India’s ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu was heckled by stray pro-Khalistan protesters during a visit to a New York gurdwara on Sunday before they were escorted out by mainstream Sikhs.
Pro-Khalistan elements falsely claimed that an “embarrassed and agitated” Sandhu “aborted” his visit and “fled the Hicksville Gurdwara in a haste,” but footage and photographs of the visit clearly showed the ambassador going on to complete his engagement after being welcomed by moderate Sikhs, who constitute a majority of the community.
“Privileged to join the local Sangat, including from Afghanistan, at Guru Nanak Darbar of Long Island in celebrating Gurpurab- listened to Kirtan, spoke about Guru Nanak’s everlasting message of togetherness, unity, & equality, partook langar, and sought blessings for all,” Sandhu tweeted after the visit.
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A 40-second clip of one vocal protester, identified as Himmat Singh, was later posted on social media and played on loop on various platforms.
In the clip, Himmat Singh is heard accusing the Indian government of orchestrating the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was President of Surrey Gurdwara in Canada and the coordinator for Canadian Chapter of the Khalistan Referendum, a charge endorsed without evidence by the Justin Trudeau government in Canada, leading to a rift between New Delhi and Ottawa.
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“I only wanted answers from ambassador Sandhu as to why India is using violence to stop the global Khalistan Referendum voting,” the organization Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) quoted Himmat Singh as saying.
Earlier, in a separate tweet following a visit to the Sri Guru Ravidass Temple in New York, Sandhu quoted the Sikh Guru Nanak’s “timeless message of equality & universal oneness in the well known Shabad of Guru Ravidass — ‘You are me, and I am You— there is no difference between us!'”
Radical Khalistani elements are agitating for a separate state on the basis of “referendums” held in sundry gurudwaras, according to Indian officials.
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Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, SFJ General Counsel, alleges he was the target of an Indian assassination plot foiled by US intelligence, a claim implicitly endorsed by US intelligence sources in leaks to the media.
He stated in a press release that the “American phase” of the “Khalistan Referendum Voting” is going to start from January 28, 2024 in San Francisco, California.”
Such referendums have been held in Canada, UK, and Australia, with unsubstantiated claims of participation by more than 100,000 Sikhs. Indian officials say only a few hundred militant Sikhs, some of whom endorse violent means to achieve their goal, participated in the exercise.
Militant Sikhs have also attacked Indian diplomatic missions in San Francisco and elsewhere and displayed posters identifying Indian diplomats, which they say, threatens the lives of diplomats and their families.
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