#sikh farmers protest sikh farmers sikh farmers protest in india sikh farmers protest in delhi sikh farmers in Australia sikh farmers in Cali

[news365timesindia]

[ad_1] By Anjali Sharma NEW YORK – Michael Kugelman, a US-based foreign policy expert and the Director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, on Tuesday drawn a bleak comparison between India’s deteriorating ties with Canada and its long-standing strained relations with Pakistan. India and Canada continue to escalate, Kugelman said, “One could not have imagined that things in this relationship could get worse, but they have.” Kugelman highlighted the seriousness of the situation, noting that the diplomatic fallout between the two countries bears striking similarities to the Indo-Pakistan relationship. “This is a relationship that’s now hit rock bottom and indeed, looking at recent developments, certainly is reminiscent of India’s relations with Pakistan in terms of these extremely serious allegations being made, in terms of senior diplomats being expelled, as well as the use of blistering language in government statements, it’s all there and of course, the core allegation that we’re hearing from India that Canada is sheltering and sponsoring anti-India terrorists. This is what we’re used to hearing India say about Pakistan,” he pointed out. Kugelman also spoke the internal political dynamics in Canada that have contributed to the diplomatic rift, saying, “There are a lot of factors at play here. Certainly, one could acknowledge the relevance of the domestic political realities in Canada.” He noted that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s comments on India’s internal matters, particularly his support for the farmers’ protests against agricultural laws, had sparked tensions. “It is notable that PM Justin Trudeau has made some comments on internal developments in India that one would not expect a Canadian PM to make, such as commenting and expressing support for farmers protesting against Indian agricultural laws,” Kugelman added. Canada denies harboring extremists or terrorists, Kugelman pointed out that India remains firm in its disagreement. “Canada does not consider that it is harbouring extremists and terrorists, and certainly this is something that India very rigorously disagrees about,” he said. Kugelman emphasised that these differing views are central to the ongoing diplomatic breakdown between the two countries, adding, “This comes back to the issue of there being so many factors at play. This government in Canada has taken a series of decisions that include expressing support for Sikhs in India, in terms of the farmers’ movement in India.” He noted India’s specific frustration with Justin Trudeau, saying, “I was struck how in this long statement there was indeed an explicit reference to Justin Trudeau and his government… That reflects long-standing anger in New Delhi about Justin Trudeau and the government’s actions and politics that have contributed to this decision. New Delhi feels that Canada does not want to address those.” India expelled six Canadian diplomats hours after it summoned Canada’s Charge d’Affaires Stewart Wheeler and conveyed that the “baseless targeting” of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable. Canada also expelled six Indian diplomats after police collected evidence they were part of an Indian government “campaign of violence,” news agency Reuters reported citing a Canadian government source earlier. India “strongly” rejected a diplomatic communication from Canada suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats were “persons of interest” in an investigation and termed it as “preposterous imputations” and part of the political agenda of the Justin Trudeau government. India said Prime Minister Trudeau’s hostility to India has long been in evidence and his government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists “to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada.” The ties between India and Canada soured after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in

a parliamentary address last year, claimed that he has “credible allegations” of India’s hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar, designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey in June 2023. India strongly denied the allegations, calling them “absurd” and “motivated.” It also accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country. The post Foreign policy expert says India-Canada relations “reminiscent of relations with Pakistan” appeared first on Global Governance News- Asia's First Bilingual News portal for Global News and Updates. [ad_2] Source link

[news365times]

