Five men, including an ex-Indian government employee, have been found to be behind a series of bombings over the past week near holy Sikh site Sri Harmandir Sahib (also referred to as Darbar Sahib) in Amritsar, Punjab.

Indian news reports claim the men were upset about a statement made during a viral incident last month, in which a man doing security for Sri Harmandir Sahib Gurdwara said “This is Punjab, not India”, evident from letters left at the bombing sites. However, the letters allegedly also contained content claiming support for Bhai Amritpal Singh and anti-Sikh actions of authorities in targeting the Sikh leader.

On 6th May at approximately 11pm, 8th May (6.30am) and 11th May (12.30am), homemade explosive devices were detonated in locations not more than 2km from the fabled Gurdwara that is visited by an estimated 100,000+ a day. The explosions on 6th and 8th of May both happened on Heritage Road, whilst the third happened outside Shri Guru Ramdas Ji Niwas Gurdwara.

Five men have been arrested for the bombings after sevadaars (selfless servants) of Sikh leadership body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandakh Committee (SGPC) had used local CCTV footage to capture for the first culprit and hand him in to police themselves. After pressing for more police action, with the authorities accused of taking the bombings “lightly”, further arrests were made of men named Azad Veer Singh (36), Saheb Singh, Dharminder Singh, Harjit Singh (ages undisclosed) and Amrik Singh (26).

In a confusing turn, Indian media claim there were letters left at the site of each bombing that were torn apart by the explosions which were later pieced together to reveal the men’s motives, which included “the imposition of the National Security Act (NSA) on Amritpal Singh” and “easy access of tobacco in Amritsar”, also noting the men were upset about the rhetoric that “Punjab was not part of India”.

Many Indians have complained about rough-handed treatment dished out by Sikhs (specifically those of the Nihung Singh warrior faction of the Khalsa {initiated Sikhs}) to those consuming or selling tobacco in Sikh spaces. Tobacco is strictly forbidden in or aside any Gurdwara.

Questions will be asked as to why supporters of Bhai Amritpal Singh would want to detonate explosives in a Sikh area, knowing he was a stringent advocate of Sikh sovereignty, respect for Sikh spaces and royal protocol for Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Sikh scriptural Guru. Causing chaos around a holy Sikh site seems to be a complete contradiction to what Bhai Amritpal Singh stood for, whose only act of so-called criminality was to lead a community movement freeing men from arbitrary arrest at a police station where torture was being reported, as is common in Punjab. As a supporter of the Khalistan (free Sikh homeland movement), ardent supporters of Bhai Amritpal Singh are also in favour of Punjab being separate from India, contradicting media claims about the bombers.

It is claimed three of the men had prior cases with police, with ex-government employee Azad Veer Singh arrested for “hurting Hindu religious sentiments” in 2021 and Amrik Singh arrested for stealing motorcycles, whilst Saheb allegedly having previous under the Explosives Act for running a “cracker making factory” without licence. Azad Veer was also noted as having “travel history back to Pakistan” according to his Hindu accuser for the 2021 case of alleged “blasphemy”. The father of Amrik Singh has been quoted as saying his son is “into drugs” and “small-time theft”, whilst Dharminder and Harjit are outright called “drug addicts” in Indian media.

The homemade bombs, made with drink cans, were described as crudely made, causing only minimal damage and minor injury to two people on Saturday and Monday respectively from their “low intensity”.

Indian media outlets have separately made claims that range from the stating the group show “no connection” to the Khalistan movement to some claiming the violence mimics issues seen during the 1980s when Sikh saint Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale led his movement from Amritsar, which is linked to the Khalistan movement.

However, Khalistan resistance attacks always targeted specific individuals who were noted as being heavily involved in perpetrating the Sikh genocide which peaked from the mid 1980s-mid 90s. This included senior policemen and politicians, rather than targeting random civilians. Contrastingly, a history of public bombings are linked with Hindu nationalist support, including attacks aimed at instigating communal violence.

