Misplaced Pages

Sikh religious extremism

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 59.164.100.127 (talk) at 17:09, 9 November 2008 (expand). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 17:09, 9 November 2008 by 59.164.100.127 (talk) (expand)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Sikh extremism is mainly encouraged by radical groups that want to carve out an independent Sikh state called Khalistan. It has decreased significantly since mid-1992, although Sikh militant cells are active internationally and extremists gather funds from overseas Sikh communities.

Sikh extremism in India

Main article: Punjab insurgency

Sikh separatism began on a small-scale soon after the India gained independence in 1947. In the 1970s, the Government of India did not response adequately to the Sikh grievances. This led to confrontations between fundamentalist Sikhs and non-Sikh extremist groups. The government dealt with the situation in a very high-handed manner, leading to incidents like Operation Bluestar.

Operation Bluestar, the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards and the following anti-Sikh riots organized by Congress reinforced Sikh extremism, leading to an increase in the political assassinations When the moderate Akali Dal Sikhs led by Harchand Singh Longowal reached a peace agreement with the Government, the fundamentalists condemned him as a traitor and he was assassinated.

The terrorists started using religion to secure the support of Sikhs for a political cause. There were several terrorist attacks by Sikh militants during the Punjab insurgency periods (e.g. 1987 Punjab killings and 1991 Punjab killings). The government forces, led by the Sikh police officer KPS Singh Gill, were accused of human rights violations during the conter-insurgency operations. Beant Singh was also killed by the Babbar Khalsa extremists on 31 August 1995.

The Sikh separatists argued that the Sikhs were being discriminated against, while the opponents argued that the purpose of Operation Blue Star and other operations was not intended to attack the Sikh identity, rather expel the extremists. The United Nations Special Rapporteur's concluded in his February 1997 report that the situation of Indian Sikhs in the religious field is satisfactory. However, he also noted that there was discrimination in certain sectors of public administration: for example, after Indira Gandhi's assassination, there were fewer Sikhs in the police force and no Sikhs in personal bodyguard units.

Almost all of the Sikh militant groups in Punjab aimed to created an independent nation called Khalistan through acts of violence directed not only at members of the police and security forces, but also specifically at Hindu and Sikh civilians. In the early 1990s, a number of militant groups tried to impose "codes of conduct" for journalists; these codes carried a death penalty for those who disobeyed. Sikhs belonging to non-orthodox minority sects were also murdered. There were also indiscriminate attacks designed to cause extensive civilian casualties: derailing trains, exploding bombs in markets, restaurants and other civilian areas etc. Many moderate Sikh political leaders were assassinated for opposing the militants, while several others were killed as a result of militant group rivalries. The extremists also kidnapped civilians for extortion, and frequently murdered them when the demands were not met. Threats were also made to the minority Hindu population so as to drive them out of Punjab. This resulted in thousands of Hindus fleeing the state. The major militant outfits included:

Condemnation by Sikhs

Sikh extremist groups were vociferously condemned by moderate Sikhs all over India. Two of the well known moderate Sikh victims of Sikh militants were Harchand Singh Longowal and Beant Singh.

Sikh extremism in Canada

Sikh extremism spread fast in Canada in the 1980s. It ranges from raising funds for violent attacks to intimidation and assassinations.

Babbar Khalsa, founded by Canadian fundamentalist Sikhs, has been officially listed as a terrorist organization in the European Union, Canada, India, and the United States. Ajaib Singh Bagri, the co-founder of the Babbar Khalsa, told the founding convention of the World Sikh Organization in 1984: "Until we kill 50,000 Hindus, we will not rest." Another organization, International Sikh Youth Federation, has also been officially listed in Canada as an illegal terrorist organization.

In 2008, CBC reported that "a disturbing brand of extremist politics has surfaced" at some of the Vaisakhi parades in Canada. Some of the extremist Sikhs display insignia of illegal organizations and pictures of Sikhs who the Canadian government considers guilty of terrorist crimes. Canadian courts have established that that Talwinder Parmar, the founder of the Babbar Khalsa was the mastermind of the Air India bombings, but Sikh fundamentalists insists that he was a "shaheed" (martyr).

Condemnation

Many Sikhs have come out in opposition of Sikh extremism. Two leading Sikh politicians refused to attend the 2008 Vaisakhi parade in Surrey, saying it was a glorification of terrorism.

Tara Singh Hayer, a Canadian Sikh journalist, who had written editorials denouncing Sikh extremists, was murdered by them. The Canadian journalist Kim Bolan has written extensively on Sikh extremism.

Sikh extremism in the United Kingdom

The British Sikh writer Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti was forced into hiding after violent protests by extremist Sikhs led to the cancellation of her play Behzti. She was physically threatened and verbally abused, and her family was harassed, forcing her to leave her home. However, she received messages of support from several fellow Sikhs and many other people across the world.

The Chief of the Punjab Police, NPS Aulakh alleged in 2008 that British-based supporters are transferring money to the militant groups via informal funding channels in the UK Sikh community, which could "support renewed violence".

References

  1. ^ Patterns of Global Terrorism. United States Department of State Publication 10321.
  2. ^ Sikhs in Punjab
  3. Fighting for Faith and Nation By Cynthia Keppley Mahmood. Published by University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996. ISBN 0812215923, 9780812215922
  4. 'Sikh extremism spread fast in Canada'
  5. 'Sikh extremism in Canada mushroomed very quickly'
  6. Contemporary Issues in Law Enforcement and Policing By Andrew Millie. Page 89. Published by CRC Press, 2008. ISBN 1420072153, 9781420072150
  7. ^ Symbols and suits: Sikh extremism enters mainstream Canadian politics by Terry Milewski, CBC News.
  8. Canadian Journalist Hits Out at Sikh Extremism (Canada)
  9. ^ Author defends Sikh protest play

See also

External links

  • - 'Sikh extremism enters mainstream Canadian politics'
  • - 'The Death of 329 Passengers killed on board Flight 182, the worst aviation disaster pre 9/11'
  • - 'Air Flight 182: Warnings over Sikh extremists ignored'
  • - 'Extremists hijacked play protest' (Official Website - archived)
Categories:
Sikh religious extremism Add topic