[ad_1] By Anjali Sharma NEW YORK – Michael Kugelman, a US-based foreign policy expert and the Director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, on Tuesday drawn a bleak comparison between India’s deteriorating ties with Canada and its long-standing strained relations with Pakistan. India and Canada continue to escalate, Kugelman said, “One could not have imagined that things in this relationship could get worse, but they have.” Kugelman highlighted the seriousness of the situation, noting that the diplomatic fallout between the two countries bears striking similarities to the Indo-Pakistan relationship. “This is a relationship that’s now hit rock bottom and indeed, looking at recent developments, certainly is reminiscent of India’s relations with Pakistan in terms of these extremely serious allegations being made, in terms of senior diplomats being expelled, as well as the use of blistering language in government statements, it’s all there and of course, the core allegation that we’re hearing from India that Canada is sheltering and sponsoring anti-India terrorists. This is what we’re used to hearing India say about Pakistan,” he pointed out. Kugelman also spoke the internal political dynamics in Canada that have contributed to the diplomatic rift, saying, “There are a lot of factors at play here. Certainly, one could acknowledge the relevance of the domestic political realities in Canada.” He noted that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s comments on India’s internal matters, particularly his support for the farmers’ protests against agricultural laws, had sparked tensions. “It is notable that PM Justin Trudeau has made some comments on internal developments in India that one would not expect a Canadian PM to make, such as commenting and expressing support for farmers protesting against Indian agricultural laws,” Kugelman added. Canada denies harboring extremists or terrorists, Kugelman pointed out that India remains firm in its disagreement. “Canada does not consider that it is harbouring extremists and terrorists, and certainly this is something that India very rigorously disagrees about,” he said. Kugelman emphasised that these differing views are central to the ongoing diplomatic breakdown between the two countries, adding, “This comes back to the issue of there being so many factors at play. This government in Canada has taken a series of decisions that include expressing support for Sikhs in India, in terms of the farmers’ movement in India.” He noted India’s specific frustration with Justin Trudeau, saying, “I was struck how in this long statement there was indeed an explicit reference to Justin Trudeau and his government… That reflects long-standing anger in New Delhi about Justin Trudeau and the government’s actions and politics that have contributed to this decision. New Delhi feels that Canada does not want to address those.” India expelled six Canadian diplomats hours after it summoned Canada’s Charge d’Affaires Stewart Wheeler and conveyed that the “baseless targeting” of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable. Canada also expelled six Indian diplomats after police collected evidence they were part of an Indian government “campaign of violence,” news agency Reuters reported citing a Canadian government source earlier. India “strongly” rejected a diplomatic communication from Canada suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats were “persons of interest” in an investigation and termed it as “preposterous imputations” and part of the political agenda of the Justin Trudeau government. India said Prime Minister Trudeau’s hostility to India has long been in evidence and his government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists “to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada.” The ties between India and Canada soured after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in

a parliamentary address last year, claimed that he has “credible allegations” of India’s hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar, designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey in June 2023. India strongly denied the allegations, calling them “absurd” and “motivated.” It also accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country. The post Foreign policy expert says India-Canada relations “reminiscent of relations with Pakistan” appeared first on Global Governance News- Asia's First Bilingual News portal for Global News and Updates. [ad_2] Source link

[shahananasrin-blog]

