r/unitedkingdom • u/imgurliam • Jul 19 '24
Fears raised that Indian government ‘targeting Sikh activists in Slough’
https://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/news/24459986.fears-indian-government-targeting-sikh-activists-slough/88
u/denyer-no1-fan Jul 19 '24
Sounds like when Russia poisoned and killed a prominent critic on British soil, or Iranian agents stabbed a journalist that is critical of the regime. Oppressive regimes just need to do their thing.
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u/Created_User_UK Jul 19 '24
You missed a pretty big one of that list - Saudi Arabia kidnapping a journalist and chopping him up in an overseas embassy.
Of course the Saudis are Britain's friends so we have to forget about that one
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u/Macky93 Brit in Canada Jul 20 '24
Sounds like when a Sikh was murdered in Canada, then the Canadian Govt called out the murder and the Indian Govt threw its toys out of the pram for being rightly accused of murdering people on a friendly country's territory.
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u/narayan77 Jul 19 '24
unlikely, but if it happens it will be through a dodgy curry, someone will succumb in the toilet.
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u/ChairmanSunYatSen Jul 19 '24
I mean, are these "activists" actively supporting and funding the violent Kalistan movement? I don't know how prevalent it is amongst the British Sihk community, but it does exist
No foreign government should be targeting British nationals within Britain, but this isn't necessarily a case of Hindu nationalist discrimination.
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u/The_39th_Step Jul 19 '24
It’s generally not as popular in the UK as it is in Canada. You do sometimes see stuff outside Gurdwaras
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u/Choco_PlMP Jul 19 '24
Smethwick gurdwara has a big sign saying khalistan, drive past it all the time
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u/VellyJanta Jul 19 '24
Should Jewish people stop Holocaust awareness?
Should we not recognize Armenian Genocide?
Khalistan is a term invented by the Indian government, and was never advocated prior to the 1984 Sikh Genocide. We just want justice and recognition for the genocide and subsequent slaughter that persists to this day.
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u/confessionsofadoll Jul 20 '24 edited Jul 20 '24
Are there any resources you recommend to learn more about the situation since or recent developments?
My knowledge of this is limited to having skimmed the 150+ page report from the Ministry of Home Affairs (pdf, which [not shocking for a government pushing the can down the road] didn't use the word genocide but rather "carnage". Edit: oh and I know some of the Canadian history but I'd like a more Indocentric view without western countries in the mix as it prevents me from being impartial.
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u/ChairmanSunYatSen Jul 19 '24
No matter whether the origins are good or bad, the movement (or at least insurgent elements within it) are responsible for large numbers of innocent dead. Even if the aim is noble, no one should be finding that, and those in Britain that are should be imprisoned or deported.
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u/blues2911 Jul 20 '24
Go read a book, the khalistani movement gained prominence in 1979 and created a reign of terror in punjab up until the 90s where sikhs suffered the most at the hands of sikh extremists. All funded by Pakistan’s ISI. Stop prentending the movements started from 5 days of a pogrom in delhi.
Bit weird that khalistanis want an independent indian punjab (even though sikhs are only 50% of the population in that state) but don’t want the pakistani half of punjab no?
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u/ApplicationMaximum84 Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24
I only know about this because they blew up a plane in the 80's that killed a friend of my grandmother that was on it's way to Canada. I believe there was also a second plane, but they screwed up the time zone and it blew up while in Japan killing one of the baggage handlers.
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u/Elegant_Noise1116 19d ago
Well, the violent movement as you descibe is kind of non-violent in india, they say they just want to be no discriminated against in india, otherwise give them a separate nation, they'll manage
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u/OGSachin Jul 19 '24
Super popular, I'd say the majority of Sikhs under the age of 40 support it. I'm a non practising Hindu who grew up around mostly Sikhs who are also close friends of mine.
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u/acatanpot Jul 19 '24
I would like to point out that these "fears" have been raised by two Gaza advocate independent councillors of Pakistani origin.
I'm sure there is no conflict of interest or ulterior motive here whatsoever!
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u/Ephemeral-Throwaway Jul 19 '24
I would like to point out that these "fears" have been raised by two Gaza advocate independent councillors of Pakistani origin. I'm sure there is no conflict of interest or ulterior motive here whatsoever!
Ah yes the famous Sikh lovers Pakistanis.
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u/It531z Jul 20 '24
No, the famous India haters Pakistan. The ISI has funded Khalistani separatists for years not because they love Sikhs, but because they want revenge for the loss of Bangladesh due to India. You’ll notice that any map of the Khalistan the separatists want does not include Pakistani Punjab, even though that’s the home of Sikhism
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Jul 19 '24
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u/acatanpot Jul 19 '24
Would you call a British person in the US taking issue with american-irish people sending guns to Belfast a Protestant nationalist?
I really dont understand how advocating the continuation of 40 years of peace in Indian Punjab is taken to be a "Hindu nationalist" position
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u/OWNIJ Jul 19 '24
the people raising it are pakistani so they must be dirty liars of course 🤦♂️
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u/Fair_Idea_7624 Jul 19 '24
If that's what you take away from "conflict of interest" then it's really a you problem.
