What is Khalistan and Khalistan movement ????

Khalistan movement is a separatist movement for demanding a new state as homeland for Sikhs by establishing an independent state separated from India, called Khālistān..........

Khalistan Movement - Understanding

The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing a sovereign state, called Khalistān in the Punjab Region. Such a state existed in Punjab from 1709 to 1849.

• To strengthen Sikhism, a small group of prominent Sikhs led by Thakur Singh Sandhawalia and Giani Gian Singh founded the Singh Sabha of Amritsar on October 1, 1873.

• The aim of the Singh Sabha movement was to propagate the Sikh religion to its former glory and bring back into the Sikh fold the apostates who had converted to other religions. At the time of its founding in the 1870s, the Singh Sabha policy was to avoid criticism of other religions and political matters.

• The Sabha intended to restore Sikhism to its former purity, to publish historical religious books, magazines, and journals, to disseminate knowledge in Punjabi, to reintroduce Sikh apostates to their original faith, and to involve highly placed Englishmen in the Sikh educational program.

• The Akali movement, also called the Gurdwara Reform Movement, was a campaign to bring reform in the gurdwaras in India during the early 1920s.

• The above two movements have risen Sikh nationalism and through Khalsa schools propagating Sikh nationalism became easy and events afters independence have strengthened the claim of Khalistan.

1947 Partition of India –Independence of India was not a joyful event for Sikhs, partition left Sikhs in a lot of discontentment with regard to their traditional lands being lost to Pakistan and also a mass exodus of immigrants from Pakistan.

Punjabi Suba movement – A movement was initiated in 1955 under Akali Dal a Sikh dominated political party. It sought re-organization of Punjab along linguist lines, seeking division of the state into Punjabi and non-Punjabi speaking areas. After a series of violent protests movement resulted in the tri-furcation of Punjab into Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh.

Anandpur sahib revolution- reignited the passion of Sikhs and sowed the seeds of the Khalistan movement. The resolution demanded autonomy for the state of Punjab, identified regions that would be part of a separate state, and sought the right to frame its own internal constitution.

Demand of Khalistan

Jagjit Singh Chohan (1929 – 4 April 2007) was the founder of the Khalistan Movement that sought to create an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region of Indian subcontinent.

• Jagjit Singh chohan visited Pakistan in 1971 visiting nankana sahib and several grudwara's in pakistan Chohan utilized the opportunity to spread the notion of an independent Sikh state. Widely publicized by Pakistani press, the extensive coverage of his remarks introduced the international community, including those in India, to the demand of Khalistan for the first time.

• After returning to India in 1977, Chohan travelled to Britain in 1979. There, he would establish the Khalistan National Council,[45] declaring its formation at Anandpur Sahib on 12 April 1980. Chohan designated himself as President of the Council and Balbir Singh Sandhu as its Secretary General.

• During delhi asian games in 1982 The Akali leaders, having planned to announce a victory for Dharam Yudh Morcha, were outraged by the changes to the agreed-upon settlement. In November 1982, Akali leader Harchand Singh Longowal announced that the party would disrupt the 9th annual Asian Games by sending groups of Akali workers to Delhi to intentionally get arrested.

• As Consequence Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards which resulted into anti sikh riots of Nov 1984 also known as Sikh Genocide. After this all , Insurgency was at peak. Innocent were being killed by militants. In 1992 INC won Punjab Assembly Elections & Beant Singh became CM of Punjab. He ordered to curb militancy under DGP K.P.S. Gill.

• This is all about the demand of khalistan and till now there are some extremists groups who are demanding for a separate independent state for sikh peoples and showing unnecessary aggression against India and Indian government and disturbing communal harmony.