London: Three days before India celebrates Independence Day on August 15, a little-known Sikh body will hold a ‘Referendum 2020’ rally at London’s Trafalgar Square on the issue of an independent ‘Khalistan’ on August 12. Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), the organisation behind the ‘Referendum 2020’, hopes that the rally will ultimately pave the way for an actual referendum in India. The call has also divided Sikhs in the UK with critics saying that the rally is misleading and will in no way benefit the community.
According to SFJ, ‘Referendum 2020’ is a campaign “to liberate Punjab, currently occupied by India”. Their website admits that “Referendum 2020 is an unofficial referendum where the outcome is not legally binding on India”.
SFJ has also promised help and assistance for those seeking visas to come to London to attend the rally. The organisation has booked rooms in a hotel in Southall for participants travelling from outside the UK. From Britain’s Green Party, which has a lone MP in Westminster, Caroline Lucas and George Galloway, a former MP and former broadcaster respectively, have registered their support for the rally. “Sikh people have a right to determine for themselves whether they want to establish an independent Punjabi state,” said Lucas.
In a letter, Preet Kaur Gill, the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on UK Sikhs, has cited a prior commitment for her absence from the rally. Gill, who is a Labour MP from Birmingham Edgbaston, said that non-binding referendums “run the risk of lacking credibility, wasting significant resources and building false expectations”.
She also cautioned her constituents that many have been “imprisoned for promoting this idea” in India. This led to an angry response from SFJ, who questioned her commitment to Sikh interests and accused her of spreading fear.
While the call for Khalistan may not have many takers, there is no denying the feeling of injustice and discrimination among the community over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Some community leaders say that it is the lack of justice that facilitates such gatherings allowing it to be used by vested interests. “What will the state of Khalistan look like? It is a recipe for disaster. But it is also true that Sikhs have not got a sense of closure over the killings that we faced,” Rami Ranger, co-chair of the Conservative Friends of India told The Wire.
The rally has got some traction on social media by riding on the separatism wave and also by seeking to draw parallels with events in different parts of Europe. The demand for secession from Spain in Catalonia has been used as an example to draw attention to the legitimate demands for Khalistan. In a promotional video, Galloway has compared Punjab with the position of Scotland within UK.
“They may decide to stay where they are and what they are, they may decide to change that either way just like the people of Scotland have inalienable right to say how and with whom they want to live I believe the Sikh people of the Punjab have that right too,” he said. Galloway is also expected to speak at the rally.
A poster offering sponsorship to students from Pakistan and Afghanistan to attend.
One of the key organisers of ‘Referendum 2020’, Paramjit Singh Pamma, who got political asylum in the UK, is wanted on terror charges in India. The organisers of the rally have also been linked to Pakistani intelligence agencies and it has been is alleged that elements in Pakistan are financing the whole operation. Several Pakistani organisations have also been promoting the event and SFJ has promised to arrange visas and accommodation for students from Pakistan and Afghanistan to attend the protest.
“It is very clear that the funding of this event is coming from Pakistan. These agencies are stroking the angst among the Sikhs against the Indian government over the 1984 events in the hopes that it would break India one day,” said a community leader of a Southall based gurdwara.
“SFJ respects everyone’s stance on Khalistan unlike India, which labels those who seek referendum as terrorists,” said New York-based lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Meanwhile, a counter demonstration has been planned at the same venue few hours before the ‘Referendum 2020’ rally. Despite India’s protests, the UK has maintained that it will not withdraw permission for the event, maintaining that everyone has a right to protest if they act within the law.