Tinderbox independence ‘referendum’ pits NZ Sikhs against Indian govt

Sikh activists advocating for the creation of a separate state within India will hold an unofficial referendum in Auckland next month, following similar events in other countries that have sparked unrest.
The campaigning has also led to alleged retaliation from the Indian government overseas, with one of New Zealand’s Five Eyes partners linking the country to the assassination of a Sikh activist.
Promotional material shared on social media has been advertising a “Khalistan referendum” due to take place on November 17.
The Khalistan movement, which calls for the establishment of a separate Sikh state in India’s Punjab region, has been holding a series of unofficial and non-binding referendums since 2021 to ask diaspora communities whether the proposal should be advanced.
Chris Ogden, an associate professor of global studies at the University of Auckland who specialises in Indian politics, told Newsroom there was “open conflict” between Khalistan supporters and the Indian state in the 1980s, with a series of protests and terror attacks.
The unrest reached a peak in 1984, when Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi ordered military troops to remove one of the Khalistani movement’s leading figures and his followers from the Golden Temple in Amritsar – one of the holiest sites in Sikhism.
The estimated death toll from the operation ranges from the hundreds to the thousands, and Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in retaliation, sparking anti-Sikh riots which killed thousands more.
Dr Ian Hall, an international relations professor and deputy director of Australia’s Griffith Asia Institute, said outward migration from Punjab then took the Khalistan movement out of India and into the diaspora. A recent upsurge in support for the movement appeared to have been spurred by protests over the Indian government’s planned reforms to the farming sector (a major contributor to the Punjab economy) and a breakdown of the regional political order.
“When there’s no dominant party that’s representing mainstream Sikh interests, we start to see these extremes flaring.”
Hall said the series of referendums, organised by US-based group Sikhs for Justice, had been an effective way of holding rallies and drawing the Sikh diaspora into the political debate about a separate state, while “cloaking it in some legitimacy” by the use of the term ‘referendum’.
Referendums have been held in at least six countries, with occasional clashes between pro-Khalistan groups and supporters of the Indian government.
Two people were arrested after skirmishes during a referendum event in Melbourne last year, following a series of vandalism incidents at Hindu temples in the lead-up to the vote (the Khalistan movement denied any involvement).
The Indian government has reacted forcefully to the Khalistan movement, having banned Sikhs for Justice in 2019 for alleged anti-India activities and reportedly encouraged foreign governments to stop the referendums from going ahead.
In June, the ABC revealed Australian Sikhs had allegedly been detained in India over accusations of support for the Khalistan movement, and the families of others had been visited by Indian authorities.
In Canada, Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot and killed outside a Sikh temple last year. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau later said there were “credible allegations” of involvement by “agents of the Government of India”.
American officials also linked an Indian government official to the attempted assassination of another Khalistan leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, earlier this year. The Indian government has strongly denied involvement in the Canadian and US cases.
In October last year, Sikh community advocates in New Zealand called for an independent investigation into alleged Indian interference within the country, which they said “violates the sovereignty of New Zealand and poses a safety risk for Sikhs advocating for the right to self-determination”.
Ogden said the Indian government’s response was a reflection of it becoming “a much bigger, self-confident global player”.
“Other [countries] need it for economic means, diplomatic means, and maybe from that it feels as though it can act beyond the bounds of what it would normally do.”
It also had long-standing fears about the ‘Balkanisation’ of the country into smaller states, which it was seeking to guard against.
Hall said not all Sikhs were supportive of the Khalistan movement, although there was a lack of hard data on exactly how much of the community was in favour.
The high-profile murder and attempted murder cases in Canada and the US would focus a lot of attention on the Khalistan issue, which he hoped would not exacerbate tensions.
Ogden was hopeful the “more tolerant and inclusive” nature of New Zealand society would help protect against any clashes around the Auckland referendum, although that could not be ruled out.
In December 2020, Auckland radio host Harnek Singh was stabbed more than 40 times in the driveway of his home by a group of men opposed to his political and religious views, with differing opinions over the Khalistan movement subsequently mentioned as a potential factor in the attempted murder.
Newsroom contacted several Sikh organisations in New Zealand about the referendum, all of which declined to comment or did not respond.
One group provided the contact number for someone it said was involved in organising the event. Reached by Newsroom, the man said he would call back to answer questions, but did not respond to subsequent messages.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Newsroom it and other government agencies were aware of the planned referendum from material published online.
The ministry had not provided any advice to police or the Government about the event, and there had been no correspondence to or from the Indian government regarding it.
An NZ Police spokesman said police were aware of referendums that had been held overseas, and would continue to be in regular contact with community representatives and organisers to ensure any gatherings here were peaceful.
The Indian High Commission did not respond to a request for comment.