[ad_1] As a city of tents sprang up outside India’s capital city New Delhi in December 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau waded into a debate around protests taking place halfway across the world. From Ottawa, he promised that Canada would “always stand up” for the right to peacefully protest.“We believe in the importance of dialogue and that’s why we have reached out through multiple means directly to the Indian authorities to highlight our concerns,” he said.Trudeau was responding to concerns among Canada’s significant Sikh diaspora that the Indian government was cracking down on farmers protesting a new agricultural policy. His comments were met with a sharp reaction from India, where the government summoned the Canadian ambassador over the issue.This diplomatic spat made headlines, and was just one example of how the effects of domestic politics and policies in India are spurring frustrations, fear and what one expert called “mounting tensions” among members of the diaspora communities in Canada. Story continues below advertisement And in the days since Trudeau rose in the House of Commons saying Canadian authorities are investigating “potential links” between agents of the Indian government and the murder of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, there has been renewed focus on the challenges of negotiating an evolving relationship with India.In particular, how should Canada navigate ties with an aspiring global superpower in the years since the Indian farmers’ movement galvanized the diaspora? 'Mounting tensions' within Indian diaspora In 2020 and 2021, Indian farmers, mostly led by Sikh farmers from the northern state of Punjab, camped outside of New Delhi for over a year. They were demanding the repeal of a series of laws they said gave greater control to giant corporations over farming.Meanwhile, thousands of people took part in solidarity marches in Canadian cities. Story continues below advertisement Major cities like Toronto and Vancouver saw members of the Sikh diaspora leading protests, with an indefinite sit-in outside the Indian high commission. Canadian politicians from Trudeau and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh to then-Conservative leader Erin O’Toole expressed solidarity with protesters.“I think diaspora communities have always cared about politics at home,” said Sanjay Ruparelia, Jarislowsky Democracy Chair at Toronto Metropolitan University.The Indian diaspora in Canada has been divided, between those who are ardent supporters of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and those who oppose him. “Many would describe him (Modi) as a polarizing figure,” Ruparelia said. “Those who support him support him avidly. They champion him and think of him as the greatest leader post-independence India has had. Those who oppose him oppose both his government, his actions, but also the ideology of the Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).”Those divisions in India, particularly along religious lines, have made their way into the diaspora.“Members of the Sikh community say that the divisive politics is what they have been confronted with, that they are trying to resist, and that is feeding into the conflict. And I think that’s the worrying thing as we see there’s mounting tensions within the Indian diaspora,” Ruparelia said.Prominent political voices in India have also criticized Trudeau for what they call “vote-bank politics” and have accused Canada of not taking concerns around “Khalistani extremists” operating on Canadian soil seriously. Story continues below advertisement On Wednesday, the Indian government issued an advisory for Indian nationals in Canada in view of “growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes and criminal violence in Canada” and Indian media reports have said “anti-India slogans” and slogans against Modi were written on the walls of some Hindu temples in Canada.Just days before Nijjar’s murder, a Sikh parade in Brampton, Ont., displayed a flotilla on the assassination of former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi, India’s first and only female prime minister, was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984 after she ordered an attack on the Golden Temple. She had said that Sikh militants were camped out in the Golden Temple, which is one of Sikhism’s most revered sites.The Indian government reacted sharply, saying this was not good for the relationship between the countries.Canada’s ambassador in India, Cameron MacKay, was quick to condemn the parade.“There is no place in Canada for hate or for the glorification of violence. I categorically condemn these activities.”But many diaspora groups say the growing tensions reflect bigger worries about influence in Canadian society and politics. 0:34 World Sikh Organization of Canada calls on Canadian government to protect activists facing threats Trending Now RCMP officer killed, two wounded and suspect shot in Coquitlam, B.C. Billy Chemirmir, accused of murdering 22 women, killed by cellmate in jail What is Hindu nationalism? In particular, some groups have pointed to Hindu nationalism, which promotes the idea that India is essentially a nation of and for Hindus. Groups and individuals associated with the ideology have been implicated in violence against minorities. Experts believe there has been a rise in such violence, particularly aimed at Muslims, since Modi took office in 2014. Story continues below advertisement Human Rights Watch, in its 2023 World Report, said about India, “The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government continued its systematic discrimination and stigmatization of religious and other minorities, particularly Muslims. BJP supporters increasingly committed violent attacks against targeted groups.”In one such example last month, a railway police officer in India shot dead three Muslim passengers and his superior officer. He proclaimed that only those who supported Modi had a right to stay in India.“Over the past year, diasporic South Asian and other civil society organizations have been sounding alarm bells and calling on the Trudeau government and the opposition to pay heed to the dangerous build-up of support for the Hindu ethnonationalism of the current government of India on Canadian soil. But these alerts have gone unheeded,” a statement prepared by the South Asian Diaspora Action Collective (SADAC), and signed by several other organizations, said.SADAC pointed to several incidents they say indicate a growing Hindu nationalist sentiment in Canada, including allegations of death threats against a Toronto filmmaker.In November last year, a Liberal MP also faced questions and concerns from some activists for attending an event raising a flag associated with the far-right organization Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.The group is closely associated with Modi and his party and has been criticized for its views on minorities, particularly Muslims, in India. Story continues below advertisement A member of the group assassinated Mahatma Gandhi in 1948, and the BBC last year described the group as ” the ideological fountainhead of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).”In March, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and the World Sikh Organization (WSO) issued a joint report that said the RSS was actively operating on Canadian soil, as well as in the U.S. and Europe.That report, which stressed that the RSS’s ideologies “in no way represents the diversity of the hundreds of millions of Hindus who have no interest in adopting the Hindutva ideology,” urged policymakers to pay attention.“The presence of this supremacist ideology in Canada is deeply concerning,” the report said.“It is thus time for Canadians to carefully study and track the growth of a movement that disseminates hate here in Canada.” [ad_2]

[mariacallous]

When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week accused the Indian government of involvement in the fatal shooting of a Canadian Sikh activist, it was perhaps the first time a liberal, Western democracy had made such a claim about New Delhi. Trudeau was backed by the Canadian opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, who called the alleged actions an “outrageous affront” to Canadian sovereignty. India has rejected the accusations, but on Tuesday, Trudeau doubled down: “We are not looking to provoke or escalate. We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them,” he said.

Earlier this month, senior Canadian intelligence officials visited India before the G-20 summit in New Delhi to share the evidence they had gathered about the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June. Trudeau raised the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a meeting on the sidelines of the summit. Afterward, New Delhi issued a brusque statement noting its concerns about “continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada.” That likely gave Trudeau a sense about how India intended to treat the allegations once they were made public.

