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☆ Indian gov't official directed Sikh separatist's assassination plot in US, DOJ says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters) - An Indian government official directed an unsuccessful plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday, in announcing charges against a man accused of orchestrating the attempted murder. Prosecutors did not name the Indian official or the target. According to prosecutors, the official recruited Gupta in May 2023 to orchestrate the assassination. The Indian government has complained about the presence of Sikh separatist groups outside India, including in Canada and the United States. The groups have kept alive the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gupta, Damian Williams, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Nijjar, Luc Cohen, Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Indian, U.S . Justice, New York City, Prosecutors, Biden, Administration, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: U.S, Manhattan, New York, India, Czech, New York City, Washington, United States, New Delhi, Canada, India's Punjab, Vancouver, Air India

Prosecutors did not name the Indian official or the target, although they did describe the latter as a U.S. citizen of Indian origin. The Indian official is described in the related indictment as a "senior field officer" with responsibilities in "security management" and "intelligence" employed by the Indian government who "directed the plot from India." It was a "matter of concern" that an Indian government official was linked to the plot, foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday, adding, "This is also contrary to government policy." 'WE HAVE SO MANY TARGETS'According to U.S. prosecutors, the Indian official recruited Gupta in May 2023 to orchestrate the assassination. The groups have kept alive the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Gupta, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Damian Williams, Biden, Bill Burns, Narendra Modi, Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken, National Intelligence Avril Haines, Arindam Bagchi, Bagchi, Adrienne Watson, credibly, Pannun, Nijjar, Luc Cohen, Krishn Kaushik, Shivam Patel, Jeff Mason, David Brunnstrom, Heather Timmons, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: U.S . Department of Justice, Indian, U.S . Justice, New, New York City, Prosecutors, Biden, National, National Intelligence, White House National Security Council, Reuters, Administration, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, New York, India, United States, Canada, Czech, Vancouver, New Delhi, China, Air India, Washington

☆ Why is India's Modi so worried about Sikh separatist calls for Khalistan?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Amplified calls for the creation of Khalistan date back to when India gained its independence in 1947. At the same time, some Sikh supporters of Khalistan have made comments perceived as anti-national and threatening toward India and its government. And in counterinsurgency operations, Indian security forces were accused of a multitude of human rights abuses. The first photos of the damaged Akal Takhat after the army stormed the sikh Golden Temple complex in Amritsar on June 9, 1984. “The larger [Sikh] community is standing by the statements from Trudeau and they want action upon this,” said Jasveer Singh, a British Sikh and senior press officer with the Sikh Press Association.

Persons: Justin Trudeau’s, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, “, Nijjar’s, –, Andre Durand, Guru Nanak, hasn’t, ”, Amandeep Sandhu, Amritpal Singh, India’s, Singh, Stringer, Modi, Suhasini Haidar, Sondeep Shankar, Indira Gandhi, Gandhi, Harsh Pant, Cole Burston, Pant, Nijjar, Justin Trudeau, Blair Gable, Trudeau, Jasveer Singh Organizations: CNN, Air India, Sikh, Canadian, Air, Air India Boeing, Getty, India, British, Keystone, Pew Research Center, Panjab, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Police, Khalistan, Observer Research Foundation, Protesters, Reuters, Sikh Press Association Locations: Montreal, New Delhi, Ireland, Indian, Punjab, Canada, Hardeep, India, Air India, Cork, AFP, Pakistan, Amritsar, British India, Ottawa, “ India, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Toronto, British

☆ US, Asked About Sikh Separatist Groups, Says It Respects Free Speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

The Indian government has complained about the presence of Sikh separatist groups outside India, especially in Canada. The groups have kept alive the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India. One such group called Sikhs for Justice is based in the United States and has been organizing an unofficial so-called "Khalistan Referendum". The demand for an independent Sikh state surfaced most prominently in India during a violent insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s and paralyzed the state of Punjab. Canada last month alleged that India may have been involved in the killing of Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whom New Delhi labeled as a "terrorist".

