faces three very big obstacles which will prevent its existance: 1. Lack of grassroots support within India. Though popular and vibrant in Sikh communities in the UK and Canada, the idea of Khalistan is not something that has caught on by any means within the country or within the area where this theorized state will exist. 2. Attachment of Sikhs with India. Many Sikhs and Punjabis closely identify with India and are attached to this country in many ways that I simply cannot tell in a YT comment. This will take decades, at best, to undo if a seperate Sikh state were to be formed. 3. Pakistan. A united Sikh Punjab requires parts of Pakistani Punjab and Lahore, of which are Muslim dominated and are too valuable for Islamabad to lose IF Delhi gives their side.
Another thing is that this is still almost wholly a jatt sikh endeavor. The Khatri sikhs who bore the brunt of the 84 riots have essentially moved on and have little to no support for this.
@@kth6736 not even a majority of jat Sikhs support khalistan too. KPS gill who crushed the separatist movement was a proud jat and majority of military and police force in Punjab are jat Sikhs so they suffered the most as well. Please don't try to portray every jat Sikhs as a khalistani because that's never been true many jat Sikhs have fought for India and gave up their lives in military
@@amrutheshumashankar4996 read carefully and try to comprehend my words better. If I say coke is an american venture it doesnt mean every american (or even a majority of americans) works for coke.
@@ghazanhussain2070 EU is organisation of 35+ country otherhand Lahore is capital of Punjab and every sikh empire had their capital in Lahore Pakistan not in India. Their boundary was only Punjab part of india which is very shorter pakistan occupied Punjab
My neighbor lost his wife in the Air India bombing. Sadly, nobody has really been adequately punished for this act of terrorism. Thanks for the concise update. My impression is that the Sikh community enjoys a generally good image (perhaps better than Modi) but things like the Vancouver protests barely make the news.
Sikhs also suffused I have family member who were burnt alive by Indian congress mobs in india but they still don’t blame the country because Hindus protected majority of the Sikhs otherwise the death toll would be in the 100s of thousands. Also the air Indian bombing was a false flag operation which Canadian officials of declassified if you do your research instead of reading indian propaganda
7:00 I am a Punjabi Hindu myself. My community would have appreciated you more if you included killing of Hindus by Sikh radical elements before 1984 attack on Golden temple. We Punjabi Hindus(almost 50% of Punjabi population) are often neglected by our State as well as Central governments as you did in this video. In 1983 Dhilwan Bus massacre Hindus were segregated by stopping the bus and shot point blank for being Hindus. The Head of Khalistan separation movement Bhindrawala said he isn't involved in it but categorically refused to condemn the killings. Similar incidents happened on Hindus and Government officials in 1980-84. Had you mentioned it, we would have appreciated the coverage more. Anyways nice effort on this complex topic.
Have u any data of so called hindus killed by sikhs ..where r their families ..why they dont come for justice??could u prove sikhs did killings ..??state sponserd propg after 2000 to justify sikh genocide nd defame sikhs ..
Those are the incidents that made it into the press. My Uncle got killed and my father was shot (fortunately survived) because they opened up their shop with a Hindu name. Khalistanis used to visit the market and if they found any shop with a Hindu name was open, they used to kill that person right there. These deaths generally went unreported because the police at that time were so scared of filing reports against Khalistanis. And it is very surprising even the national media was silent. The Sikh victims of riots in Delhi got homes in Mohali and got compensation (and rightly so, they didn't deserve that pain). But for those Hindus who got killed before 1984 by Khalistanis in Punjab, the state doesn't even recognize them as victims. You would see liberal Hindus raising voices to support victims of Sikh riots, but no liberal Sikhs supporting victims of Khalistani aggression over Hindus in Punjab.
@@kunalpuri6035 how could u said ..sikhs did these killings ..??have u any proof? whwre police killed many sikh youth nd families ( even of 13 -14 years schl going sikh boys were killed in fake encounters nd ladies were raped in police custdy ..why police did nt take action for these killings ..pinky cat (full name Gurmeet pinky) nd many other policemen unveiled that these killings were done by police thrgh police cats to defame sikhs nd to break hindu sikh unity..BD Pandey (former govnr of pb 1982-84 nd loyal of indira gandi )in his latest after death publish book (in service of free india) said that these killings were suspected killings ..nd sikh never ever killed any innocent hindu….other side some hindus played very negative role against sikhs nd took part in sikh genocide..
There are proofs available that the bus massacre was done by CAT (fake sikhs) set up by police to get center's attention so that they can start killing sikhs in fake encounters and get medals. I do agree there were incidents where militants killed sikhs but in numbers they are no where close to how many sikhs were killed during 10 year period of fake encounters there are villages here where you will not find youngsters those who remained have left country and most were killed. You punjabi hindus need to have a stand you choose hindi as your mother tongue during punjabi suba movement and if you can cheat your mothertongue for your religion don't blame us for choosing our religion over country.
Khalistani's want part of Punjab province in India but not those Punjab provinces which are present in Pakistan and has a great importance in Sikhism. These show Pakistani influence.
Anglo-$axons and the Great Game against Asiatic powers (Russia, China, India, Iran, Vietnam, North Korea) in order to remain the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
The main reason Khalistan exists as a movement is because of Indian national Congress, they repeatedly interfered in Punjab's elections against the Akali Dal, created an atmosphere for more hard-line religiosity in the process, supported Bhindranwale in the beginning , when they found they could not control him no more they started cracking down, but they took action so late that He had enough time to turn the Golden temple into a fortress, followed worst strategies, took hell of a lot of casualties, destroyed the temple in the process, when Indira Gandhi was assassinated congress supporters turned on innocent Sikhs, even attacking the CM of Punjab who was himself a congressman. So More than the popular demand for a a separate homeland it's these wounds that have fueled this movement.
Sounds like they took a page out of the US foreign policy guidebook. Stoke the flames of tension while ignoring grievances until they explode. Then act like the protestors are just violent and extreme by nature.
The Khalistan idea has gone down in the recent years, and imo it remains that way for the foreseeable future. However during the era of Indira Gandhi it was a whole nother story... Like I'm actually surprised to see this video, saying the idea of Khalistan is "growing", when it really isn't.... Unless you're in Canada - then you definitely get that impression XD
@G.S बैंस Mattertalks not in india though. Few foreign funded sikh groups demand for it. But most of the sikhs don't want any seperate state. Its the demand of sikhs who don't even live in india and the funny part the seperate Khalistan they are demanding for supported by Pakistan is already 75% part of punjab governed by Pakistan side. India only have 25% of punjab state. These fools are just unreasonable trying to create instability in peaceful country. They don't demand Khalistan from pakistan which actually holds 75% punjab region. But they don't have guts to do that coz there is nothing like demanding justice or seperate state in pakistan. Otherwise they will be brutally killed there🤣🤦
Excellent. Very few Indians can explain it this well. Few points missed - Terrorism peaked in 90s. 1984 was the most noted year. But attacks and targeted ones happened later too. - The creation of other states from the larger East Punjab also caused resentment. Esp around resource sharing. - Manmohan Singh was India’s PM from 2004-14. As a Sikh himself, it did send a big message.
The two states that were separated from east punjab barely have any sikh population. Also the particular group of Sikhs that screeches for separation are jatts. Who are former feudals and hate it because their hegemony ended after India became a democracy. During the 90s when terrorism was on peak, the militants also targeted other sects of Sikhs who aren't part of the Jatt clans
@@sardar_gurjot Terrorism tuhii haraamde wi koi dudh teh thule ni si. Jeh Congress di indira Gandhi haraamdi si naale Bhindrawala wi kanjri dah puttar si-
The two states that were separated from east punjab barely have any sikh population. Also the particular group of Sikhs that screeches for separation are jatts. Who are former feudals and hate it because their hegemony ended after India became a democracy. During the 90s when terrorism was on peak, the militants also targeted other sects of Sikhs who aren't part of the Jatt clans
@@kagoma2592 jatts are an ethnicity . They are upper caste kshatriyas . Some accepted Sikhism and some remained hindus . They are the ones you see acting all macho in punjabi music videos
Most ironic part is that many people/organisations in India and the west who claim to be *secular, inclusive and diverse* , are among the prominent supporters of the creation of this religious ethno state.
I do want say, that many Sikhs even overseas do not want Khalistan, and are loyal to India. At the same time, there are a lot of Sikhs who support this movement to a degree!
Sadly I met a young .. 25 yr old Sikh kid here in NZ🇳🇿, we got talking.. I noted his car rego plate had a surround that read 1984 “Martyrs not forgotten”.., he explained the cruelty to Sikhs.., I acknowledged.. but reminded him that he’s in a new life , in a new & distant country.. not in India.. I suggested he needed to move on.. and that certainly NZ didn’t deserve to experience the violence/ hate from another place… Was both sad… and foolish to see a young man continuing a story that others had told him.. Live is for the living
@@jaibholenath6900 I imagine he does know/ understand.. every single fn moment in everyone’s history… that’s the point…. The BS & fighting needs to stop somewhere…, and certain.. we in 🇳🇿 sure as shit.. don’t deserve to have another nations hate & bloodshed come here…
@@tigertiger1699 many those who hold sentiments of khalistan are not aware of the atrocities, bhindrenvale's men did between 1977-85, sikhs in india do not particularly like that guy, the officer who killed the separatists leader was a sikh himself and he volunteered
1984 riots against sikhs are regrettable but u should also understand that india has elected a sikh prime minister for 10 years so its not like sikhs are persecuted here now
Because buddy they decided to stick with india in 1947 that’s why, unless your mentally unstable you would understand that, if they stayed with Pakistan and they treated them badly they they would be telling the Pakistani government the same thing now and maybe they would say go ask HinduShaitan for Khalistan 😂 so relax HinduShaitan we know what you’re already thinking 🧐
Nehru is to blame for that. Sikh maharajahs, sikh generals and political leaders wanted to attack pakistan and liberate lahore and west punjab but nehru didnt like the idea.
One important point missed out in this discussion is that Puniab within Indian Quasi Federation enjoys democratic vote to install their prefered government. The Puniab had elected Aam Admi Party over the national parties such as Congress and BJP . Which entails that Punjabi population can create their own power-sharing dynamics within their province and generate political elites who have an interest in defending the same Constitutional structure which is the fundamental basis of such power . A landlocked state sandwiched between 2 nuclear powers can excite a Sikh sititng inside his comfy rooms in a Anglo-Saxon nation but in India it is a recipe for catastrophe . Indian Sikhs have been integrated within the state and central power-structures beyond their proportion in the population which turns them as the spearhead in the efforts to confront the Khalistani movement within the country .
Punjab is one of India's top agriculture producers. Water use for rice and the pumping of ground water have made much of the area much more prone to droughts exacerbated by the climate change.
The water is almost depleted due to central government building dams and canals to divert Punjab state’s river waters from state of Punjab to other states without paying a single dime to Punjab they’re stealing the water from a Sikh state and giving it to Hindu states so let’s be honest
my Nani ji (maternal grandmother) who was a Sikh said that khalistani supporters are in dire need for a mental asylum or rehab(punjab indeed has one of the highest Drug consumption per capita in india) Great video
Well , who controls the Drug influx??????? The Drugs comes from the port of Gujrat and then completely misses the Gujrat and other States in the way and only finds Punjab!!!!! Why ????? The other thing who is responsible to protect the border of Punjab touching the foreign countries ????? There are so many BSF soldiers on the border of Punjab than the total population of Sikhs in Punjab !!!! Whose failure is that to protect the influx of drugs in Punjab !!!!! The Majority people’s lies cannot change the reality !!!! The Supporters of these government Lies is the biggest reason that Sikhs feeling so unsafe in their own country.
I’ve been waiting for this one, professor. I live in Central California, with one of the largest Diasporas of Punjabis. Every now and then I see marches and gatherings drawing attention to their causes, but it’s never been my business to ask why or what for. So I’ll sit back and listen.
If you’re ever curious, it’s fine to ask them. They’d happily explain their faith,cause and history to you. If you ever see any general Sikh gathering, you’re always free to join in, they love to have outsiders to their faith get involved in their activities
I wouldn't bother, mate. They have the ability to practice their faith freely in this country and yet they are militant in their beliefs that they are owed a 'State' to call home. I mean, that's as ridiculous as a group of Americans, say 150 years ago, who forged their own beliefs about magical underwear and grabbed their kisin' cousins', some guns, and manifested some white destiny out West! If the Sikhs were smart, they'd just buy North Dakota and presto! Statehood achieved!
@@m.w.6526 Thats the majority white worlds way, don't you know. "If I can't profit then its none of my business", #majoritywhitelife #wesupporttransandallotherbs than real world problems.
“ Sikh country was rejected “ not true actually the British gave them a choice along with the Muslims and Hindus to form their own country, it was actually the Sikhs who refused to break up india any further like the Muslims did when they created Pakistan, please get your facts correct before making such videos because it makes a difference in the reader’s mind.. both Hindus and Muslims asked if they would join their countries at the end sikhs decision was to stay with india because the Hindu leaders made many promises to Sikhs only if they would stay with india and not form their own country. Even the British told the Sikh leader don’t blow the chance to form their own country but the Sikh leader didn’t listen to them big mistake
There is no interest for Khalistan even in Indian Punjab. Any Khalistan without Pakistani Punjab would be an incomplete state. No Khalistani flag ever uses the Gurmukhi alphabet, they use the English alphabet -- this indicates that the only interest is Sikhs in Western countries to see a Khalistan made in India. There are complicated land-holdings of Western Sikhs in Indian Punjab -- there are absentee landlords sitting in Canada & US/UK who would like to see a Khalistan, but no one on the ground in Indian Punjab.
@@jkmcgregor7797 those states have vast majority of Hindu population who won't ever like the idea of khalistan and when it even lacks support in Sikhs (out of 100 seats khalistanis win only 1 in Punjab) how will they convince hindus
@@jkmcgregor7797 Raja Hari Singh had signed the IOA with the republic of India, thereby joining the union. Cry and cope as much as you want but the geopolitical ambitions of nations will most certainly never allow a large part of former Hindu heritage, raped and pillaged by turkoid barbarians to be torn away from the union. Ofc give. The circumstances the republic would’ve definitely would’ve wanted to capture all the lands until Hindu Kush and formalise a border, while maintained the high ground.
@@Tenisinspector8341 signed ioa lmao but as agreement for will of people to be taken is not accepted territory of india and never will be there for classed disputed
Thank you Professor! Your explanation of Canada-India relations is very helpful. Your explanations of history are so helpul give recent tensions: -Hardeep Singh Nijjar assassination -worsening relations between PM Modi and PM Trudeau -Indian suspension of visas to Canada and travel advisories
It’s not as simple as Sikhs getting bullied lol. The idea of a Sikh homeland is deeply embedded in the faith itself, and the Khalistan movement was triggered by the politics that took place in post independence Punjab. In order to properly understand the demand, you have to read about everything that happened after 47. I suggest you look into the Anandpur Resolution to start
@@jajsdudus7055 but I wonder why are none of the cities of Pakistan part of Khalistan map ? There are key areas in Lahore very pivotal to the Sikh faith, they're not part of the Khalistan map, why ?
@@abc_cba because surprise surprise, a movement banking on religious lines which doesn’t even claim the birth place of their Prophet let alone the former territories under them makes it quite obvious whose interest it is to sponsor this charade. KPS Gill must be rolling in his grave
@@abc_cba cause it’s not about “historical” sikh areas. it’s about current sikh areas. it’s that simple bro, virtually no sikhs live in pakistan anymore and they aren’t seeking independence from pakistan. also, if Khalistan were to be made, there would probably be free movement too and from Pakistan
@@jajsdudus7055 no historical Sikh areas ? Gurunanak, the founder of Sikhism was born what today is in Lahore and so was Guru Ram Das ! Why no inclusion of those major areas, irrespective of whether or not Sikhs live there or not ?
Anglo-$axons and the Great Game against Asiatic powers (Russia, China, India, Iran, Vietnam, North Korea) in order to remain the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
Thanks. I’m not sure how that differs from what I said. But Sikhism is nevertheless based on Hinduism and Islam, just as Christianity is a completely new and separate religion based on Judaism, and Islam is a refinement of Judaism and a Christianity. Many of the world religions draw on one another. This is not a bad thing. And let’s not make it bad either.
