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Sikhs For Justice: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun United States NGO
Sikhs For Justice: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun United States NGO
Abbreviation SFJ
Formation October 2007; 15 years ago
Founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun
Founded at United States
Type NGO
Legal status Banned in India
Purpose Secession of Punjab from India as Khalistan
Headquarters New York, United States
Official languages Punjabi, English
Legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun
International policy Jatinder Singh Grewal
director
Website sikhsforjustice.org
Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) is a US-based secessionist group that supports the
secession of Punjab from India as Khalistan. Founded and primarily headed by
lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in 2009. The organization was created in response
to the murders of Sikhs after Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi death by her Sikh
bodyguards.[1] The motivation for the assassination was due to the Prime Minister's
decision to attack the Golden Temple in Amritsar.[2]
The events after the murder of the Prime Minister included the murders of around
3,000 Sikhs.[2] The murderers did not stop after the assassination, the government
implemented a "give no quarter" initiative.[3] This led to the further pursuit of the killing
of the Sikh community in Punjab.[3] Sikhs For Justice was banned in India in 2019 as
an unlawful association. It began holding a referendum for creation of Khalistan in
October 2021.[4][5]
History
Legal proceedings against visiting Indian political leaders
In 2011, Sikhs For Justice moved to the US court Kamal Nath and a few other
leaders of Indian National Congress for their alleged role in 1984 anti-Sikh riots,[6]
[7]
however, the court dismissed the case, saying that the case does not sufficiently
"touch and concern" the US.[8] In September 2013, the group filed an amended class
action complaint against Sonia Gandhi for protecting members of her party who were
involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, but in June 2014, the case was dismissed due to
lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. [9] SFJ were going to
subpoena Rahul Gandhi as he stated 'some Congressmen were probably involved in
1984 anti-Sikh riots and they have been punished for it.[10]
In February 2014, the group filed human rights violation case against then
13th Indian prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh (a Sikh himself) for his role
as finance minister of India in 1990s accusing him of "funding crimes against
humanity perpetrated upon the Sikh community in India".[11] They also submitted a
report to United Nations Commission on Human Rights on 1984 anti-Sikh riots.[12]
Khalistan referendum campaign
Main article: Khalistan Referendum
SFJ started organizing a campaign for 'Referendum 2020' for secession
of Punjab state from India. The first phase of the unofficial and non-binding
referendum started from London on 31 October 2021.[5][13] Gurpatwant Singh Pannun
announced in November 2018 that the SFJ will establish a permanent office
in Lahore for facilitating the registration of voters and giving information to Sikhs
about it. He also stated that banners regarding the referendum and images of Jarnail
Singh Bhindranwale had been posted around Nankana Sahib.[14] The group also has
at times expressed support for a greater Khalistan whose territory straddles parts
of Punjab province of Pakistan and has invited non-Sikhs to register for voting.[15]
Sukhpal Singh Khaira, MLA of Punjab Legislative Assembly and the Leader of
Opposition at the time, said, "Sikh Referendum 2020 was a result of consistent policy
of bias, discrimination and persecution towards the Sikhs by successive
governments in India”, though he clarified that he did not support the referendum.
