A force capable of breaking India into a civil war and driving a secondpartition is simmering in Punjab. After losing popularity in one of themost brutal times in Indian history, the Khalistan movement is rising onceagain. With a new face but the same old demands, a separate Sikh nation. Under Amritpal Singh Sandhu, the self-styled Chief of Khalistanis, themovement is un-stabilizing the political landscape. And with a comparativelyweak government head of state, the future seems more brim.But what is the Khalistan movement? Who is Amritpal Singh Sandhu? Whyshould the central government be worried about the uprising? And what does itmean for Punjab and India?
Understanding the Khalistan Movement
The Khalistan movement is a separatist movement that aims to establish a sovereign state for the Sikhs named Khalistan. Khalistan Movement This nation should include Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and a few districts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.The movement first emerged ten years into independent India in 1960. JagjitSingh Chohan, the former Finance Minister of Punjab, demanded a separate Khalistan, which gave rise to the movement in the 1970s and reached its peak in the 1980s under Indira Gandhi’s government.

While Jagjit Singh created a Sikh extremist government in Pakistan andcollected millions of dollars from the US to form Khalistan; in India, thereins of the movement were in Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale‘s hands.

Financed by Jagjit and supported by Pak ISI, Bhindranwale’s popularityskyrocketed in Punjab. Under his leadership, the Khalistan movement grew, withthousands of extremist Sikhs joining. He urged his followers to restore the Khalsa(Orthodox Sikh religion) in Sikh society. His protests targeted Hindus and the ‘modernizedSikhs.’These were very violent times in Punjab, but all this was coming to an end with Operation Blue Star in 1984. While in a hideout in the Golden Temple, Bhindranwale’s followers continued bombing across Punjab. However, in operation, the Khalistan

the leader was assassinated and took control of the temple.According to official statements, about 500 militants and civilians died inthe attack, but independent organizations estimate over 3000 deaths. Four monthslater, on 31st October 1984, Prime Minister Indra Gandhi wasmurdered by her two Sikh bodyguards, which gave rise to anti-Sikh riots. This resulted in the deaths of 8000 Sikhs.

Resurfacing Khalistan Movement
The anti-Sikh riot rooted a hatred amongst Sikhs for the Indian governmentand made Bhindranwale a freedom fighter. Post the attack, numerous incidents, including the attack on an Air India Plan that left over 300 dead, followed.While the Indian government stabilized the situation in the country’s popularKahlistani militants started operating from the US, UK, and Canada. The groupeven used the latest farmer’s protest to increase militancy in Punjab.So Bhindranwale died, but the Khalistan movement survived, and now they have a new leader – Amritpal Singh Sandhu.

Who is Amritpal & How He Became the Leader of the Khalistan Movement?
Born in 1933, Amritpal Singh Sandhu was a normal man living in Dubai. But thename, unfamiliar just a few months back, has now become a popular leader inPunjab.Named Bhindranwale 2.0, Deep Sidhu became a controversial figure during the2020 farmer’s protest after starting the ‘Waris Punjab De’, a socialorganization. After his death, Amritpal took the leading position in theorganization.Before joining the organization two years back, Sandhu didn’t even wear aturban. But soon after joining, he underwent a remarkable transformation,rising to a position of influence and power in the Kahlistani movement.

Amritpal took his anointment in the native village of Bhindranwale, whoserves as Sandhu’s inspiration. Since September 2022, he started dressing likehis inspiration and even began carrying a steel arrow, precisely likeBhindranwale has done in the past.Amirtpal claims his agenda is to bring in the religious and social transformationo Punjab. But his group has also attacked and vandalized Gurudwaras (Sikhtemples). Similar to Bhindranwale, Sandhu delivers ferocious speeches in aneffort to pique the interest of Punjab’s youth.

He urges them to give up narcotics and get involved in the effort toresurrect the “panth” and rid it of its “slavery” mentality. He openly criticises other religions and supports “sampuran raj” in place of “Waziri,” or slavery, in a mannerreminiscent of Bhindranwale.For his controversial remarks, most recently directed at Union Home MinisterAmit Shah, he said, “his fate will be similar to that of former prime ministerIndira Gandhi.“All this soon bubbled up to the Anjala police station attack.

The Anjala Police Station Attack
“If the fire lodged against me isn’t scrapped within one hour, the administrationof Punjab should be held responsible for the consequences”Six months back, the Punjab police arrested Lavpreet Singh, a leading memberof the Waris Punjab De organization. Protesting against the arrest and the FIR on Amripal, the supporter of Sandhu surrounded the police station in massive numbers on 23rd February.To impede the aggressive demonstrators – armed with swords – policebarricaded the area with additional forces brought in from five districts. Innow-viral videos of the violent protests, a huge number of Khalistanis wereseen breaking barricades and attacking the police with swords.