Khalistani separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has warned passengers to refrain from flying in India’s flag carrier airline Air India between November 1 and 19 as it is the 40th anniversary of the Sikh genocide.
Pannum, who was declared a terrorist by the Indian government for involving in anti-Indian activities including secessionism and sedition is now a Canadian-US citizen based in New York. He is the founder and leader of “Sikhs for Justice”, an organisation banned in India.
This is not the first time Pannum has threatened India but the latest one comes against the backdrop of witnessing a wave of bomb threats targetting the country’s leading airlines. Over 100 hoax bomb threats were made against Indian flights in the past week.
Pannum’s threat also comes at a time when the separatist leader is frequently featured in the headlines in India after the United States named a former research and analysis wing (R&AW) agent, Vikash Yadav, in an alleged failed assassination attempt on Pannun last year.
Vikash Yadav alias Vikas Yadav has been accused of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering.
Yadav’s family has categorically dismissed the allegations.
The country’s Sikh community faced nationwide violence after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, who were enraged by the Gandhi-ordered Operation Blue Star, which took place in the community’s holy place, the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out to eliminate Khalistani terrorists, who were taking shelter inside the temple.
Following Indira Gandhi’s assassination on 31 October 1984, riots broke out and people from the Sikh community were subjected to pogroms, leading to the death of around 3,350 nationwide (official records) with 50,000 Sikhs getting displaced during the first weeks of November 1984.
The Khaklistani movement, which demanded a separate independent country for the Sikh community, lost its momentum when its leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was killed during Operation Blue Star.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, born in India’s Punjab, now holds dual citizenship in the USA and Canada does lobbying efforts for the cause of Khalistan from The USA, Canada, United Kingdom, etc, the countries with a significant Sikh diaspora.
His organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has claimed responsibility for various terror incidents in India, including issuing a threat to the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi during his visit to Assam in 2023.