@@JamesKerLindsay It's not that Sikhi is "based" on "hinduism" or Islam, it's just that all three (I'm counting "hindusim" as one here even though there are many different gods and ideologies within this) shared certain truths, and those truths were brought to light in each respective religions. That's like me writing a study textbook for RN Nursing and claim that it's based on this other textbook covering auto-mechanics because it just so happens to cover CPR training. In fact, to go further, many hindus of the time past tried several assassination attempts on the founders of Sikhi, because they refused to follow some of the conservative rituals/traditions of "hinduism." This is because the teachers of Sikhi exposed many of the hypocrisies of society (most of which were hindu and Muslim), even the Shabads (divine messages) in the 11th Guru Sahib Guru Granth Sahib Ji contains many many lines that clearly go against and call out these hypocrisies. With that said, I do appreciate your time and dedication to finding out more about the history surrounding Sikh sovereignty. Just one piece of advise, however, I would try to stay away from labeling certain groups as terrorists, and try to see the perspective from multiple sides. Unfortunately for Sikhs, the hindu-majority government has written most of history, so naturally you will find more anti-Khalistan sources. The reason the movement slowed down was because of the genocide operations that ran much through the post-partition days. In fact, one such Sikh activist during the 90s, bhai Jaswant Singh Khalra, proved the disappearances of over 25,000 innocent Sikhs (mostly males) and over 2000 police officers who refused to partake in the mass killings. And to this, this was just in 3 districts. More would have been exposed, if not for the brutal kidnap and murder of Jaswant Singh by the Punjabi police. This attempt to shutdown any government and state-sponsored terrorism has been met with execution on the spot. Do you think Deep Sidhu and Sidhu moosevala just died for no reason? They brought up many of the water scarcity problems, where Punjab's natural source of water has been funneled out to other non-riparian states for FREE, while Punjabis have to pay for their own water. Please research SYF, I implore you, in fact. I know this was a bit of a ramble, but there is a whole lot to this story that meets the eye. Thank you again for at least taking the time out to learn about this situation, I respect that.
What we often forget is, the Indian state capacity to deal with any kind of separatism today is far greater. It can provide sufficient positive concessions(a carrot) and if doesn't work out, it has more than enough strength to quell any armed struggle/rebellion(a stick). There used to be atleast a half dozen such struggles during late 1980s to 2000s but India was able to suppress most of them with a far lesser economy. We can only imagine what it can do today.
The Indian army is a successor to the British Indian army. The army's number 1 role has always been to fight the natives to stop them from toppling those in power. Many of the Indian regiments have battle honours from battles that expanded British territory in Indian subcontinent or that crushed rebellions. Economy has nothing to do with it. E.g., a Nair soldier will have no qualms with murdering a Naga to put down an insurgency as they have very little in common with each other, other that being ruled by Delhi. We saw it at Galwan when the Chinese embarrassed the Indians; the Indian army is good at fighting Indian civilians, not so good at fighting the Chinese.
@@sandeepk4093 I have been seeing your comments in all the comment sections across this video , You are one Sick person filled with Venom and Hate and i hope Wahe guru ji gives you some satbuddhi to be more calm . And when it comes to fighting the chinese or anyone else who tries to be a danger to the sovernigty of India , I guess army have done a pretty great job for the last 75 years . Stay Put and don't spread hate . you are just a lost soul
@@sandeepk4093 you really need a reality check if you think Indian military is only good at fighting Indians. This is an army fought 6 wars after independence. All of them to protect the teritorial integrity of India, including liberating a country the size of england. And winning against Chinese in Nathu La in 1967, same Chinese who you think gave a bloody nose to Indians, against a far larger force too. And inside the India, the security situation is handled by Indian paramilitary, Indian army hardly does anything most of the time. And Indian military successfully conducted an operation in Sierra leone in 2001, if you think IA cannot conduct major operations far outside India.
In the 1980’s the Indian Government had been conducting a covert intelligence operation in Canada. This operation has involved the deception both of Canadian Security forces and of the Canadian Government, and led to one of the most horrific acts of modern terrorism-the killing of 329 people in the Air India Bombing of 1985. These are the conclusions of Soft Target, a startling, shocking book by Zuhair Kashmeri [of the Toronto Globe and Mail] and Brian McAndrew [of the Toronto Star]. At the center of Soft Target are Canada’s Sikhs. Probing deeply into the story of Sikh unrest from the early 1980’s on, Kashmeri and McAndrew argue that the Sikhs are the victims of manipulation and disinformation carried out by the Indian Government. With the aim of discrediting the Sikhs and undermining the campaign for an independent Punjab, Indian agents have infiltrated the Sikh community in Canada, fomenting hostility towards Indian and even provoking violent incidents. Along the way, say Kashmeri and McAndrew, India has also played a devious game with the Canadian government. In the mid 1980’s, exploiting the Canadian desire to maintain good relations with India, Indian Diplomats and agents directed a steady stream of phony tips on the Sikhs to the Canadian Government. These tips were accepted at face value by External Affairs and the RCMP. Some CSIS agents eventually caught on to what India was doing, but their political masters would not listen. Drawing on information from Canadian Sikhs, Indian diplomats and agents of CSIS and the RCMP, Soft Target is an extraordinary piece of investigative journalism. Teeming with characters out of a Le Carré novel, the book guides the reader through the byzantine politics of Sikh nationalism and the shadowy world of international espionage. In its convincing analysis of events leading to and following the Air India bombing, it shows who was pulling the strings and who was the made the fool...
Thanks so much, Greg. I have wanted to cover this for a while. It’s surprisingly little known today, but in the mid-1980s, this was obviously a huge international story.
Really glad you went ahead and talked about the 🪯 Sikh nationalism in 🇮🇳 the World’s Largest Democracy, as the World’s 5th Largest Religion hardly gets an attention outside of 🇮🇳India, 🇬🇧UK, 🇨🇦Canada, 🇦🇺Australia & 🇳🇿New Zealand! Or in other words in the Punjabi script: ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ!
@@lil_lavender8467 ah yes so you’re allowed to have Hindustan but Sikhs are not allowed to have Khalistan or any sort of autonomy. Instead that idea is apparently comparable to a toilet, just goes to show the way a lot of Indian Hindus really view Sikhs. You only like us when it suits your agenda, facts.
Irish also want out of UK and their movement has been violently suppressed. What about the proud Scottish they are not very happy about their subjugation. Welsh have nothing to do with Britain. It's time a vote is called for all these groups to earn their nationhood they rightfully deserve.
Not sure what your point is. There is a Northern Ireland peace agreement that explicitly grants a referendum on Irish unification when there is evidence that the majority want it. We’re not there yet, though. And I actually support the right of Scotland to choose its future. But evidence suggests support for independence is declining the moment. I made a video on this recently. ua-cam.com/video/gvzUjyfYps8/v-deo.html
@@JamesKerLindsay Khalistan movement does not have an Indian origin. It is mainly sponsored by overseas elements and given an Indian colour by brainwashing or manipulating some stray youth who have nothing better to do. Like Amritpal singh who was thrust into it even though he had nothing to do with such an idea. So there are people who will fund such implants from overseas to do this for them. Surprisingly no one asks for Pak part of Punjab for Khalistan!
@@JamesKerLindsay at least India can be proud it does not interfere in other country's matters like for example Britain hosting a Khalistan office and holding a referendum in British soil for Khalistan independence. Self proclaimed experts on international matters should look at how Britain creates and amplifies other countries' fissures and tries to gain from it. If Britain and USA mind their own business the world will be a better place.
As someone born, raised and living in a country in the Sub-continent. This topic is extremely sensitive. Religion based violence and isolationism in the Subcontinent is common however, the Sikh issue something that is largely overlooked as one of the most famous Indian Army officers in my Countries history is General Jagjit Singh Arora (guess where I'm from) a sikh himself. The chance of something taking a turn for the worst is always there albeit slim. The existence of sikhs in the army could lead to extreme violence in not just India but in neighboring countries. Personally I believe the sentiment for Serious Sikh Separatism (try saying that 5 times really fast) is more popular abroad than in India itself. I guess time will tell.
Basically, The creation of state based on religion in Indian subcontinent led to rise of aspirations of a Sikh state among Sikhs too and thus from time to time, such demands have came but apart from 1980s, no concrete movement related to the creation of a Sikh state was done because majority of Sikhs don't share such aspirations and those who share it know that's it's infeasible and practically impossible. Also Sikhs wanted the whole undivided Punjab state at one point of time but only had 14% of the total population with Muslims (52%) and Hindus (30%) being the two largest communities in Punjab. Even after partition Sikhs constituted just 28% of Eastern Punjab (the part of Punjab which went to India) and Hindus constituted 70% of the state population. In 1966, several right wing Sikh groups ask the government to form a Sikh majority Punjab and it was successful but even in that Sikhs were barely a majority with 58% population and Hindus still remaining a prominent minority (40%).
That's absolutely correct about the separatists being far more prominent in the diaspora than in India itself, particularly in Canada and the UK. In places like Surrey and Brampton in Canada the Khalistanis are the loudest part of the Indian community.
They will end up like beggeristan full of political instability, Riots, ..... United you stand divided you fall. I will agree to separate sikh state in Punjab according to their population proportion means 60% of indian Punjab and half of pakistan Punjab and all sikh must leave india and should settle in their territory not meshup like india and pakistan division on religious basis and india ended up with secular state with 220 millions muslim population same with pakistan population. There's no meaning of division when muslim of India didn't leave and went to their islamic nation. outside Punjab all the territory belong to hindu like Himachal Pradesh, utrakhand, Delhi, haryana, uttar pradesh.
The creation of state based on religion in Indian subcontinent led to rise of aspirations of a Sikh state among Sikhs too and thus from time to time, such demands have came but apart from 1980s, no concrete movement related to the creation of a Sikh state was done because majority of Sikhs don't share such aspirations and those who share it know that's it's infeasible and practically impossible. Also Sikhs wanted the whole undivided Punjab state at one point of time but only had 14% of the total population with Muslims (52%) and Hindus (30%) being the two largest communities in Punjab. Even after partition Sikhs constituted just 28% of Eastern Punjab (the part of Punjab which went to India) and Hindus constituted 70% of the state population. In 1966, several right wing Sikh groups ask the government to form a Sikh majority Punjab and it was successful but even in that Sikhs were barely a majority with 58% population and Hindus still remaining a prominent minority (40%).
Thanks. Yes, it is important to note, as I do, that while the idea has a long and exceptionally violent history, it doesn’t enjoy as much support as many outsiders might believe. But the support it does have, especially abroad, had a history of being exceptionally dangerous. That said, it is also important to recognise the difficult history Sikhs have faced and the extremely positive contributions that Sikhs make to India and to the countries where they are now based.
@@JamesKerLindsay Yes I agree with you. My personal belief about Khalistan being popular among the diasporic Sikhs is the fear of a loss of cultural identity which is prompting them to act aggressively on this issue of Khalistan.
@@JamesKerLindsay Sikhs are the most friendliest group I've come across in india and a few lunatic terrorists supported by foreigners who have never lived in Punjab will never change that. It's also very well known that the one who crushed the separatist movement wasn't the incompetent central government but a devout Sikh who also loved India KPS gill
I had long wondered if the issues in the 1980s were (to an extent) worked up by the USA as a catspaw against Soviet-leaning India. The whole 'project' seemed like lunacy given the demographics and India's stance over Jammu-Kashmir. Now it is old wine in a new bottle.
Subramanian Swamy says it was the Soviet Union which was successful in tricking the Indians (through fake intelligence reports) into thinking Pakistan and USA were planning military action to separate Punjab from India. The Soviet Union is known to have had several Indian politicians and news agencies on its payroll. The soviets' reason appears to have been to get India to open a second front against Pakistan, to reduce Pakistan's ability to support the Afghan Mujahedeen against the the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Anglo-$axons and the Great Game against Asiatic powers (Russia, China, India, Iran, Vietnam, North Korea) in order to remain the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
One important fact is not mentioned here. That is, why do some of the western countries, like Canada, UK, USA and Australia provide shelter to the the people who are declared as terrorists after due judicial processes by a sovereign nation India and allow them to continue their anti India activities ? Is it right? No, not at all. Would these same countries tolerate if Usama bin Lad-den were given refuge by India? I don’t think so. Isn’t it a double standard? Don’t forget the American civil war which happened when some the states wanted to separate from the USA . The federal government went to war because the US constitution does not allow secession. In the same way Indian constitution does not allow any state to separate from the Indian Union. All referendum votings miserably failed in the state of Punjab. Not more than 300,000 yes votes were achieved in a state of over 21 million Sikhs live. The world should stand with India for its decision to block KHALISTHAN. It is a myth. I hope Canadians are wise to understand this. If not, give a piece of your own land for these thugs to form a nation of “ AKHLISTHAN” ( impure nation) that will be a thorn on the side of Canada for ever and ever.
Kanashka Indian plan bombed by Indian agencies an d they accuse Sikhs todefame them in diaspora sikhs. Now in Canada after the long legeal process finally disclouse that Indian agencies took 365 lives people to charaterization Sikhs. Please read this rapport.
In the 1980’s the Indian Government had been conducting a covert intelligence operation in Canada. This operation has involved the deception both of Canadian Security forces and of the Canadian Government, and led to one of the most horrific acts of modern terrorism-the killing of 329 people in the Air India Bombing of 1985. These are the conclusions of Soft Target, a startling, shocking book by Zuhair Kashmeri [of the Toronto Globe and Mail] and Brian McAndrew [of the Toronto Star]. At the center of Soft Target are Canada’s Sikhs. Probing deeply into the story of Sikh unrest from the early 1980’s on, Kashmeri and McAndrew argue that the Sikhs are the victims of manipulation and disinformation carried out by the Indian Government. With the aim of discrediting the Sikhs and undermining the campaign for an independent Punjab, Indian agents have infiltrated the Sikh community in Canada, fomenting hostility towards Indian and even provoking violent incidents. Along the way, say Kashmeri and McAndrew, India has also played a devious game with the Canadian government. In the mid 1980’s, exploiting the Canadian desire to maintain good relations with India, Indian Diplomats and agents directed a steady stream of phony tips on the Sikhs to the Canadian Government. These tips were accepted at face value by External Affairs and the RCMP. Some CSIS agents eventually caught on to what India was doing, but their political masters would not listen. Drawing on information from Canadian Sikhs, Indian diplomats and agents of CSIS and the RCMP, Soft Target is an extraordinary piece of investigative journalism. Teeming with characters out of a Le Carré novel, the book guides the reader through the byzantine politics of Sikh nationalism and the shadowy world of international espionage. In its convincing analysis of events leading to and following the Air India bombing, it shows who was pulling the strings and who was the made the fool...
There is no such "rapport". The fact is, Khalistanis got away scot-free due to the incompetence of Canadian authorities. If it had been the US, things would have been very different.
@@jarjarbinks3193 incompetence or just no evidence, everyone knows real Sikhs don’t kill innocent people, just look at track records who kills innocent people? But the Indian got caught red handed, Need evidence just go online search 1984 Sikh Genocide..
Indian Sikhs are living happily in India. The foreigner Sikhs are the separatists. ISI, Pakistan's spy agency is behind them, funding and guiding the separatism under the policy of Bleeding India by Thousand Cuts.
Thank you very much for the video, Professor. Watching it brought up 2 general questinos regarding nation building: 1. The intended Sikh homeland is landlocked and would have a tiny population. Is it even economically viable? Wouldn't this quickly country become a vassal state for india? (This is the same in Kosovo, I believe). Does that type of question even present within separatist movements? 2. Israel had its own currency, its own banks and other sovereign institutions decades before Israrl was a state. Do you think it essential to have these for a separatist movement to succeed? Do the Sikhs have all of these in Punjab? 2.
Thing is that Punjab has 38 % Hindus also .. if even take Punjab separate... Hindus will demand where they are majority... and separate from Punjab and join india. .and india also have upper hand in terms of water ways.. many rivers are come from Himalayas... and if Punjab try to separate it self india will not kind to them ... they will pay
The thing is original idea of Khalistan's 75% punjab region is in pakistan. These foreign sikh seperatist are literally demanding for seperate state from a country where their forefathers took refuge in mejor number in during the partition in 1947
Professor, sikhs in india never speak or in support khalistan. Just some of them sitting in uk and cannada does. Sepratist movement died down decades ago. its just foolishness protesting abroad when no one in the heartland of punjab wants it. its like Native indian american tribes protesting in japan that they would need a new country from the american land.
Thanks for the video. Please note that the 'riots' after Indra's death were more akin to genocide or at least pogroms. A good balanced account on the 1984 genocide/pogroms is '1984 India's guilty secret' by Pav Singh. It is believed that he number of Sikhs killed is around 8,000 during the 3 days. A number of senior govt ministers and Congress party members are suspected of having played an active role in the massacres and rapes. Regarding more recent moves to khalistan, you didn't mention Gurpatwant Singh, who is supposedly the founder of Sikhs for Justice. I personally suspect that he's an Indian asset. Finally, regarding the UK govt speech to a right wing think tank, which referred to growing Sikh separatist violence, the speechmaker (Priti Patel) was asked numerous times in parliament to give examples. At first she claimed she did not hear the question, and then failed to answer a follow-up question to her office.
Thank you. I understand that this is a very sensitive point for many people. Although I did not use the language that many may have wanted, I hope I got across the point that the events after the assassination saw thousands of people lose their lives.
Very concise, educational and informative video and analysis from Prof. Ker-Lindsay, as always. Every video is excellent historical, political and cultural lesson...every time I have learned something new. Thank you so much Prof. Ker-Lindsey.