This week, Canada expelled a senior Indian diplomat, Pavan Kumar Rai, who represented India’s foreign intelligence agency in Ottawa. In response, India threw out the head of intelligence at Canada’s embassy in New Delhi. On Thursday, India suspended visa services for Canadian citizens until further notice, marking a serious escalation in the clash.

India and Canada’s shared values and people-to-people ties should make them natural partners, but that has not been the case under Modi and Trudeau. Bilateral relations have been frayed for some time, in part because India believes that Canada has been sympathetic toward the Sikh separatist movement, while Canada has said India was interfering in its domestic politics. Trudeau’s allegations this week caused the two countries to reach a breaking point. Anticipating the geopolitical effects, Trudeau briefed Canada’s closest allies about the case before his announcement, including the leaders of the United States and the United Kingdom. The two countries issued a statement of concern about the incident.

In New Delhi, concerns about the return of Sikh separatism have long fed insecurities about India’s sovereignty, and those anxieties have grown under Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Hindu nationalist regime. Modi’s top security czar is a former intelligence chief, Ajit Doval, who led a successful campaign against violent Sikh separatists in the 1980s. Canadian Sikh support for the 2020 farmers’ protests against Modi’s government no doubt stoked Doval’s own fears. Many of the demonstrators were Sikhs. India’s security establishment has allegedly violated international law in a few high-profile cases abroad. None have taken place in a country like Canada, a treaty ally of the United States and the United Kingdom.

Trudeau’s allegations could help Modi domestically by feeding into a nationalist narrative that takes pride in him as a strong leader, but wasting diplomatic energy containing the fallout of this fracas will only distract India from other major challenges—namely the one posed by its rival China. If India continues to look at the world through the lens of its intelligence operatives rather than holding them accountable for their failures, it runs the risk of going down a very dark path.

Simmering tensions between India and Canada had already come to the fore before Trudeau’s public accusations. At a press conference in New Delhi in June, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said, “If anybody has a complaint, we have a complaint about Canada … the space they are giving to Khalistanis and violent extremists.” A few days later, he added that New Delhi had made it clear that if activities in Canada threatened Indian national security “we will respond.” This veiled threat came 10 days after Nijjar was shot dead as he left the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.

At the time, Nijjar’s name was relatively unknown in India or Canada. He moved to Canada from India’s Sikh-majority state of Punjab in 1997 and became president of the religious body that runs the Sikh gurdwara in Surrey in 2020. That November, India declared Nijjar a terrorist. Its federal counterterrorism agency accused him of trying to radicalize the Sikh diaspora in the service of creating an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan. In India, Sikh separatism peaked in the 1980s, losing steam after Indian security forces crushed a violent insurgency, which was supported by Pakistan. In Punjab, the movement no longer has a support base, although New Delhi occasionally hypes it as a threat.

A vocal backer of Khalistan, Nijjar upset India’s government last fall when he organized a campaign in Brampton, Ontario, to hold a symbolic referendum on the Khalistan issue. Canadian laws do not prohibit nonviolent support for Sikh separatism, while India has wide-ranging laws on sedition and against terror that make it very difficult. In India, the ideology of the BJP’s parent organization also considers Sikhs to be Hindus—an assertion rejected by Sikh leaders, whose community has politically opposed and democratically defeated Modi’s party in Punjab. To explain why Sikhs oppose the ruling party, India’s regime has turned the pro-Khalistan movement as a bogeyman.

India’s security establishment, meanwhile, is still grappling with the memory of the long-dead pro-Khalistan insurgency. Doval, whose career highlight was leading security operations against Sikh separatists in the 1980s, still harbors apprehensions about their revival. The external response to the monthslong farmers’ protests in 2020 has shaped India’s attitude toward Canada and the United Kingdom: that they are soft toward Sikh separatists. BJP leaders tried to discredit the protesting farmers as pro-Khalistan activists. When the Canadian government issued a statement against some of the harsh policing against the farmers, New Delhi accused Ottawa of meddling in its internal affairs.

Aside from Nijjar, three other prominent Sikh separatist activists have died under mysterious circumstances abroad this year: Avtar Singh Khanda in the United Kingdom and Paramjit Singh Panjwar and Harmeet Singh in Pakistan. Sikh separatist groups allege that Indian intelligence operatives were responsible for their deaths. Under Doval, the security establishment has recently been in the spotlight over two high-profile cases. The first was the capture and rendition of Sheikha Latifa, the daughter of the ruler of Dubai, by Indian special forces off the coast of Goa in March 2018, returning her to her family against her will. The second the attempted abduction of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi in Antigua in May 2021.

