The Sikh fight – freedom or terror?

Khalistan flags flanking Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, where Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot and killed in the parking lot in Surrey, British Columbia. — ©2024 The New York Times Company

IN the months since Canada and the United States accused India of carrying out assassination plots against Sikh separatist leaders on North American soil, a lingering question has hung over the accusations: Why would the Indian government take such a risk?

Inside India, the Sikh cause to carve out a land called Khalistan from the state of Punjab largely fizzled out decades ago. Yet the Indian government still frames the Khalistan movement as a threat to national security – for reasons more mundane but no easier to weed out.