I have to say, having a bunch of Sikh bodyguards after trying to destroy their most sacred temple after also cracking down on them as a people doesn't seem like the best idea
Apparently she hired Sikh bodyguards on purpose to convince others or herself that she acted because of national security and not out of persecuting the religion.
The worst thing is that many Indians consider her a hero. A vile individual who sold her country to the Soviets, called an emergency after losing and election, and used that emergency to sterilise 6 million people. Then to top it off, she starts a genocide against a community that was up to then overwhelmingly pro Indian, by attacking their holiest place. What an idiot.
India already has been divided based on religion. Muslims got modern day Pakistan🇵🇰 and Bangladesh🇧🇩. Rest of India is home for Hindu (original native) Muslim -mughal (came from uzbekistan ) Buddhist Jains Christians Zorostrinian- parsi ( took shelter in hindu majority india after iran became islamic) Jews (bought by 🇬🇧 colony) Hare krishna Shaiva Atheist Communist atheist If a country has to be divided into pieces based on religion their will be no country left. Think it from a native indian pov. After forced to give away Pakistan, and Bangladesh the scar of losing part of land which was just 75 years ago our own, the scar is not healed but a new scar ready to be drawn...... India can not be divided any more. Khalistan can be made in part of canada, or US or australia, perhaps in Newzealand... A sikh separatist part in canada... Why not?
The notion of Khalistan doesn't find much support among Sikhs in India, they have seen enough violence and bloodshed in a lifetime. It's the diaspora, they operate with impunity in Western countries and their shenanigans may impress upon some as the movement springing back to life, but non-starter, really, at least for now. Bc Punjab is in a very tight spot- easily the worst drug problem in whole of India, economy is in a terrible shape with dual fiscal and unemployment crises, years and years of mis-governance by corrupt and incompetent leaders, and facing a disastrous prospect in ground water drying up by 2028 which would debilitate the farming sector on which much of the state relies upon. And when crisis strikes, we Indians love blaming the Centre. The Central Govt only last year withdrew the much ambitious farm reform because the Punjabi farmers weren't on board and their protests were hijacked by Khalistani separatists. Clearly, they want to appease the Sikhs in the light of the developments which would indicate the govt acknowledges them. That's a step in the right direction and taken much before any disaster could strike. Here's a fun fact that the Western Govt's esp. the Canadians who allow these Khalistani's to operate with freedom ought to find interesting- Bhindranwale was a common preacher, would travel to countryside and give sermons on not using drugs, not shaving beards, etc. until he was handpicked by Indira Gandhi's son to be used as an asset to destabilize the opposition. That would eventually lead to his mothers assasination.
Now I also support khalistan but not in India rather in uk ,us , Canada and anywhere in the world where people want them, Because by population ratio they are in big percentage there instead in India (only around 1). Now my dear khalistani Bandhu also ask Khalistan from them if you want it from India.
White Brits have been at forefront to foment trouble in India. British Empire in 1850 after defeating the Sikhs, captured young Maharaja Dileep Singh and took him to Britain and converted him to Christianity. And that created a rift in the sikh forces. With more than half being loyal to Britain as their king was in patronage of Brits and other half loathed Brits for their shenanigans. Brits/Christians started a long term effort to split khalsa and alienate Sikhs.
Anglo-$axons and the Great Game against Asiatic powers (Russia, China, India, Iran, Vietnam, North Korea) in order to remain the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
Thank you for the Video and not labeling Sikhs as terrorist because they want their homeland. Sikhs need their own homeland so they can set their own rules and regulations instead of following India rules, which are meant for Hindus. India's rules are in favor of Hindus, not Minorties. Every religion have their own rights and homeland. Why can't Sikhs have their own homeland ? Sikhs are not Hindus. Sikhs are not Muslims. When Sikhs raise their voices, how India is trying to eliminate them and denying them their Rights. Sikhs are labeled as terrorists. India still denys Sikhs as a separate religion.
Thank you. I hoped I was fair and balanced. I deliberately tried to explain the origins of Sikhism fairly and respectfully and laid out the context for calls for a Sikh state. I certainly don't regard Sikhs as terrorists. There are certainly violent and extreme elements within the community. But this is the case with almost every situation I cover. I have the utmost respect for the faith and always try to understand the wish of people for self-determination.
@Prof James Ker-Lindsay You did a good job, Sir. Respectful and humble. Indian media or godi media never leaves a moment to give a bad name to Sikhs. Hindus are openly preaching about a Hindu Raj, where minorities will have no rights in Hindustan. Indian government takes no action against the Hindu extremists, and while they get security from the governments, Sikhs activists get hunted down, labeled as terrorists under NSA. Bhai Amirtpal Singh Khalsa ji started an organization to get the youth of drugs and return them to their religion. Corrupt leaders, cops and drug dealer didn't like their drug operation was under threat. Bhai Amirtpal Singh ji said if Police want to arrest him. He willingly will give himself to the cops. But when they brought 80000 cops and two paramilitary to arrest Bhai Amirtpal and assassinate him under fake encounters and label him as terrorist and give bad name to Sikhs. Bhai Amirtpal Singh said Sikhs are not safe under Indian government rule. Indian government broke their promises made to Sikhs before 1947 . Indian government farther divided Sikhs Punjab into two more states. Sikhs are not allowed to buy land in other states. While anyone from other states can buy land in Punjab. Just to kill Sikhs majority in Punjab. India is not a democracy. They have different rules for Hindu and different rules for Sikhs. A Hindu man gets free from jail after rape cases in a few years. Sikhs are sent to jail for the rest of their life's just for praying for Homeland for Sikhs.
@Ritik Shaw no it will be Punjab. Homeland for Sikhs. Why are you Against Sikhs Freedom. Do you not remember your ancestors were slaves in India before independence? Why didn't Hindus keep serving under Birtish Raj ?
The problem for Khalistani's the world over is that the vast majority of Sikh's born & raised in the Punjab are far from being pro- Khalistan. In fact they are very much anti - Khalistan. Moderate Sikhs came out in force, on the streets & extremely angry at these latest events. They would hate to go back to the 80s of trouble & strife. For this one reason Khalistan will never, ever, happen. It's a pipe dream for a vocal minority of Sikh's who live in Australia, Canada & Europe.
The problem with khalistan movement is that they just dont have the numbers. There are approximately 25million sikhs living in India (not even 50% of whom support this) and there are 45million punjabi Hindus living in India (all of whom can claim a domicile in punjab within a single day). There is simply no way either through peace or through conflict for this to happen. Not to forget, India was a bankrupt, weak and feeble country in the 90s and khalistanis were supported by pakistan and USA back then - even then they got picked off. What chance do they have now against a proper state with a proper security apparatus both covert and overt.
@@Ishant007 chal oye. Rajput are not even 2% of sikhs. ALL gurus were punjabis khatris, not your rajput. Apni betiya mughalo ko bechne wale, aaj aa ke khalsa ko takkar denge? Pata hai khalsa kon hai? Tera aur mera baap--merged souls--those who have attained mukti. Apna ehnkaar itna na badhao, ki bhagwan ko aankhe dikhao. Tu bhagwan se upar hai? You killed sikhs, not khalsa, But you pained them. Khlasa never demands worldly desires, but if you come out to kill them, you are in for a surprise. What are you going to bet--sikhi will rise, both in numbers and prominence. Coz time has come for khalsa to rise and for injustices and corrupt to be destroyed. Ie change of YUG is imminent and people like you will end up dying. So your and pakistan's destruction is imminent, just like afghanistan. Abhi tak sikhs lade hai, to teri pant geeli ho gayi, jis din khalsa utha, to kya, tera baap bhi kuch nahi kar payega.
As an outsider, I have a question. Would people in India/the Indian government be in favour of a non-violent solution such as a referendum in Punjab asking residents if they would like an independent Khalistan? I’m thinking it would be somewhat similar to referendums regarding self-determination like those held in Quebec in the recent past. Would that resolve this issue in a non-violent manner perhaps?
Thanks. I would tend to agree. Often letting people have a say will show that they are happy to remain in the country they are in. Often it is the process of preventing a vote that feeds resentment and secessionist sentiment. This is exactly what we saw in Catalonia.
No for a simple reason other state will also ask this like kashmir and nagaland. This was never a option. We will prefer taking pakistan punjab and giving that to Sikhs than this.
@@sumeettanwar1608 I've done some reading on colonial India in the last few weeks so I am by no means an expert. However, I find your first two sentences ironic since this was the same argument used by the British to deny India independence. The British claimed that other colonial territories would similarly demand independence if Britain left India, so they could not leave India for this amond other reasons.
@@747Cone even if there was a referendum,it will not be in favour of khalistan because of sikhs only bring a slight majority in punjab,caste issue & violent rivalry among different sikh denominations.But it will certainly open up the Pandoras box again starting with deadly attacks on Hindus and few sikh denominations and ending with violent attacks on sikhs.Though if sikhs want to further divide punjab & create a sikh supermajority state with the same rights as North Eastern tribal states - I would support that.But they want to first accept that they are not in a positions to dictate terms for anything to the indian union.
@@ss-99995 I agree. So why not have a referendum and observe that the majority is not in favour of it and defuse the issue, since it will then be clear to advocates of Khalistan that it does not have broad appeal.
Indian minorities enjoy more benefits than the majority themselves. Unfortunately, the international media spreads the lies and people fall prey to them.
Hindus are the ones that are marginalized in the sickular state with the Constitution that gives extra privileges to minorities and make Hindus second-class citizens in their own country
@@userre85 That may be true, but none the less, the BJP & Hindu Nationalism is placing the Hindu religion at the centre of not only their political strategy, but recalibration of what it means to be Indian. Will that not provoke a reaction?
@@shakiMiki Hinduism in itself is not a supremacist faith.. As in they don't preach that their gods are true.. Others are false /infidels.. So even its extreme form can only be so much aggressive/vile towards the other (it's mostly towards Islam).. So I'm not that worried about it.
@bruhh5933 state sponsed propg after 2000 to justify sikh genocide ..give me data of so called hindus killed by sikhs ..where r their families ..why they dont come for justice ?? how hindu papulation in punjab increased from 28 % to 45 % ..bcs there was sikh genocide in punjab like rest of india ..more than 2 lac killed in fake encounters ..even schol going 12-13 years old boys killed nd minor girls nd women raped nd killed …total genocide not less than mughals nd afghans ..many sikhs left punjab nd settled in abroad …
It is only in Canada, Australia, UK, USA. No Sikh in india want seperate country except khalistan sponsered by Pakistan ISI. What can they do if selected from india. It is another landlocked country surrounded by two nuclear power states and Punjab doesn't have any major industries, sea ports as well except agricultural based economy. Punjab is now heavely depending on india on all sectors. This moment is just a uppercast rich psycho sikh moment who is feudal land lords who want to keep bargaining chep with powerful center of india.
Thank you very much indeed. I know that viewers on both fringes of Sikh and Indian nationalism will see it as biased, but that’s always the way. I hope that it a fair and balanced view of the situation that helps explain it to people who might be unfamiliar with the issue.
I think we should also consider sikhs of Delhi, Mp, Up also. Because they are very well placed and successful in india, would they even want a landlocked state between India and Pakistan, with absolutely negligible trade with India(which is on the rise). Sikhs are a very brave and intelligent community in India, they are great businessmans too, I doubt they would risk it. Diaspora sikhs will never leave foreign PRs and citizenships for a new Khalistan or punjab thats for sure.
My friend this video would have been relevant 1 month ago, it's like a regular phenomena happens before punjab election and peaks out with in a year,nothing to be suprised or worried about
Thanks. But most of my viewers aren’t aware of this issue. And I’m not a news channel. I try to take a wider look at how an issue taking place in one country or region can have wider implications. This seemed like the best moment to cover it.
LOL, you are not a sikh then. If you were, sikhi is timeless and eternal. AAgya bhai akaal ki tabhe chalayo panth. Tum keh rahe ho, God is sleeping? You literally have 0 idea of what is happening in spiritual world, do you?
One of the issues with Punjab is lack of employment, the green revolution did give it a head start - but over cultivation is never sustainable. The overcultivation of certain irrigation intense crops (paddy) is then subsidised by the Government and bought at an assured price. Most of the farm labourers come from outside the state leaving a large number of punjabi youth idling. Drugs from across the border has also become a major issue. The Government can do very little - either at the state or centre level - demand for more water and protectionist measures for agriculture is unfair to the rest of the Country which has to bear the additional tax burden. This would work for a richer Country perhaps, but India has many states which are far worse off than Punjab. I am not Punjabi or sikh and may be misinformed - but never have i seen the khalitan issue being discussed by my sikh friends - it is almost entirely a creation of a very loud diaspora community - some of whom seek asylum based on supposed persecution faced in India. Playing the victim card is always convenient and a natural human sentiment. While I agree Muslims are oppressed in certain parts - sikhs are viewed as a subset of Hindus (even falling within the legal definition of Hindu as per law) - and apart from 1984 - there are really no instances of persecution. Sorry if this^ comes across as a bit cluttered - you have done well to cover a fairly complex issue.
Brother, you need more analysis about this topic. Air India flight bombing issue is controversial, bcoz there were some clue India Embassy person were included in this attack. To defame Sikhs worldwide. Secondly, Sikhs did come out from Hinduism or Muslims. Sikhs single rituals or customs doesn't not as Hinduism or Muslims. Sikhs believe in one god. Which is a power. It is not a male or female. Thirdly, Sikhs have their own empire before Britishers invaded. When Britisher left India. Sikhs have a choice for own homeland. Indian politicians won trust of Sikh Politicians that time through promises. India will be a democratic state. Indian would provide autonomy to Punjab. State head will be a Sikhs. You have you read sirdar Kapoor Singh who was ICS during British rule... Situation can be solved , if indian state protect. Minority culture and their language.
In punjab 30 percent population is dalit. Who ger reservation in education, jobs,etc under Indian constitution. Khalistan movement is majorly Jatt sikh movement and many Jatt sikh also oppose it too. NO PERSON IN INDIA WHO HAS RESERVATION WANT INDIA TO BE DIVIDED. Khalistan cannot happen without map of khalistan including punjab of Pakistan
But how will Khalsa trade? Groundwater levels are dipping, how will even grow wheat? You guys are being selfish here. If you guys deserve a country than every community in India deserves one.
I see you’ve made videos on Taiwan, Somaliland, Kosovo, yet you seem to frame this issue of self-determination almost exclusively as terroristic, violent, and ethnonationalist. I wonder why….
Sikh separatists must first liberate Lahore, the capital of Pakistani Punjab & make that city their own capital. Firebrand leaders emerge from time to time supported by Pakistani ISI with funds and weapons. The objective of this mischief is to create mayhem in Punjab.
It was a rhetorical question. Remember the footage of Indians being embarrassed by the Chinese army at Galwan? Indian army is good at killing unarmed Indian civilians, not so good at fighting that Chinese.
@3:02 Although Sikh reference library was burned by Indian Army post the battle of Amritsar in 1984 between Khalistan Resistance Forces and Indian Army, Unlike Abrahimic prophets early controversial lives, there is extensive literature on Guru Nanak's early life, its really if you wanted to dig a little. @3:24 Sikhi not a combination of Muslim and Hindu, thats the flawed contemporary belief just like you Brits merged Sikhi with Hindus the consequences we Sikhs still face. Sikhi was WORD of Akal Purakh (God) directly spoken to Guru Nanak. @4:21 they were not mere deaths it was 2 Genocide committed by Afghans on Sikhs and one currently being done by Hindutava India since 1947. What is your source of making this claim? @5:00 it took the British and Native Hindustani Forces to annex Sikh Empire the last Sovereign Kingdom of Sub Continent. And it took mere handful Sikhs to protect ungrateful Brits in 1857, WWI and WW2 to save British men, women (from being raped) and children massacred by Hindu Muslim Native Indian Army and Germans. @13:34 what your source on ANTI-SIKH RIOTS (Just towing the Indian BS), did any other community had fatality none - Did Sikhs butchered others like the Indians were committing rapes, murders and shooting 1 year olds.- Nil. Its was a GENOCIDE. @8:34 what is the source that Sikhs separatists caused Air India Attack. It was Indian consulate in Canada's covert operation.
Battle of Amritsar? Peaceful movement? Bruh.. Apne Hi archives check karlo. Kitne sikh and Hindu mare before the storming of the temple. It was happening for a couple of years.. The culmination was in 84.
Punjab was country before independence 1947 and Sikhs got their huge kingdom as “ Khalsa RAAJ” as Sikhs are the only trusted and brave community among as huge financial resources, Punjab got victim of colonialism and bad policies and narratives,, Sikhs are highly admired and got respect and honour at world level , Sikhism is 5th largest religion in works with supreme , fundamental values and strong identity 🙏
Sikhs were promised autonomy by Nehru when the partition happened, later he went back on his word and said it wasn’t possible and the circumstances had changed. I don’t see us getting a separate state and tbh I don’t think it would be a good idea geopolitically, however we should strive for greater autonomy for ourselves within punjab. The BJP only have the Hindus at heart and they strive for a Hindu nationalist identity, that doesn’t apply to Sikhs so surely we should at least be able to govern ourselves without being called terrorists for wanting so. It’s like calling an Irishman living in Northern Ireland a terrorist for wanting a united Ireland.