NOTE- Information quoted from Indian media sources are not hyperlinked as they can often come from outlets which are known to propagate anti-Sikh rhetoric.

The second article on Khalistan (free Sikh homeland movement) in The Times UK to be branded “fake news” within two weeks has prompted concerns about Indian State influence on the newspaper.

An article released on 9th April in the prestigious establishment media outlet was headlined “India halts UK trade talks over Sikh extremists”. The article claimed unnamed “sources” in the British government revealed trade talks between the nations were halted until Britain further condemned an 18th March Sikh protest outside India’s London High Commission. A spokesperson for Britain’s Department for Business and Trade has since confirmed this is false.

The 18th March demonstration saw three windows allegedly cracked by protesters, along with the Indian flag by momentarily pulled down, leading to one arrest (and no charges pressed as of yet). The incident was shamelessly called a “terrorist attack” by some Indian media.

The #PunjabUnderSiege situation triggered the protest and dozens more by Sikh diaspora groups across the world in the last three weeks, after Indian authorities cut off the internet in Punjab to cover-up mass human rights breaches during the targeting of Sikh activists. To date over 1500 Sikhs have been imprisoned or detained during the operation, including journalists, academics and even teenage, elderly and disabled protesters. Although up to 300+ are reported now to have been freed, many are still “missing” within police imprisonment.

Indian authorities claim the operation in Punjab, which involved thousands of officers and paramilitary groups, was designed to “crackdown” on a Sikh faith based movement led by Sikh leader Bhai Amritpal Singh. The charismatic head of social reform group Waris Punjab De (Protectors of Punjab) had garnered attention for his efforts against the addiction and drug dealing epidemic in the state, which is well known to be entwined with corrupt local authorities.

The official reason for the operation was due to Bhai Amritpal Singh leading a raid on a police station in late February to free prisoners being tortured for being affiliated with him. Indian police are well known to use torture during custody, even on those they intend on freeing quickly. Bhai Amritpal Singh’s targeting is also connected with his open support for Khalistan (free Sikh homeland movement). Talk of secessionism is officially illegal in India.

On 27th March The Times released an article by Kapil Komireddi titled “Separatist or stooge: mystery of Amritpal Singh, Sikh preacher on the run” which is filled with false information, regurgitating pure Hindu ultranationalist propaganda, with baseless claims about Amritpal Singh which contradict his own words in the many video interviews he has given. The Sikh Press Association remain chasing up a complaint with The Times on the article.

The 9th April article on trade talks were also condemned for headlining Sikh Khalistan support as the alleged main focus of trade talk concerns, when three other issues regarding UK-India trade were also mentioned, including Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s recent comments on Indian migrants, which The Times themselves claimed at the time had put trade talks “in peril”.

Speaking on the issue, Sikh PA Senior Press Officer Jasveer Singh said “Sikh groups from all over the world challenged the basis of the article, and the fact that within 24-hours its content were officially debunked have raised serious concerns about what is going on at The Times when it comes to reporting on Sikh issues in Punjab, centered around Khalistan.

“The articles in The Times are well below the expected standard of journalism in British press. Why they would allow themselves to be used to push anti-Sikh Hindu ultranationalist propaganda will raise many questions about what is going on behind the scenes there.

“It has long been known the Indian State works to influence Western media to help cover-up its many human rights abuses. The uptake in this since the #PunjabUnderSiege situation has been noticeable, with bias and imbalanced articles appearing in The Times and The Washington Post. The Times must be embarrassed by the latest article being revealed as ‘fake news’ so quickly, and we hope this will see a change in their approach from hereon.”

The Sikh Press Association will continue to pursue the issue with The Times.

Protests by Sikh diaspora groups across the world have taken place in direct response to India authorities’ siege of Punjab.

On Saturday morning (18.03.23) Indian authorities began a siege of Panjab which involved shutting down internet and mobile phone networks across the state, whilst simultaneously targeting over 300 (to date) Sikh activists in mass police operations involving paramilitary that remain ongoing.

