5 Facts About Anti-India Khalistan Movement You Don't Know

When British Empire fell in India that was the moment when Khalistan Movement began in 1940 for the first time

Jagjit Singh Chohan was the one who founded Khalistan Movement that continued even after his death

Since Independence or we can say even before that India saw major hurdles in process of becoming a united independent nation. There were several separatist movement like Dravida Nadu Movement in South, United Liberation Front of Asom in Northeast and long J&K insurgency in North. One such movement is the Khalistan Movement.

Every separatist movement in India was based on indigenous people of a particular region. Same is with Khalistan which seeks to create a seperate homeland for Sikhs. This movement traces back its origin to the fall of the British Empire in India in 1940s. Here we’ll tell you 5 interesting facts about this anti-India movement that questioned the patriotism of Sikh community.

Demand Of Khalistan Started In 1930s

When British Empire grip on India was getting weaker starting 1930s this was the time when several movements to create a seperate state began. In 1940s Khalistan Movement began along with Pakistan Movement, latter got successful but this wasn’t the case with former one. In 1930s the demand of Khalistan was raised for the first time.

In Lahore Resolution Muslim League demanded Punjab to be in its territory (i.e – Pakistan). This angered Sikh community and so they also started a demand of seperate state with sympathy of most of Sikhs. This is the root cause of Khalistan Movement which continued even after Muslim League’s demands were rejected. When Punjab and Haryana shared same capital Chandigarh this irked them too.

When the Indian Government constructed a canal on Beas, Satluj and Ravi to receive water from Punjab to other states that made Sikh community furious. Their anger was real as Punjab is an agricultural state and it will receive only 23% water from its own rivers. Moves like this made Sikhs feel sidelined in their own country. That’s why a feeling to create a separate state happened.

*Jagjit Singh Chohan interview in a Pakistani Magazine*

Jagjit Singh Chohan Founded Khalistan Movement

A politician named Jagjit Singh Chohan who was once a Punjab’s finance minister in (1967-1968) founded the Khalistan Movement. He was also a dentist. In 1969 he lost the assembly election and moved to UK where he started Khalistan Movement which was backed by Pakistan. In 1971 he bought an advertisement in New York Times showing Khalistan as a seperate state. To gain recognition he used to travel a lot specially to Pakistan.

After Khalistan’s demand he collected a lot of money donated particularly by Sikh community and his sympathizers which includes diplomats and wealthy Americans. He predicted Indira Gandhi’s assassination just 4 months before when it happened on 31 October 1984 for carrying Operation Blue Star. In 1989 his Indian Passport was cancelled but still USA allowed him to enter with cancelled passport.

He assisted Tamil Tigers which assassinated Rajiv Gandhi. As he grew old he softened his stance on Khalistan. While some of his militants surrendered others in UK and USA continued their work for Khalistan. It was Atal Bihari Vajpayee government who forgived him and in 2001 he returned to India. In April 2007 he died by a heart attack in his native village named Tanda in Hoshiarpur, Punjab.

*A picture of Indira Gandhi in 1983 (Months before she was assassinated by her own two Sikh bodyguards)*

Indira Gandhi Was A Major Roadblock For Khalistanis

Indira Gandhi was a major roadblock for Khalistanis as she launched the biggest crackdown on them with the Operation Blue Star. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who is often considered as a saint by Khalistanis led the Khalistan Movement to new highs in 1980s. In operation Blue Star he was shot dead.

Around 5,000+ civilians were killed in this operation. Indian Army lost 4 officers and 79 soldiers while other casualties vary in different reports. From 1 June, 1984 to 10 June, 1984 operation Blue Star lasted. Till date Sikhs remember it as a dark past while most of them hold a grudge against government for doing so.

Open Khalistan Supporters Exist Till Date (Ex – Simranjit Singh Mann)

Jagjit Singh Chauhan is not the last Indian politician who openly supports Khalistan. Simranjit Singh Mann is an another Khalistani who got elected from Sangrur constituency in 2022. He is from Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), a split for Shiromani Akali Dal.

Apart from Simranjit Singh Mann there are other people you need to know about who openly support Khalistan.

*Jagmeet Singh is a Canadian politician known for pushing Khalistani agenda frequently*

*Shubh is a Punjabi singer who once put distorted Indian map in his Insta story*

*Sidhu Moosewala was also a Khalistan supporter who was shot dead on 29 May 2022*

*Amritpal Singh was a taxi driver in Dubai but he rose to prominence by pushing Khalistan agenda and radicalising youths under it*

Gurupatwant singh pannu — *Gurupatwant Singh Pannu runs Sikh For Justice (SFJ) a banned outfit supporting Khalistan agenda*

Officers Who Resisted Khalistan Like No Other

While the Indian Government continued to resist against Khalistan agenda we shouldn’t forget the sacrifice of our soldiers who did this right on battleground. Here are some top officers you need to know about

KPS Gill was an extraordinary IPS officer who brought insurgency in Punjab under control. Known for crushing Khalistanis he was awarded Padma Shri in 1989. In 1988 he commanded operation Black Thunder inside Golden Temple where his team encountered 43 sikhs while 67 sikhs surrendered. He served as a DGP of Punjab Police twice.

Arund Sridhar Vaidya — *Lieutenant General Srinivas Kumar Sinha*

General AS Vaidya played an important role in Operation Blue Star. He supervised operation Blue Star following Indira Gandhi orders. As an aftermath of this he was assassinated in Pune while travelling in his Maruti 800 car. In an interview he said that he never regretted participating in Operation Blue Star.

Kuldeep Singh Brar was an another extraordinary Army Lieutenant General. He was the commander of Operation Blue Star. His caste was same as of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale but he understood his agenda and remained a led the operation against him.

A militant or Khalistan supporter Shabeg Singh was with Bhindranwale, interesting thing is he was his senior in army. Before the Operation Kuldeep Singh entered the Golden Temple in normal clothes where he was identified by Shahbeg Singh.

General Krishnaswamy Sundarji was the last former British Indian Army officer to command the Indian Army. In operation Blue Star he followed Indira Gandhi’s order to clear the shrine. After that operation he was a changed main said his wife.

So that was 5 interesting facts about the Khalistan Movement we wanted to tell you. We hope that you liked this info, if you liked it then please do share.