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== Khalistan movement ==
[[File:Sikh march against Indian policy, London 10-Jun-12.JPG|thumb|Sikhs in [[London]] protesting against Indian government actions]]

The [[Khalistan movement]] is a Sikh separatist movement, which seeks to create a separate country called Khalistān ({{gloss|The [[-stan|Land of]] the [[Khalsa]]}}) in the [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] state of [[India]] to serve as a homeland for Sikhs.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kinnvall |first1=Catarina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XJzUzWDwZ4kC&pg=PA218 |title=Globalization and Religious Nationalism in India |date=2007 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781134135707}}</ref> The territorial definition of the proposed country Khalistan consists of the [[Punjab, India]] and includes [[Haryana]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] and [[Rajasthan]].<ref name="Crenshaw">{{cite book |last=Crenshaw |first=Martha |title=Terrorism in Context |publisher=Pennsylvania State University |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-271-01015-1 |page=364}}</ref><ref>''The foreign policy of Pakistan: ethnic impacts on diplomacy, 1971–1994'' {{ISBN|1-86064-169-5}} – Mehtab Ali Shah "''Such is the political, psychological and religious attachment of the Sikhs to that city that a Khalistan without Lahore would be like a Germany without Berlin.''"</ref><ref name="Stephen_Amritsar">''Amritsar to Lahore: A Journey Across the India-Pakistan Border'' – Stephen Alter {{ISBN|0-8122-1743-8}} "''Ever since the separatist movement gathered force in the 1980s, Pakistan has sided with the Sikhs, the territorial ambitions of Khalistan have at times included Chandigarh, sections of the Indian Punjab, including whole North India and some parts of western states of India.''"</ref>

Khalistan movement began as an [[expatriate]] venture.<ref name="Pruthi169">{{cite book |last1=Pruthi |first1=Raj |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KxndvJs3wUkC&q=expatriate+venture&pg=PA169 |title=Sikhism and Indian Civilization |date=2004 |publisher=Discovery Publishing House |isbn=9788171418794 |page=169 |access-date=25 October 2018}}</ref> In 1971, the first explicit call for Khalistan was made in an advertisement published in the ''New York Times'' by an expat ([[Jagjit Singh Chohan]]).{{sfn|Van Dyke|2009|p=976}} By proclaiming the formation of Khalistan, he was able to collect millions of dollars from the [[Sikh diaspora]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Haresh Pandya |date=11 April 2007 |title=Jagjit Singh Chauhan, Sikh Militant Leader in India, Dies at 80 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/world/asia/11chauhan.html?_r=1&fta=y&oref=slogin |access-date=28 August 2008}}</ref> On 12 April 1980, he declared the formation of the "National Council of Khalistan," at [[Anandpur Sahib]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Nayar |first=Kuldip |title=Tragedy of Punjab |author2=Kushwant Singh |publisher=Vision Books |year=1985 |isbn=1-85127-069-8 |page=51}}</ref> He declared himself as the President of the council and named Balbir Singh Sandhu as its Secretary General. In May 1980, Chohan traveled to [[London]] and announced the formation of Khalistan. A similar announcement was made by Balbir Singh Sandhu in [[Amritsar]], where he began releasing stamps and currency of Khalistan. The inaction of the authorities in Amritsar and elsewhere was decried as a political stunt by the [[Indian National Congress|Congress(I)]] party of Indira Gandhi by the Akali Dal, headed by the Sikh leader [[Harchand Singh Longowal]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Satinder |title=Khalistan: An Academic Analysis |publisher=Amar Prakashan |year=1982 |location=Delhi & Punjab |page=114}}</ref>