This occurred a day before remembrance events in the state for Panjabi music star Sidhu Moosewala, who was murdered in suspicious circumstances, with a self proclaimed Indian nationalist confessing to being behind it. Moosewala was particularly popular among Panjabis for often referencing and praising Sikh figures in his music, including famed freedom fighters that put up resistance to India’s Sikh genocide that began in the 1980s.

This weekend protests have taken place in response to the siege of Panjab in San Francisco, Auckland, London, Vancouver and beyond.

The London (UK) protest has made international headlines due to an attempt to bring down an Indian flag hanging outside the country’s consulate and replace it with a Khalistan flag. An incident of a window being smashed, leading to one arrest of a protester, also occurred in London. India’s notoriously ultranationalist (ranked 150th of 180 countries for press freedom) media have reacted in typically sensationalist fashion to the incident, with some declaring it a “rampage”.

A Surrey (BC, Canada) demonstration was held to prevent a “Friends of India and Canada” event taking place in the city which India’s High Commissioner of Canada was set to attend.

Approximately 700 people joined a blockade outside the gates of the venue in the city with an estimated 500,000 Panjabi population. However, some “Friends of India and Canada” supporters still turned and acted provocatively towards protesters, leading to minor skirmishes which police and protesters worked together to resolve, as explained (see Tweet below) by one attendee.

In California over a thousand Sikhs were joined by Dalits (Hindus of a caste considered “low” according to Indian hierarchy and thus are often illtreated), Christians, Muslims and general human rights supporters for a demonstration in San Francisco outside the city’s India Consulate. Graffiti stating #FreeAmritpal was found sprayed on part of the building.

Protests also occurred in New York (USA, pic below) and Auckland. These are just a few of many that occurred this weekend.

Other protests and meetings by Sikhs are planned through the week, with major Western cities expecting mass disruption due to India’s siege of Panjab.

Speaking on the protests, Sikh Press Association Senior Press Officer Jasveer Singh said, “The passionate protests taking place across the world are just the beginning of what will be a sustained effort by the Sikh diaspora. The aim is not only to show solidarity with the Panjabi Sikhs being targeted by India right now, but also to actually press governments into action.

“Whilst many – led by India’s sensationalist media and ultranationalist online bot army – may decry minor incidents in Surrey and London, what we are seeing is a desperate attempt by Sikhs to stave off further violence. If some slight damage to a consulate building is more important for an MP to talk about than an entire state being blacked out and invaded to target a minority community, then Sikhs will feel they have no friends in places like the UK Govt.

“India’s current treatment of Panjab is near identical to incidents which preceded the 1984 state perpetrated Sikh genocide. The longer Western Govts fail to act by at least condemning India’s actions, the more fervent Sikh protests are likely to get.”

Sikh pilgrims staying at a historic Gurdwara found themselves attacked by locals last week in Himachal Pradesh (India).

Visitors from Punjab often stay overnight at Manikaran Gurdwara, which is noted for being a site Guru Nanak Dev Ji visited. On the night of 5^th March, local Hindus spread a rumour a Sikh part of the Manikaran sangat (Sikh congregation) had abused a local girl, before forming a mob attacking pilgrims.

Himachal Pradesh has recent history of issues of Hindutva (Hindu extremist) mobs destroying Mosques and attacking Sikhs. The mob formed at approximately 11pm, pelting the Gurdwara with stones before carrying out a full-scale assault on the sangat, with one Sikh man allegedly losing an ear according to local reports given on video to the Akaal Channel. Police were filmed standing by as Sikhs were attacked.

Sikh retaliation to the attack was the centre of mass focus from India’s notoriously ultranationalist “Godi media”, which is ranked 150^th of 180 countries for press freedom. However, various Sikh groups and activists have spoken out against yet another example of anti-Sikh issues in India.

Sikh body SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandakh Committee) urged police to bring tackle issues of anti-Sikh fearmongering.

