Insightful newsletter of Drishtikone: Issue #193 - The Khalistan Threat!
Photo by Jakob Rubner on Unsplash \ Artwork on the wall that separating Israel and Palestine.
Less well known is the paradox of tolerance: Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them. ― Karl Raimund Popper, The Open Society and Its Enemies
The spiritual path is one. Inwards. The destination is one. Truth.
How you walk that path. What preparation you do, what you take along on that path, how to handle yourself, and what is your vehicle on that path depends on your karmic structure.
Religions that are tied to a belief system have a fundamental problem. They propose to give the same preparation to all, give everyone the same bags filled with the same things to use on the way, and the same vehicle (car or a donkey) to use on that path.
Things don’t work that way for everyone.
While one’s karmic structure may work best on the Aghori way of things, for another being a monk in the Buddhist tradition may be best aligned to his karmic baggage. For another, Meera’s way or Nanak’s way is the best. For another, Guru Gobind’s may be just what one needs.
To restrict is to be of limited value.
For whom Nanak’s way works, his path, if he were to give the instructions and initiate you, will be all you need. But if you one whose karmic structure needs the way of an Aghori, then you will be at a loss.
Nanak’s way or Aghori’s way is not right or wrong. It is not for everyone.
That is why Buddhism as a strict code of conduct in a distinctive way could not have survived as a creed in India. You couldn’t keep a pond distinct within a large Ocean of freshwater. If a Buddhist master was true to his spiritual quest, he had to look beyond one way of doing things, and invariably it would lead him to multiple aspects of Spiritual ways within the Sanatan Dharma context.
That was exactly the issue facing the Sikhs. If one was honest to the spiritual quest that took Nanak on decades of journeys to spread awareness and initiate people into the spiritual path or to the powerful presence of Guru Gobind Singh’s ability to marry spirituality with the sword, then one would have approached the search for Truth in whatever way available. The way of the tenth Guru was not the same as that of the first Guru. They were different, just as every Guru and Master is.
Unfortunately, those who wanted the comfort of a belief and separate identity were working to fashion the path of multiple Gurus into a singular dogma. Those who would sing “मेरा मुझमें कुछ नहीं, जो कुछ है सो तेरा” were busy constructing the edifice of identity on the spiritual debris of the work of the Gurus.
Whatever Nanak worked for, as his family missed him during his journey, was undone. Whatever Guru Tegh Bahadur resisted as he was beheaded, was embraced shamelessly.
The bigoted and the fanatic may have beheaded, buried alive in walls, and killed the Sikh Gurus and their family once in history. But the Sikhs who worked hard to kill the spiritual aspect to enforce the identity killed them every day. The idea of Khalistan is not a manifestation of the ocean of bliss that the Gurus worked for. It is the stinking remains of a pond whose water was forcibly taken from a river that promised eternity. That water has no relationship to the river anymore. It is just a mere caricature.
GRATITUDE: Thank you so much, Prof TRN sir, for another very generous contribution to Drishtikone. We are truly humbled. 🙏
the Khalistani chess piece - farmers protest game to hit India
While growing up, the semantics that we and those around us always used to refer to a “Sikh and Hindu” were Sardar and Monna. Sardar was one with the kesh or hair, and Monna was the word used for one who would cut his hair.
This was so because it was common for many Punjabi families to raise the eldest kid as a Sardar and the other as a Monna. The entire family celebrated the same festivals, went regularly to Gurudwaras and Temples. Vaishno Devi and Golden Temple were the most revered shrines for all. I have had friends, whose Uncles were raised as Sardars, while they were not.
We as a family would regularly visit Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and the Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place.
The delinking of Sikhs from Hindus started and gained traction during the 1980s Khalistani terror movement that Congress (specifically Indira Gandhi) instigated. It was an old agenda of Master Tara Singh of the Akali Dal, envisaged a Khalistan that was led by the then Maharaja of Patiala - the father of Captain Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab today. Interesting coincidence?
The terrorism which engulfed Punjab in the 1980s and 90s almost destroyed Punjab. And, even though the entire terror movement of Khalistan and its ideology was defeated in the rest of India, its remnants remained in some areas of Punjab and surely in North America and Europe.
I have been to Gurudwaras in Houston, New York City, Toronto, and Bay Area and I have not seen a single Gurudwara where a Khalistani poster was not put up. During most of the 2000s, these posters looked innocuous reminders of a time that was deadly for hundreds of thousands.
