Key Takeaways:
- Paramjeet Singh Pamma, a high-profile Sikh activist in the UK, has been advised by police to increase his security due to threats from Hindu nationalist elements.
- The threats are linked to the Indian government, which has been accused of transnational repression and targeting dissidents on UK soil.
- The UK government has been criticized for not taking adequate action to protect Sikh nationalists, despite growing concerns about state threats and repression.
- The Indian government has long been concerned about the Sikh nationalist movement, which campaigns for an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region of India.
- The UK is pursuing a closer relationship with India, despite concerns about human rights and repression.
Introduction to the Threats
The UK police have advised Paramjeet Singh Pamma, a 52-year-old Sikh activist, to install security cameras at his home and reinforce his door locks due to threats from Hindu nationalist elements. Pamma, who is a figure in the Khalistan movement, a campaign for an independent Sikh state, has been visited by police and received verbal advice to increase his security due to intelligence suggesting threats to his safety. The threats are linked to the Indian government, which has been accused of transnational repression and targeting dissidents on UK soil.
The Khalistan Movement and Indian Government Concerns
The Khalistan movement is a campaign for an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region of India, which is outlawed in India. The Indian government has long been concerned about the movement, which it describes as terrorist and a threat to national security. In 1985, Khalistani militants smuggled a bomb onto Air India flight 182, which exploded off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 people on board. Pamma has been reported in Indian media to have previously been a fundraiser for Babbar Khalsa International, which investigators believe was responsible for the bombing. However, Pamma has denied these allegations, calling them "fake propaganda," and has condemned the act of terrorism.
UK Government Response and Criticisms
The UK government has been criticized for not taking adequate action to protect Sikh nationalists, despite growing concerns about state threats and repression. Pamma has accused ministers in the UK of failing to take "relentless" transnational repression by India seriously. The UK is pursuing a closer relationship with India, despite concerns about human rights and repression. The UK has agreed a trade deal with India, which is seen as a key partner to balance China’s growing power. However, this has raised concerns about the UK’s ability to speak out against human rights abuses and repression in India.
Personal Experiences of Threats and Intimidation
Pamma has claimed to have regularly been a victim of threats and intimidation since moving to the UK, including receiving threatening phone calls and visits from individuals who have offered him money to stop his activism. In one incident, visitors came to his home with guns in broad daylight, and in another incident, his family’s car windows were broken, and his children were threatened. Pamma has also been arrested and detained on several occasions, including in 2010, when authorities in Punjab said they suspected him of involvement in a murder, but UK counter-terrorism police could find no evidence against him.
Other Sikh Nationalists Facing Threats
Pamma is not the only Sikh nationalist to have faced threats and intimidation. Gurcharan Singh, a Sikh nationalist activist, has also been told by UK police that they know of credible threats to his safety. Singh has a private security team and receives visits from officers nearly every two months. Another Sikh activist, Avtar Singh Khanda, died suddenly in 2023 after complaining that Indian police were harassing him over the phone and threatening his family in Punjab. A pathologist found that the result of the postmortem did not mean "that a poisoning can be completely excluded."
Conclusion and Concerns
The threats faced by Pamma and other Sikh nationalists raise concerns about the UK government’s ability to protect its citizens from state threats and repression. The UK government has been accused of being too diplomatic and waiting for the right time to use the threats as political leverage, rather than taking action to protect the safety of Sikh nationalists. The high commission of India in London did not respond to a request for comment, and the Indian embassy declined to comment on the allegations. The UK government must take urgent action to protect its citizens and speak out against human rights abuses and repression in India.