'Promoting Hatred': India Condemns Resolution in US' Connecticut Recognising 'Sikh Independence'

Delhi has been highly critical of any support for a separate Sikh state, with many such calls emanating from Sikh diaspora present in the US and Canada. A Sikh secessionist insurgency in India in the 1990s resulted in hundreds of deaths.

The Indian government has condemned a resolution passed in the Connecticut State Legislature, which recognised 29 April as “anniversary of the declaration of Sikh Independence”.

“This is an attempt by some mischievous elements to use the name of Assembly for their nefarious purposes. These vested interests seek to divide communities and promote bigotry and hatred,” the Consulate General of India, New York, said in a statement on Sunday.

The Indian mission further remarked that the “agenda of violence” has no place in democratic societies like the India and the US.

The statement added that the Indian authorities would take up the matter with concerned American lawmakers.

The controversial resolution was introduced in the State Assembly, which comprises the House of Representatives and the Senate, by a group of Democratic Party senators as well as representatives.

Both the houses of the state Congress are controlled by Democrats.

“Be it hereby known to all that: The Connecticut General Assembly offers its sincerest congratulations to the World Sikh Parliament in recognition of the 36th anniversary of the declaration of the Sikh independence,” it reads.

The resolution bears the signatures of President pro-tempore Martin Looney and Speaker of House of Representatives Matthew Ritter.

“We join with you, your friends and your family in commemorating the historic resolution passed on April 29th, 1986, by the collective Sikh nation gathering, known as ‘Sarbat Khalsa’, situated in the holy city of Amritsar,” the resolution goes on to declare.

The World Sikh Parliament is a US-headquartered advocacy group which advocates for a separate Sikh state, or Khalistan, in place of the Indian state of Punjab.

At a press conference after the resolution cleared the state legislature, members of the World Sikh Parliament vowed to “continue efforts” for an independent Sikh state.

“The World Sikh Parliament will be at the forefront of Khalistani Independence movement wherever it takes place across the world. We will expose the hollowness of Indian democracy,” they said.

The Connecticut resolution has been criticised across the political spectrum in India.

R.P. Singh, a spokesperson from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), remarked on Sunday that the resolution is tantamount to “open support” for an “independent” Khalistan state within India.

Senior Indian parliamentarian Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is also a spokesperson of the federal opposition party Congress, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to “recognise Texas as part of Mexico”.

“Explain to them in the language they understand,” Singhvi remarked in a social media post.