After independence in 1947, all the top jobs in the country were allocated to the just Brahmins, in every top position a Brahmin was sent to learn from the previous worker how to do the job then previous worker was fired and replaced by the same person he trained. Before independence the British government jobs were based on merits not caste. If Sikhs are expecting any special consideration the answer is no only equal consideration from a nation who gives special consideration only based on religion and caste… like I said currently Brahmins are only 4% of India’s total population but 95% top positions are given only to them, why? Just to stay in power, now if that’s not special consideration then I don’t know what is…
Sikhs betrayed and promises broken India's founding fathers gave numerous solemn promises that the Sikhs freedom and dignity would be safeguarded. Jawahar lal Nehru said that the brave Sikhs of Punjab are entitled to special consideration. I see nothing wrong in an area set up in the north of India wherein the Sikhs can also experience the glow of freedom. These promises were conveniently forgotten after independence and the Sikhs were dismissively told by the same Nehru that the circumstances had now changed Sikhs have rejected India's Constitution Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru gave the Sikhs assurances that after India achieves political freedom no Constitution shall be framed by the majority community unless it is freely acceptable to the Sikhs. This promise was repeated throughout the period up to independence. When the Constitution was produced in 1950 it failed to deliver any safeguards or political rights for the Sikhs as a people or nation. The Sikhs therefore refused to sign the Constitution and have never accepted it. Article 25 even denies Sikhism, the fifth largest faith in the world, separate recognition as a religion an affront that is widely seen as a deliberate act of suppression of the Sikhs. Demands for greater autonomy were dismissed The Indian authorities have systematically discriminated against the Sikhs since 1947 and subverted or suppressed all legitimate political demands for greater autonomy. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution of 1973 set out the basis on which the Sikhs were prepared to accept a political union within India, as a federal state. This demand for internal self-determination was pursued through decades of peaceful protest and attempts at negotiation with the central government. The demands were never seriously considered and given the history of the conflict between the Sikhs and India since 1984, this would now be too little too late. Gross violation of Sikh human rights In the last 30 years the Indian authorities have unleashed a rein of terror through gross violation of human rights of Sikhs in an attempt to extinguish the calls for freedom and Sikh independence. In June 1984 the Indian army attacked the Golden Temple Complex and 125 other Sikh Gurdwaras in Punjab and massacred tens of thousands of innocent Sikh pilgrims. This laid the foundation stone for an independent sovereign Sikh State, Khalistan. In November 1984 tens of thousands of innocent Sikhs were massacred in Delhi and over 130 other cities throughout India by well-orchestrated mobs under the direct supervision of senior Indian politicians and officials. Over 250,000 Sikhs have been murdered and disappeared since 1984. Many Sikh political prisoners still languish in Indian jails without charge or trial and others have been falsely charged and sentenced to death by hanging. Illegal detention and torture of Sikhs is common place and well documented by independent human rights organisations. Sikh nationhood and independence Sikhs first secured political power in the form of an independent state in 1710, after suffering centuries of foreign invasions and alien domination. The larger sovereign Sikh state was established in 1799 and was recognised by all the world powers. The Sikhs, after the two Anglo-Sikh wars, lost their kingdom and the Punjab came under British rule in 1849. However, in giving up power Sikhs were party to several Treaties with the British. Sikh Personal Law Denied After independence Sikhs have been denied Sikh Personal Law. Hindu Laws has been forced on Sikhs be it be the marriage act or income Tax. Sikhs marriages are registered under hindu act and while filling income tax Sikhs as HUF
I don't know the aspiration of having our own independent country is considered a crime. In past 40 years, 34 new countries have been formed and recognised by the UN. It is not a big deal. It is just what people want for themselves. They make us feel like demanding for a seprate state is a sin. In western countries, you can have a separate country if people want it. just vote for referendum.
That's a pretty good evaluation, covering the broad aspect of this issue. Considering there was no demand for a Sikh homeland at the time of independence for India, and Pakistan from the British in 1947, this demand has created permanency. Once demand for an independent homeland are entrenched, it rarely ever dies down, especially when it's backed by powerful memories. Indian attack on the holiest place for Sikhs, and the genocidal murder of Sikhs in 1984 has created a permanent emotional attachment for a Sikh homeland. This demand will always increase or decrease, but never disappear, it's hard to say what the future holds.
Thanks for the video Dr. Ker Lindsay! Fortunately, the journalist Shekhar Gupta has devoted several of his Cut the Clutter episodes to this topic; it is definitely unendingly complicated. What seems clear is that the concept of Punjabi independence would be unrealistic. India is an incredibly large and diverse state, an empire in most senses, and dealing with issues like this has seemingly been a constant for governments in Delhi. Hopefully this thorny issue will be resolved through peaceful means and avoids a reversion to violence. Thanks again for taking a look at this professor! While Sudan is at the forefront of attention, I’m wondering if you could put on your “statehood” hat and take a look at the Abyei Area. This is a UN-mandated condominium centered on the town of Abyei between Sudan and South Sudan, agreed to in 2011 as part of the peace settlement. I can’t think of any other condominia that exist in the world today, other than perhaps Andorra. Anyway I thought it might be interesting to take a look at, cheers!
Sikh are very patriotic. I live in Chennai. If u go near officers training academy in Chennai (part of indian army). I will see mistly sikh people. They love their country. The agitation taking place in Canada,UK and America are just few people have no connct to current situation. Pakistan is trying to use them to initiate Chaos. In india punjabi sikh live their country. The preacher you refer is a product of some other nations. Pls ask sikh who are protesting that " what happened to sikhs lived in Pakistan" just see the number in 1947 and see now. Pakistan cleansed its Sikh population but there is no protest against Pakistan in any country. Pls connect the dots. Everyone will find the answer.
Thanks. I hope I was very clear that the Khalistan movement certainly doesn’t enjoy widespread support. And it does seem to be more focused in the diaspora. This is reinforced in the comments. Most of the negative replies I have seemingly been from outside of India.
@@JamesKerLindsay mostly the western media is too biased when it comes to India. I used to see news which is totally incorrect and they will find some intellectual in western countries to pass a comment.for example the western media reporting RSS as a paramilitary of BJP. My friend are in RSS they are well educated and works in software development. I see news that Indian election commission is farce. Current Modi government controls everything etc. We feel these are totally irrelevant to current situation in India. For years india struck with one party which controlled by one family. This is not okay with so called liberal media and they want to show India with slums etc. All i am saying is views can differ but you must have a personal experience to pass a comment. I hope you are doing the ground work and not relay in western media reports. Keep up the good work.
The question of an independent Sikh homeland, Khalistan, has recently been in the news again. But it has a long and exceptionally violent history. But is this really the start of a new independence campaign?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and comments below.
definitely a violent history, in terms of the killings sikhs endured by the state estimated at 200,000 baptised sikhs killed in numerous genocide initiatives by gov.
@@harshvardhansharma1846 even then, Sikh are divided among caste lines. Jaat Sikhs are only 60% of Sikhs. A lot goes into making the country.
another BS, look at the map. You are paid propagandist 2months late. PS: british doing regime change in india, good luck with that, nazii ccunt
Probably, doesn't mean this will be a start of independence though.
stop the wrong depitcition of indian map. entire kashmir belongs to india, this is unacceptable,
As a Sikh I can say that Amritpal is not that popular and have no support .It's just incompetent government of Punjab and media hype which is responsible for all this drama.
👏 brother! The West is meddling in Indian affairs again by peddling this kind of nonsense narrative. They don't want to see a strong united India....
As a Sikh I can certainly say you have no support nor are you popular whatsoever. In fact I'm certain your neighbors must likely don't even know you. Therefore, any comments you make will be weighed accordingly.
As a sikh and a Punjabi I can say that amritpal and deep Sidhu both are most popular young sikh leaders among sikh youth
@@YuvrajSingh-fg8sc only punjabi sikh sheeple fall for Amritpal's extremist bullshit. He has very valid points about the issues he highlights but the solutions aren't sufficient at all, if not just wrong.
@@YuvrajSingh-fg8sc As a Sikh living in india panjab Amritpal Singh I'm ashamed of calling Amritpal Singh a Sikh he used people for his own benefits by spreading hate and got attention
ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਇੱਕ ਹੋਰ ਪਾਕਿਸਤਾਨ ਬਣਾਉਣ ਦੀ ਕੋਸ਼ਿਸ਼ ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ
(Amritpal shigh is trying to create another Pakistan To stop India's raise)
As a French born British national converted to Sikhism and settled in Chandigarh, and running an organic farm near Anandpur Sahib for over 24 years, I see very little support for Khalistan in India. Many issues are yet to be addressed, going back to India ‘ s independence, but it doesn’t mean Sikhs want a so-called Khalistan. . Those issues concern pujabis , Hindus and Sikhs. As in the past, communal violence can only serve politicians, who will exploit it for their political agenda. Jagjit Singh Chohan was a fake separatist, anti so-called Sikh separatists from the diaspora don’t have a clue about the situation in Punjab, where people just try to get on with their lives. Let’s pray peace will prevail.Sat Sri Akal, Salam, shalom, Shanti.
Bravo brother! Just lose the salam bit! Only kidding, I know that true Sikhs are the most egalitarian and fair minded folks....
Sat Sri akal Darshan Singh ji, my uncle also farming near your place, he from Sweden.
Fair point Darshan Singh, but I think it's easy for you to dismiss people's desire for self determination since your place(s) of origin (France and UK) are sovereign states. As you saw with the recent Amritpal matter, making comments about independence from India is dangerous. Many who were suspected of supporting khalistan ended up tortured and/or dead during 80s and 90s. India considers the perpetrators of those human rights abuses as heroes.
@@sandeepk4093 Sandip ji , ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕਾ ਖਾਲਸਾ , ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕੀ ਫਤਹਿ । actually I am now a British national, and I have renounced my French nationality, ( as a protest against French secular bigotry) due to the fact that a French court didn’t allow me to change my name from Michel Rudel to Darshan Singh, name I’ve received when it took Amrit in Anandpur sahib in 1991 .. I can stay in India because my wife is Indian. I also come from the south of France known as Languedoc , or Occitan country, colonised by the French. Now the Occitan language is recognised, and taught in schools , but it was forbidden to speak it in the past. I spent 10 years in Southall, near London to be with the Sikh community, since I was not allowed to travel to Punjab for a few years, I had my visa refused, and I faced hostility from embassy staff, as I visited Indian embassies wearing a Sikh turban. Something I do since my second visit to India end of 1979 . I was in Punjab beginning 1983 , I have lost Sikh friends , who were not involved in politics, during the blue star tragedy. I was in Japan in1984 , then spent two years in Taiwan to learn martial arts. I realised how Sikhs were demonised by the media. However, I believe partition was a tragedy, especially the division of Punjab , that should have been avoided at all cost, and an other partition must be avoided. I also believe Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims should live together peacefully. As Sikhs, we should win the heart of the people by practicing Sikhi . Our so-called Sikh leaders , these days, have sold their souls and are only concerned about making money. And Punjab is presently the Shrabistan of India . We as Sikhs must try to reform ourselves.
@@darshansingh4375 Exactly the British were always determined to separate the Hindus and Muslims. But anything to do with Sikhs was always treated with hard ruthless approach. Sikhs have been bystanders whilst everyone has strengthen themselves. Sikhs have been left in harsh conditions to keep them marginalised. It is for those reasons they have stopped working together as a collective, but just trying to get by everyday. Being poor certainly does put you up against it when it comes to having the political will for self determination. You kind of get used to it.
Khalistan could be carved out of Brampton, Ontario. With Trudeau's blessings. No truck's allowed ...
Bhai, 😂😂😂
There was recently an actual petition for Canada to sell Brampton to Denmark to lower Canada’s crime rate. Maybe someone should create a petition to make Brampton Khalistan. 😂
What about East Punjab, making as Khalistan with the help of Modi and Pakistan
@@sajidnayyar3392 Yes, West Punjab could be made Khalistan soon with the help of Modi and Pakistan as Khyber Pakhthunkhwa goes to Afghanistan, PoK to India, and Balochistan and Sindh gets independence.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sikhs are merely 2% of the Indian population, but represent 8% of the armed forces.
Yup Sikhs are one of the most patriotic people of our country. They also make up the vast majority of Punjab security so they're the most at risk of khalistani terrorists
@@amrutheshumashankar4996 which countries support khalistan I'm not too familiar with the politics in India so I have a better idea ?
@@amrutheshumashankar4996Why brand people who want freedom, terrorists?
Khalistan sounds like a reasonable idea.
Now, if someone is aggressive, criminal or brutal then call him simply terrorist. But there's no need to add nationality to it.
Imagine Britain 100 years ago called you a Hindu terrorist. Like what the fuck?
While that seems a lot, it would be better to compare with the percentage of Sikh troops back in 1947, through out the last 7 decades and now. The number has been growing smaller year after year.
@@bilic8094Pakistan supports Khalistan because they think they can avenge the loss of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) with it. US CIA supported them in the 80’s but not really now. Other than that, the third largest party in Canada (NDP) is headed by a Khalistani sympathizer and the ruling Liberals want his support.
It's weird that almost all Khalistan supports are ready to forfeit entire West Punjab which is the Homeland and birthplace of Sikhism, thereby appeasing Pakistan, this itself shows some Hypocrisy. Anyway even at the peak of the Khalistan movement in the 90's there was very little support for it, because most of the victims of this movement were Sikhs themselves. Sikhs are one of, if not THE most Patriotic group in the country.
What about haryana and himachel pradesh are part of punjab
@@jkmcgregor7797 Punjab as a geographical region always existed as the riverlands regions in northwestern india, and the people in this region speak a common language and have common culture, Himachal is in the HImalayas, Haryana is the region between Yamuna and Sutlej, the Punjab Province created by the British is mostly based on their convenience just like Madras or Bombay, one can draw lines however one wants on a map, one can include Rajhastan or Sindh into Punjab region as well if someone wanted to.
@@saureld2229 himachel is a modern construct so is haryana..sindh has never been punjab lmao
@@saureld2229 punjab always existed in the most western india. India did exist prior 1947 it waa the British raj .India was created with pakistan in 1947.before 1910 no Indian identity everyone identified with their ethnic group or kingdom.
@@jkmcgregor7797 The provisional government of India that came out of bri’ish chains in 1947, was a fractured polity of the British provinces , not including the 500+ petty kingdoms. The modern Indian republic was made by the concerted efforts of the Sardar Patel, KM Munshi and the PM Nehru, not by crooked borders made by angloids probably based on their crooked teeth.
The common Indian identity existed through the struggles of the freedom movement, especially by Gandhi and Congress in their attempts to unite people from each corner and ideology. For all the fractured states it made perfect sense to join a larger union geographically and economically.
“Around the world, there are many groups Sihking independence” I see what you did there James!
Haha! 😉😀
@@JamesKerLindsay ...there is also Nagaland(North East India) who fight independence from India..and its neighbouring state ask in their heart...
@@sangtea_fanai Its a minority, majority see benefit of being in democratic Indian union and not a tiny land locked state with Burma. Which has no access to ocean and stuck suffering with Burmas problems unable to gain access to the world.
@@KarthikSoun 🤣🤣🤣we will access ocean that on the Zo nationalist plan..
@@sangtea_fanai Bro, we wil, we will..?? Nagaland 41 lakh population, Delhi alone is 3.5cr. If not for India offering stability you will be in constant ethnic hate and war like in burma... everybody are human beings so what is so special about you? You are genuine or what? You can't even understand how to coexist.
A separate Sikh state faces three very big obstacles which will prevent its existance:
1. Lack of grassroots support within India. Though popular and vibrant in Sikh communities in the UK and Canada, the idea of Khalistan is not something that has caught on by any means within the country or within the area where this theorized state will exist.
2. Attachment of Sikhs with India. Many Sikhs and Punjabis closely identify with India and are attached to this country in many ways that I simply cannot tell in a YT comment. This will take decades, at best, to undo if a seperate Sikh state were to be formed.
3. Pakistan. A united Sikh Punjab requires parts of Pakistani Punjab and Lahore, of which are Muslim dominated and are too valuable for Islamabad to lose IF Delhi gives their side.
Another thing is that this is still almost wholly a jatt sikh endeavor.
The Khatri sikhs who bore the brunt of the 84 riots have essentially moved on and have little to no support for this.
The sikhs dont want lahore in their state otherwise they would also demand haryana himachel pradesh new delhi .
@@kth6736 not even a majority of jat Sikhs support khalistan too. KPS gill who crushed the separatist movement was a proud jat and majority of military and police force in Punjab are jat Sikhs so they suffered the most as well. Please don't try to portray every jat Sikhs as a khalistani because that's never been true many jat Sikhs have fought for India and gave up their lives in military
@@amrutheshumashankar4996 read carefully and try to comprehend my words better. If I say coke is an american venture it doesnt mean every american (or even a majority of americans) works for coke.
