Indian government took up the issue of surging pro-Khalistan activity with partner countries ahead of weekend rallies

Proscribed Sikh groups in Canada and the UK have unleashed poster campaigns targeting Indian diplomats to avenge the recent killings of separatist leaders.

The groups behind the Khalistan movement, which demands a sovereign homeland for the minority community to be carved out of the north Indian state of Punjab, have intensified their separatist campaigns ahead of rallies scheduled on Saturday in Toronto, Vancouver, and London. The rallies are promoted under the names ‘Khalistan Freedom Rally’ and ‘Kill India Rally’. 

Posters have emerged on social media platforms, with photographs of India’s high commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Verma, and the consul-general in Toronto, Apoorva Srivastava, linking them to the killing of the chief of the proscribed Khalistan Tiger Force, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, last month. The photographs carried a menacing text – “faces of Shaheed [martyr] Nijjar’s Killers in Toronto” – that have drawn sharp responses from New Delhi.

Similarly, posters threatening Indian diplomats have surfaced online in the UK in the run-up to the Kill India Rally in London on Saturday. The UK posters feature the names of two Indian diplomats – High Commissioner Vikram K Doraiswami and Dr. Shashank Vikram, consul-general of India, Birmingham.

India’s reaction

In a meeting in national capital on Friday, India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Dhoval urged his British counterpart Tim Barrow to take strong action against extremist elements. 

Earlier this week, India’s external affairs minister, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, said that the Khalistan issue has impacted ties between New Delhi and Toronto in many ways in the last few years. “For us, how Canada has dealt with the Khalistan issue has been a long-standing concern… Very frankly, they seem to be driven by vote bank politics… responses constrained by what they regard as vote bank compulsions,” he stated. 

Foreign ministry's spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told media persons on Thursday that posters inciting violence against “our diplomats and vandalism bids of our missions are unacceptable.” He added that all steps are being taken to ensure safety. “India condemns misuse of freedom of speech by these separatist elements who are propagating and legitimizing terrorism.”

What is the UK and Canada’s response?

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has taken note of the posters by pro-Khalistan sympathizers and strongly condemned the move. “Any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable,” he tweeted on Thursday, adding that “the safety of staff at the High Commission is paramount.”

Any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable.

We have made clear to @VDoraiswami and the Government of India that the safety of staff at the High Commission is paramount.

— James Cleverly

Source: RT - Daily news