It’s the separatist movement most people have never heard of, but it is at the heart of the very public India- Canada spat ignited by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations that India is behind the assassination of a Sikh activist in British Colombia – charges New Delhi firmly denies. Behind the rhetoric, though, is a desire for Sikh nationhood. And that’s why India is so worried.
Khalistan, as campaigners call this proposed independent homeland, is a crisis of India’s own making. Successive governments have neglected, manipulated and exploited the state of Punjab – traditionally seen as India’s bread- basket – and the Sikhs who
