India, since its inception, has grappled with balancing secu­lar principles and majoritarian religious sentiments. Nehru envi­sioned a secular state, but re­cent decades have shown the erosion of these ide­als in favor of an asser­tive Hindu nationalism, driven by political op­portunism and a desire for Hindu dominance. Arti­cles 15, 16, 25–28, 29, 30, and the Directive Principles of the Indi­an Constitution place a strong em­phasis on equality, secularism, and religious freedom. These virtues of Indian plural society have been under pervasive stress since the emergence of the Rashtriya Sway­amsevak Sangh (RSS) driven Modi Sarkar in India.

In the intricate interplay between secularism and democracy in India, the RSS steadily gained prominence, eventually paving the way for the rise of its political face, the Bharati­ya Janata Party (BJP), with its pecu­liar ideological direction. The rise of the BJP, characterized by its radical ideology and electoral dominance, has changed the course of Indi­an politics. With significant conse­quences for both internal politics and India’s international position, their vision of a “New India” deft­ly blends Hindutva with patriotic fervor and majoritarian Hindu am­bitions. A concerning agenda that targets minorities, including Sikhs, Christians, Muslims, and Dalits, has been brought about by the RSS’s impact on the BJP’s ascent. Reli­gious minorities have continuously endured oppression in India, from the 1984 Gujarat riots to the perse­cution of Sikhs. The Sikh commu­nity is persistently oppressed due to their distinct demand for politi­cal autonomy and a separate coun­try. With the ascent of the Modi-led BJP in 2014, Sikhs faced a new age of discrimination both domes­tically and internationally as they were seen as a danger to India’s “nation-building” endeavours.

A troubling global trend was brought to light in November 2023 when the U.S. Department of Justice revealed a dark scheme hatched by an Indian official to kill an Ameri­can Sikh activist in New York City. The recent assassination of Hard­eep Singh Nijjar, a prominent lead­er in the Khalistan movement, on Canadian soil has drawn signifi­cant attention from the Canadian government, especially following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s direct accusation of the involve­ment of the Modi-led Indian gov­ernment. The fact that the Indian government had previously desig­nated Nijjar as a terrorist connect­ed to the Sikh separatist Khalistan movement emphasizes how seri­ous these accusations are, and his death seems to be more than just a coincidence. According to credible news source The Intercept, RAW has been methodically organizing killings of Sikh and Kashmiri activ­ists who live overseas. According to reports, RAW’s worldwide expan­sion—which was admitted by au­thorities after 2008—has result­ed in a troubling trend of violence that has similarities to terrorism and has been observed in sever­al locations, including Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Pa­ramjit Singh Panjwar, a Sikh sepa­ratist leader who was recently shot dead in Lahore, Pakistan, and Nij­jar both ended up as ‘ most want­ed’ terrorists by India, Sikh activist, Satnam Singh, was assassinated in Quetta. Leading figures champion­ing Sikh heritage, like Baldev Singh and Amarjit Singh, encountered grim fates; Singh mysteriously dis­appeared in Peshawar. In a simi­lar incident, a key Sikh communi­ty member, Jagtar Singh, a leading Sikh activist, Harvinder Singh was killed in Lahore. Active supporters of Sikh culture, such as Ranjit Singh and Sarabjit Singh, faced severe re­pression; Singh received threats in Faisalabad. Likewise, a promi­nent Sikh leader, Avtar Singh, was found dead under suspicious cir­cumstances in Multan. Ardent ad­vocates for Sikh solidarity, includ­ing Gurbachan Singh and Jarnail Singh, encountered harsh crack­downs; Singh faced intimidation in Rawalpindi, which suggests a wor­rying pattern related to RAW’s op­erations. Numerous more incidents show a similar pattern, including more Sikh deaths in Pakistan that are purportedly connected to India.

The persistent threats of assas­sination directed at Mr. Pannun and many other Sikh activists by Indian authorities underscore the growing strain around their lead­ership in the Khalistan Referen­dum movement. In reaction to this movement, the number of extraju­dicial Sikh murders in the diaspo­ra has increased, while in Punjab, those who stand up for their rights are imprisoned, tortured, and de­tained under antiquated laws.

Most conversations about these occurrences have focused on how India is thought to be becoming more autocratic. Given that Nijjar’s extrajudicial death was correctly linked by analysts to a larger pat­tern of state-sponsored persecu­tion, Genocide Watch has warned that a massive genocide may be imminent in India. The purported efforts by the Indian government to exterminate foreign nationals on foreign land signify a substan­tial change in its foreign policy strategy and a readiness to engage in international repression.

The world community is left to consider the ramifications of a country determined to carry out international repression and kill its critics on foreign land as India works through these accusations and probes. The political events tak­ing place in India highlight the need for a comprehensive evaluation of the intricate dynamics involved and for a coordinated effort to solve the issues facing minority populations inside and outside of India.

Omay Aimen
The writer frequently contributes to issues concerning national and regional security, focusing on matters having a critical impact on these milieus. She can be reached at omayaimen
333@gmail.com