The Khalistan referendum held in Melbourne was an eye-opening incident for the world. Many Australians saw the aggressive and dangerous side of the so-called peace-loving Khalistani organisations in Australia, which often masquerade as charity organisations. They not only vandalised three big Hindu temples but also brutally attacked Indian protestors for holding Indian Tiranga at Federation Square.
I am one of the eyewitnesses to this drama which unfolded on the referendum day. But what surprised me is that the Indian diaspora in Australia and some in India were criticizing Hindu groups for holding the rally at federation square. Not only that but the Indian diaspora is also being criticised for holding the Indian flag. They even blamed the guys who got injured in an attack by Khalistanis while preventing the disrespect that the Indian flag was receiving. Their arguments are that the Hindu people should not have provoked the aggressive Khalistanis, and should have let the referendum happen. These arguments and verbal attacks on people who chose to stand up against this illegal separatist movement made me recall my history lessons on the Indian independence movement against colonial invaders.
In 150 years of colonial rule in India, millions of Indians lost their lives during the independence movement. One must understand that these people were not trained fighters but innocent civilians who willingly participated to regain their freedom. They knew very well about the dangers of fighting against the armed colonial rulers. Even though they chose to fight in whatever way they could instead of running away or surrendering. Indian history documents many such brave fighters such as Shirishkumar, Bhagat Singh, Khudiram bose, Shivdevi Tomar and many others. Detailed information about these brave people can be found in the book “Saffron Swords” by Manoshi Sinha Rawal and Yogaditya Sinha Rawal.
Within 75 years of Indian Independence, it seems that the consciousness of the Indian Independence struggle is fading away in first-generation overseas Indians (1st members of the family who have travelled outside India). The majority of the Indian diaspora who have benefited from Indian passports now feel that it was pointless to show off the Indian flag at a public place like Federation Square on 29th January 2023. They have been distancing themselves from “Indian/Hindu social safety” issues arising on foreign lands.
It is unsurprising that Khalistanis peddle misleading information about Guru Nanak (Figure 1), the founder of the Sikh sect, as an anti-Hindu, when in fact he and all Sikh gurus, were staunch believers of the supreme Goddess Durga. What is surprising is that a lot of the Indian diasporas, due to intellectual laziness, believe in the Khalistani propaganda. Another misleading idea that is projected is that “all the Sikh gurus were enemies of Brahmins”. The truth, however, is far from it. The Khalistanis will never tell people that the Mohyal Brahmins form the backbone of the Sikh movement throughout its existence.
Another fact that Khalistanis conveniently do not talk about is why Bhindranwale and his militia were killed by the Indian Army. Before and after 1984, when Bhindranwale was killed by the Indian Army, his militia had killed more than 22,000 Hindus and Sikhs all across the world, far greater than what Al Qaeda has killed in its entire existence. Bhindranwale had publicly promised to kill 5,000 Hindus.
The rally with Indian flags only wanted to convey the pain of these Indians of not wanting further partitions and the horrors similar to that of 1947 which caused the death of 3 million people, and thousands more since the rise of Bhindranwale and his cult. Furthermore, Khalistani infiltration into the Sikh community is making the everyday lives of Sikhs miserable as collateral damage towards their hatred of Hindus. The rally exposed this hatred of Khalistanis towards global Sikh and Hindu communities. Many videos by Khalistanis were seen on social media abusing Kikhs celebrating the Indian Republic Day.
Indian diaspora who downplay Indians carrying out flag rallies must understand that they are not only encouraging Khalistanis to bully others but also inviting further trouble for themselves in terms of future public safety. Such absurd reactions by the diaspora will stop Australian policymakers from raising Hindu voices in the Parliament. I would like to request all Indians to revisit their history and take inspiration from it to fight against these evils together. The Khalistani cult has a history of terrorising people across the globe (e.g., the Air India Kanishka bombing, 1989) irrespective of who they are. In this context, they are one of the most significant dangers to the peace in Australian society at large and must be stopped before they become a significant public menace.
