KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
As
thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are rallying at
Delhi's three interstate border points, banned secessionist group Sikhs For
Justice (SFJ) is trying to fish in troubled waters by announcing $1 million aid
for farmers who suffered injuries or damage to their vehicles while facing
police action in Haryana.
The
information has sent security agencies into a tizzy, with many deployed on
protest spots in plainclothes to keep a close tab on SFJ supporters who may
mingle with protesters as part of their "ill-intention" to lure
innocent farmers and take undue advantage of the situation in the name of
helping them.
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.
Assuring
farmers of Punjab and Haryana that the SFJ will bear all the losses they have
suffered, Pannun stated that "once Punjab is liberated from Indian
occupation, the loans of the farmers will be waived and free power supply granted".
The
group has also threatened to take up the matter at the international level if
the Indian government did not repeal its three contentious farm laws enacted in
September.
"If
the Modi government does not scrap the farm bills, as demanded by the farmers,
SFJ will initiate legal action against India at the international level with
the backing of various kisan organisations," Pannun said in the message.
Security
establishment, including anti-terror agencies, have since intensified efforts
against the group banned by the MHA via a notification dated July 10 last year
under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) following its
"anti-India activities" to disrupt law and order in the country.
However,
the security officials maintained, no suspicious activity of the group has been
noticed in the national capital or in the interstate border areas so far, even
as central agencies are keeping a strict vigil to avoid any untoward activity.
It
is the third such message circulated by the SFJ in the past one week. The SFJ
earlier this week had called upon farmers of Punjab and Haryana to raise
Khalistan flag at the India Gate here on the 12th anniversary of a terrorist
attack in Mumbai onNovember 26, following which the national capital was put on
high alert.
The
SFJ had announced anti-India campaign, 'Referendum-2020', in November this year
to seek secession of Punjab from India.
The
move followed inputs that the Sikh community across India has rejected the
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) sponsored propaganda of 'Referendum-2020'.
Pakistani intelligence agency ISI has been backing the malicious campaign
launched by the SFJ as a large number of Pakistani Twitter handles have started
tweeting in favour of the so-called 'Referendum'.
Dubbing
Sikhs in Kashmir as "freedom fighters and Sikh soldiers", the
US-based Khalistani radical outfit has urged them to support its most infamous
agenda, 'Referendum-2020'.
The group is already on the radar of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has been taking action against its key leaders such as Pannun and many others. In the beginning of September, based on NIA's inputs, the MHA had issued an order to attach the properties of Pannun and SFJ's Canada coordinator Hardeep Singh Nijjar.