Chief Minister of Punjab Amarinder Singh rebuked him.[16] The Shiromani Akali
Dal and the Bhartiya Janata Party also criticized Khaira for his statement, with former
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal asking the AAP chief Arvind
Kejriwal to act against the Punjab LoP.[17] The Sikh delegation in the United States of
America also met the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit in
September 2019, to highlight their support of India as one country.[18]
In October 2021 it held the first round of its referendum in London for those of Indian
Sikh ethnicity above the age of 18, and announced plans to expand the voting to
other cities of the United Kingdom.[19] However only 2,000 people were reported to
have taken part.[20] In Switzerland, the referendum was held in Geneva in December
2021 with over 6,000 Sikhs reported to have taken part.[21] It later started holding the
referendum in Canada from May 2022, with the first phase taking place in Brescia. In
July it organized the second phase in Rome. Over 57,000 Sikhs were reported to
have taken part.[22]
In June 2022 the group released a map for the proposed territory of Khalistan before
the press in Lahore. Along with the Indian Punjab, it also
included Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and parts of Rajasthan, Uttar
Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Pannun stated that Shimla would be the capital of the
proposed nation, and requested the Government of Pakistan for assistance in its
creation.[23]
The referendum in Canada started being held from September 2022, with the first
phase being held in Brampton.[24] The second phase was held in Mississauga in
November.[25] Around 185,000 Sikhs were reported to have participated in both
phases.[26] In Australia, it was held in Canberra in January 2023. The vote led to
clashes between pro-Khalistani and pro-Indian groups.[27]
Intention behind Kartarpur Corridor
Kartarpur Corridor
Kartarpur Corridor, is a religious corridor that allows Indian worshipers to
visit Gurdwaras. this initiative was backed by the Indian state to help the Sikh and
Punjabi populations visit some of the most relevant places in Sikh history. The
Corridor was also used by Sikhs for Justice for promoting the secessionist campaign
'Referendum 2020'. The campaign is backed by Pakistan which is a close ally of
Khalistanis. Sikhs can travel to their shrine in Pakistan without a visa. The allowance
of Sikhs to cross the border into Pakistan is seen as a political move to demonstrate
that Pakistan is welcoming of other religions.[28] The pilgrims using Kartarpur Corridor
were urged to attend workshops and seminars in Kartarpur on Referendum 2020,
arranged by Sikhs for Justice.[29][30][31][32]
Criminal accusations
As of July 2019, there were 12 criminal cases that were being pursued by Indian
agencies namely National Investigation Agency (NIA), Punjab
Police and Uttarakhand Police who have also arrested 39 people associated with the
SFJ in India.[33] According to the former Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder
Singh, SFJ "had unleashed a wave of terror in Punjab in recent years" and deserved
to be called a terrorist organization. He welcomed the decision to ban the SFJ as a
step towards protecting India from secessionist and anti-Indian plans of the
organization he described as backed by Pakistan's ISI.[33]
A member of the group was arrested in Malaysia in September 2019 among others
for allegedly planning to attack leaders of local parties.[34] Also, out of the four
terrorists arrested in Tarn Taran blast case in Punjab, one revealed that they were
tasked to kill the leaders of various Deras in India by Sikhs for Justice.
[35]
Furthermore, the Kartarpur Corridor that has been opened up for Sikhs, is
reportedly being used for Khalistani propaganda by SFJ.[36]
SFJ activist Jaswinder Singh Multani was detained and questioned in Germany in
December 2021 for his alleged role in the Ludhiana blast case.[37] In January 2022,
the NIA registered a case against him for hatching a conspiracy against India.[38] A
purported audio message of Pannun claiming responsibility for the Mohali blast in
May 2022 was released after the attack.[39]
According to audio recordings of Pannun obtained by the Punjab Police from two
SFJ members in July 2022, the group tried to arrange shelter for killers of
singer Sidhu Moose Wala, planned to target Ambala Cantonment Junction railway
station and Ambala City railway station and disrupt Independence Day celebrations
in Delhi and Punjab.[40] Pannun has been booked in 22 cases in Punjab from 2017 to
2022. India requested Interpol to issue a red notice against him in October 2022, but
it rejected it.[41]
A purported audio was released in December 2022 of the group claiming
responsibility for the recent attack on a Tarn Taran police station.[42] Pannun however
later stated that the organisation only engaged in a peaceful struggle and would
provide legal aid to the suspects who he said were falsely accused.[43]
Banned in India
Sikhs for Justice was banned on 10 July 2019, by Government of
India under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for anti-India activities.
[44]
The group planned to use Google Play for spreading its propaganda, and an
application was uploaded on it for people to register for Referendum 2020. The
application was reported, and thereafter removed by Google Play Store in November
2019.[45][46] Its Facebook page had already been blocked from India by the company
in 2015.[47]
Later in January 2020, the UAPA tribunal chaired by Delhi High Court Chief
Justice D.N. Patel sustained the decision of ban on the secessionist group. Citing the
evidences presented, as the reason for the decision, the committee said that since
the activities of the group were "unlawful", "disruptive" and "threaten the sovereignty,
unity and territorial integrity of India" and SFJ was "working in collusion with anti-
India entities and forces", therefore, "the Central Government had sufficient cause to
take action under UAPA for declaring Sikhs For Justice as an unlawful
association."[48]
On 1 July 2020, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was declared as an "individual terrorist"
under the UAPA for promoting secessionism and allegedly encouraging Punjabi Sikh
youth to take up arms.[49] The central government via an order of Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology[50] on the recommendation of the Ministry of
Home Affairs on July 5, banned 40 websites belonging to the group for attracting
people to its cause.[51]
Amritpal Singh, Khalistan, Waris Punjab De, SFJ, Referendum: All Keywords
Amid Developments
Published By: Vidushi Sagar
News18.com
Last Updated: MARCH 20, 2023, 15:37 IST
New Delhi, India
Last month, Amritpal and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and
guns, broke through barricades and barged into the Ajnala Police Station on the
outskirts of the Amritsar city (Image: News18)
Explained: The developments come in the wake of a major crackdown started by
police on Saturday against Amritpal Singh and members of his outfit 'Waris Punjab
De'
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Pro-Khalistan organisations in the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), and
Canada have planned violent rallies, primarily targeting Indian high commissions and
embassies, to show solidarity with Amritpal Singh and urge that he not be jailed,
sources told News18. Read the full story here
The development comes in the wake of a major crackdown started by police on
Saturday against Amritpal and members of his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’. The elusive
preacher, however, gave police the slip and escaped their dragnet when his
cavalcade was intercepted in Jalandhar district.
