Sikh groups criticise Punjab police arrest of #FarmersProtest figure, and his mother

Sikh organisations and individuals from across the world have criticised the actions of Punjab police, after they arrested #FarmersProtest figure Jagmeet Singh and his mother.

Last week 28-year-old Jagmeet Singh and his 50-year-old mother Jasvir Kaur of Patiala (Punjab), along with a family friend (23-year-old Ravinder Singh) were arrested for sedition based on police claims they were supporting the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) democratic referendum campaign on Khalistan (free Sikh homeland in India).

India has categorised the SFJ referendum as an illegal terror campaign and has arrested countless people for even posting about it on Facebook, despite the fact it is entirely peaceful and within accepted democratic practice, verified by a group of world renowned democratic experts that oversee the campaign as the Punjab Referendum Commission. It is unclear if Jagmeet Singh, who became a respected figure of the #FarmersProtest when a video of him standing against a water cannon attack went viral, has any connection to the campaign, with many suspecting the arrest of him and his mother is more connected to his status as a respected Sikh activist and Indian state attempts to continue to associate the movement with Khalistan.

Sikh Press Association Senior Press Officer Jasveer Singh said of the arrests, “Arresting the family of Sikh activists to scare them is a long-used tactic by Indian authorities. What has happened to Jagmeet Singh exactly matches the standard treatment countless other Sikhs have faced, simply for standing up for their rights. Indian police cells and prisons are notoriously dangerous places, especially for women, where torture and rape are used to make activists desist from opposing the state.

“The links of Jagmeet Singh to the Sikhs For Justice Khalistan referendum seem to be an attempt to associate #FarmersProtest figures with the movement, as this justifies the media hate campaigns and state violence aimed at the protesters. This is because Khalistan has become a demonised term among much of the Indian public, due to decades of anti-Khalistan propaganda in India.

“Jagmeet Singh’s situation also once again highlights India’s opposition to democracy, through the fact the Sikhs For Justice referendum campaign has been labelled a terror campaign, simply for trying to gauge support for an independent free Sikh homeland.”

Sikh PA will provide updates on Jagmeet Singh’s situation as they come in.