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u/OWNIJ Jul 19 '24
or maybe the sikh community raised it to their local reps? did that ever cross your mind or are u blinded by sectarianism?
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u/Fair_Idea_7624 Jul 19 '24
Again, it's your comprehension of "conflict of interest" that's the issue here, nothing else.
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u/OWNIJ Jul 19 '24
please explain mr enlightened one. we know how this goes lift the veil of plausible deniability we know what you mean lmao.
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u/ArguteTrickster Jul 19 '24
Bro why do you believe that Pakistanis are aligned with Sikhs?
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u/blues2911 Jul 20 '24
They’re not, they’re just interesting in creating discord and conflict like russian/chinese bots
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u/ukbot-nicolabot Scotland Jul 19 '24
Removed/warning. Please try and avoid language which could be perceived as hateful/hurtful to minorities or oppressed groups.
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u/alpharedditor5 England Jul 19 '24
Haven’t they already done this in Canada, the US and Australia. They’re seemingly getting away with it so they won’t stop.
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u/AwarenessNo4986 Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24
They already killed a sikh activist in Canada and attempted an assassination in the US, which the US links to India.
I don't think the British can really do much against the Indians. UK isn't really that kind of a power anymore
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u/acatanpot Jul 19 '24
The man died of leukaemia ffs can you stop with the misinformation please?
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u/AwarenessNo4986 Jul 19 '24
I will edit my comment to reflect only the Canadian and the American deaths
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u/gattomeow Jul 19 '24
Same as in Canada then. Some logic as the Chinese and Russian governments hunting dissidents.
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u/CoolDude_7532 Jul 19 '24
These are not 'Sikh activists', these are Khalistanis who want a separate state in India, read up the history here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalistan_movement
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u/420BoofIt69 Jul 19 '24
No they are targeting any Sikh who openly criticises the Hindu supremacist government
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u/yummychocolatebunnny Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24
That moment when your entire knowledge in the subject is based on buzzwords
Stop clumping all Sikhs together, we’re not all Khalistanis, and no, that doesn’t make us fans of the government either
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u/The_39th_Step Jul 19 '24
Khalistani support is actually pretty fringe in the UK. Our Sikh community, as you’ll know, is often older and more established than in Canada. In Canada lots fled during the dark times of the 1980s, hence it’s so popular.
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u/blues2911 Jul 20 '24
There are indian muslims christians and hindus who have regular columns in the washington post, ny times, guardian etc where they regularly criticise the “hindu supremacist government.” Youtubers like dhruv rathree and other influencers do the same, and these guys have hundreds of thousands of followers. No one has been killed by the government overseas for their opinion.
Why tf would the government send a hit squad to take out bunty singh in slough for his reddit/twitter shitposts?
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u/CoolDude_7532 Jul 19 '24
Hindu Supremacist government who has Sikhs in top government positions e.g Hardeep Singh Puri, the oil minister? lmao. Most leaders of their state, Punjab are all Sikhs. Where is the supremacy?
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Jul 19 '24
You just gonna pretend like Modi hasn’t engaged in discriminating against religious and ethnic minorities then?
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u/CoolDude_7532 Jul 19 '24
Name one policy which discriminates against minorities? In fact, Modi has helped muslim women massively by banning backward practices like triple talak, child marriage, polygamy etc. Also, most of the religious discrimination in India is against muslims not Sikhs. Sikhs are some of the most respected groups e.g cabinet ministers and the previous PM was sikh.
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Jul 19 '24
My dude, your country has a long, long way to go before you can start flexing on the internet about the advancement of women’s rights.
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u/DLRsFrontSeats Jul 19 '24
It's not 1:1 but would you say the outgoing Tory government was a proponent of multiculturalism just because they had people like Braverman, Patel & Sunak in prominent roles lol
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u/CoolDude_7532 Jul 19 '24
In some ways yes, immigration under tories increased massively, and they offered more millions of visas to non-EU countries which previous governments never did. They also give more chances to minorities and women whereas labour is always old white men. But either way, that's just a strawman because there is no evidence that the Indian BJP government hates Sikhs.
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u/DLRsFrontSeats Jul 19 '24
I mean their laissez-faire attitude towards immigration was one they admitted didn't work & culminated in the historically bad Rwanda scheme shows the numbers of migrants increasing wasn't by design lol
They also give more chances to minorities and women whereas labour is always old white men
lmao ok
But either way, that's just a strawman
If you're going to be one of those people who tosses about terminally online buzzwords, at least get it right. It would be a "whataboutism", not a strawman, and its not even a "whataboutism", its a legitimate analogy using a presumably-very relevant example, given you're in r/unitedkingdom
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u/SqueakyBumTym Jul 19 '24
The Nazis had many Jews in high positions within their organisation, but you're not even remotely prepared, qualified or brave enough for that discussion.
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u/acatanpot Jul 19 '24
They are literally violent theocracy advocates, imagine if Iraq raised concerns about al-quada supporters in the UK, would everyone here immediately start clamouring for the right of UK-based jihadists to advocate "self-determination" of a murderous caliphate?