It is those remnants in Punjab who have over time been injected with the Hindu hate and separatist agenda that have been tapped for these protests.
The Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) is at the forefront of the Khalistani movement in Canada. Who are these? They are banned by the Government of India (Source) due to their secessionist activities.
This terrorist banned organization has announced a fund of $1 million for the aid of the farmers. Let us be clear - it is like Al Qaeda announcing a $1 million aid to the Black Lives Matter movement in the US. Will that be allowed?
In its recent announcement through a social media platform, the SFJ said it will provide $1 million aid to farmers from “Punjab and Haryana who have suffered bodily injuries or damage to their vehicles while facing police action during their hard-fought journey to Delhi”. The SFJ’s message mentions its plan for opening a 24-hour call centre on November 30 in the US, Canada, the UK, France and Germany to accept online applications from farmers of Punjab and Haryana to reimburse for their losses and also to register votes for its “Khalistan Referendum”. “SFJ is kick-starting the Khalistan Referendum voting from London on August 15, 2021 for the independence of Punjab,” mentions the message circulated by SFJ’s US-based General Counsel and group’s key leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun — designated a terrorist by the Indian government. (Source via IANS)
And they are openly announcing it on Social Media.
All this while the Indian government has been working to attach the properties owned by these terrorists in India.
Undeterred by the attachment of properties of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) key leaders — Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and Hardeep Singh Nijjar — the banned outfit is now offering Rs 3,500 each as grant to woo Punjab farmers ahead of its anti-India campaign ‘Referendum-2020’, intelligence sources have said. (Source)
The Khalistani sympathizers, meanwhile, have developed huge clout in Canada. So much so that the Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau in his call with the Sikh groups talks about his “concerns on farmer protests in India.”
Farmers’ protests in India? What does Trudeau have to do with them?!
Quite obviously the secessionist and terror groups with Khalistani agenda have been working behind the scenes.
Reiterating the SFJ’s commitment to work for secession of Punjab, SFJ General Counsel Pannun said: “India can take my land but will not be able to stop the Referendum 2020.” Earlier, the SFJ had also cautioned Union Rail Minister Piyush Goyal not to run trains in Punjab, giving a call for ‘Rail Roko’ in the Indian Punjab on September 13. (Source)
Take my land. That is an interesting point. Because, if you see what Deep Sidhu, the actor masquerading as a farmer was ranting about - he kept insisting that the farmers’ lands were being taken away. Which is also the ‘talking point’ of most of the secessionist and vociferous forces backing the protest drama near Delhi.
This “taking away land” talking point being common between Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and Deep Sidhu (and the larger narrative) is not a coincidence! It will become a “truthism” very soon on which the neo-Khalistani narrative will be built.
That is why we need to listen to Deep Sidhu a bit more seriously. People have made fun of his references to “geopolitics” and “South Asia region” structure and then linking it to “taking the land of the farmer” jibe. People who have mocked it as just a crazy rant miss the real import of the words.
By talking about geopolitics and the South Asian region he is alluding to the establishment of Khalistan. And then linking it to taking our land away, he is discussing the credo which will become central to the Khalistani narrative going forward.
If one was to decode his mentality, (and investigate his engagement with groups recently) they will find that he has been high on Khalistani kool-aid with some extremist groups in Canada.
But he is the aggressive part of the whole drama that is going on. There is another group that is show-casing the “nice bloke” image. Here is one example - Source. The person speaking is Bir Singh, a Punjabi singer. The guy who shares it is the Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh.
Do you see how many dimensions are there to the protest layers?
Now, this guy Pannun is a particularly vicious terrorist who is full of hate and vitriol.
In July this year, Pannun and Nijjar were declared as designated terrorists under the provisions of the UAPA Act, along with seven other individuals. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will attach immovable properties in Punjab of designated terrorists Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S.-based member of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), and Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Canada-based chief of Khalistan Tiger Force, an official said on Tuesday. (Source)
He bullies, abuses, and insults those who even talk against Khalistan or for Sikhs being part of India. Here is an example, of how he uses the platforms within Canada to establish his hate-agenda and spread vitriol while he bullies and abuses.
Pakistan has been working for the past few years to revive Khalistan terrorism. Anyone who says that Khalistan is the ask of Sikhs in India is an imbecile or a liar. Look at the proposed map of Khalistan, for example.
