NEW DELHI: In a latest harsh move, India has seized the assets belonging to a prominent Sikh leader associated with the Khalistan Movement, who had close ties with Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh leader brutally killed by Indian intelligence agencies in Canada in June earlier this year.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the founder of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), had also accused India of being responsible for Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder, which ignited a diplomatic dispute between India and Canada.
Pannun, a lawyer by profession, was designated as a terrorist by Indian authorities in 2020 due to his advocacy for the establishment of an independent Sikh homeland known as Khalistan. India has banned the SFJ.
In response to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claim that Indian government agents were involved in Nijjar’s assassination, Pannun added fuel to the controversy by releasing a video in which he urged Canadian Hindus to “return to India,” accusing them of adopting a “jingoistic approach” by aligning with New Delhi.
During an interview with an Indian news outlet, Pannun revealed his close association with Nijjar for over two decades, describing him as a “younger brother” and placing blame on India for Nijjar’s murder.
Subsequent to the broadcast of his interview, the Indian government issued an advisory to media outlets, urging them not to provide a platform for individuals accused of “heinous crimes.”
India Confiscates Assets of Sikh Leader
Acting on court orders, officials from India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) proceeded to confiscate Pannun’s residence in Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab, a Sikh-majority state. Additionally, they seized agricultural land owned by him in Amritsar. The NIA accuses Pannun of actively inciting individuals and youth in Punjab through social media to support the Khalistan cause, thereby challenging the country’s sovereignty, integrity, and security.
Sikhism, a minority religion originating in northern India in the 15th century, has been influenced by both Hinduism and Islam. The Khalistan campaign, initially considered a fringe movement, gained prominence in the early 1980s when a charismatic Sikh fundamentalist launched a violent separatist insurgency. This insurgency reached its peak when Indian forces stormed the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest Sikh shrine, where separatists had taken refuge. Subsequently, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards.
Although the insurgency has since been subdued, the Khalistan movement’s most vocal proponents are found among the large Sikh diaspora, especially in Canada, Britain, and Australia. The memories of the violence during that period, which resulted in thousands of casualties, continue to haunt India, leading to the outlawing of the Khalistan movement and the classification of several affiliated groups as “terrorist organizations.”
