Khalistan supporters and Indian diaspora clash in Melbourne: What is happening
The incident took place when a pro-India group argued with those who were voting on “Should Indian-governed Punjab be an independent country?”
INDIANEXPRESS
A minor clash broke out on January 29 between members of the Indian diaspora and Sikhs sympathetic to the Khalistani cause in Melbourne, Australia. This was after thousands gathered in the city during a ‘referendum’ demanding a separate Sikh state, reported Australian media.
The incident took place around 4:30pm when a pro-India group, carrying Indian flags, arrived at Federation Square, where the referendum was taking place. As per The Age, they got into an argument with the pro-Khalistan group behind the referendum, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), and subsequently, a small scuffle broke out.
The police intervened by deploying pepper spray and got the situation under control. Two men, aged 34 and 39, were arrested and issued a penalty notice for riotous behaviour.
Growing tensions in Melbourne
The latest incident happened just days after a temple in Melbourne’s Albert Park was vandalised with graffiti saying “Khalistan Zindabad”. This was the third such attack on Hindu temples in the city. Earlier in January, Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Carrum Downs and BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Mill Park were also damaged, reported Australia Today.
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These incidents prompted the High Commission of India in Australia to release a statement on January 26, condemning these acts of vandalism. “The frequency and impunity with which the vandals appear to be operating are alarming, as are the graffiti which include the glorification of anti-Indian terrorists. These incidents are clear attempts to sow hatred and division among the peaceful multi-faith and multi-cultural Indian-Australian community,” the statement said.
Apart from asking the Australian authorities to bring the culprits to justice, the High Commission accused the members of SFJ of aiding pro-Khalistan elements in carrying out incendiary activities.
The US-based group SFJ, which was banned in India in 2019 under UAPA, has been demanding Khalistan for quite some time now. The SFJ was banned in 2019 for its separatist activities – the group led a secessionist campaign ‘Referendum 2020’, which sought to “liberate Punjab from Indian occupation”. The latest referendum asked people to vote on “Should Indian-governed Punjab be an independent country?”, reported The Age.
Formed in 2007, SFJ seeks a separate homeland for Sikhs — a “Khalistan” in Punjab — and claims to be “an international advocacy and human rights group”. The group was co-founded by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is an attorney at law in the US, and based in Canada and the US.
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In October 2022, Interpol rejected the Indian government’s request to issue a Red Notice against him, saying that Indian authorities didn’t provide sufficient information on Pannun.
A few months before this, Gurgaon police booked him under the charges of sedition after he allegedly released a video asking people to raise the Khalistan flag at the offices of the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police in Haryana.
A brief history of the Khalistan movement
The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing a sovereign state in present day Punjab (both in India and Pakistan). The demand for the state grew stronger in the 1980s, when insurgency in the state of Punjab was it its peak. Since the 1990s, as normalcy has returned in the North Indian state, the movement lives on mostly among the Sikh diaspora outside India.
Over the years, Indian authorities have accused Pakistan of funding and supporting Khalistani insurgents to destabilise India.
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