Sikhs for Justice


Sikhs for Justice is a US-based secessionist group that supports the secession of Punjab from India as Khalistan. Founded and primarily headed by lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, it has numerous other active members. It was banned by India in 2019 as an unlawful association after consultation with major representatives bodies of the Sikh community, which was followed by mass appreciation by the Punjab Government. As of 2019 it campaigns for a Punjab independence referendum to carve out a separate Khalistan as a part of its separatist agenda.

History

Legal proceedings against INC members

In 2011, Sikhs For Justice took Kamal Nath and a few leaders of Indian National Congress to the US court for their role in 1984 anti-Sikh riots, however, the court dismissed the case, saying that the case does not sufficiently "touch and concern" the US. In September 2013, the group filed an amended class action complaint against Sonia Gandhi for protecting members of her party who were involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, but in June 2014, the case was dismissed due to lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. SFJ were going to subpoena Rahul Gandhi as he stated 'some Congressmen were probably involved in 1984 anti-Sikh riots and they have been punished for it.
In February 2014, the group filed human rights violation case against then 13th Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh for his role as finance minister of India in 1990s accusing him of "funding crimes against humanity perpetrated upon the Sikh community in India". They also submitted a report to United Nations Commission on Human Rights on 1984 anti-Sikh riots..

Referendum campaign in Punjab

SFJ started organizing a campaign for 'Referendum 2020' for secession of Punjab state from India. Gurpatwant Singh Panun announced in November 2018 that the SFJ will establish a permanent office in Lahore for facilitating the registration of voters and giving information to Sikhs about it. He also stated that banners regarding the referendum and images of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale had been posted around Nankana Sahib. The group also has at times expressed support for a greater Khalistan whose territory straddles parts of Punjab province of Pakistan and has invited non-Sikhs to register for voting.
Sukhpal Singh Khaira, MLA of Punjab Legislative Assembly and the Leader of Opposition at the time, said, "Sikh Referendum 2020 was a result of consistent policy of bias, discrimination and persecution towards the Sikhs by successive governments in India”, though he clarified that he did not support the referendum. The Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bhartiya Janata party also criticized Sukhpal Singh Khaira for his statement, with former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal also asking the AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal to act against the Punjab LoP.
The Sikh delegation in the United States of America also met the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit in September 2019, to highlight their support of India as one country, espousing the agenda of Sikhs for Justice.

Criminal accusations

As of July 2019, there were 12 criminal cases that were being pursued by Indian agencies namely National Investigation Agency, Punjab Police and Uttarakhand Police who have also arrested 39 people associated with the SFJ in India. In lieu of the activities by SFJ, a red corner notice has also been issued by INTERPOL in October 2019, against Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, and other Khalistani terrorists. According to Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh, SFJ "had unleashed a wave of terror in Punjab in recent years" and deserved to be called a terrorist organisation. He welcomed the decision to ban the SFJ as a step towards protecting India from secessionist and anti-Indian plans of the organisation he described as backed by Pakistan's ISI. Later in January 2020, the Unlawful Activities Act tribunal chaired by Delhi High Court Chief Justice DN Patel sustained the decision of ban on the secessionist group. Citing the evidences presented, as the reason for the decision, the committee said that since the activities of the group were "unlawful", "disruptive" and "threaten the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of India" and SFJ was "working in collusion with anti-India entities and forces", therefore, "the Central Government had sufficient cause to take action under the Unlawful Activities Act for declaring Sikhs For Justice as an unlawful association."
A member of the group was arrested in Malaysia and deported in September 2019. Also, out of the four terrorists arrested in Tarn Taran blast case in Punjab, one revealed that they were tasked to kill the leaders of various Deras in India by Sikhs for Justice. Furthermore, the Kartarpur Corridor that has been opened up for Sikhs, is reportedly being used for Khalistani propaganda by SFJ. The Haryana Police in July 2020 registered a first information report against Pannun for encouraging terrorism, promoting secessionism through automated phone calls and accusing people of Haryana of being against the interests of Punjabis as well as the Sikhs. Meanwhile in Punjab state, Pannun is booked for alleged links with terror modules. Another member Paramjit Singh Pamma also faces a murder charge.

Agenda behind Kartarpur Corridor

, India's initiative for its Sikh and Punjabi population to help them visit one of the most relevant places in Sikh history, was also used by SIkhs for Justice for promoting the secessionist campaign 'Referendum 2020'. The campaign is backed by Pakistan also, which is a close ally of Khalistanis. The pilgrims using Kartarpur Corridor were urged to attend workshops and seminars in Kartarpur on Referendum 2020, arranged by Sikhs for Justice.

Banned in India

Sikhs for Justice was banned on 10 July 2019 by Government of India under Unlawful Activities Act for anti-India activities on 10 July 2019. Another online platform that SFJ planned to use for spreading its propaganda was Google Play, where an application was uploaded for people to register Referendum 2020. The application was reported, and thereafter removed by Google Play Store in November 2019. Its Facebook page had already been blocked from India by the company in 2015.
On 1 July 2020, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was declared as an "individual terrorist" under the same act for promoting secessionism and allegedly encouraging Punjabi Sikh youth to take up arms. The central government via an order of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on the recommendation of the Ministry of Home Affairs on 5 July, banned 40 websites belonging to the group for attracting people to its cause.