@@kth6736 phrase it better next time then. It sounds like you were blaming the entire jat Community in that comment
Khalisthan without Lahore as its capital is like a car without tyres.
Let Sikhs create Khalistan then we Pakistani will make EU like arrangement with them 😍😍😍😍
@@ghazanhussain2070 Lahore will be its capital. Peace to soul of princess Bamba.
@@sr-xd8jb shut up kafir
@@ghazanhussain2070 EU is organisation of 35+ country otherhand Lahore is capital of Punjab and every sikh empire had their capital in Lahore Pakistan not in India. Their boundary was only Punjab part of india which is very shorter pakistan occupied Punjab
@@rankingresearchdata chup kar pehle india ka punjab, haryana, aur himachal pradesh de
My neighbor lost his wife in the Air India bombing. Sadly, nobody has really been adequately punished for this act of terrorism. Thanks for the concise update. My impression is that the Sikh community enjoys a generally good image (perhaps better than Modi) but things like the Vancouver protests barely make the news.
Considering the 24×7 hounding of Modi by the international press, it's obvious he ain't going to have a positive image.
Sikhs also suffused I have family member who were burnt alive by Indian congress mobs in india but they still don’t blame the country because Hindus protected majority of the Sikhs otherwise the death toll would be in the 100s of thousands. Also the air Indian bombing was a false flag operation which Canadian officials of declassified if you do your research instead of reading indian propaganda
@@krishnkant9477 hounded ?. He is a theo fascist . What do you expect ?
@@krishnkant9477 this is exactly what will help Modi win 2024 with 400 seats.
@@sr-xd8jb I know bro
7:00
I am a Punjabi Hindu myself. My community would have appreciated you more if you included killing of Hindus by Sikh radical elements before 1984 attack on Golden temple. We Punjabi Hindus(almost 50% of Punjabi population) are often neglected by our State as well as Central governments as you did in this video.
In 1983 Dhilwan Bus massacre Hindus were segregated by stopping the bus and shot point blank for being Hindus. The Head of Khalistan separation movement Bhindrawala said he isn't involved in it but categorically refused to condemn the killings.
Similar incidents happened on Hindus and Government officials in 1980-84. Had you mentioned it, we would have appreciated the coverage more. Anyways nice effort on this complex topic.
Have u any data of so called hindus killed by sikhs ..where r their families ..why they dont come for justice??could u prove sikhs did killings ..??state sponserd propg after 2000 to justify sikh genocide nd defame sikhs ..
Those are the incidents that made it into the press. My Uncle got killed and my father was shot (fortunately survived) because they opened up their shop with a Hindu name. Khalistanis used to visit the market and if they found any shop with a Hindu name was open, they used to kill that person right there. These deaths generally went unreported because the police at that time were so scared of filing reports against Khalistanis.
And it is very surprising even the national media was silent. The Sikh victims of riots in Delhi got homes in Mohali and got compensation (and rightly so, they didn't deserve that pain). But for those Hindus who got killed before 1984 by Khalistanis in Punjab, the state doesn't even recognize them as victims.
You would see liberal Hindus raising voices to support victims of Sikh riots, but no liberal Sikhs supporting victims of Khalistani aggression over Hindus in Punjab.
@@kunalpuri6035 how could u said ..sikhs did these killings ..??have u any proof? whwre police killed many sikh youth nd families ( even of 13 -14 years schl going sikh boys were killed in fake encounters nd ladies were raped in police custdy ..why police did nt take action for these killings ..pinky cat (full name Gurmeet pinky) nd many other policemen unveiled that these killings were done by police thrgh police cats to defame sikhs nd to break hindu sikh unity..BD Pandey (former govnr of pb 1982-84 nd loyal of indira gandi )in his latest after death publish book (in service of free india) said that these killings were suspected killings ..nd sikh never ever killed any innocent hindu….other side some hindus played very negative role against sikhs nd took part in sikh genocide..
And in Pakistan less than 7000 left but these Khalistanis are loyal to Pakistan just like dogs
There are proofs available that the bus massacre was done by CAT (fake sikhs) set up by police to get center's attention so that they can start killing sikhs in fake encounters and get medals. I do agree there were incidents where militants killed sikhs but in numbers they are no where close to how many sikhs were killed during 10 year period of fake encounters there are villages here where you will not find youngsters those who remained have left country and most were killed.
You punjabi hindus need to have a stand you choose hindi as your mother tongue during punjabi suba movement and if you can cheat your mothertongue for your religion don't blame us for choosing our religion over country.
Khalistani's want part of Punjab province in India but not those Punjab provinces which are present in Pakistan and has a great importance in Sikhism. These show Pakistani influence.
Anglo-$axons and the Great Game against Asiatic powers (Russia, China, India, Iran, Vietnam, North Korea) in order to remain the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
No they want to start in Punjab then expand
The main reason Khalistan exists as a movement is because of Indian national Congress, they repeatedly interfered in Punjab's elections against the Akali Dal, created an atmosphere for more hard-line religiosity in the process, supported Bhindranwale in the beginning , when they found they could not control him no more they started cracking down, but they took action so late that He had enough time to turn the Golden temple into a fortress, followed worst strategies, took hell of a lot of casualties, destroyed the temple in the process, when Indira Gandhi was assassinated congress supporters turned on innocent Sikhs, even attacking the CM of Punjab who was himself a congressman. So More than the popular demand for a a separate homeland it's these wounds that have fueled this movement.
Sounds like they took a page out of the US foreign policy guidebook.
Stoke the flames of tension while ignoring grievances until they explode. Then act like the protestors are just violent and extreme by nature.
Khalistan started during British time
The Khalistan idea has gone down in the recent years, and imo it remains that way for the foreseeable future. However during the era of Indira Gandhi it was a whole nother story... Like I'm actually surprised to see this video, saying the idea of Khalistan is "growing", when it really isn't.... Unless you're in Canada - then you definitely get that impression XD
It is growing and expanding which is great further fueled by the recent arrests of Sikhs which did no wrong
@G.S बैंस Mattertalks not in india though. Few foreign funded sikh groups demand for it. But most of the sikhs don't want any seperate state. Its the demand of sikhs who don't even live in india and the funny part the seperate Khalistan they are demanding for supported by Pakistan is already 75% part of punjab governed by Pakistan side. India only have 25% of punjab state. These fools are just unreasonable trying to create instability in peaceful country. They don't demand Khalistan from pakistan which actually holds 75% punjab region. But they don't have guts to do that coz there is nothing like demanding justice or seperate state in pakistan. Otherwise they will be brutally killed there🤣🤦
Excellent. Very few Indians can explain it this well. Few points missed
- Terrorism peaked in 90s. 1984 was the most noted year. But attacks and targeted ones happened later too.
- The creation of other states from the larger East Punjab also caused resentment. Esp around resource sharing.
- Manmohan Singh was India’s PM from 2004-14. As a Sikh himself, it did send a big message.
You mean the State terrorism not from 1990 its begins before 1947 or in 1945.???
Manmon Singh was useless
Terrorism Teri Indian state da si
The two states that were separated from east punjab barely have any sikh population.
Also the particular group of Sikhs that screeches for separation are jatts. Who are former feudals and hate it because their hegemony ended after India became a democracy.
During the 90s when terrorism was on peak, the militants also targeted other sects of Sikhs who aren't part of the Jatt clans
@@sardar_gurjot Terrorism tuhii haraamde wi koi dudh teh thule ni si. Jeh Congress di indira Gandhi haraamdi si naale Bhindrawala wi kanjri dah puttar si-
The two states that were separated from east punjab barely have any sikh population.
Also the particular group of Sikhs that screeches for separation are jatts. Who are former feudals and hate it because their hegemony ended after India became a democracy.
During the 90s when terrorism was on peak, the militants also targeted other sects of Sikhs who aren't part of the Jatt clans
I though at Sikhs were Jatts. Can you expand??
@@kagoma2592 jatts are an ethnicity . They are upper caste kshatriyas .
Some accepted Sikhism and some remained hindus .
They are the ones you see acting all macho in punjabi music videos
@@kagoma2592around of half of the sikhs are jatt,there are more hindu jatts,and the Muslims jatts are more in no than hindu & sikh jatts combined.
Jatt is caste today the largest one in Sikh
Most ironic part is that many people/organisations in India and the west who claim to be *secular, inclusive and diverse* , are among the prominent supporters of the creation of this religious ethno state.
Because they know that India is not ਸੇਸੁਲਾਰ
What a fascinating narrative. India is such a diverse nation with an extremely complicated history.
Neither India nor Pakistan are 'nations'. Both are nothing but colonial relics.
@@jimbocho660 Bro how much will you cope in the comment section?
Khalistan is never going to be formed.
@@krishnkant9477 thats exactly what people said about india and the British Khalistan will happen
@@thesingh588 Yes, Khalistan will happen in Canada, UK or Pakistan. Just not in India
@@thesingh588 khalistan is funded by isi and west 🤣🤣😂 it's not gonna happen son make your best move
I do want say, that many Sikhs even overseas do not want Khalistan, and are loyal to India. At the same time, there are a lot of Sikhs who support this movement to a degree!
What nonsense all Sikhs oversead want khalistan
@@japneetsingh5015 we all know! How a woman was discriminated who painted indian flag on face by golden temple authority
@@rankingresearchdata well done by the sikhs ! its not a f** circus, why we hindus think we can do whatever we want.!
james doesnt sound very punjabi to me ! rakesh stop pretending to be sikh! ahahaha
I am Korean male @@amanpreetkumar9294
Sadly I met a young .. 25 yr old Sikh kid here in NZ🇳🇿, we got talking.. I noted his car rego plate had a surround that read 1984 “Martyrs not forgotten”.., he explained the cruelty to Sikhs.., I acknowledged.. but reminded him that he’s in a new life , in a new & distant country.. not in India..
I suggested he needed to move on.. and that certainly NZ didn’t deserve to experience the violence/ hate from another place…
Was both sad… and foolish to see a young man continuing a story that others had told him..
Live is for the living
Ask him why he forget 1947 Rawalpindi and Lahore......ask him how manages ro forget things by choice
@@jaibholenath6900
I imagine he does know/ understand.. every single fn moment in everyone’s history… that’s the point….
The BS & fighting needs to stop somewhere…, and certain.. we in 🇳🇿 sure as shit.. don’t deserve to have another nations hate & bloodshed come here…
@@χσχσ-ν3χ
The majority of who?.. Sikh?
Ok.., but what is your point?
@@tigertiger1699 many those who hold sentiments of khalistan are not aware of the atrocities, bhindrenvale's men did between 1977-85, sikhs in india do not particularly like that guy, the officer who killed the separatists leader was a sikh himself and he volunteered
1984 riots against sikhs are regrettable but u should also understand that india has elected a sikh prime minister for 10 years so its not like sikhs are persecuted here now
Why they don't ask khalistan in Pakistan? more than 50% Punjab is in present day Pakistan.
Any guesses here.. ?
Because buddy they decided to stick with india in 1947 that’s why, unless your mentally unstable you would understand that, if they stayed with Pakistan and they treated them badly they they would be telling the Pakistani government the same thing now and maybe they would say go ask HinduShaitan for Khalistan 😂 so relax HinduShaitan we know what you’re already thinking 🧐
Obviously pakistan supported groups will not bark to there masters
Because sikh girls loves Paki lånd😂
Nehru is to blame for that. Sikh maharajahs, sikh generals and political leaders wanted to attack pakistan and liberate lahore and west punjab but nehru didnt like the idea.
@HeatLure5324 yes Nehru and congress are root of most problems in india since 1940s.
One important point missed out in this discussion is that Puniab within Indian Quasi Federation enjoys democratic vote to install their prefered government. The Puniab had elected Aam Admi Party over the national parties such as Congress and BJP . Which entails that Punjabi population can create their own power-sharing dynamics within their province and generate political elites who have an interest in defending the same Constitutional structure which is the fundamental basis of such power . A landlocked state sandwiched between 2 nuclear powers can excite a Sikh sititng inside his comfy rooms in a Anglo-Saxon nation but in India it is a recipe for catastrophe . Indian Sikhs have been integrated within the state and central power-structures beyond their proportion in the population which turns them as the spearhead in the efforts to confront the Khalistani movement within the country .
Punjab is one of India's top agriculture producers. Water use for rice and the pumping of ground water have made much of the area much more prone to droughts exacerbated by the climate change.
The water is almost depleted due to central government building dams and canals to divert Punjab state’s river waters from state of Punjab to other states without paying a single dime to Punjab they’re stealing the water from a Sikh state and giving it to Hindu states so let’s be honest
Govt. did not give the water of rivers to Panjab
India highest agriculture producer uttar pradesh total india 19.7%
@@ARVINDYADAV-cu9sd jab bhookh mari ho rahi thi tab up kis khud mein baitha tha?
@@ARVINDYADAV-cu9sd u.p ke chaar tukde kardo fir btana highest agriculture hae ya nhi
my Nani ji (maternal grandmother) who was a Sikh said that khalistani supporters are in dire need for a mental asylum or rehab(punjab indeed has one of the highest Drug consumption per capita in india)
Great video
Really who was Congress,, bjp or cpi
Well , who controls the Drug influx??????? The Drugs comes from the port of Gujrat and then completely misses the Gujrat and other States in the way and only finds Punjab!!!!! Why ????? The other thing who is responsible to protect the border of Punjab touching the foreign countries ????? There are so many BSF soldiers on the border of Punjab than the total population of Sikhs in Punjab !!!! Whose failure is that to protect the influx of drugs in Punjab !!!!! The Majority people’s lies cannot change the reality !!!! The Supporters of these government Lies is the biggest reason that Sikhs feeling so unsafe in their own country.
I’ve been waiting for this one, professor. I live in Central California, with one of the largest Diasporas of Punjabis. Every now and then I see marches and gatherings drawing attention to their causes, but it’s never been my business to ask why or what for. So I’ll sit back and listen.
If you’re ever curious, it’s fine to ask them. They’d happily explain their faith,cause and history to you. If you ever see any general Sikh gathering, you’re always free to join in, they love to have outsiders to their faith get involved in their activities
I dont understand, why don't you just ask? You can't listen and find out if you don't ask the question in the first place
I wouldn't bother, mate. They have the ability to practice their faith freely in this country and yet they are militant in their beliefs that they are owed a 'State' to call home.
I mean, that's as ridiculous as a group of Americans, say 150 years ago, who forged their own beliefs about magical underwear and grabbed their kisin' cousins', some guns, and manifested some white destiny out West!
If the Sikhs were smart, they'd just buy North Dakota and presto! Statehood achieved!
@@m.w.6526 Thats the majority white worlds way, don't you know. "If I can't profit then its none of my business", #majoritywhitelife #wesupporttransandallotherbs than real world problems.
“ Sikh country was rejected “ not true actually the British gave them a choice along with the Muslims and Hindus to form their own country, it was actually the Sikhs who refused to break up india any further like the Muslims did when they created Pakistan, please get your facts correct before making such videos because it makes a difference in the reader’s mind.. both Hindus and Muslims asked if they would join their countries at the end sikhs decision was to stay with india because the Hindu leaders made many promises to Sikhs only if they would stay with india and not form their own country. Even the British told the Sikh leader don’t blow the chance to form their own country but the Sikh leader didn’t listen to them big mistake
There is no interest for Khalistan even in Indian Punjab. Any Khalistan without Pakistani Punjab would be an incomplete state. No Khalistani flag ever uses the Gurmukhi alphabet, they use the English alphabet -- this indicates that the only interest is Sikhs in Western countries to see a Khalistan made in India. There are complicated land-holdings of Western Sikhs in Indian Punjab -- there are absentee landlords sitting in Canada & US/UK who would like to see a Khalistan, but no one on the ground in Indian Punjab.
What about haryana and himachel pradesh thats punjab aswell
@@jkmcgregor7797 those states have vast majority of Hindu population who won't ever like the idea of khalistan and when it even lacks support in Sikhs (out of 100 seats khalistanis win only 1 in Punjab) how will they convince hindus
@@amrutheshumashankar4996 i suppose like jammu kashmir muslim majority but forget the majority in that case
@@jkmcgregor7797 Raja Hari Singh had signed the IOA with the republic of India, thereby joining the union.
Cry and cope as much as you want but the geopolitical ambitions of nations will most certainly never allow a large part of former Hindu heritage, raped and pillaged by turkoid barbarians to be torn away from the union.
Ofc give. The circumstances the republic would’ve definitely would’ve wanted to capture all the lands until Hindu Kush and formalise a border, while maintained the high ground.
@@Tenisinspector8341 signed ioa lmao but as agreement for will of people to be taken is not accepted territory of india and never will be there for classed disputed
Thank you Professor! Your explanation of Canada-India relations is very helpful.