Persons: Simon Lewis, Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON, we're, Indira Gandhi, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Kanishka Singh, Gareth Jones Organizations: State Department, Justice, U.S . State Department, Air, Air India Boeing Locations: United States, India, Canada, U.S, Punjab, Air India, New Delhi, Washington

Persons: Erin Scott, we're, Indira Gandhi, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Simon Lewis, Kanishka Singh, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, State Department, Justice, U.S . State Department, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, United States, India, Canada, U.S, Punjab, Air India, New Delhi, Washington

BAY ISMOYO/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Friday there was a "climate of violence" and an "atmosphere of intimidation" against Indian diplomats in Canada, where the presence of Sikh separatist groups has frustrated New Delhi. "Because there is freedom of speech, to make threats and intimidate diplomats, I don't think that's acceptable," Jaishankar told reporters on Friday evening in Washington. Canada is home to an influential Sikh community, and Indian leaders say some fringe groups there remain sympathetic to the cause of an independent Sikh state. The insurgency killed tens of thousands of people and the Khalistan movement is considered a security threat by the Indian government. Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984 by two Sikh bodyguards after she allowed the storming of the holiest Sikh temple, aimed at flushing out Sikh separatists.

Persons: Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Jaishankar, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Trudeau, Indira Gandhi, Kanishka Singh, Leslie Adler Organizations: India's, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, India, ASEAN Foreign Ministers, Rights, Indian, Washington . Relations, Canadian, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: Jakarta, Canada, New Delhi, Washington, India, Punjab, Air India

The Sikh religion was founded in Punjab in the late 15th century and currently has about 25 million followers worldwide. Sikh separatists demand that their homeland Khalistan, meaning "the land of the pure", be created out of Punjab. The Khalistan movement is considered a security threat by the Indian government. In April this year, India arrested a self-styled preacher and Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh for allegedly reviving calls for Khalistan, sparking fears of new violence in Punjab. Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng is postponing a planned trade mission to India.

Persons: Nanak, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Chris Helgren, Justin Trudeau, Indira Gandhi, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Gandhi, Amritpal Singh, Narendra Modi, Trudeau, Mary Ng, Rupam Jain, Shivam Patel, YP Rajesh, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Canadian, Air, Air India Boeing, Indian, India . Canadian Trade, YP, Thomson Locations: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, DELHI, India, Punjab, New Delhi, Air India, Britain, Australia, U.S

[1/3] A sign outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple is seen after the killing on its grounds in June 2023 of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada September 18, 2023. Here are some recent examples of uneasy ties between the two countries:Sept 2023: Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng postponed a trade mission to India planned for October. Sept 2023: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed strong concerns about protests in Canada against India to Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi. Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984 by two Sikh bodyguards after she allowed the storming of the holiest Sikh temple, aimed at flushing out Sikh separatists who demanded an independent homeland to be known as Khalistan. March 2023: India summoned Canada's High Commissioner to convey concern over pro-Khalistan protesters in Canada who breached the security of India's diplomatic mission and consulates.

Persons: Nanak, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Chris Helgren, Justin Trudeau, Mary Ng, Narendra Modi, Trudeau, Indira Gandhi, Canada's, Kanishka Singh, Sandra Maler Organizations: REUTERS, Canadian, Canadian Trade, Indian, Sikh, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, Ottawa, New Delhi, Punjab, India, Air India, Washington

☆ India hunts Sikh preacher who has revived calls for homeland
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Krishn Kaushik | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Top Punjab police officer Sukhchain Gill told Reuters that Singh had set up a militia called Anandpur Khalsa Fauj. Singh has said striving for a separate country, that Sikhs call Khalistan, was not an anti-democratic and should not be taboo. Sikh militants complaining of unfair treatment on the part of the central government began agitating for a separate homeland in the 1970s. Singh had become popular through social media during drawn protests in 2020-21 by thousands of farmers from Punjab, many of them Sikh, against agricultural reforms. Sikh militants were blamed for the 1985 bombing of an Air India Boeing 747 flying from Canada to India in which all 329 people on board were killed.

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