| Summary/Abstract |
The paper looks at the Khalistan movement, amidst the recent hunt
and arrest of radical preacher Amritpal Singh. It studies how the
movement has changed since the campaign for a sovereign Sikh state
went global in the 1970s; and what the demand for Khalistan entails
today. It studies the role the Sikh diaspora in the United Kingdom,
Canada, Australia and the United States has played; and how recent
events, particularly, protests at Indian High Commissions in these
countries reflects the ambivalence of India’s ‘allies’ towards the
separatists. The paper argues that while the nature of the threat posed
by Khalistani separatists is much milder today than it was decades
ago, the challenge for the Indian government will be the influence
of the Sikh diaspora on foreign politicians and New Delhi’s ability to
discredit the movement abroad.
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