Your explanations of history are so helpul give recent tensions:
-Hardeep Singh Nijjar assassination
-worsening relations between PM Modi and PM Trudeau
-Indian suspension of visas to Canada and travel advisories
I wonder how this could give wet dreams to Pakistani Military.
But that will never happen 😂
It’s not as simple as Sikhs getting bullied lol. The idea of a Sikh homeland is deeply embedded in the faith itself, and the Khalistan movement was triggered by the politics that took place in post independence Punjab. In order to properly understand the demand, you have to read about everything that happened after 47. I suggest you look into the Anandpur Resolution to start
@@jajsdudus7055 but I wonder why are none of the cities of Pakistan part of Khalistan map ? There are key areas in Lahore very pivotal to the Sikh faith, they're not part of the Khalistan map, why ?
@@abc_cba because surprise surprise, a movement banking on religious lines which doesn’t even claim the birth place of their Prophet let alone the former territories under them makes it quite obvious whose interest it is to sponsor this charade.
KPS Gill must be rolling in his grave
@@abc_cba cause it’s not about “historical” sikh areas. it’s about current sikh areas. it’s that simple bro, virtually no sikhs live in pakistan anymore and they aren’t seeking independence from pakistan. also, if Khalistan were to be made, there would probably be free movement too and from Pakistan
@@jajsdudus7055 no historical Sikh areas ?
Gurunanak, the founder of Sikhism was born what today is in Lahore and so was Guru Ram Das !
Why no inclusion of those major areas, irrespective of whether or not Sikhs live there or not ?
Anglo-$axons and the Great Game against Asiatic powers (Russia, China, India, Iran, Vietnam, North Korea) in order to remain the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
A lot of sikhs that i know don't really support independance. It is a vocal minority that demands Khalistan.
R u sikh?
Jene nai chahida o na ave ase te banawan ge khalistan thwade kolo Jo honda hai kar lo
@@harmindersingh215 we will not demand hindu rastra and I am sorry on behalf of them , we are not against Sikhs and sees them as equal
@@bobpoop6025 i am singaporean tamil. There is a significant sikh population here in singapore and none of the sikhs i know support Khalistan.
@@Duchyofnovgorod most of hindus want it bro specially in haryana,UP,MP,Gujrat Rajasthan,Bihar there is huge demand for hindu rashtra
Sikhism is deeper than a mix of Hinduism and Islam. It’s an independent ideology based on the cultures of that time and region.
Thanks. I’m not sure how that differs from what I said. But Sikhism is nevertheless based on Hinduism and Islam, just as Christianity is a completely new and separate religion based on Judaism, and Islam is a refinement of Judaism and a Christianity. Many of the world religions draw on one another. This is not a bad thing. And let’s not make it bad either.
bullshit
sikhism is made by rajput hindu to fight against Islamic invaders
@@JamesKerLindsay It's not that Sikhi is "based" on "hinduism" or Islam, it's just that all three (I'm counting "hindusim" as one here even though there are many different gods and ideologies within this) shared certain truths, and those truths were brought to light in each respective religions. That's like me writing a study textbook for RN Nursing and claim that it's based on this other textbook covering auto-mechanics because it just so happens to cover CPR training.
In fact, to go further, many hindus of the time past tried several assassination attempts on the founders of Sikhi, because they refused to follow some of the conservative rituals/traditions of "hinduism." This is because the teachers of Sikhi exposed many of the hypocrisies of society (most of which were hindu and Muslim), even the Shabads (divine messages) in the 11th Guru Sahib Guru Granth Sahib Ji contains many many lines that clearly go against and call out these hypocrisies.
With that said, I do appreciate your time and dedication to finding out more about the history surrounding Sikh sovereignty. Just one piece of advise, however, I would try to stay away from labeling certain groups as terrorists, and try to see the perspective from multiple sides. Unfortunately for Sikhs, the hindu-majority government has written most of history, so naturally you will find more anti-Khalistan sources. The reason the movement slowed down was because of the genocide operations that ran much through the post-partition days. In fact, one such Sikh activist during the 90s, bhai Jaswant Singh Khalra, proved the disappearances of over 25,000 innocent Sikhs (mostly males) and over 2000 police officers who refused to partake in the mass killings. And to this, this was just in 3 districts. More would have been exposed, if not for the brutal kidnap and murder of Jaswant Singh by the Punjabi police. This attempt to shutdown any government and state-sponsored terrorism has been met with execution on the spot. Do you think Deep Sidhu and Sidhu moosevala just died for no reason? They brought up many of the water scarcity problems, where Punjab's natural source of water has been funneled out to other non-riparian states for FREE, while Punjabis have to pay for their own water. Please research SYF, I implore you, in fact.
I know this was a bit of a ramble, but there is a whole lot to this story that meets the eye. Thank you again for at least taking the time out to learn about this situation, I respect that.
What we often forget is, the Indian state capacity to deal with any kind of separatism today is far greater. It can provide sufficient positive concessions(a carrot) and if doesn't work out, it has more than enough strength to quell any armed struggle/rebellion(a stick). There used to be atleast a half dozen such struggles during late 1980s to 2000s but India was able to suppress most of them with a far lesser economy. We can only imagine what it can do today.
Exactly 💯
The Indian army is a successor to the British Indian army. The army's number 1 role has always been to fight the natives to stop them from toppling those in power. Many of the Indian regiments have battle honours from battles that expanded British territory in Indian subcontinent or that crushed rebellions. Economy has nothing to do with it. E.g., a Nair soldier will have no qualms with murdering a Naga to put down an insurgency as they have very little in common with each other, other that being ruled by Delhi.
We saw it at Galwan when the Chinese embarrassed the Indians; the Indian army is good at fighting Indian civilians, not so good at fighting the Chinese.
@@sandeepk4093 I have been seeing your comments in all the comment sections across this video , You are one Sick person filled with Venom and Hate and i hope Wahe guru ji gives you some satbuddhi to be more calm . And when it comes to fighting the chinese or anyone else who tries to be a danger to the sovernigty of India , I guess army have done a pretty great job for the last 75 years . Stay Put and don't spread hate . you are just a lost soul
@@sandeepk4093 you really need a reality check if you think Indian military is only good at fighting Indians. This is an army fought 6 wars after independence. All of them to protect the teritorial integrity of India, including liberating a country the size of england. And winning against Chinese in Nathu La in 1967, same Chinese who you think gave a bloody nose to Indians, against a far larger force too. And inside the India, the security situation is handled by Indian paramilitary, Indian army hardly does anything most of the time. And Indian military successfully conducted an operation in Sierra leone in 2001, if you think IA cannot conduct major operations far outside India.
@@sandeepk4093 The Chinese got their ass handed to them in Tawang
And that's why there hasn't been any misadventures from PLA Since in that region
Being the first comment is prove of my support for this channel ❤
Thank you! Have a great weekend.
In the 1980’s the Indian Government had been conducting a covert intelligence operation in Canada. This operation has involved the deception both of Canadian Security forces and of the Canadian Government, and led to one of the most horrific acts of modern terrorism-the killing of 329 people in the Air India Bombing of 1985.
These are the conclusions of Soft Target, a startling, shocking book by Zuhair Kashmeri [of the Toronto Globe and Mail] and Brian McAndrew [of the Toronto Star].
At the center of Soft Target are Canada’s Sikhs. Probing deeply into the story of Sikh unrest from the early 1980’s on, Kashmeri and McAndrew argue that the Sikhs are the victims of manipulation and disinformation carried out by the Indian Government. With the aim of discrediting the Sikhs and undermining the campaign for an independent Punjab, Indian agents have infiltrated the Sikh community in Canada, fomenting hostility towards Indian and even provoking violent incidents.
Along the way, say Kashmeri and McAndrew, India has also played a devious game with the Canadian government. In the mid 1980’s, exploiting the Canadian desire to maintain good relations with India, Indian Diplomats and agents directed a steady stream of phony tips on the Sikhs to the Canadian Government. These tips were accepted at face value by External Affairs and the RCMP. Some CSIS agents eventually caught on to what India was doing, but their political masters would not listen.
Drawing on information from Canadian Sikhs, Indian diplomats and agents of CSIS and the RCMP, Soft Target is an extraordinary piece of investigative journalism. Teeming with characters out of a Le Carré novel, the book guides the reader through the byzantine politics of Sikh nationalism and the shadowy world of international espionage. In its convincing analysis of events leading to and following the Air India bombing, it shows who was pulling the strings and who was the made the fool...
Why you didn't tell what happened between 1978-to1984
very interesting!! thanks for this!!!!
Thanks so much, Greg. I have wanted to cover this for a while. It’s surprisingly little known today, but in the mid-1980s, this was obviously a huge international story.
Really glad you went ahead and talked about the 🪯 Sikh nationalism in 🇮🇳 the World’s Largest Democracy, as the World’s 5th Largest Religion hardly gets an attention outside of 🇮🇳India, 🇬🇧UK, 🇨🇦Canada, 🇦🇺Australia & 🇳🇿New Zealand!
Or in other words in the Punjabi script: ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ!
@JHAJJ wow my toilet's name!
@jhajj847 Khalistan in Lahore and Islamabad Zindabad!
@@lil_lavender8467 ah yes so you’re allowed to have Hindustan but Sikhs are not allowed to have Khalistan or any sort of autonomy. Instead that idea is apparently comparable to a toilet, just goes to show the way a lot of Indian Hindus really view Sikhs. You only like us when it suits your agenda, facts.
@JHAJJ Rip Inglis sarr
@@artman12 they are Muslims and Khalistan is for Sikhs
Excellent video professor, many thanks
Irish also want out of UK and their movement has been violently suppressed. What about the proud Scottish they are not very happy about their subjugation. Welsh have nothing to do with Britain. It's time a vote is called for all these groups to earn their nationhood they rightfully deserve.
Not sure what your point is. There is a Northern Ireland peace agreement that explicitly grants a referendum on Irish unification when there is evidence that the majority want it. We’re not there yet, though. And I actually support the right of Scotland to choose its future. But evidence suggests support for independence is declining the moment. I made a video on this recently. ua-cam.com/video/gvzUjyfYps8/v-deo.html
Flemish?
@@JamesKerLindsay Khalistan movement does not have an Indian origin. It is mainly sponsored by overseas elements and given an Indian colour by brainwashing or manipulating some stray youth who have nothing better to do. Like Amritpal singh who was thrust into it even though he had nothing to do with such an idea. So there are people who will fund such implants from overseas to do this for them. Surprisingly no one asks for Pak part of Punjab for Khalistan!
@@JamesKerLindsay at least India can be proud it does not interfere in other country's matters like for example Britain hosting a Khalistan office and holding a referendum in British soil for Khalistan independence. Self proclaimed experts on international matters should look at how Britain creates and amplifies other countries' fissures and tries to gain from it. If Britain and USA mind their own business the world will be a better place.
As someone born, raised and living in a country in the Sub-continent. This topic is extremely sensitive. Religion based violence and isolationism in the Subcontinent is common however, the Sikh issue something that is largely overlooked as one of the most famous Indian Army officers in my Countries history is General Jagjit Singh Arora (guess where I'm from) a sikh himself.
The chance of something taking a turn for the worst is always there albeit slim. The existence of sikhs in the army could lead to extreme violence in not just India but in neighboring countries.
Personally I believe the sentiment for Serious Sikh Separatism (try saying that 5 times really fast) is more popular abroad than in India itself. I guess time will tell.
Basically, The creation of state based on religion in Indian subcontinent led to rise of aspirations of a Sikh state among Sikhs too and thus from time to time, such demands have came but apart from 1980s, no concrete movement related to the creation of a Sikh state was done because majority of Sikhs don't share such aspirations and those who share it know that's it's infeasible and practically impossible.
Also Sikhs wanted the whole undivided Punjab state at one point of time but only had 14% of the total population with Muslims (52%) and Hindus (30%) being the two largest communities in Punjab.
Even after partition Sikhs constituted just 28% of Eastern Punjab (the part of Punjab which went to India) and Hindus constituted 70% of the state population.
In 1966, several right wing Sikh groups ask the government to form a Sikh majority Punjab and it was successful but even in that Sikhs were barely a majority with 58% population and Hindus still remaining a prominent minority (40%).
That's absolutely correct about the separatists being far more prominent in the diaspora than in India itself, particularly in Canada and the UK. In places like Surrey and Brampton in Canada the Khalistanis are the loudest part of the Indian community.
They will end up like beggeristan full of political instability, Riots, ..... United you stand divided you fall. I will agree to separate sikh state in Punjab according to their population proportion means 60% of indian Punjab and half of pakistan Punjab and all sikh must leave india and should settle in their territory not meshup like india and pakistan division on religious basis and india ended up with secular state with 220 millions muslim population same with pakistan population. There's no meaning of division when muslim of India didn't leave and went to their islamic nation. outside Punjab all the territory belong to hindu like Himachal Pradesh, utrakhand, Delhi, haryana, uttar pradesh.
Thanks Prof👍🏻👍🏻
The creation of state based on religion in Indian subcontinent led to rise of aspirations of a Sikh state among Sikhs too and thus from time to time, such demands have came but apart from 1980s, no concrete movement related to the creation of a Sikh state was done because majority of Sikhs don't share such aspirations and those who share it know that's it's infeasible and practically impossible.
Also Sikhs wanted the whole undivided Punjab state at one point of time but only had 14% of the total population with Muslims (52%) and Hindus (30%) being the two largest communities in Punjab.
Even after partition Sikhs constituted just 28% of Eastern Punjab (the part of Punjab which went to India) and Hindus constituted 70% of the state population.
In 1966, several right wing Sikh groups ask the government to form a Sikh majority Punjab and it was successful but even in that Sikhs were barely a majority with 58% population and Hindus still remaining a prominent minority (40%).
Thanks. Yes, it is important to note, as I do, that while the idea has a long and exceptionally violent history, it doesn’t enjoy as much support as many outsiders might believe. But the support it does have, especially abroad, had a history of being exceptionally dangerous. That said, it is also important to recognise the difficult history Sikhs have faced and the extremely positive contributions that Sikhs make to India and to the countries where they are now based.
@@JamesKerLindsay Yes I agree with you.
My personal belief about Khalistan being popular among the diasporic Sikhs is the fear of a loss of cultural identity which is prompting them to act aggressively on this issue of Khalistan.
@@krishnkant9477 that's an excellent point, rarely highlighted.
@@krishnkant9477 khalistan ase banawan ge thwanu Jo karna se kar lo ase te apna raj mangde aan ae sade gal yad rakho
@@JamesKerLindsay Sikhs are the most friendliest group I've come across in india and a few lunatic terrorists supported by foreigners who have never lived in Punjab will never change that. It's also very well known that the one who crushed the separatist movement wasn't the incompetent central government but a devout Sikh who also loved India KPS gill
Who do you think the first president of the independent Sikh nation will be? My money is on Mr. Singh. Ms. Kaur has an outside shot, though.
There won't be any such thing.
hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Best joke I have heard in days
I had long wondered if the issues in the 1980s were (to an extent) worked up by the USA as a catspaw against Soviet-leaning India. The whole 'project' seemed like lunacy given the demographics and India's stance over Jammu-Kashmir. Now it is old wine in a new bottle.
While there were no disclosed links to US state funding, the enthusiasm of US senators and Congresmen about this issue was rather revealing. 😂
Subramanian Swamy says it was the Soviet Union which was successful in tricking the Indians (through fake intelligence reports) into thinking Pakistan and USA were planning military action to separate Punjab from India. The Soviet Union is known to have had several Indian politicians and news agencies on its payroll. The soviets' reason appears to have been to get India to open a second front against Pakistan, to reduce Pakistan's ability to support the Afghan Mujahedeen against the the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Anglo-$axons and the Great Game against Asiatic powers (Russia, China, India, Iran, Vietnam, North Korea) in order to remain the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
@@unibks4382 are you Anglo Saxon or Asian
@@kth6736 are you sure there I no links to us funding this sepratist movements
One important fact is not mentioned here. That is, why do some of the western countries, like Canada, UK, USA and Australia provide shelter to the the people who are declared as terrorists after due judicial processes by a sovereign nation India and allow them to continue their anti India activities ? Is it right? No, not at all. Would these same countries tolerate if Usama bin Lad-den were given refuge by India? I don’t think so. Isn’t it a double standard? Don’t forget the American civil war which happened when some the states wanted to separate from the USA . The federal government went to war because the US constitution does not allow secession. In the same way Indian constitution does not allow any state to separate from the Indian Union. All referendum votings miserably failed in the state of Punjab. Not more than 300,000 yes votes were achieved in a state of over 21 million Sikhs live. The world should stand with India for its decision to block KHALISTHAN. It is a myth. I hope Canadians are wise to understand this. If not, give a piece of your own land for these thugs to form a nation of “ AKHLISTHAN” ( impure nation) that will be a thorn on the side of Canada for ever and ever.
Kanashka Indian plan bombed by Indian agencies an d they accuse Sikhs todefame them in diaspora sikhs. Now in Canada after the long legeal process finally disclouse that Indian agencies took 365 lives people to charaterization Sikhs. Please read this rapport.