Modi’s party has decried previous governments for making India a “soft state” and for not emulating the example of Israel—or its imagination of the country—of taking the war to the adversary through spectacular covert action abroad. It is not clear if the mythology of the Mossad, Israel’s successful and infamously ruthless national intelligence agency, is driving Indian action today, but many Hindu nationalists have framed these alleged actions as evidence of a strong state under Modi. Perhaps they forget that Israel undertakes such operations in countries such as Iran, which have little international credibility and few allies. By contrast, Canada is a member of the G-7, a NATO founder, and part of the exclusive Five Eyes intelligence alliance.

Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States each issued dutiful statements of concern over Trudeau’s recent allegations. However, India’s importance as a partner in countering China in the Indo-Pacific means that these other Western countries will remain soft on Modi. Despite mounting criticism, the Biden administration has overlooked credible evidence of democratic backsliding and poor treatment of religious minorities under BJP rule under Modi. The United States has decided that its convergent interests with India against China take precedence over its professed values. When it comes to Trudeau’s allegations, those interests are bound to trump the United States’ shared values with Canada.

India and Canada share historical ties dating to India’s colonial era. Canada is home to one of the largest diasporas of Indian heritage in the world, at nearly 1.4 million, and is India’s second-biggest overseas study destination. Sikhs now form a larger share of Canada’s national population (2.1 percent) than India’s (1.7 percent). If the two countries have reached a new low in their relationship, it is because India has changed its direction under Modi, whose vision of a Hindu majoritarian state has emboldened nationalists abroad.

In Australia, Queensland state police released documents this week that suggest that Hindus defaced a Hindu temple wall to divert attention toward pro-Khalistan activists. Last year, riots against Muslims in Leicester, England, were blamed on right-wing Hindu nationalist groups. An Indian government statement condemned the “violence perpetrated against the Indian community in Leicester and vandalization of premises and symbols of Hindu religion” without acknowledging violence against Muslims. According to a U.S. lawsuit, a Hindu sect closely associated with Modi trafficked workers from India and forced them into labor at Hindu temples in five U.S. states.

In hushed tones and classified documents, Canadian officials have also complained of Hindu nationalist overreach. A 2018 report prepared for Canadian deputy ministers attending a national security retreat warned that Indian Canadians were among those at risk of “being influenced, overtly or covertly, by foreign governments with their own agendas.” Canada’s Sikh community forms part of the senior leadership of every political party. Sikhs in Canada have historically supported Trudeau’s Liberal Party, and the prime minister’s minority government now survives on the support of the New Democratic Party, headed by Jagmeet Singh, a Sikh. In 2013, India denied a visa to Singh in 2013 for pursuing an “insidious agenda of disturbing the social fabric of India.” New Delhi also sees Trudeau himself as soft on Sikh separatists because of his continuing focus on catering to their grievances.

Domestic politics in India play an equally important role in shaping New Delhi’s stance toward Ottawa, as Modi’s government heads into a national election next year. The Indian leader has always campaigned on a tough national security agenda, and Trudeau’s allegations could favor his strongman image. If so, the diplomatic effort spent containing the fallout of the accusations—while it would be better used to deal with China—would be a small price to pay for Modi.

However, intelligence agencies and operatives have an important role in ensuring a country’s national security. India’s have made tragic blunders in recent years, failing to warn about China’s sudden ingress into Indian territory in 2020 and failing to prevent a suicide bomber from killing 40 security personnel in 2019. It is high time they are held accountable for these failures. India can no longer approach the world through the eyes of its intelligence agents. Not changing course could be more costly and consequential than the kerfuffle with Canada.

In recent years, Russian President Vladimir Putin remains the only leader known to order an assassination in a Western democracy, when Russian operatives fatally poisoned a Russian defector in London in 2018. Pakistan’s intelligence agencies were allegedly behind the mysterious killings of Baloch separatist leaders in Sweden and Canada in 2020. Canada has not made its evidence public, but it has brought unwanted attention to India’s audacious approach toward its foes. Whatever the predilections of India’s security establishment, Modi cannot afford to be seen in the same league as Putin and Pakistan’s rogue generals—certainly not as he proclaims India to be a Vishwaguru, or a teacher-master to the world.

[kropotkindersurprise]

January 26, 2021 - Riot police fled from protesting farmers as they occupied the Red Fort in Delhi, India. [video]/[video]/[article]

[yianni271]

[giaa-s]

Indian farmers reach red fort!