The movement flourished in the Indian state of Punjab following [[Operation Blue Star]] and the [[Anti Sikh Riots|Anti-Sikh Pogroms]]. As proponents were able to generate funding from a grieving diaspora. In June 1985, [[Air India Flight 182|Air India Flight 182 was bombed]] by [[Babbar Khalsa]], a pro-Khalistani terrorist organisation.<ref>{{cite news |date=15 March 2018 |title=Jagmeet Singh Now Rejects Glorification of Air India Bombing mastermind |publisher=CBC News |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/jagmeet-singh-air-india-bombing-accepts-1.4578030 |access-date=30 April 2018 |quote=The 18-month long Air India inquiry, led by former Supreme Court justice John Major, pointed to Parmar as the chief terrorist behind the bombing.  A separate inquiry, carried out by former Ontario NDP premier and Liberal MP Bob Rae, also fingered Parmar as the architect of the 1985 bombing that left 329 people dead 268 of them Canadians.}}</ref> In January 1986, the Golden Temple was occupied by militants belonging to [[All India Sikh Students Federation]] and [[Damdami Taksal]].<ref>Sikh Temple Sit-In Is a Challenge for Punjab, ''The New York Times'' 2 February 1986</ref> On 26 January 1986, a gathering known as the [[Sarbat Khalsa]] (a de facto parliament) passed a resolution (''gurmattā'') favouring the creation of Khalistan. Subsequently, a number of rebel militant groups in favour of Khalistan waged a [[Punjab insurgency|major insurgency]] against the government of India. Indian security forces suppressed the insurgency in the early 1990s, but Sikh political groups such as the [[Khalsa Raj Party]] and [[Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)|SAD (A)]] continued to pursue an independent Khalistan through non-violent means.<ref>{{cite web |date=20 January 2003 |title=Amnesty International report on Punjab |url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA200022003?open&of=ENG-IND |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061203184445/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA200022003?open&of=ENG-IND |archive-date=3 December 2006 |access-date=11 January 2010 |publisher=Amnesty International}}</ref><ref name="tribuneindia2006">{{cite web |title=The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Punjab |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060310/punjab1.htm#2 |access-date=27 September 2015 |publisher=Tribuneindia.com |archive-date=5 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605221542/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060310/punjab1.htm#2 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=14 January 2010 |title=SAD (A) to Contest the Coming SGPC Elections on Khalistan Issue: Mann |url=http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/22588/38/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715132020/http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/22588/38/ |archive-date=15 July 2011 |access-date=22 January 2010 |publisher=PunjabNewsline.com}}</ref> Pro-Khalistan organisations such as [[Dal Khalsa (International)]] are also active outside India, supported by a section of the Sikh diaspora.<ref>{{cite news |last=Punj |first=Balbair |date=16 June 2005 |title=The Ghost of Khalistan |newspaper=Sikh Times |url=http://www.sikhtimes.com/news_061605a.html |access-date=11 January 2010}}</ref>

In the 1990s, the insurgency abated,<ref name="india-canada-list">{{cite news |date=22 February 2018 |title=India gives Trudeau list of suspected Sikh separatists in Canada |website=Reuters, The Sikh insurgency petered out in the 1990s. He told state leaders his country would not support anyone trying to reignite the movement for an independent Sikh homeland called Khalistan. |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-canada-trudeau/india-gives-trudeau-list-of-suspected-sikh-separatists-in-canada-idUSKCN1G61K7 |access-date=22 May 2018}}</ref> and the movement failed to reach its objective due to multiple reasons including a heavy police crackdown on separatists, divisions among the Sikhs and loss of support from the Sikh population.<ref name="HT_New2018">{{cite news |title=New brand of Sikh militancy: Suave, tech-savvy pro-Khalistan youth radicalised on social media |newspaper=Hindustan Times |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/a-new-brand-of-sikh-militancy-rears-its-head/story-JH3XbAGk6sSxlYrVEDyISK.html |access-date=27 April 2018}}</ref> However, various pro-Khalistan groups, both political and militant, remain committed to the separatist movement. There are claims of funding from [[Sikh diaspora|Sikhs outside India]] to attract young people into militant groups.<ref>{{cite news |date=4 March 2008 |title=Sikh separatists 'funded from UK' |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/file_on_4/7263211.stm |access-date=28 August 2008}}</ref> There have also been multiple claims that the movement is motivated and supported by the Pakistan's external intelligence agency, the ISI.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 December 2017 |title=ISI trying to revive Khalistan movement, says government |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/isi-trying-to-revive-khalistan-movement-says-government-5001401/ |access-date=23 March 2023 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Dalip |date=15 May 2022 |title=Pakistan ISI tapping into J&K terror network to fuel pro-Khalistan sentiments: Sources |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/pakistan-isi-tapping-into-jk-terror-network-to-fuel-pro-khalistan-sentiments-sources/article65416775.ece |access-date=23 March 2023 |website=www.thehindubusinessline.com |language=en}}</ref>