Police on Sunday had conducted flag marches and searches across Punjab,
arresting 34 more supporters and shifting four men in custody to a jail in far-off
Assam. During the ongoing crackdown operations against elements of Amritpal-led
‘Waris Punjab De’ and persons attempting to disturb peace and harmony in the
state, the state police has so far arrested 112 people.
Amid the rapid developments, let’s take a look at what all these terms mean:
RELATED NEWS
AMRITPAL SINGH?
Donning a flowing white chola and a navy-blue turban and often escorted by armed
supporters, radical preacher and Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh has been
quite active in Punjab for some time. Read more on this here
Amritpal never actually met Sidhu in person, but he thinks their online exchanges
had a big influence on him (Image: News18)
As per the report, Amritpal never actually met Sidhu in person, but he thinks their
online exchanges had a big influence on him. When others criticised Deep Sidhu for
the Red Fort protests on Republic Day 2021 amid the farmers’ struggle, Amritpal
stood by him. Amritpal claimed on the one anniversary of Sidhu’s death a week ago
that he had stopped trimming his hair on the late actor’s advice in November 2021.
He became a ‘Amritdhari Sikh’ on September 25, last year, after undergoing a formal
Sikh baptism at Anandpur Sahib.
Just four days later, on September 29, Times of India reports, with massive crowds
gathered to see Amritpal’s ‘dastar bandi’ (turban-tying ritual to show the acceptance
of responsibility) at Rode village, the birthplace of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale,
whose name is inextricably linked to Punjab militancy. Amritpal has gone from a
clean-shaven transporter in Dubai to a separatist Sikh leader with a flowing beard.
He dressed like Bhindranwale, and others are referring to him as Bhindranwale 2.0.
In a recent address, he stated that when he arrived at Amritsar airport, he was
questioned by “agencies" for quite some time. He went on to say that questioning a
Sikh teenager about returning to his homeland is a symptom of ‘ghulami’ (slavery).
He has been promoting Khalistan’s cause on Facebook for quite some time. He
questioned why it is wrong for a Sikh to advocate Khalistan while advocating for a
Hindu Rashtra is not penalised. Amritpal told a Punjabi news channel that the
Bargari sacrilege and Behbal Kalan police shooting in 2015 drew him to Sikh
activism.
Sidhu laid the foundation of ‘Waris Punjab De’ in Chandigarh eight months after the
Republic Day incident, said a report by Free Press Journal. During his launch event,
he stated that the organisation would “fight for Punjab’s rights against the Centre and
raise voice anytime there is any attack on Punjab’s culture, language, social fabric,
and rights."
Soon after establishing his organisation, Sidhu expressed his support for Simranjit
Singh Mann’s extremist pro-Khalistan party SAD (Amritsar) and campaigned for
them ahead of the Punjab elections.
Sidhu, on the other hand, died in a car accident on February 15, 2022, just five days
before the state elections. Simranjit Singh Mann has requested a judicial
investigation into Sidhu’s death.
Once Amritpal Singh assumed control of ‘Waris Punjab De’, Sidhu’s family distanced
themselves from Amritpal, claiming that he was never nominated as the leader of
their son’s organisation.
WHAT IS THE KHALISTANI MOVEMENT?
The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement that seeks to establish a
sovereign state in the Punjab region called Khalistan (‘Land of the Khalsa’),
according to reports.
The proposed state would be made up of land that currently forms Punjab, India and
Punjab, Pakistan, with Lahore as its capital, and would be located in the past
geographical region of Punjab, where the Khalsa Empire was once established.