In the 1980’s the Indian Government had been conducting a covert intelligence operation in Canada. This operation has involved the deception both of Canadian Security forces and of the Canadian Government, and led to one of the most horrific acts of modern terrorism-the killing of 329 people in the Air India Bombing of 1985.
These are the conclusions of Soft Target, a startling, shocking book by Zuhair Kashmeri [of the Toronto Globe and Mail] and Brian McAndrew [of the Toronto Star].
At the center of Soft Target are Canada’s Sikhs. Probing deeply into the story of Sikh unrest from the early 1980’s on, Kashmeri and McAndrew argue that the Sikhs are the victims of manipulation and disinformation carried out by the Indian Government. With the aim of discrediting the Sikhs and undermining the campaign for an independent Punjab, Indian agents have infiltrated the Sikh community in Canada, fomenting hostility towards Indian and even provoking violent incidents.
Along the way, say Kashmeri and McAndrew, India has also played a devious game with the Canadian government. In the mid 1980’s, exploiting the Canadian desire to maintain good relations with India, Indian Diplomats and agents directed a steady stream of phony tips on the Sikhs to the Canadian Government. These tips were accepted at face value by External Affairs and the RCMP. Some CSIS agents eventually caught on to what India was doing, but their political masters would not listen.
Drawing on information from Canadian Sikhs, Indian diplomats and agents of CSIS and the RCMP, Soft Target is an extraordinary piece of investigative journalism. Teeming with characters out of a Le Carré novel, the book guides the reader through the byzantine politics of Sikh nationalism and the shadowy world of international espionage. In its convincing analysis of events leading to and following the Air India bombing, it shows who was pulling the strings and who was the made the fool...
There is no such "rapport". The fact is, Khalistanis got away scot-free due to the incompetence of Canadian authorities. If it had been the US, things would have been very different.
@@jarjarbinks3193 incompetence or just no evidence, everyone knows real Sikhs don’t kill innocent people, just look at track records who kills innocent people? But the Indian got caught red handed, Need evidence just go online search 1984 Sikh Genocide..
As a senior journalist who has covered Punjab since the late seventies I feel some parts of the story are misplaced
Man They Just Need To Live In Peace, Don't Need Another Faild Religous State
Yo we are faild living in India better we leave this nation no justice is served for Sikh
@@sigmamale6143 bro you are pakistani, as seen by your comment history. Stop acting like a Sikh in this comment section, its embarrassing.
May India declared itself as Hindu Rashter under BJP rule. No way left for states which have majority of non hindu populations.
@@ameenzakariya declaring and then? lmao wont do anything
@@yeahwhateveridc6062
Right, Just More Problems
The Sikhs didn't bomb the Air India flight 182 in June 1985. It was Sikhs enemies' propaganda.
Yes sikhs didnt bomb air india khalistanis did
Ok canadian
I will pray for a peaceful compromise between all peoples who live in the region. I hope all my brothers and sisters are having a great day
Indian Sikhs are living happily in India. The foreigner Sikhs are the separatists. ISI, Pakistan's spy agency is behind them, funding and guiding the separatism under the policy of Bleeding India by Thousand Cuts.
Brahminism is worst than zionism
May India declared itself as Hindu Rashter under BJP rule. No way left for states which have majority of non hindu populations.
@@ameenzakariya could you petition the Pakistani government to make Lahore the capital of Khalistan?
@@rutvikrs could you petition india to not be declared an Hindu state?
How people even think terrorism can lead to any goal in the first place
Thank you very much for the video, Professor. Watching it brought up 2 general questinos regarding nation building:
1. The intended Sikh homeland is landlocked and would have a tiny population. Is it even economically viable? Wouldn't this quickly country become a vassal state for india? (This is the same in Kosovo, I believe). Does that type of question even present within separatist movements?
2. Israel had its own currency, its own banks and other sovereign institutions decades before Israrl was a state. Do you think it essential to have these for a separatist movement to succeed? Do the Sikhs have all of these in Punjab?
2.
Thing is that Punjab has 38 % Hindus also .. if even take Punjab separate... Hindus will demand where they are majority... and separate from Punjab and join india. .and india also have upper hand in terms of water ways.. many rivers are come from Himalayas... and if Punjab try to separate it self india will not kind to them ... they will pay
A separate Khalistan would rather end up a vassal of Pakistan than India, like with a separate Kashmir
The thing is original idea of Khalistan's 75% punjab region is in pakistan. These foreign sikh seperatist are literally demanding for seperate state from a country where their forefathers took refuge in mejor number in during the partition in 1947
Professor, sikhs in india never speak or in support khalistan. Just some of them sitting in uk and cannada does.
Sepratist movement died down decades ago.
its just foolishness protesting abroad when no one in the heartland of punjab wants it.
its like Native indian american tribes protesting in japan that they would need a new country from the american land.
Thanks for the video. Please note that the 'riots' after Indra's death were more akin to genocide or at least pogroms. A good balanced account on the 1984 genocide/pogroms is '1984 India's guilty secret' by Pav Singh. It is believed that he number of Sikhs killed is around 8,000 during the 3 days. A number of senior govt ministers and Congress party members are suspected of having played an active role in the massacres and rapes.
Regarding more recent moves to khalistan, you didn't mention Gurpatwant Singh, who is supposedly the founder of Sikhs for Justice. I personally suspect that he's an Indian asset.
Finally, regarding the UK govt speech to a right wing think tank, which referred to growing Sikh separatist violence, the speechmaker (Priti Patel) was asked numerous times in parliament to give examples. At first she claimed she did not hear the question, and then failed to answer a follow-up question to her office.
Thank you. I understand that this is a very sensitive point for many people. Although I did not use the language that many may have wanted, I hope I got across the point that the events after the assassination saw thousands of people lose their lives.
Interesting topic of which I didn't know much. Thank you for sharing and explaining
Very concise, educational and informative video and analysis from Prof. Ker-Lindsay, as always. Every video is excellent historical, political and cultural lesson...every time I have learned something new. Thank you so much Prof. Ker-Lindsey.
Thank you so much, Nina. I really appreciate it.
KHALISTAN ZINDABAD 🪯 #NeverForget1984 #SikhGenocide #IndianArmyRapesWomen #IndianPoliceRapesWomen #PanjabIsBleeding #StandWithFarmers #FreeKhalistan #KhalistanZindabad
I have to say, having a bunch of Sikh bodyguards after trying to destroy their most sacred temple after also cracking down on them as a people doesn't seem like the best idea
It’s like having Muslim bodyguards after destroying Mecca
Apparently she hired Sikh bodyguards on purpose to convince others or herself that she acted because of national security and not out of persecuting the religion.
The worst thing is that many Indians consider her a hero. A vile individual who sold her country to the Soviets, called an emergency after losing and election, and used that emergency to sterilise 6 million people. Then to top it off, she starts a genocide against a community that was up to then overwhelmingly pro Indian, by attacking their holiest place. What an idiot.
thanks. I find this video very insightful. 👍🏾
India already has been divided based on religion. Muslims got modern day Pakistan🇵🇰 and Bangladesh🇧🇩.
Rest of India is home for
Hindu (original native)
Muslim -mughal (came from uzbekistan )
Buddhist
Jains
Christians
Zorostrinian- parsi ( took shelter in hindu majority india after iran became islamic)
Jews (bought by 🇬🇧 colony)
Hare krishna
Shaiva
Atheist
Communist atheist
If a country has to be divided into pieces based on religion their will be no country left.
Think it from a native indian pov. After forced to give away Pakistan, and Bangladesh the scar of losing part of land which was just 75 years ago our own, the scar is not healed but a new scar ready to be drawn...... India can not be divided any more.
Khalistan can be made in part of canada, or US or australia, perhaps in Newzealand... A sikh separatist part in canada... Why not?
Majority(96%) of muslims are native indian converts not uzbeks 😅
The notion of Khalistan doesn't find much support among Sikhs in India, they have seen enough violence and bloodshed in a lifetime. It's the diaspora, they operate with impunity in Western countries and their shenanigans may impress upon some as the movement springing back to life, but non-starter, really, at least for now. Bc Punjab is in a very tight spot- easily the worst drug problem in whole of India, economy is in a terrible shape with dual fiscal and unemployment crises, years and years of mis-governance by corrupt and incompetent leaders, and facing a disastrous prospect in ground water drying up by 2028 which would debilitate the farming sector on which much of the state relies upon. And when crisis strikes, we Indians love blaming the Centre. The Central Govt only last year withdrew the much ambitious farm reform because the Punjabi farmers weren't on board and their protests were hijacked by Khalistani separatists. Clearly, they want to appease the Sikhs in the light of the developments which would indicate the govt acknowledges them. That's a step in the right direction and taken much before any disaster could strike.
Here's a fun fact that the Western Govt's esp. the Canadians who allow these Khalistani's to operate with freedom ought to find interesting- Bhindranwale was a common preacher, would travel to countryside and give sermons on not using drugs, not shaving beards, etc. until he was handpicked by Indira Gandhi's son to be used as an asset to destabilize the opposition. That would eventually lead to his mothers assasination.
Ungrateful Supremacist Brahmin parasites terrorists responsible for Sikh Genocide.
True
U CAN NOT SURVIBE IN INDIA
Now I also support khalistan but not in India rather in uk ,us , Canada and anywhere in the world where people want them,
Because by population ratio they are in big percentage there instead in India (only around 1).
Now my dear khalistani Bandhu also ask Khalistan from them if you want it from India.
White Brits have been at forefront to foment trouble in India. British Empire in 1850 after defeating the Sikhs, captured young Maharaja Dileep Singh and took him to Britain and converted him to Christianity. And that created a rift in the sikh forces. With more than half being loyal to Britain as their king was in patronage of Brits and other half loathed Brits for their shenanigans. Brits/Christians started a long term effort to split khalsa and alienate Sikhs.
Anglo-$axons and the Great Game against Asiatic powers (Russia, China, India, Iran, Vietnam, North Korea) in order to remain the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
Thank you for the Video and not labeling Sikhs as terrorist because they want their homeland. Sikhs need their own homeland so they can set their own rules and regulations instead of following India rules, which are meant for Hindus. India's rules are in favor of Hindus, not Minorties. Every religion have their own rights and homeland. Why can't Sikhs have their own homeland ? Sikhs are not Hindus. Sikhs are not Muslims. When Sikhs raise their voices, how India is trying to eliminate them and denying them their Rights. Sikhs are labeled as terrorists. India still denys Sikhs as a separate religion.
Thank you. I hoped I was fair and balanced. I deliberately tried to explain the origins of Sikhism fairly and respectfully and laid out the context for calls for a Sikh state. I certainly don't regard Sikhs as terrorists. There are certainly violent and extreme elements within the community. But this is the case with almost every situation I cover. I have the utmost respect for the faith and always try to understand the wish of people for self-determination.
@@JamesKerLindsay🙏🏼❤
@Prof James Ker-Lindsay You did a good job, Sir.
Respectful and humble.
Indian media or godi media never leaves a moment to give a bad name to Sikhs. Hindus are openly preaching about a Hindu Raj, where minorities will have no rights in Hindustan. Indian government takes no action against the Hindu extremists, and while they get security from the governments, Sikhs activists get hunted down, labeled as terrorists under NSA.
Bhai Amirtpal Singh Khalsa ji started an organization to get the youth of drugs and return them to their religion. Corrupt leaders, cops and drug dealer didn't like their drug operation was under threat. Bhai Amirtpal Singh ji said if Police want to arrest him. He willingly will give himself to the cops. But when they brought 80000 cops and two paramilitary to arrest Bhai Amirtpal and assassinate him under fake encounters and label him as terrorist and give bad name to Sikhs. Bhai Amirtpal Singh said Sikhs are not safe under Indian government rule. Indian government broke their promises made to Sikhs before 1947 . Indian government farther divided Sikhs Punjab into two more states. Sikhs are not allowed to buy land in other states. While anyone from other states can buy land in Punjab. Just to kill Sikhs majority in Punjab. India is not a democracy. They have different rules for Hindu and different rules for Sikhs. A Hindu man gets free from jail after rape cases in a few years. Sikhs are sent to jail for the rest of their life's just for praying for Homeland for Sikhs.
Aap Brampton me bana lena apna Khalistan.
@Ritik Shaw no it will be Punjab. Homeland for Sikhs. Why are you Against Sikhs Freedom. Do you not remember your ancestors were slaves in India before independence? Why didn't Hindus keep serving under Birtish Raj ?
You need to update this video
Knowing what happened the last time I hope cooler heads prevail
The problem for Khalistani's the world over is that the vast majority of Sikh's born & raised in the Punjab are far from being pro- Khalistan. In fact they are very much anti - Khalistan. Moderate Sikhs came out in force, on the streets & extremely angry at these latest events. They would hate to go back to the 80s of trouble & strife. For this one reason Khalistan will never, ever, happen. It's a pipe dream for a vocal minority of Sikh's who live in Australia, Canada & Europe.
The problem with khalistan movement is that they just dont have the numbers. There are approximately 25million sikhs living in India (not even 50% of whom support this) and there are 45million punjabi Hindus living in India (all of whom can claim a domicile in punjab within a single day). There is simply no way either through peace or through conflict for this to happen.
Not to forget, India was a bankrupt, weak and feeble country in the 90s and khalistanis were supported by pakistan and USA back then - even then they got picked off. What chance do they have now against a proper state with a proper security apparatus both covert and overt.
In the 1980s India struggled fighting a few thousand Sikh militants. This time it will be fighting millions.
@@jimbocho660 giddar bhapkian. 😂😂
@@jimbocho660 millions import karaoge? Ji ban hai import pe useless stuff ka idhar. 😂😂
@@jimbocho660 Rajput are father of sikh
insert in your brain
we made sikh and we can destroy what we have made
@@Ishant007 chal oye.
Rajput are not even 2% of sikhs. ALL gurus were punjabis khatris, not your rajput.
Apni betiya mughalo ko bechne wale, aaj aa ke khalsa ko takkar denge?
Pata hai khalsa kon hai? Tera aur mera baap--merged souls--those who have attained mukti.
Apna ehnkaar itna na badhao, ki bhagwan ko aankhe dikhao. Tu bhagwan se upar hai? You killed sikhs, not khalsa, But you pained them. Khlasa never demands worldly desires, but if you come out to kill them, you are in for a surprise.
What are you going to bet--sikhi will rise, both in numbers and prominence. Coz time has come for khalsa to rise and for injustices and corrupt to be destroyed. Ie change of YUG is imminent and people like you will end up dying.
So your and pakistan's destruction is imminent, just like afghanistan.
Abhi tak sikhs lade hai, to teri pant geeli ho gayi, jis din khalsa utha, to kya, tera baap bhi kuch nahi kar payega.
As an outsider, I have a question. Would people in India/the Indian government be in favour of a non-violent solution such as a referendum in Punjab asking residents if they would like an independent Khalistan? I’m thinking it would be somewhat similar to referendums regarding self-determination like those held in Quebec in the recent past.
Would that resolve this issue in a non-violent manner perhaps?
Thanks. I would tend to agree. Often letting people have a say will show that they are happy to remain in the country they are in. Often it is the process of preventing a vote that feeds resentment and secessionist sentiment. This is exactly what we saw in Catalonia.
No for a simple reason other state will also ask this like kashmir and nagaland.
This was never a option.
We will prefer taking pakistan punjab and giving that to Sikhs than this.
@@sumeettanwar1608 I've done some reading on colonial India in the last few weeks so I am by no means an expert. However, I find your first two sentences ironic since this was the same argument used by the British to deny India independence. The British claimed that other colonial territories would similarly demand independence if Britain left India, so they could not leave India for this amond other reasons.
@@747Cone even if there was a referendum,it will not be in favour of khalistan because of sikhs only bring a slight majority in punjab,caste issue & violent rivalry among different sikh denominations.But it will certainly open up the Pandoras box again starting with deadly attacks on Hindus and few sikh denominations and ending with violent attacks on sikhs.Though if sikhs want to further divide punjab & create a sikh supermajority state with the same rights as North Eastern tribal states - I would support that.But they want to first accept that they are not in a positions to dictate terms for anything to the indian union.
@@ss-99995 I agree. So why not have a referendum and observe that the majority is not in favour of it and defuse the issue, since it will then be clear to advocates of Khalistan that it does not have broad appeal.
It is better and would be peaceful for the Sikhs to LIVE in peace with India.
TOGETHER- NESS = STRENGTH.
Our species' tribalism is exceedingly tiresome.
I agree :/ it’s frustrating. As long as Humanity is on this Earth we will never learn to coexist.
Another informative video. Is Hindu nationalism, which has eradicated Indian secularism not a factor. Non Hindus have been violently marginalised.
Indian minorities enjoy more benefits than the majority themselves. Unfortunately, the international media spreads the lies and people fall prey to them.
Hindus are the ones that are marginalized in the sickular state with the Constitution that gives extra privileges to minorities and make Hindus second-class citizens in their own country
Not even remotely true. Sikhs/Jains have a disproportionately high representation across major fields.
