What is Khalistan, the source of tensions between Canada and India?

India and Canada have expelled each other's ambassadors and five other top diplomats after New Delhi said its envoy had been named among "persons of interest" in the investigations into the killing of a Sikh separatist leader last year.

New Delhi said it was withdrawing its six diplomats from Canada, but an Ottawa government source told AFP they had been expelled, not withdrawn.

The 2023 murder of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar marred the country's diplomatic relations with India after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were "credible allegations" linking Indian intelligence services to the crime.

The expulsion of the Indian diplomats is a major escalation in the row.

Khalistan-linked separatists have fled India and become prominent in Canadian politics.

But what is Khalistan, and why has it become a source of tension between the two countries?

Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale

In 1977, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale became a popular figure among Sikhs in India's Punjab. This also coincided with the rise of a sect called Nirankaris, which Puritan Sikhs considered a syncretic sect.

In 1978, riots erupted between Nirankaris and Puritan Sikhs, which killed sixteen.

The Sikhs led by Bhindrawale perceived that Nirankaris were being actively supported by New Delhi to undermine their religious and political identity.

By 1980, Sikh separatism had begun to creep up slowly, with many separatist leaders calling for a separate Sikh Nation – Khalistan, as the Indian government refused to entertain the idea of granting more autonomy to Punjab.

In November 1982, the Asian games hosted by India became the flash point of protest and controversy, with Sikh organisations taking the protest to playing fields.

The Indian government responded by treating all Sikhs as suspects, with even elected parliamentarians not spared, frisked and arrested.

In 1983, Presidential rule was imposed in Punjab and elected assembly was dissolved as violence surged and political tensions escalated.

The holiest Sikh place, the Golden Temple located in Amritsar, became a rallying point for Sikh separatists. Bhindrawale, along with his supporters, camped on its premises.

In the first week of June 1984, Golden Temple was surrounded by Indian troops and on June 6th, the premises were stormed in by the Indian army, resulting in hundreds of deaths, including that of Bhindrawale and some of his followers.

The army operation named “Blue Star” that badly damaged the Golden Temple caused outrage among the Sikhs and led to further alienation and militancy that culminated in the assassination of then-Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.

The military operation to flush out Bhindrawale and his supporters was ordered by Indira Gandhi.

The assassination of the prime minister was followed by anti-Sikh riots in Delhi.

The magnitude of anti-Sikh riots led to the formation of several militant groups that were determined to achieve “Khalistan”. Prominent among them were Babbar Khalsa, Khalistan Liberation Force, Bhindrawale Tiger Force and Khalistan Commando Force.

From 1984 to 1992, the Sikh militants carried out several attacks, including hijackings and high-profile killings. In 1993, the Indian government launched a brutal counter-offensive against the Sikh separatists, which led many of them to flee India.

Khalistan in diaspora

Many of these Sikhs migrated to Europe, the United States, and Canada, where they established influential and politically active communities. The Sikh diaspora has pushed forward the idea of Khalistan and lobbied for international pressure on India to hold the perpetrators of rights violations against Sikhs accountable.

Canada is home to around 770,000 Sikhs, about two percent of the country's population.

In 2020, many Sikh organisations, including those based in Canada, began to call for a referendum in Indian Punjab to determine the fate of a separate state. They also wanted to take the results of the referendum to the UN. This led to mobilisation among Sikh youth in the diaspora and renewed calls for Khalistan.

Since then, the Indian government has faced accusations of trying to plot assassinations of Sikh activists in the US and Canada.

In 2023, the New York-based Sikh leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was the target of an Indian assassination plot.

Washington claimed an Indian national, working with an Indian government official, had attempted to hire a hitman for $100,000 to kill Pannun on American soil. The scheme unravelled because the hitman was an undercover federal agent.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, wasn't so lucky. He was shot dead on June 18, 2023, by masked gunmen.

After a year-long investigation, Canadian police this week said the assassination plot involved Indian government officials, including diplomats stationed in Canada.