History coming to life 🙏🏽✊🏽

Seeing this makes me so proud and emotional🧡

[ginazmemeoir]

this week in “maybe humans aren’t that bad after all”

farmers who are protesting in India against the capitalistic laws implemented by the govt cook food FOR THE SAME COPS who used water cannons and tear gas on their peaceful protests, because “they are just following orders”.

and gurudwaras in Delhi feeding the farmers who are protesting.

RESPECT.

[blessed-n-cursed]

FARMERS PROTEST 🌾

My people laugh at tyrants.

Punjabis today say, “When Alexander the Great attempted to invade, Punjab sent him packing. What’s a Modi to an Alexander the Great?”

For Sikhs, dissent against oppression is nothing new. We resisted the Mughals for 300 years. We birthed a global resistance against colonial British rule, including one that stretched from the fields of Northern California to the villages of Punjab, called the Ghadar Movement. My parents’ generation survived the 1984 Sikh genocide and the decade of state-sponsored violence and extrajudicial killings that followed.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi now joins the long historical list of tyrants Punjab has taken on.

In September, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hastily passed three farm bills, with the stated intent of liberalizing the country’s agrarian sector. Farmers see these bills as a ploy to hand over the sector to Modi’s billionaire supporters, such as Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. On Nov. 25, tens of thousands of Punjabi farmers and farmworkers began marching towards the country’s capital, New Delhi. As they peacefully crossed into neighboring Haryana, they were met with tear gas, water cannons, police batons and road barriers. Now, as winter sets in, not even a bitter, bone-chewing cold has stopped a million protesters from planting their feet at Delhi’s borders.

My aunt, like most members of my family in Punjab, is a small-scale farmer. More than half of India’s workforce is in farming, with 85 percent of farmers owning less than five acres. “They can try to take everything we have, they’ve tried before,” my aunt told us over the phone weeks ago; She had just returned from a protest in her village, “But our spirit will never extinguish.”

Punjab’s tradition of resilient defiance is on full display, and it is a sight to behold.

Protesters have traveled hundreds of miles by bicycle and tractor, many saying they’re prepared to stay for at least six months if they have to. The resistance is intersectional; Mazdoors, landless farm laborers, and members of the Dalit community who have long faced systemic caste-based discrimination are present. Women are leading the way. Farmers from neighboring states such as Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have joined. Protesters from ages 7 to 90 rise from their makeshift beds as the morning cold continues to bite; some protesters are dying of the cold. Those marching are singing spiritual kirtan. Menstrual products are being freely distributed, and efforts to feed the poor in surrounding areas are currently underway.People gather to cut vegetables for langar (the Sikh practice of making and serving free meals). The community has set up blood donation clinics, gyms and book distributions. Through music and poetic verse, protesters call out the Modi government and India’s corporate billionaires.

This protest is beginning to look more and more like a revolution. It has the Indian government shaking. But many of us watching the protests know the ugly reality for minorities in Modi’s India and what happens when they speak up against mistreatment.

Human rights violations have followed Modi his entire political career. He is a lifelong member of the RSS, a right-wing paramilitary Hindu nationalist organization that seeks to turn India into a Hindutva state. In 2005, Modi was banned from entering the United States and Europe for his involvement in the mass murders of 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, during the 2002 Gujarat pogroms, during which he served as the state’s chief minister.

When Kashmiris speak up about their struggles, the government and its propagandist media labels them “terrorists.” When Muslims speak up, they’re labeled “terrorists.” When Sikhs speak up, we’re labeled “terrorists.” Minorities, intellectuals, student leaders and journalists are labeled “anti-nationals” and can be jailed under false allegations for not toeing the state’s line.

The Punjabi diaspora has come out in full force, supporting the current protests with packed rallies throughout the world to amplify farmer’s voices. On Dec. 5, I went to a car rally that spanned 18 miles in Toronto. In San Francisco, thousands of cars took over the Bay Bridge and caravanned towards the Indian Consulate.

As friends and relatives of those currently protesting in Delhi, we are worried about the potential for retribution the farmers will face. Sikhs are venerated when we die for others but are demonized when we stand up for ourselves. Since the farmers started marching to New Delhi, pro-Modi segments of the Indian media have gone into overdrive, labeling peaceful protesters as terrorists and anti-nationals. Thus, it becomes imperative that the international press shows the world what is happening to peaceful protesters and makes an effort to amplify their voices.

Dissent is on its last leg in India. Any hope to restore it is tied to the fate of this farmers’ protest. Their resistance acts as a last line of defense against a government-backed corporate takeover. An elderly protester recently said, “We have faced bigger tyrants than Modi. As long as there is breath in our lungs, we will keep fighting.”