Other social media content also indicated that the border between Punjab and Himachal Pardesh had been blocked off stopping people from entering Himachal Pardesh by police. This has been denied by local police.

Sangat now continue to come through and are doing darshan(paying respect via physically meeting) of Gurdwara Manikaran Sahib. However, concerns about the safety of sangat in the area remain within Sikh communities.

Brunel University has been besieged with complaints from UK Sikhs after a module was found labelling a revered Sikh seminary as a “Sikh extremist movement”.

This week a module on “Terrorism and Counterterrorism” being taught by International Relations (Defence and Intelligence) lecturer Dr Neveen Shaaban Abdalla included a presentation slide (see picture below) with the allegation against Damdami Taksal, a Sikh educational institution with centuries of tradition that thousands of British Sikhs have learnt from.

The seminary based in Amritsar (Punjab) was founded by the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji in the early 1700s and has bases in countries including the UK, Canada and the USA. Its teachings form the structure of Sikh practice and understanding for millions of Sikhs across the world, which are still taught in Gurdwaras and Sikh spaces across the world daily, rendering the statement from Dr Abdalla’s course an allegation against countless Sikhs.

The slide shown in the course included a picture of Sikh saint Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale, a former Jathedar (Head) of Damdami Taksal, who is called “leader of the Sikh extremist movement Damdami Taksal”. Sant Ji as he is affectionately known, has become synonymous with the Khalistan (free Sikh homeland) movement due to leading a panth (Sikh community/path) stand against the Indian state in the 1980s based on Sikh rights and police extrajudicial killings of Sikhs. The Indian state responded with the Sikh genocide.

Sant Ji and the Khalistan movement as a whole have been the focus of decades of Indian state propaganda to label both as “extremist”, in an effort to deflect from the growing recognition of the state’s fascism, which includes subjugation of minorities in the country, such as Sikhs.

This “extremist” image of Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale is rejected by the Sikh panth, evident through the fact that his picture is displayed at major Gurdwaras and in Sikh spaces (such as Nagar Kirtans), whilst he was also named the greatest Sikh of the 20th century by the Akal Takht, the supreme Sikh authority.

Sant Ji is pictured next to Shoko Asahara in the slide, a Japanese cult-leader found guilty of 27 counts of murder. Comparatively, Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale was never even put on trial for any crime, let alone convicted. Sant Ji was killed during India’s infamous Operation Blue Star attack on holy Sikh site Sri Harmandir Sahib, an assault which was carried out with guidance from Margaret Thatcher’s British government, resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians in the process of targeting Sant Ji and the Sikh resistance. A grassroots panth created documentary on the incident was released last year titled Battle Of Amritsar.

The Sikh Press Association can confirm we are aware of complaints sent to and plans for a demonstration at the West London based university.

Speaking on the issue, Sikh Press Association Senior Press Officer Jasveer Singh said “Brunel University must answer concerns of the Sikh community regarding what they are teaching about the faith. The casual labelling of a Sikh seminary that influences millions of Sikhs as ‘extremist’ is dangerous. In an age where Sikhs are regularly attacked for the kesdhari (unshorn hair, keeping the Sikh physical identity) look, such allegations cannot be made lightly.

“Recently the BBC released a documentary which exposed the incredible level of human rights abuses perpetrated by the Indian state. This understanding of the reality of India has to impact what is taught in academia. We like to know if there was at least balance; that Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale’s saintly status among the respected British Sikh community is mentioned alongside India’s allegations against him.

“At the minute, the arrogant silence from Brunel prompts further concerns of Indian state influence at Brunel University, which is an issue within academia that has been noted by Sikhs in the UK, USA and Canada. We await further dialogue between Brunel and UK Sikh groups.”

Sikh Press Association requests for comment on this issue from Brunel University have remain ignored at the time this story was published.

NOTE- Damdami Taksal is an institution that impart just one of various Sikh schools of thought. However, this does not dilute the overall perception of Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale as a revered figure in the faith, or general Sikh respect for Taksal as an educational institution.