Sikhs Are A Global Stakeholder, Not Simply A 2% Minority
Regional peace and stability are not possible in South Asia without considering the unique vision and role of Sikh sovereignty.
Prabjot Singh
May 2, 2024 | 5 min. read | Opinion
"Our political goal is a sovereign political structure and international order based on Sikh ideals which respects the inherent sovereignty of the Khalsa (patshahi) and remains committed to sarbat da bhala (welfare of all) and gareeb di rakhiya, jarvanay di bhakhiya (protection of the weak, destruction of the tyrants) for all in this broader region, and the world."
Bhai Daljit Singh recently published an important policy document outlining a vision for Khalistan and the future of South Asia. Not only does the document provide important insight into the unique inspiration and political theory of the Sikh struggle, but it confidently grapples with the domestic and geopolitical tensions simmering in the subcontinent today.
In this sense, the document is the first of its kind to address contemporary global realities and proactively articulate a future vision for Sikh sovereignty, the broader South Asian region, and international governance as a whole.
This document is crucial reading for Sikh naujawan, eager to engage in the politics of the Sikh sangarsh (struggle), as well as global policymakers, trying to unravel the mystique of South Asia.
As the US dominance of the global order continues to decline, a number of stakeholders are competing to define and contour the norms and structures of global power in the near future.
While many analysts are predominantly focused on the hard power challenges posed by Russia and China in this context, there is also an important intellectual challenge being posed by Sikh thinkers like Bhai Daljit Singh who urge us to reconceptualize the structures of political power, political community, and the international order altogether.
In the foreign policy realm, the Sikh struggle has once again come to the forefront of global politics and has become one of the primary issues preoccupying Indian relationships with a number of countries since the shahadat (martyrdom) of Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Despite a relative consensus that the Indian subcontinent will be a decisive region in the formulation of the future international order, there are serious debates on how to approach the current BJP-RSS regime and the political future of the region.
While some commentators continue to suggest that India's fixation on repressing advocacy for Khalistan (in Punjab and the diaspora) is purely a domestic "ploy" to galvanize support in the Hindi heartland, the reality is much more nuanced and politically significant.
The assassination of a foreign citizen in a Western metropolis is not done for domestic votes nor is India's constant refrain to repress Sikh activists in global centres something new that emerged with the BJP government in 2014. This priority has been a touchstone of India's foreign policy and its diplomacy with Western officials for years–publicly and behind closed doors.
Going even further, a Washington Post report recently revealed that RAW officers and agents in several countries, including Australia, Germany, and Britain, have quietly faced arrest, expulsion and reprimand over the past few years for their intrusive operations targeting the Sikh community. This is in addition to similar examples that have already been reported regarding similar actions in the US and Canada.
The purpose of these activities unequivocally revolves around repressing Sikh political activism and advocacy–seen as a domestic threat to India.
The overt and clandestine transnational repression of Sikhs is not something simply done for domestic messaging but points to something more substantial identified by Bhai Daljit Singh–and corroborated by former Indian intelligence officials as well as political figures. Sikhs represent a powerful political force in the subcontinent with the latent potential to challenge and overturn the Indian state's grip over the region–and remain the single most effective bulwark against the region's renewal of autocracy, fascism and genocide.
If this trajectory is not challenged, the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues has raised the alarm that "India risks becoming one of the world's main generators of instability, atrocities and violence."
"The history of the subcontinent has demonstrated on numerous occasions... that Sikh resistance and leadership has the potential of boldly stopping oppressors in their tracks and galvanizing transformational mobilizations in response."
This has been demonstrated over the course of the past three hundred years of the subcontinent's history - most clearly in the two specific examples Bhai Daljit Singh points to in India's modern history: resistance to the 1975-1977 Emergency, and the 2020-2021 Farmers' Protest.
Both moments unleashed the political power of Sikh mobilization and represent historic turning points at the time as Indian advances towards centralization and authoritarianism were effectively countered.
The Indian establishment clearly recognizes the concrete threat posed to Indian imperialism by the transformative possibilities of Sikh politics. The inclusive political vision and praxis of Sikh sovereignty, coupled with the explosive grassroots power of Sikh mobilization, has demonstrated its potential to galvanize oppressed peoples and other dissident groups across the subcontinent to challenge Delhi's increasingly autocratic domination and ultimately restructure the region altogether.
In this vein, Bhai Daljit Singh notes that the world's centre of gravity is shifting to South Asia, emphasizing that "the Guru Khalsa Panth and Sikh sangat are key stakeholders" that will shape the future of the region and broader world order.
Given these realities, it is imperative that Sikh diaspora organizations and global policymakers both understand the political significance of the community beyond the caricatures of the "model minority.” An independent, sovereign Khalistan is not only politically viable but also a geopolitical necessity to ensure justice, peace, and regional stability in South Asia today.
Bhai Daljit Singh's full policy document can be read here.
Prabjot Singh is a lawyer and writer who has been involved in Sikh student organizations, panthic jathebandiyan, and grassroots political movements for over fifteen years. He has an MA in South Asian Studies where he focussed on the intellectual history of the Khalistan movement. Prabjot Singh is the Editor of the Panth-Punjab Project and a sevadar of the Khalistan Centre. His ongoing work on Sikh political theory, public policy, and law has been published in a number of platforms based in Punjab as well as the diaspora, including The Guardian, Sikh Shahadat, Bibekgarh Prakashan, Baaz News, and the Manitoba Law Journal.
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