The ultimatum is clear.

Peace and justice for all minorities, or division and polarization?

Democracy or majoritarianism?

Farmers or Modi?

Pick your side.

I’ve chosen mine.

-Rupi Kaur

[chakytron]

The Farmers' Tractor Rally | The Afternoon at ITO ft. Samdish

The Farmers' Tractor Rally | The Afternoon at ITO ft. Samdish

The Farmers' Tractor Rally | The Afternoon at ITO ft. Samdish Category News & Politics Description: On India’s 72nd Republic Day, protesting farmers at the Delhi borders announced a peaceful parade in the national capital. The Delhi Police offered a formal … TopTrengingTV Hunting the most trend video of the moment, every hour every day 24/7. Youtube Video Data Published At: 2021-01-27T16:45:12Z…

[rakizarurduofficial]

Boycott of Ambani & Adani | Farmers Bill 2020 | ISI funding Sikhs? | Muh..

Sikh community and farmers are protesting against farmers bill 2020 in India. They are blaming that Modi is being hijacked by mafia of Ambani and Adani Groups. Modi and Indian media are blaming Pakistan that ISI is funding farmers and Sikhs to promote Khalistan Tehreek.

.

[msgursharnkaur]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by sikhexpo.com ✪ (@sikhexpo)

Trigger Warning: Police Brutality

"Momma, they are killing us." "Baby, we were born to die."

[mariacallous]

Last week, Sikh protesters damaged Indian diplomatic facilities in the United Kingdom and the United States, smashing windows and injuring personnel at the High Commission of India in London and the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. Indian reports suggest the protesters support radical preacher and Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh, who faces an arrest warrant under India’s National Security Act. India’s police have launched a manhunt for Singh, who is believed to have fled his home state of Punjab, and detained alleged supporters in the state. Over the weekend, hundreds of protesters gathered again at the Indian Consulate in Vancouver, Canada, to protest the crackdown.

Some analysts fear that the security breaches at Indian diplomatic missions could suggest the return of the separatist violence that wracked Punjab for more than a decade beginning in the 1980s. This violence spilled beyond the state: Sikh assailants carried out the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, and a Sikh organization was implicated in the bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985. Given this history, India’s political leadership is understandably concerned about a revival of separatist ideology. But to prevent future terrorist violence, it will need Western countries with significant Sikh diaspora populations to take the threat seriously, too—presenting a delicate challenge for New Delhi.

In the 1980s, some members of the Sikh diaspora supported the separatist movement in Punjab. India eventually rooted out the insurgency through harsh methods that gave no quarter to the militants. Relative political normalcy returned to Punjab, which has since seen several peaceful transfers of power. However, elements within the Sikh diaspora—which includes communities in Australia, Canada, the U.K., and the United States—have remained committed to the vision of a Sikh homeland known as Khalistan (literally, “the land of the pure”). As this diaspora has grown in power, Western countries have voiced concern over the treatment of Sikh activists in India, with some even extending political refugee status to Sikh dissidents.

In 2020, social unrest returned to the forefront in Punjab, as Sikh and Punjabi farmers organized a mass protest movement in response to national farm laws designed to end state subsidies for farmers and open up agricultural markets. Demonstrators occupied India’s capital for more than a year, ultimately leading the government to withdraw the laws. The farmers’ protest movement received widespread international support and galvanized the Sikh diaspora. The protests were mostly peaceful, and many activists who seek an independent Khalistan have sought change through nonviolent means. But the farmers’ protests, along with recent developments in diaspora communities, seem to have spawned a new generation of militant pro-Khalistan leaders.

Singh’s group, which was formed in 2021, has reintroduced a violent political rhetoric that romanticizes the militance of the 1980s. Known as Waris Punjab De, or “heirs of Punjab,” the group is allegedly linked to a new wave of violence, including several encounters with the police. In response, the Indian government has cracked down across Punjab this month, arresting suspected members and sympathizers of Waris Punjab De. Singh has so far evaded capture, but the government has set up roadblocks and limited internet service throughout the state. This crackdown has prompted protests in cities around the world, including in London, San Francisco, and Vancouver.

India’s Western partners face a challenge in responding to the possible return of Sikh separatism. The U.K. and the United States have promised to coordinate with local authorities to punish those who targeted the Indian diplomatic facilities last week. But New Delhi rightly expects more from its partners, and it would prefer to see emerging Sikh separatist groups such as Waris Punjab De designated as terrorist organizations. This would boost India’s efforts to limit Sikh separatism, especially by helping to stop diaspora support for violent organizations. India is likely to ask for assistance in stemming this foreign financing, but it could also seek the extradition of those members of the diaspora who can be held legally responsible for supporting violent separatism in Punjab.