@@userre85 That may be true, but none the less, the BJP & Hindu Nationalism is placing the Hindu religion at the centre of not only their political strategy, but recalibration of what it means to be Indian. Will that not provoke a reaction?
@@shakiMiki Hinduism in itself is not a supremacist faith.. As in they don't preach that their gods are true.. Others are false /infidels.. So even its extreme form can only be so much aggressive/vile towards the other (it's mostly towards Islam).. So I'm not that worried about it.
Sikh genocide policies of govt.. demolition of Akaal Takhat in 84..nd sikh genocide mentality of non sikhs ..r the main reasons
@bruhh5933 state sponsed propg after 2000 to justify sikh genocide ..give me data of so called hindus killed by sikhs ..where r their families ..why they dont come for justice ?? how hindu papulation in punjab increased from 28 % to 45 % ..bcs there was sikh genocide in punjab like rest of india ..more than 2 lac killed in fake encounters ..even schol going 12-13 years old boys killed nd minor girls nd women raped nd killed …total genocide not less than mughals nd afghans ..many sikhs left punjab nd settled in abroad …
Khalistan in Canada very soon 😂🤣😆
It is only in Canada, Australia, UK, USA. No Sikh in india want seperate country except khalistan sponsered by Pakistan ISI.
What can they do if selected from india. It is another landlocked country surrounded by two nuclear power states and Punjab doesn't have any major industries, sea ports as well except agricultural based economy.
Punjab is now heavely depending on india on all sectors. This moment is just a uppercast rich psycho sikh moment who is feudal land lords who want to keep bargaining chep with powerful center of india.
As someone who studied this topic i can say your research and work is perfect you are non bias and articulate ❤️ more wishes to you👍
Thank you very much indeed. I know that viewers on both fringes of Sikh and Indian nationalism will see it as biased, but that’s always the way. I hope that it a fair and balanced view of the situation that helps explain it to people who might be unfamiliar with the issue.
@@JamesKerLindsay🎉 when will UK join NAFTA❓❓
I think we should also consider sikhs of Delhi, Mp, Up also. Because they are very well placed and successful in india, would they even want a landlocked state between India and Pakistan, with absolutely negligible trade with India(which is on the rise). Sikhs are a very brave and intelligent community in India, they are great businessmans too, I doubt they would risk it. Diaspora sikhs will never leave foreign PRs and citizenships for a new Khalistan or punjab thats for sure.
yeah thats why they come on streets.
Hindus need to become more like sikhs in order to be more helpful brave and strong
never going to happen... they are gready and do not forget who ganghu was
@@amanpreetkumar9294 waah ek gangu yaad hai jo itne lakhon hinduon ne aaj tak sath diya wo yaad nhi
@@raviagarwal3924 this is the resone which explains why are not using singh as surname... This conversation ends here ! Since you have no selfrespect
@@amanpreetkumar9294 how about you speak in a proper language first
My friend this video would have been relevant 1 month ago, it's like a regular phenomena happens before punjab election and peaks out with in a year,nothing to be suprised or worried about
Thanks. But most of my viewers aren’t aware of this issue. And I’m not a news channel. I try to take a wider look at how an issue taking place in one country or region can have wider implications. This seemed like the best moment to cover it.
OUR RELEGION IS IN DANGER ZONE
LOL, you are not a sikh then.
If you were, sikhi is timeless and eternal. AAgya bhai akaal ki tabhe chalayo panth.
Tum keh rahe ho, God is sleeping? You literally have 0 idea of what is happening in spiritual world, do you?
Full support for independent buffer state of sikhs Khalsa 🌟
Ya allah Mera Lånd Åyesha ki gånd mai fas gaya madat kar 🧕🤲😢😭
@@Alice-7777 relax Hitler supporter Nazi HinduShaitan
If this comment lets you sleep at night with wound of dhaka then we have no issue 😂
One of the issues with Punjab is lack of employment, the green revolution did give it a head start - but over cultivation is never sustainable. The overcultivation of certain irrigation intense crops (paddy) is then subsidised by the Government and bought at an assured price.
Most of the farm labourers come from outside the state leaving a large number of punjabi youth idling. Drugs from across the border has also become a major issue.
The Government can do very little - either at the state or centre level - demand for more water and protectionist measures for agriculture is unfair to the rest of the Country which has to bear the additional tax burden. This would work for a richer Country perhaps, but India has many states which are far worse off than Punjab.
I am not Punjabi or sikh and may be misinformed - but never have i seen the khalitan issue being discussed by my sikh friends - it is almost entirely a creation of a very loud diaspora community - some of whom seek asylum based on supposed persecution faced in India. Playing the victim card is always convenient and a natural human sentiment. While I agree Muslims are oppressed in certain parts - sikhs are viewed as a subset of Hindus (even falling within the legal definition of Hindu as per law) - and apart from 1984 - there are really no instances of persecution.
Sorry if this^ comes across as a bit cluttered - you have done well to cover a fairly complex issue.
Also numerous army chief's have been Sikh as was our last Prime Minister.
How about you run grassroots poll to see whats the basis of this support?
Each of India's states should be an independent country and if they don't match the border of the ethnic groups the borders should be adjusted.
🤔..Then you will have a nuclear war in a month
Brother, you need more analysis about this topic. Air India flight bombing issue is controversial, bcoz there were some clue India Embassy person were included in this attack. To defame Sikhs worldwide. Secondly, Sikhs did come out from Hinduism or Muslims. Sikhs single rituals or customs doesn't not as Hinduism or Muslims. Sikhs believe in one god. Which is a power. It is not a male or female. Thirdly, Sikhs have their own empire before Britishers invaded. When Britisher left India. Sikhs have a choice for own homeland. Indian politicians won trust of Sikh Politicians that time through promises. India will be a democratic state. Indian would provide autonomy to Punjab. State head will be a Sikhs. You have you read sirdar Kapoor Singh who was ICS during British rule...
Situation can be solved , if indian state protect. Minority culture and their language.
Rajput are father of sikh
insert in your brain
we made sikh and we can destroy what we have made
which indian canadian embassy
In punjab 30 percent population is dalit.
Who ger reservation in education, jobs,etc under
Indian constitution.
Khalistan movement is majorly Jatt sikh movement and many Jatt sikh also oppose it too.
NO PERSON IN INDIA WHO HAS RESERVATION WANT INDIA TO BE DIVIDED.
Khalistan cannot happen without map of khalistan including punjab of Pakistan
But pakistan Punjab muslim majority, indian Punjab sikh majority.😂😂😂
Some Sikhs are ready to surrender their identity and some are not. it's a personal choice at the end.
Raj Karega Khalsa … Khalsa had a courage… Khalsa fought to defend Indians why not He has his own homeland????
But how will Khalsa trade? Groundwater levels are dipping, how will even grow wheat? You guys are being selfish here. If you guys deserve a country than every community in India deserves one.
You say it like india didn't fought with Sikhs, rajput supported sikh from the start.
I see you’ve made videos on Taiwan, Somaliland, Kosovo, yet you seem to frame this issue of self-determination almost exclusively as terroristic, violent, and ethnonationalist. I wonder why….
Because the Indian government spent money.
Finally we are getting noticed Internationally!
Sikh separatists must first liberate Lahore, the capital of Pakistani Punjab & make that city their own capital. Firebrand leaders emerge from time to time supported by Pakistani ISI with funds and weapons. The objective of this mischief is to create mayhem in Punjab.
Why don't Hindu rastrawadis liberate ancient Hindu lands in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and China?
@@sandeepk4093 Good, ask them why?
It was a rhetorical question. Remember the footage of Indians being embarrassed by the Chinese army at Galwan? Indian army is good at killing unarmed Indian civilians, not so good at fighting that Chinese.
@@sandeepk4093 What footage? What embarrassment? Like the embarrassment of taking several months just to count and accept one's own dead/casualties?
@3:02 Although Sikh reference library was burned by Indian Army post the battle of Amritsar in 1984 between Khalistan Resistance Forces and Indian Army, Unlike Abrahimic prophets early controversial lives, there is extensive literature on Guru Nanak's early life, its really if you wanted to dig a little. @3:24 Sikhi not a combination of Muslim and Hindu, thats the flawed contemporary belief just like you Brits merged Sikhi with Hindus the consequences we Sikhs still face. Sikhi was WORD of Akal Purakh (God) directly spoken to Guru Nanak. @4:21 they were not mere deaths it was 2 Genocide committed by Afghans on Sikhs and one currently being done by Hindutava India since 1947. What is your source of making this claim? @5:00 it took the British and Native Hindustani Forces to annex Sikh Empire the last Sovereign Kingdom of Sub Continent. And it took mere handful Sikhs to protect ungrateful Brits in 1857, WWI and WW2 to save British men, women (from being raped) and children massacred by Hindu Muslim Native Indian Army and Germans. @13:34 what your source on ANTI-SIKH RIOTS (Just towing the Indian BS), did any other community had fatality none - Did Sikhs butchered others like the Indians were committing rapes, murders and shooting 1 year olds.- Nil. Its was a GENOCIDE. @8:34 what is the source that Sikhs separatists caused Air India Attack. It was Indian consulate in Canada's covert operation.
Battle of Amritsar? Peaceful movement? Bruh.. Apne Hi archives check karlo. Kitne sikh and Hindu mare before the storming of the temple. It was happening for a couple of years.. The culmination was in 84.
finally someone who makes sense. This video is full of factual mistakes.
Punjab was country before independence 1947 and Sikhs got their huge kingdom as “ Khalsa RAAJ” as Sikhs are the only trusted and brave community among as huge financial resources, Punjab got victim of colonialism and bad policies and narratives,, Sikhs are highly admired and got respect and honour at world level , Sikhism is 5th largest religion in works with supreme , fundamental values and strong identity 🙏
A very well put video indeed.
Sikhs were promised autonomy by Nehru when the partition happened, later he went back on his word and said it wasn’t possible and the circumstances had changed. I don’t see us getting a separate state and tbh I don’t think it would be a good idea geopolitically, however we should strive for greater autonomy for ourselves within punjab. The BJP only have the Hindus at heart and they strive for a Hindu nationalist identity, that doesn’t apply to Sikhs so surely we should at least be able to govern ourselves without being called terrorists for wanting so. It’s like calling an Irishman living in Northern Ireland a terrorist for wanting a united Ireland.
After independence in 1947, all the top jobs in the country were allocated to the just Brahmins, in every top position a Brahmin was sent to learn from the previous worker how to do the job then previous worker was fired and replaced by the same person he trained. Before independence the British government jobs were based on merits not caste. If Sikhs are expecting any special consideration the answer is no only equal consideration from a nation who gives special consideration only based on religion and caste… like I said currently Brahmins are only 4% of India’s total population but 95% top positions are given only to them, why? Just to stay in power, now if that’s not special consideration then I don’t know what is…
Sikhs betrayed and promises broken
India's founding fathers gave numerous solemn promises that the Sikhs freedom and dignity would be safeguarded. Jawahar lal Nehru said that the brave Sikhs of Punjab are entitled to special consideration. I see nothing wrong in an area set up in the north of India wherein the Sikhs can also experience the glow of freedom. These promises were conveniently forgotten after independence and the Sikhs were dismissively told by the same Nehru that the circumstances had now changed
Sikhs have rejected India's Constitution
Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru gave the Sikhs assurances that after India achieves political freedom no Constitution shall be framed by the majority community unless it is freely acceptable to the Sikhs. This promise was repeated throughout the period up to independence. When the Constitution was produced in 1950 it failed to deliver any safeguards or political rights for the Sikhs as a people or nation. The Sikhs therefore refused to sign the Constitution and have never accepted it. Article 25 even denies Sikhism, the fifth largest faith in the world, separate recognition as a religion an affront that is widely seen as a deliberate act of suppression of the Sikhs.
Demands for greater autonomy were dismissed
The Indian authorities have systematically discriminated against the Sikhs since 1947 and subverted or suppressed all legitimate political demands for greater autonomy. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution of 1973 set out the basis on which the Sikhs were prepared to accept a political union within India, as a federal state. This demand for internal self-determination was pursued through decades of peaceful protest and attempts at negotiation with the central government. The demands were never seriously considered and given the history of the conflict between the Sikhs and India since 1984, this would now be too little too late.
Gross violation of Sikh human rights
In the last 30 years the Indian authorities have unleashed a rein of terror through gross violation of human rights of Sikhs in an attempt to extinguish the calls for freedom and Sikh independence. In June 1984 the Indian army attacked the Golden Temple Complex and 125 other Sikh Gurdwaras in Punjab and massacred tens of thousands of innocent Sikh pilgrims. This laid the foundation stone for an independent sovereign Sikh State, Khalistan.
In November 1984 tens of thousands of innocent Sikhs were massacred in Delhi and over 130 other cities throughout India by well-orchestrated mobs under the direct supervision of senior Indian politicians and officials.
Over 250,000 Sikhs have been murdered and disappeared since 1984. Many Sikh political prisoners still languish in Indian jails without charge or trial and others have been falsely charged and sentenced to death by hanging. Illegal detention and torture of Sikhs is common place and well documented by independent human rights organisations.
Sikh nationhood and independence
Sikhs first secured political power in the form of an independent state in 1710, after suffering centuries of foreign invasions and alien domination. The larger sovereign Sikh state was established in 1799 and was recognised by all the world powers. The Sikhs, after the two Anglo-Sikh wars, lost their kingdom and the Punjab came under British rule in 1849. However, in giving up power Sikhs were party to several Treaties with the British.
Sikh Personal Law Denied
After independence Sikhs have been denied Sikh Personal Law. Hindu Laws has been forced on Sikhs be it be the marriage act or income Tax. Sikhs marriages are registered under hindu act and while filling income tax Sikhs as HUF
I don't know the aspiration of having our own independent country is considered a crime. In past 40 years, 34 new countries have been formed and recognised by the UN. It is not a big deal. It is just what people want for themselves. They make us feel like demanding for a seprate state is a sin. In western countries, you can have a separate country if people want it. just vote for referendum.
Gurunanak never made any religion he was against organised religion later on some radical jatt made sikkisim with help of British in 1920
That's a pretty good evaluation, covering the broad aspect of this issue.
Considering there was no demand for a Sikh homeland at the time of independence for India, and Pakistan from the British in 1947, this demand has created permanency.
Once demand for an independent homeland are entrenched, it rarely ever dies down, especially when it's backed by powerful memories.
Indian attack on the holiest place for Sikhs, and the genocidal murder of Sikhs in 1984 has created a permanent emotional attachment for a Sikh homeland.
This demand will always increase or decrease, but never disappear, it's hard to say what the future holds.
If two fish are fighting in pond, an English man must have visited them yesterday. 💀 african proverb.
Thanks for the video Dr. Ker Lindsay!
Fortunately, the journalist Shekhar Gupta has devoted several of his Cut the Clutter episodes to this topic; it is definitely unendingly complicated. What seems clear is that the concept of Punjabi independence would be unrealistic.
India is an incredibly large and diverse state, an empire in most senses, and dealing with issues like this has seemingly been a constant for governments in Delhi.
Hopefully this thorny issue will be resolved through peaceful means and avoids a reversion to violence. Thanks again for taking a look at this professor!
While Sudan is at the forefront of attention, I’m wondering if you could put on your “statehood” hat and take a look at the Abyei Area. This is a UN-mandated condominium centered on the town of Abyei between Sudan and South Sudan, agreed to in 2011 as part of the peace settlement. I can’t think of any other condominia that exist in the world today, other than perhaps Andorra. Anyway I thought it might be interesting to take a look at, cheers!
Sikh are very patriotic. I live in Chennai. If u go near officers training academy in Chennai (part of indian army). I will see mistly sikh people. They love their country. The agitation taking place in Canada,UK and America are just few people have no connct to current situation. Pakistan is trying to use them to initiate Chaos. In india punjabi sikh live their country. The preacher you refer is a product of some other nations. Pls ask sikh who are protesting that " what happened to sikhs lived in Pakistan" just see the number in 1947 and see now. Pakistan cleansed its Sikh population but there is no protest against Pakistan in any country. Pls connect the dots. Everyone will find the answer.
Thanks. I hope I was very clear that the Khalistan movement certainly doesn’t enjoy widespread support. And it does seem to be more focused in the diaspora. This is reinforced in the comments. Most of the negative replies I have seemingly been from outside of India.
@@JamesKerLindsay mostly the western media is too biased when it comes to India. I used to see news which is totally incorrect and they will find some intellectual in western countries to pass a comment.for example the western media reporting RSS as a paramilitary of BJP. My friend are in RSS they are well educated and works in software development. I see news that Indian election commission is farce. Current Modi government controls everything etc. We feel these are totally irrelevant to current situation in India. For years india struck with one party which controlled by one family. This is not okay with so called liberal media and they want to show India with slums etc. All i am saying is views can differ but you must have a personal experience to pass a comment. I hope you are doing the ground work and not relay in western media reports. Keep up the good work.