Babbar Khalsa International
Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) is a Sikh nationalist organization that aims to establish an independent state for Sikhs, known as Khalistan, primarily in the Punjab region of India. Founded in the late 1970s, it has its roots in earlier Sikh nationalist movements dating back to the 1920s, and it gained international notoriety following the bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, which resulted in the deaths of 329 people. The organization's activities have drawn significant attention from law enforcement agencies in India, Canada, and other countries, particularly due to its alleged involvement in various violent incidents, including the assassination of Indian political figures and bomb attacks.
BKI is believed to have a presence in several countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany, with headquarters thought to be in Lahore, Pakistan. The group has reportedly received support from Sikh exile communities and possibly the Pakistani government, amidst ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan over regional control. While a significant crackdown in the 1990s severely diminished its influence and led to the deaths of key leaders, remnants of BKI remain active and continue to face arrests in various regions. The organization is viewed with concern by multiple governments, leading to its designation as a terrorist organization in several countries.
Babbar Khalsa International
Summary: Babbar Khalsa International was the political wing of a leading Sikh nationalist movement blamed for what was, at the time, the deadliest attack on a civilian jetliner, the crash of Air India's Flight 182 in 1985 over the North Atlantic en route to Canada, which resulted in 329 casualties. Tracing its roots to the 1920s, Babbar Khalsa was subsequently the target of a crackdown by India, as well as by Canadian authorities investigating the crash of the flight headed for Canada. Babbar Khalsa, thought to be headquartered in Pakistan, is still active, receiving support from Sikh exile communities in Canada, Britain, the United States, and Germany, as well as in Pakistan.
Territory: Punjab (India). Most active members are thought to be members of Sikh communities in Pakistan, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Its headquarters are believed to be in Lahore, Pakistan.
Religious affiliation or political orientation: A political arm of the Sikh religion.
Founded: 1978 (but traces its origins to the 1920s).
Stated goal: Independent nationhood for Sikhs in the form of "Khalistan," or "Land of the Pure," proposed for the Punjab region of India.
Key leader: Wadhawa Singh
Alliances: Believed to receive support from Pakistan government.
Activities:
- Oct. 1984: Sikh bodyguards assassinate Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, evidently in retribution for a deadly government attack by militants who had seized a Sikh shrine in Amritsar several months earlier. Although neither the shrine takeover nor the assassination was specifically blamed on Babbar Khalsa, both incidents heightened nationalist feelings among Sikhs.
- June 23, 1985: In-flight bombing of Air India Flight 182 over the North Atlantic kills 329 aboard. Fifteen years later, on Oct. 27, 2000, Canadian police arrested two alleged BKI operatives, Ajaib Singh Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik, and accused them of responsibility for the mid-air explosion. Their trial ended in March 2005 with not-guilty verdicts.
- Aug. and Oct. 1992: Indian police raids kill leaders Sukhdev Singh Babbar and Talwinder Singh Parmar.
- Aug. 31, 1995: Member of Babbar Khalsa takes blame for assassination of Punjab provincial chief minister Beant Singh in suicide bomb attack.
- May 22, 2005: Bombings of two cinemas in New Delhi where the film "Jo Bole So Nihal" (the title is a Sikh religious phrase) was showing.
Last known status: Although an Indian crackdown on Babbar Khalsa in 1992 dealt a severe blow to the organization, remnants are still active among Sikhs in Pakistan (supported by the Pakistani government) and in exile communities in the UK and Canada. In 2017, the leader of BKI in the US was arrested and convicted of conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack in India. Between 2017 and 2023, several members of BKI continued to be arrested in India and globally, proving the group remained active.
Babbar Khalsa International, an organization dedicated to the formation of an independent state for practitioners of Sikhism in the Punjab region of India, sprang to international attention on June 23, 1985, when it was blamed for downing Air India Flight 182 over the North Atlantic with 329 casualties. It was, at the time, the deadliest bombing of a civilian airliner on record. Canada spent twenty years and $130 million investigating the crime.
On April 30, 2004, the United States put BKI on its official Terrorism Exclusion List. Britain outlawed the group on Feb. 28, 2001, under terms of the UK Terrorism Act of 2000.
Babbar Khalsa was formed in the late 1970s, dedicated to the formation of an independent state,to be called Khalistan in what is now northwestern India (primarily Punjab) for Sikhs. An intense crackdown by the government of India largely shut down Babbar Khalsa in the early 1990s with the deaths of its leaders, Sukhdev Singh Babbar and Talwinder Singh Parmar, in August and October 1992, respectively. Parmar was accused of being the mastermind of the downing of Air India flight 182.
Nevertheless, remnants of Babbar Khalsa remain active among Sikhs living in Pakistan and in Sikh communities in the UK and Canada, particularly. To some extent, Pakistan has provided support for the movement as part of its ongoing quarrel with India over which nation should control the region of Jannu and Kashmir (see separate article in this database).