India’s Western partners are unlikely to honor such requests, given the political power of Sikh constituencies. Democratically elected leaders in the West are already sensitive to Sikh interests and may be hesitant to take a tough stance against supporters of Sikh separatism within their own borders. Consider Canada, which has a robust Sikh diaspora mostly concentrated around Toronto. There, elected leaders tend to pursue policies in line with the demands of the diaspora, including providing asylum, dawdling on extradition requests, and largely ignoring fundraising for separatist activities. And as the 2020 farmers’ protests showed, the Sikh and Punjabi diasporas can mobilize broad support against the Indian government on the world stage.

Furthermore, Western countries remain concerned about India’s recent declines in civil and religious liberties. Under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, religious minorities face an unprecedented level of state-led persecution—including Sikhs, whose faith is distinct from Hinduism and Islam. The rise of Hindu fanaticism in India and the resulting political environment make it more difficult for Western leaders to support India’s efforts to beat back Sikh separatism, lest they be seen as condoning Modi’s efforts to build a Hindu-first state. All of this makes full-throated support from the West more unlikely.

Against this backdrop, Indian policymakers must tread carefully. New Delhi’s attempts to swiftly contain a renewed insurgency are legitimate, but its leaders need to show that they will not further erode the rule of law—especially given the country’s recent history of police brutality. India’s efforts so far have been confined to lodging official protests about the security lapses that allowed its diplomatic missions to be vandalized. But as it seeks to curb the activities of the separatists at home, it will also have to assuage the concerns of Western partners that it will not disregard legal norms.

Ultimately, Western leaders should look past their own political calculations and condemn violent Sikh separatist movements. By failing to do so, they add fodder to the popular Indian notion that the West is a fair-weather partner—which is not entirely unfounded. For example, even though India staunchly supported U.S.-led efforts in Afghanistan, it was mostly sidelined in negotiations with the Taliban and the 2021 U.S. troop withdrawal. India is also circumspect about Western entreaties to Pakistan, which continue to take place despite Islamabad’s long record of supporting terrorism, including Sikh separatism. Without taking a firm stance against violent pro-Khalistan movements, Western leaders risk further alienating India.

From a geopolitical perspective, the reemergence of Sikh separatism could not come at a worse time. A more powerful Sikh separatist movement would complicate relations between India and the West, just as Australia, Canada, the U.K., and the United States shift from focusing on terrorism to containing China in the Indo-Pacific region. If these Western countries want to establish a truly strong partnership with India, they cannot continue to support diaspora networks that enable violence, even tacitly.

[cloudystevie]

India’s Reform Laws

Hi- I’d really hope to raise awareness on what’s going on in India right now and has been since September 2020. The prime minister of India: Narendra Modi has passed 3 new reform laws which make it extremely difficult for farmers; the backbone of india’s economy; to make money. Essentially private companies now buy directly from farmers rather than the government having a set price on crops grown by kisaans (farmers) all year long. Thus leading to a significantly lower income. Overtime many farmers will go into extreme debts and would be incapable of supporting their families. 65 farmers in punjab have already taken their lives since this bill was passed. And as of March 2021 there has been a total of 248 deaths.

There have been peaceful protests in delhi where many Sikhs and Punjabis (as well as farmers from other states and religions including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharastra and Haryana.) are fighting for their livelihood back, however the police brutality and lack of support from the government that they are currently facing is the stark opposite of what you would expect from a democratic government. Protesters are being shot with water cannons and sprayed with tear gases, as well as Delhi police making it inhumanely difficult for the protesters.

All because in the name of democracy we are protesting against bills that make it borderline impossible for them to live.

3/4 of punjabs population are farmers, my own immediate and distant family are currently out protesting and are being actively impacted by this.

you can donate to khalsa aid right here! they are providing protesters with food and water!

you can purchase from kisaani.co! all their profits are sent directly to the kisaans in need.

I apologize for such a long post but not enough people are talking about this and I really hope that if you have the means you donate or share the links so it reaches someone who might be able to. Thank you :)

Our hashtag is: #IStandWithFarmers

[yianni271]

[giaa-s]

Punjab on my mind. Punjab in my heart. Punjab in my ardaas. 🙏🏽❤️

“as the farmers protects his fields”

#istandwithpunjabfarmers