The Deadly Cocktail

Rulers, dynasties, nations came to rule and break Bharat but ultimately they became part of Bharat or withered in History. But Bharat stands tall with its strong roots in Hinduism for peace and love of the world.

Former Pakistan PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had said “Once the back of Indian forces is broken in the east, Pakistan should occupy the whole of Eastern India and make it a permanent part of East Pakistan…. Kashmir should be taken at any price, even the Sikh Punjab and turned into Khalistan.” Genreal Zia-ul Haq, who succeeded Bhutto as the Head of State, attempted to reverse the traditional antipathy between Sikhs and Muslims arising from the partition violence by restoring Sikh shrines in Pakistan and opening them for Sikh pilgrimage. The expatriate Sikhs from England and North America that visited these shrines were at the forefront of the call for Khalistan. During their stay in Pakistan, the Sikhs were exposed to Khalistani propaganda, which would not be openly possible in Bharat.

Former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, General Abdul Rahman, opened a cell within ISI with the objective of supporting the “[Sikhs’]…freedom struggle against India”. Rahman’s colleagues in ISI took pride in the fact that “the Sikhs were able to set the whole province on fire. They knew who to kill, where to plant a bomb and which office to target.” General Hamid Gul argued that keeping Punjab destabilised was equivalent to the Pakistan Army having an extra division at no cost.

Since last few years, a deadly cocktail of Pakistan, Khalistanis and Urban Naxalites has taken shape to create fake propaganda against Narendra Modi Government and to break . This deadly cocktail is aided by Pakistan’s ISI and is using social media to the hilt for the purpose. They operate through fake accounts and handles to create an atmosphere of hatred among various communities, fuel communal unrest and ensure that it becomes a part of the political discourse in Bharat.

The organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has called for ‘Referendum 2020’, a campaign to “liberate” Punjab from Bharat and to make it a nation-state. The mastermind of this nefarious campaign is said to be Lt. Colonel Shahid Mehmood Malhi, better known as “Chaudhary Sahib” among the Pakistani military. With systematic planning and dictation from Pakistan on various occasions, Bhartiya diplomats and consular officials have been banned from entering Sikh Gurudwaras in Canada and the US by organisations like the SFJ. The financial support, moral backing and propaganda for Referendum 2020 is provided by Pakistan and few anti-Bharat Forces. Within Punjab, propaganda, drugs, weapons and counterfeit currency have been supplied through Firozpur, Pathankot, Tarantaran and Gurdaspur border districts in vast quantities.

In 2008, Bharat’s Intelligence Bureau indicated that Pakistan’s ISI was trying to revive Sikh militancy. In 2018 Bharatiya Home Ministry has conveyed to a parliamentary panel that “Sikh youth are being trained at ISI facilities in Pakistan. Interrogations have revealed the use of jailed cadres, unemployed youth, criminals and smugglers by Pakistan-based Khalistani terror groups for facilitating terror attacks. Sikh youth based or settled in Europe, the US and Canada are also being misguided and instigated against Bharat with false and malicious propaganda”. Pakistan’s terror mechanism has been exposed in USA too. An American Court had convicted Khalid Awan, Canadian of Pakistani descent, of “supporting terrorism” by providing money and financial services to the Khalistan Commando Force chief Paramjit Singh Panjwar in Pakistan.

Attack on the premises of the Sant Nirankari Mission in Punjab in November 2018, brought back fears of the revival of Pakistan-backed Khalistan Movement. Any observer of Pakistan based terror can say that not only in Kashmir but throughout Bharat, Pakistan wants to bleed using all means to destabilise the nation.

Hindu nationalist leaders have been targeted and assassinated in Punjab in several incidents since 2015. Since April 2017, nearly 6 terror modules have been uncovered and 23 suspected Khalistan terrorists have been arrested in Punjab. Investigations have revealed that ISI officers are acting as handlers and organisers of Sikh separatist activities in Canada, Europe, US, UK and Malaysia with the aim to revitalise the Khalistan movement. Further, ISI is trying to link up Khalistani militants with terrorist organisations operating in Jammu & Kashmir.

It is to be noted that the second generation of the Sikh diaspora often lacks real time exposure to Bharat’s inter-religious harmony and diversity. Nurtured on the anti-Bharat propaganda engineered by Sikh extremist leaders and the ISI, the youth are trapped for Khalistan movement. Organisations like Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) and International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) banned in a number of countries including Bharat, the US, Canada and the European Union play an important role in this narrative. The 2018 US counter-terrorism strategy categorically stated that BKI wants to establish an independent Sikh state through terror and violence.

Hence, the Bharatiya or overseas Sikh diaspora should not become victim to ISI Propaganda. Bharat’s strength lies in Unity in Diversity and when Sikhs are its biggest torch bearers, why should they be trapped by Pakistan’s nefarious designs? They should stand and fight against any designs of ‘Tukde Tukde’ gangs as Bharat is much more resilient than their agendas. Invaders to challengers came and went but we live for Peace and development of Humanity. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi said recently “We have told them (Pakistan), if they don’t improve, they know what will happen to them.” It is for us to make our Nation Strong and believe in Unity in Diversity.

However few leaders are trapped like Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu who said that visiting Pakistan is better than going to South Bharat due to ‘language and food problems’. But he does not understand that Guru Gobind Singh travelled South to evade Mughal ruler Aurangzeb, who wished to consolidate his kingdom by defeating the Guru. He visited numerous places across the South Bharatiya states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh and many of these visits are immortalised in the form of Gurudwaras. According to legend one of the Guru’s most beloved followers, Bhai Sahib Singh, hailed from Bidar in Karnataka. Regions across South Bharat have always had a strong connection with Sikhism. Their legacy as a part of Sikh history cannot be forgotten. Even today, Sikh communities recount these legends with great pride and fervour. It not the differences in Bharat but our Unity in Diversity that brings us all together. From North East to South to Kashmir to Maharashtra to Gujarat to Indian Ocean we are all children’s of Bharatavarsha. Any move to divide us will only unite us and make us stronger.