UK Sikh groups criticise Boris Johnson agenda to “help India” with “Khalistani extremists”

Sikh groups have criticised a claim by Boris Johnson that “UK Khalistanis” may be “threatening” India.

During his much vaunted trip to India this week, UK Conservative government Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed the two nations had agreed to set up an “anti-extremist taskforce” to tackle “Khalistani extremists” that were “threatening India”.

Johnson made the statement at a press conference that was part of his India tour. Journalist Kamaljit Sandhu of India Today put a question to Johnson whilst it was live on Sky News, asking if “concerns” about “Khalistani extremists” had been raised during a meeting with India’s Minister of External Affairs Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The Sikh Federation UK predicted the statement would precede a soon to be announced long-term free trade deal.

Khalistan refers to the movement for a free Sikh homeland in India that has been widely supported among Sikhs for countless years. The movement reached a new peak in the 1980s, and particular after the 1984 state perpetrated Sikh genocide. In 1986, a resolution to support Khalistan was made at one of the few Sarbat Khalsa events in history, where the Sikh nation comes together to agree an agenda. Many Sikhs still support the movement today, with one of the more prominent ways currently coming through the Khalistan Referendum campaign by Sikhs For Justice. The campaign sees the Sikh advocacy group holding non-binding vote events to gauge Sikh diaspora support for Khalistan. The first series of voting events took place last year in the UK, whilst the next takes place in Italy in May. However, the campaign has been deemed illegal terrorism in India and even liking Facebook posts on the campaign has resulted in Indian citizens being arrested and detained by police.

Johnson made the claim whilst a campaign to have his colleague Priti Patel the current UK Home Secretary address her own comments on Khalistan is still ongoing. Over 150 Sikh orgs have demanded the Home Secretary clarify her comments which claimed the UK has an issue with “Sikh separatist extremism” at a conference last year.

Despite the “Khalistani extremist” accusations, which have also come from UK police, zero evidence has been produced to prove illegal let alone “threatening” behaviour of any Khalistani groups in the UK. in 2017 Leeds University research fellow Dr Jasjit Singh worked with CREST (Centre of Research and Evidence on Security Threats) which revealed Sikh activism posed no threat to the UK public. Priti Patel has also avoided expanding on her comments last year about the alleged threat of Khalistani extremism.

Many have pointed to the UK government’s ongoing mishandling of the case of Jagtar Singh Johal as an example of why the UK cannot be trusted to work with India on such issues. Scottish born and raised Sikh Jagtar Singh Johal was labelled guilty by Punjab Chief Minister of crimes relating to the murders of Indian nationalist figures in 2017 after travelling to the country to get married. Nearly five years later Jagtar Singh remains imprisoned in India without being convicted of a crime, whilst his brother openly highlights a lack of UK support for him.

The case of the #WestMidlands3 last year also highlighted India’s fascist approach to targeting Sikh activism, which the UK have enabled. The case saw three British born Sikh men put up for extradition in India where they would have faced the death sentence. The trio were accused of involvement in pro-Khalistan terror activities based on “no evidence” according to world renowned lawyer Gareth Peirce. Peirce oversaw the quick dismissal of the extradition attempt after the case went to appeal, and spoke of her shock about how the case even reached a UK hearing when no evidence was produced to support the accusations against the Sikh men.

Many believe the UK act in such fashion at the behest of India, who keep the UK beholden to furthering their human rights breaching efforts to target Sikh activists to maintain trade agreements with India. Declassified documents revealed the UK Conservative government also actually provided the Indian government with advice on carrying out the notorious Indian army invasion of Sri Harmandir Sahib, which was part of the 1984 Sikh genocide. The advice was given with an arms deals with India in mind.

Sikh groups will now be looking to move urgently to have the issue addressed by the government, with transparency on who the taskforce may target. Despite it being raised by UK activists, the UK government has failed to address how they plan to avoid doing the bidding of the notoriously fascist Indian government, who only last year were criticised for allowing police to oversee the sexual abuse of female prisoners and the arrest of journalists that were supporting the #FarmersProtest.

More information on this story is available for media on request, including direct comment from UK Sikh Khalistani groups.