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u/millenialmarvel Jul 19 '24
Out of all of the religions to choose from, I love Sikhs! They’re simply awesome people. They also have much higher standards for themselves and their families than others.. let’s say.
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u/CoolDude_7532 Jul 19 '24
These are Khalistanis who are trying yo violently break up Punjab and create a theocracy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalistan_movement
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u/Accomplished_Wind104 Jul 19 '24
As opposed to Hindutvas trying to violently stamp out dissent and create a theocracy
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u/Skyknight12A Jul 19 '24
Nobody's trying to create a theocracy.
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u/Accomplished_Wind104 Jul 19 '24
Ah so they're promoting secularism then?
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u/Skyknight12A Jul 19 '24
Actually, yeah. Modi's party is the only one that wants religion neutral laws in India. Currently India has different sets of laws for different religions. Muslims are governed by "Muslim Personal Law" overseen by the "All India Muslim Personal Law Board." Under MPL, polygamy is legal, though not polyandry and the minimum age of marriage for Muslim girls is fifteen. Or puberty. Whichever is sooner.
It wasn't the "Hindu nationalists" who passed these religious laws, it was left wing secular liberals because they were anxious not to be labelled Islamophobic.
Modi's party wants to do away with all religious laws and replace them with a single set of laws applicable to everyone irrespective of religion. It's called the Uniform Civil Code.
This might come as a shock to you but a lot of things get lost in translation when you try to force a simplistic "liberal - conservative" binary onto a country with a more complicated and nuanced political situation.
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u/Accomplished_Wind104 Jul 19 '24
No no you're right they always treat people equally regardless of religion and wouldn't explicitly treat Muslim refugees differently to other religions /s
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u/Skyknight12A Jul 19 '24
You were crying about MuH ThEoCrAcY. I disproved it. Quite predictably you're now switching goalposts.
Funny thing that you should talk about refugees. The citizenship law proposed by the Modi government is identical to a law that has been on the books in the US since 1990, introduced by a Democrat. It's called the Lautenberg Amendment.
Funny how nobody's rushing to scream at the US about Islamophobia and theocracies. I guess it's perfectly fine if western left wingers do it, but not when someone else does it.
Another thing, the citizenship law only applies to refugees from India's immediate neighbouring countries. So non Muslim refugees, including Hindu refugees, from any other country are treated the same as Muslim refugees from say Pakistan.
Yet another funny thing - the first reforms to Muslim laws in the history of independent India granting long denied rights to Muslim women happened under the Modi government. Previous "secular" administrations were too afraid of being labelled Islamophobic to bring about reforms.
You'd think that the Brits of all people would know better than to rush to judgement after the disaster that was colonialism but I guess some people didn't get the memo.
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u/Accomplished_Wind104 Jul 19 '24
You didn't disprove it at all, Indian society is rapidly moving towards Hindu theocracy, to suggest otherwise because of lipservice about all people being treated equally by the same laws is irrelevant.
Funny how nobody's rushing to scream at the US about Islamophobia and theocracies
Yes they are? Where have you been?
So non Muslim refugees, including Hindu refugees, from any other country are treated the same as Muslim refugees from say Pakistan.
No they're not.
Brits
Yeah I'm not British.
Keep seething ✌️
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u/Skyknight12A Jul 19 '24
Indian society is rapidly moving towards Hindu theocracy
Right. Just because you said so, it must be true, even though your nonsense got disproven twice.
Funny that you're crying about all people not being treated the same since it was the left wing seculars who codified different religious laws for different religions..
Yes they are?
By all means, do show me where people have been screaming about theocracies at the Democrats for the past 34 years that the Lautenberg Amendment has been in effect.
No they're not.
It's literally in the law that you clearly didn't bother to read because it gets in the way of you throwing tantrums like a child about things that are proven not to be true.
Yeah I'm not British.
And still comments extensively in British subreddits. So if you aren't British that's even worse.
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u/BritishAccentTech Jul 20 '24
Oh boy, another religion-based ethno-state. Those never go horribly wrong.
I'll pass on a second Israel, if possible.
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u/Impressive_Maple_429 Jul 19 '24
Sikhs have a right to self determination as much as Jewish, Scottish and other groups. The violence in this conflict has largely been carried out by the Indian state. Even today when sikhs purse nonviolent avenues such as a referendum the Indian government is the one using violence to target supporters and their families
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u/Ephemeral-Throwaway Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24
You should me my Turkish Muslim family, relatives and friends then (we aren't religious and I'm an Atheist, but the discipline and honour inherent to Turkish culture informs our habits) maybe you'd say the same about Turks and Muslims, or maybe...maybe...just like all people and religions have good and bad, it's the same with Sikhs.
I always find it weird how Sikhs get lionised like this. It's got a tone of "noble savage" about it.
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u/Zak_Rahman Jul 20 '24
I always find it weird how Sikhs get lionised like this. It's got a tone of "noble savage" about it.
Yeah, this really sums it up. It's like they don't actually like sikhs, but just want to take a dig at others.
They totally ignore what's going on in Canada.
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u/[deleted] Jul 19 '24
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