Since the separatist movement gained traction in the 1980s, Khalistan’s territorial
ambitions have included Chandigarh, sections of Indian Punjab, including the
entirety of North India, and some parts of western India.
HOW IT STARTED
Gur Gobind Singh’s declaration of the Khalsa in 1699, and the religio-political vision
that accompanied it, fueled the Sikh imagination with the belief that it was their God-
given right to rule Punjab, Britannica explains in its report on how the Khalistani
movement started.
Sikh forces captured Sirhind, the most powerful Mughal administrative centre
between Delhi and Lahore, in 1710, led by Band Singh Bahdur, and established a
capital in nearby Mukhlispur (“City of the Purified"). They minted coins, created an
official seal, and issued letters of command invoking God and the Gurs’ authority. At
the time, the belief that “the Khalsas shall rule" was formally added to Sikh liturgical
prayer, the report said.
Although the ‘Khalsa Raj’ under Band Singh was short-lived, the concept was
realised in the early 19th century in the form of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s kingdom
(1780–1839). Though the Khalsa Raj’s subsequent rapid decline and eventual loss
to the British (1849) was a painful experience, it did not extinguish many Sikhs’
hopes that the Khalsa Raj would return in some form.
The concept of an independent Sikh state was prominent in the lengthy negotiations
that preceded the partition of Punjab in 1947. The Sikh population’s numerical
weakness in comparison to other residents of Punjab rendered this an unviable
proposition, but it has reappeared in various forms since, the report explains.
For a decade in the 1970s and 1980s, a violent secessionist movement to create
Khalistan paralysed the Punjab. And it reached its pinnacle in the late 1990s, after
which the insurgency petered out and the movement failed to achieve its goal for a
variety of reasons, including a heavy police crackdown on separatists, factional
infighting, and disillusionment.
There is some support within India and among the Sikh diaspora, with annual
protests in memory of those killed during Operation Blue Star.
Police in Punjab arrested several militant groups in early 2018. Former Punjab Chief
Minister Amarinder Singh claimed that recent extremism is being supported by
Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and “Khalistani sympathisers" in Canada,
Italy, and the United Kingdom.
The SFJ was founded in 2007 and is led by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Panjab
University law graduate who works as an attorney in the United States, according to
a report by the Independent.
The group first announced in 2018 that it would hold an unofficial voting exercise, at
the time dubbed “Referendum 2020", across several countries with sizeable Sikh
diasporas, with the aim to “liberate Punjab from Indian occupation".
“The SFJ announced in its London Declaration [in August 2018] the first ever non-
binding referendum among the global Sikh community on the question of secession
from India and re-establishing Punjab as an independent country," according to the
SFJ website.
It stated that the referendum would be held in Punjab, as well as major cities in North
America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,
Kenya, and the Middle East.
According to Indian authorities in Punjab, SFJ and the “Referendum 2020" campaign
are being promoted and funded in Pakistan to destabilise India. As evidence,
intelligence agencies in India have stated that the SFJ website shares its domain
with a website based in Karachi.
The recent attacks and violent protests at the Consulate General of India in San
Francisco, and the India High Commission in London, are the latest headline-
grabbing incidents by supporters of the Khalistan separatist movement. They come
on the heels of incidents of anti-India and anti-Hindu vandalism at temples in New
York City, in the Toronto area, and in Australia. Though largely dormant in India itself
over the past two and a half decades, in the diaspora the Khalistan movement is
resurgent and supporters of the movement in the US, Canada and UK are stoking its
embers in India. What is its history, aims?
Land of the Pure: The Khalistan Movement in India. Starting in the early 1980s,
radical separatists spearheaded a bloody campaign to carve out an independent,
theocratic Sikh state known as Khalistan (Land of the Pure) in Punjab and other
parts of Northern India.
The roots of Khalistan lie in the British colonial policies of the late 1800s and early
1900s that sought to divide Sikhs and Hindus. Sikhs were recruited into the British
army in large numbers to use against Hindu rulers that rebelled against the British
Raj. Subsequently, after Indian independence in 1947, tensions between the state
of Punjab and the central Indian government surfaced, leading to grievances
amongst many Sikhs against the Indian government.
Punjab, for instance, was trifurcated into the states of Punjab, Haryana, and
Himachal Pradesh in 1966, along linguistic lines (Punjab as a Punjabi speaking
state, and Haryana and Himachal Pradesh as Hindi speaking states), which created
resentment amongst many Sikhs that the historic contours of Punjab were being
further divided after it has already been divided between India and Pakistan in 1947.