Who are the Sikhs?
Sikhism (the term stems from the Sanskrit word "shishya," meaning "disciple" or learner) is a monotheistic religion founded in the fifteenth century by Guru Nanak. It borrows key elements from both Islam and Hinduism, and its practitioners are largely restricted to people living in (or with ancestors from) the Punjab region of northwest India.
Sikhism teaches monotheism (unlike the polytheistic Hinduism, the predominant religion in India) and the brotherhood of man. The Sikh deity is a god known by many different names-not unlike Allah of Islam, a single god said to be known by ninety-nine different names. Sikhs also accept some beliefs of Hinduism, notably reincarnation (or the repetitive cycle of birth and death) and karma (the accumulated sum of good and bad deeds). Sikhs believe in the equality of mankind, rejecting the caste system of Hinduism, the dominant religion of India, and thereby giving the religion a political flavor. Most Sikhs believe in a living guru who is a direct descendant of the religion's founder.
Sikh Nationalism
Babbar Khalsa International traces its origins to a Sikh nationalist movement of the 1920s called Babbar Akali that linked an anti-imperialist sentiment among Sikhs returning to Punjab from Canada to opposition to an embedded class of priests who controlled Sikh shrines at the time. Members of the Babbar Akali movement also rejected Gandhi's principles of non-violence to end British rule.
In 1991, the grain-growing region of Punjab recorded over 3,000 civilian deaths in clashes between nationalists and Indian police forces. Since that time, the rate of deaths has fallen sharply, largely due to successes by Indian security forces against extremist groups.
Babbar Khalsa was founded in 1981 in Canada, led by Sukhdev Singh Babbar and Talwinder Singh Parmar. (Canada's large community of Sikhs had also been the source of Sikh nationalism in the 1920s.) In 1992, one of the founders, Parmar, split from the main group. That faction, called Babbar Khalsa (Parmar) is primarily active in Britain, Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland. The original group has chapters in the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland and Pakistan.
The two factions of Babbar Khalsa are among several Sikh nationalist groups. India has accused Pakistan of encouraging these groups and violent terrorist attacks as part of the ongoing struggle between Pakistan and India over control of Jannu and Kashmir. Indian media reports have also asserted that an Islamist fundamentalist group, Lashkar-e-Toiba, acts with Sikh groups under the coordinated direction of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) organization.
Babbar Khalsa remained active in the twenty-first century, reportedly receiving support from the Pakistani government and maintaining vast networks of global ties. In 2017, the leader of Babbar Khalsa in the US was arrested and sentenced to fifteen years in prison for conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack in India. From 2017 to 2023, the Indian government reported the group had become more active, and arrests of members and leaders were frequent in India.
More major incidents
Among the major incidents attributed to Babbar Khalsa in media accounts are:
Mar. 20, 2006: Indian police arrested Paramjeet Singh Bheora, described as BKI's "head of operations," and two accomplices who were accused of planning to establish a base in Delhi. Police said the men arrested had bomb-making gear.
Nov. 19, 2005: Police in Punjab accused three men based in Pakistan with planning bomb attacks in Delhi and in Chandigarh. Police said they also seized explosives, detonators, and a timer, along with ammunition.
May 22, 2005: Bombings of two cinemas in New Delhi where the film "Jo Bole So Nihal" (the title is a Sikh religious phrase) was showing.
2017: US arrests Babbar Khalsa leader and sentences him to fifteen years for planning a terrorist attack in India.
Bibliography
Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist group, Punjab. (2023). South Asia Terrorism Portal. Retrieved Oct. 9, 2023, from
"Chapter FIVE: Diasporas and Their Homelands: Sikhs and Zionists." Global Diaspora. Oxfordshire, UK: Taylor & Francis Ltd. 1997. Online. EBSCO. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tsh&AN=16862313&site=isc-live
Biswas, Bidisha. "Nationalism by Proxy: A Comparison of Social Movements Among Diaspora Sikhs and Hindus." Nationalism & Ethnic Politics 10 (Summer 2004) 27p. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tsh&AN=14572988&site=isc-live
Chima, Jugdep S. "Back to the Future in 2002?: A Model of Sikh Separatism in Punjab." Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 25:1 (Jan. 2002)
Fair, C. Christine. "Diaspora Involvement in Insurgencies: Insights from the Khalistan and Tamil Eelam Movements."
Nationalism & Ethnic Politics 11:1 (Spring 2005) 32p http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tsh&AN=16967891&site=isc-live
Razavy, Maryam. "Sikh Militant Movements in Canada." Terrorism & Political Violence 18:1 (Spring 2006) 15p. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tsh&AN=19540781&site=isc-live