While they have included not just Punjab but also areas from Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal, and Rajasthan. Interesting? Heck, that isn’t the important part. What is extremely intriguing is that not an inch from Pakistani territory is included! Not even Gurudwara Nankana Sahib!
Talking about Gurudwara Nankana Sahib, a lot of activity has been going on at that place these days. Interestingly, coordinated by the SFJ organization.
Pro-Khalistan banners were erected at the Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib in Pakistan on Friday during the visit of Indian Sikh pilgrims to commemorate the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. Sikhs from North America, Europe and the UK under the banner of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) were canvassing in the gurdwara where more than 3,000 Indian Sikhs were also present to attend the festivities. (Source)
Many of the entrepreneurs, businessmen, and criminals/crime syndicates are working along with Pakistan to fund the Khalistani movement in the US and Canada.
The Dhaliwal and Grewal gangs, for example, created a Vancouver based mafia group called “Brothers Keepers”. They indulge in drug trafficking, contract killing, and gun running. They have been involved in funding the Khalistanis, specifically the SFJ terror organization.
Indo-Canadian crime syndicates, dominated by Indian expatriates from Punjab, are funding secessionist groups, including Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), in a bid to rekindle the Khalistan movement in India. Crime syndicates like Dhaliwal and Grewal gangs, involved in drug trafficking and operating out of the Canadian state of British Columbia, are linked to SFJ leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu and his aides, revealed a confidential report prepared by the Indian intelligence agencies. (Source)
Here is another businessman - Harjinder Singh Kukreja, who was awarded the “Jewels of Punjab” award by Dr. Manmohan Singh. On social media, he follows groups which are beholden to and swear by Pakistan, while calling for Khalistan.
Unfortunately, Canada’s politicians and political parties, woo these Khalistani groups. For their money and votes. The government has capitulated to pressures from these groups to ultimately remove Sikh extremism from the report on Terror threats to Canada.
The removal of a reference to Sikh extremism from "2018 Public Report on the Terrorism Threat to Canada" by the Public Safety Canada, a Canadian government department, has attracted sharp criticism from various quarters including pro-Khailistani groups. The move was seen as an attempt to woo Canadian Sikhs. Soon after the report was updated Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited a Vancouver gurdwara. (Source)
Last year, Terry Milewski, a retired senior journalist in Canada came out with the report titled - “Khalistan - a Project of Pakistan,” which set off a storm. Here is an excellent discussion Please watch this excellent interview by Major Gaurav Arya.
market corner - 10 quick bytes
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- GST collections cross Rs 1 lakh cr mark (₹1 trillion) for the second straight month in November; show economic recovery - more
- Car demand in November outshines last year's sales; Maruti Suzuki sees a decline - more
- Migrant economy recovering - Remittances from urban pockets nearing pre-Covid levels - more
- Wendy's India strategy - Localised menu, entry-level pricing, highway outlets to be focus areas - more
- PM Modi to inaugurate 6-lane widening project of the Varanasi-Prayagraj section of NH-19 - more
nota bene
Russia Vs Japan: Russia has deployed a number of its new S-300V4 missile defence systems for combat duty on a disputed chain of islands near Japan, a move that is likely to anger Tokyo. (Source)
Anywhere in the world in 2 hours: Chinese scientists have built what they claim is a revolutionary plane engine for Mach 16 flight. An aircraft powered by the engine could reach anywhere in the world within two hours (Source)
Pak using drones on the border: Pakistan-backed terrorist groups and its Inter-Services Intelligence have started using bigger drones to expand its capacity to smuggle arms and ammunition across the border in India’s Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, people familiar with the matter said. (Source)
Decoding Proteins via AI: Google’s DeepMind algorithm’s unprecedented accuracy in decoding of protein structures—this was recently reported in Nature—will help researchers develop better medication in the future. (Source)
Mapping the Universe: A large telescope in the Australian outback has helped astronomers create an 'atlas of the universe' featuring a million previously undiscovered distant galaxies. The team, from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), mapped about three million galaxies in just 300 hours. The team created an interactive tool akin to a 'Google Maps' of the night sky (Source)
facts on the farm bills and Agri economy
Here is an excellent set of details by Dr Ashok Gulati, and Agriculture Economist. Rajdeep Sardesai tries hard to derail the facts by silly innuendos, but Dr Gulati holds his own and shares facts on how the agriculture economy really works in India, and why Punjab farmers should be the last set of farmers to even protest!
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