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WASHINGTON: India’s ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu was heckled by stray pro-Khalistan protesters during a visit to a New York gurdwara on Sunday before the malingerers was escorted out by mainstream Sikhs, who welcomed the envoy.
Pro-Khalistan elements falsely claimed that an “embarrassed and agitated” Sandhu “aborted” his visit and “fled the Hicksville Gurdwara in a haste,” but footage and photographs of the visit clearly showed the ambassador going on to complete his engagement after being welcomed by moderate Sikhs, who constitute a majority of the community.
“Privileged to join the local Sangat, including from Afghanistan, at Guru Nanak Darbar of Long Island in celebrating Gurpurab- listened to Kirtan, spoke about Guru Nanak’s everlasting message of togetherness, unity, & equality, partook langar, and sought blessings for all,” Sandhu tweeted after the visit.
The incident once again underscored the potency of social media to amplify the marginal support “Khalistan” has abroad. A 40-second clip of one vocal protester, identified as Himmat Singh, was later posted on social media and played on loop on various platforms.
In the clip, Himmat Singh is heard accusing the Indian government of orchestrating the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was President of Surrey Gurdwara in Canada and the coordinator for Canadian Chapter of the Khalistan Referendum, a charge endorsed without evidence by the Justin Trudeau government in Canada, leading to a rift between New Delhi and Ottawa.
“I only wanted answers from ambassador Sandhu as to why India is using violence to stop the global Khalistan Referendum voting,” the organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) quoted Himmat Singh as saying.
Earlier, in a separate tweet following a visit to the Sri Guru Ravidass Temple in New York. , Sandhu quoted the Sikh Guru Nanak Dev ji’s “timeless message of equality & universal oneness in the well known Shabad of Guru Ravidass — ‘You are me, and I am You— there is no difference between us!'”
Such outreach evidently makes little impression on radical Khalistani elements agitating for a separate state on the basis of “referendums” held in sundry gurudwaras, where, according to Indian officials, moderate Sikhs are being silenced with strong arm methods. Several mainstream, moderate Sikhs in Canada have been attacked, and sometimes killed, in incidents attributed to militants agitating for Khalistan.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, SFJ General Counsel, who alleges he was the target of an Indian assassination plot foiled by US intelligence, a claim implicitly endorsed by US intelligence sources in leaks to the media, said in a press release that the “American phase” of the “Khalistan Referendum Voting” is going to start from 28th January 2024 in San Francisco, California.”
Such referendums have been held in Canada, UK, and Australia, with unsubstantiated claims of participation by more than 100,000 Sikhs. Indian officials say only a few hundred militant Sikhs, some of whom endorse violent means to achieve their goal, participated in the exercise. Militant Sikhs have also attacked Indian diplomatic missions in San Francisco and elsewhere and displayed posters identifying Indian diplomats, which they say, threatens the lives of diplomats and their families.
The issue has led to some disquiet on the diplomatic front, with New Delhi suggesting the permissive, kid glove approach of western nations is amplifying what is an outlier issue.
There is a precedent for such fears. In 1984, an Indian diplomat named Ravindra Mhatre, posted at the Indian consulate in Birmingham, was kidnapped and later killed by British Kashmiri militants who were associated with the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front.
Watch Watch: Indian envoy Taranjit Singh Sandhu heckled by pro-Khalistan group at a gurdwara in New York
Pro-Khalistan elements falsely claimed that an “embarrassed and agitated” Sandhu “aborted” his visit and “fled the Hicksville Gurdwara in a haste,” but footage and photographs of the visit clearly showed the ambassador going on to complete his engagement after being welcomed by moderate Sikhs, who constitute a majority of the community.
“Privileged to join the local Sangat, including from Afghanistan, at Guru Nanak Darbar of Long Island in celebrating Gurpurab- listened to Kirtan, spoke about Guru Nanak’s everlasting message of togetherness, unity, & equality, partook langar, and sought blessings for all,” Sandhu tweeted after the visit.
The incident once again underscored the potency of social media to amplify the marginal support “Khalistan” has abroad. A 40-second clip of one vocal protester, identified as Himmat Singh, was later posted on social media and played on loop on various platforms.
In the clip, Himmat Singh is heard accusing the Indian government of orchestrating the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was President of Surrey Gurdwara in Canada and the coordinator for Canadian Chapter of the Khalistan Referendum, a charge endorsed without evidence by the Justin Trudeau government in Canada, leading to a rift between New Delhi and Ottawa.
“I only wanted answers from ambassador Sandhu as to why India is using violence to stop the global Khalistan Referendum voting,” the organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) quoted Himmat Singh as saying.
Earlier, in a separate tweet following a visit to the Sri Guru Ravidass Temple in New York. , Sandhu quoted the Sikh Guru Nanak Dev ji’s “timeless message of equality & universal oneness in the well known Shabad of Guru Ravidass — ‘You are me, and I am You— there is no difference between us!'”
Such outreach evidently makes little impression on radical Khalistani elements agitating for a separate state on the basis of “referendums” held in sundry gurudwaras, where, according to Indian officials, moderate Sikhs are being silenced with strong arm methods. Several mainstream, moderate Sikhs in Canada have been attacked, and sometimes killed, in incidents attributed to militants agitating for Khalistan.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, SFJ General Counsel, who alleges he was the target of an Indian assassination plot foiled by US intelligence, a claim implicitly endorsed by US intelligence sources in leaks to the media, said in a press release that the “American phase” of the “Khalistan Referendum Voting” is going to start from 28th January 2024 in San Francisco, California.”
Such referendums have been held in Canada, UK, and Australia, with unsubstantiated claims of participation by more than 100,000 Sikhs. Indian officials say only a few hundred militant Sikhs, some of whom endorse violent means to achieve their goal, participated in the exercise. Militant Sikhs have also attacked Indian diplomatic missions in San Francisco and elsewhere and displayed posters identifying Indian diplomats, which they say, threatens the lives of diplomats and their families.
The issue has led to some disquiet on the diplomatic front, with New Delhi suggesting the permissive, kid glove approach of western nations is amplifying what is an outlier issue.
There is a precedent for such fears. In 1984, an Indian diplomat named Ravindra Mhatre, posted at the Indian consulate in Birmingham, was kidnapped and later killed by British Kashmiri militants who were associated with the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front.
Watch Watch: Indian envoy Taranjit Singh Sandhu heckled by pro-Khalistan group at a gurdwara in New York
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