On September 23, National Investigation Agency (NIA) confiscated the properties of Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in Sector 15 C Chandigarh. As per reports, the investigation agency has issued a new dossier on the Khalistani terrorist that will be shared with the investigation agencies in other countries. As per the new dossier, Pannun wants to create Khalistan and divide India into multiple parts. There are 16 cases registered against him in different states.
From Khalistan to Urdustan
As per the dossier, Pannun wants to create Khalistan by cutting Punjab and parts of Himachal and other states. Furthermore, he wants to create Urduistan. The dossier noted that Pannun “has challenged the unity and integrity of India by audio messages” and “wants to create a separate country for people of Kashmir… and create a Muslim country”. It added, “wants to seduce the Muslims (and) create a Muslim country that he wants to name as ‘Democratic Republic of Urdustan’, and that he is radicalising people in Jammu and Kashmir to enable the latter’s separation from the Indian Union.”
The concept of Urduistan or Urdustan was floated ahead of Independence Day in 2020. An audio message was received by several media persons in Lucknow and other states in which a male’s voice urged people to protest against the Ram Mandir being constructed in Ayodhya. The person in the message said it was the Modi government’s first step to build Hindu Rastra. He added the temple is being constructed by demolishing the disputed structure, and thus, PM Modi should not be allowed to unfurl the National Flag on Independence Day. The message further supported the demand for Khalistan by Sikhs and demanded Urdustan, a separate nation for Indian Muslims. it appears SFJ made the calls.
“In 1992, they destroyed Babri masjid, and Muslims remained quiet. And then, there were Gujarat killings of Muslims and Muslims remained quiet. They took over Kashmir, and Muslims remained quiet. You cannot keep quiet when somebody is challenging your religious beliefs,” Pannu said.
He insinuated that Khalistan is the birthright of Sikhs and Urduistan is the birthright of Muslims. At that time, he created a website that was blocked in India but still running in other countries. Pannu even showed a map of the proposed ‘Urduistan’. The imaginary country includes Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, UP, Bihar and West Bengal.
Cases registered aginst Pannun
As per the NIA dossier, there are 16 cases registered against him in different states, including Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand.
The dossier noted that Pannun was born in February 1967. His family had migrated from Pakistan to Amritsar in Khankot village in 1947. He is an attorney at law in the US and runs a firm. His organisation, Sikhs For Justice, is a secessionist group that supports the secession of Punjab from India as Khalistan. Pannun was declared a terrorist under UAPA in July 2020.