In response to the movement, and in an attempt to end militancy in the state, Indian
security forces and local Punjab police responded with force, at times committing
human rights abuses. Moreover, the Congress Party led central government
contributed to problems in the state by undermining democratic institutions and
interfering with elections, and failing to adequately address local/state issues and
relations between the state and the central government.
It is important to note however, that majority of the police, security forces and
politicians in Punjab were and are Sikh. In fact, the police captain credited for ending
the Khalistan insurgency, KPS Gill, was himself a Sikh. Moreover, Sikh politicians,
such as former Chief Minister Beant Singh, were themselves assassinated by
militants.
The majority of the victims of the militant violence were innocent Sikhs who were
killed by separatists for opposing the Khalistan movement. In 1990-1991, for
instance, Sikh civilians comprised over seventy percent of the victims of militant
attacks. Moreover, Mazhabi Sikhs (so called lower caste Sikhs in Punjab) were
frequently the victims of militant attacks.
Hindus were also targeted in large numbers as part of a strategy to ignite communal
tensions and force Hindus to flee Punjab in fear. Along with systematic violence,
posters often appeared in villages threatening Hindus to leave and those Sikhs that
sought to help Hindus were similarly threatened by militants. As a result, thousands
of Hindus fled their homes in Punjab and lived as refugees in neighboring states and
New Delhi.
The horrific violence in Punjab was accompanied by virulent anti-Hindu rhetoric and
propaganda that demonized and intimidated the state’s minority Hindu community,
and encouraged and celebrated violence against Hindu civilians. This was part of an
attempt by militants, led by Bhindranwale, to disrupt the social fabric of the state and
creation divisions between Hindus and Sikhs, who had historically enjoyed strong
relations, shared religious traditions, and frequently intermarried.
In both its heyday and today, the Khalistan movement has received financial and
logistical support from pro-Khalistan separatists based in the United States, Canada,
and the United Kingdom, as well as Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
Agency.
According to Indian defence analyst, Ajai Sahni, Pakistan’s ISI spy agency provided
refuge, training, arms, and funding to Khalistani terrorist organizations and
coordinated “their activities with Islamist terrorist organizations such as the Lashkar-
e-Toiba and the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, as well as with organized crime operators, and
drug and weapons smugglers who have assisted in the movement of men and
materials across the border into Punjab.”
Moreover, according to foreign affairs analyst Christine Fair, “The involvement of the
diaspora was an important dimension of the Sikh insurgency. Not only was it a
source of diplomatic and financial support, it was also a factor in enabling Pakistan to
get involved in fuelling the Sikh separatist efforts. Sikhs in Canada, the United
Kingdom, and the United States played important roles in arranging for cadres to
travel to Pakistan, where they received financial and military assistance.”
Khalistan supporters in the West have actively used American, Canadian, and British
soil to lobby their respective governments against India, while raising funds for
Khalistan terror groups, often using informal hawala networks (often used by criminal
and terrorist organizations in South Asia) for transferring money.
There have further been several investigations into the activities of pro-Khalistan
extremists in the US, including by the FBI, DEA, and United States Customs Service
(USCS).
In March 2017, for instance, a Khalistan extremist and US resident, Balwinder Singh,
was convicted of providing material support to Khalistani terrorist groups in India and
sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. He had been arrested by the FBI in 2013 on
“charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to murder
or otherwise harm persons in a foreign country” and for falsifying an asylum claim.
Singh was providing support to BKI and another group, Khalistan Zindabad Force, to
commit acts of terrorism in India.
Another US-based organization, Sikhs for Justice, has become the most prominent
pro-Khalistan group in the west and reportedly enjoys the support of the ISI. It
purportedly peacefully advocates for a 2020 referendum on Khalistan but has openly
associated with convicted Khalistan terrorists and those suspected of being involved
in large-scale terror plots in India. It funded the legal defence of Jagtar Singh Tara,
for instance, a leader of Indian designated terrorist group Khalistan Tiger Force, who
assassinated the Chief Minister of India’s Punjab state in 1995.
SFJ and its legal advisor, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, have close links with Paramjit
Singh Pamma, a BKI fundraiser wanted by Indian authorities for his material support
of terrorism. Mr. Pannun himself was reportedly arrested by police in the United
Kingdom in 2000 after receiving terrorist training in Pakistan and was sentenced to
30 months in prison for his involvement with BKI, a banned terrorist group in the UK,
although he denies the allegation.