India PM Modi's Sikh separatist fight driven by security, politics

FILE PHOTO: A demonstrator uses a microphone as others hold flags and signs as they protest outside India's consulate, a week after Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised the prospect of New Delhi's involvement in the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada September 25, 2023. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier/File Photo

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focussed on combating Sikh separatism, despite its scant support among the country's small religious minority, due to security and political concerns, officials and experts say.

The movement for a Sikh homeland in northern India, crushed decades ago, has burst onto the global stage in recent months as the United States and Canada accused Indian officials of involvement in assassination plots against Sikh separatist leaders in North America.