The Khalistan movement is an independence movement seeking to create a separate homeland for Sikhs by establishing an ethno‐religious sovereign state called Khalistan in the Punjab region of India. The proposed boundaries of Khalistan vary between different groups; some suggest the entirety of the Sikh-majority Indian state of Punjab, while larger claims include Pakistani Punjab and other parts of North India such as Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Shimla and Lahore have been proposed as the capital of Khalistan.
Terrorism in India, according to the Home Ministry, poses a significant threat to the people of India. Compared to other countries, India faces a wide range of terror groups. Terrorism found in India includes Islamist terrorism, ultranationalist terrorism, and left-wing terrorism. India is one of the countries most impacted by terrorism.
Dal Khalsa is a radical Sikh organisation, based in the city of Amritsar. The outfit was formed in 1978 by Gajinder Singh, the hijacker of Indian Airlines Flight 423. It came to prominence during Insurgency in Punjab along with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in 1981. Members of the Dal Khalsa have also been accused of the assassination of Lala Jagat Narain. The primary aim of Dal Khalsa is to form a Punjabi Sikh nation state called Khalistan.
The Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) is a Sikh Khalistani militant organisation operating in the state of Punjab, India with prominent members based in Canada, United Kingdom and Pakistan. Its objective is the creation of a Sikh independent state of Khalistan through armed struggle. KCF is also responsible for many assassinations in India, including the 1995 assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. It is designated as a Terrorist Organisation by the Government of India.
The Insurgency in Punjab was an armed campaign by the separatists of the Khalistan movement from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Economic and social pressures driven by the Green Revolution prompted calls for Sikh autonomy and separatism. This movement was initially peaceful, but foreign involvement and political pressures drove a heavy handed response from Indian authorities. The demand for a separate Sikh state gained momentum after the Indian Army's Operation Blue Star in 1984 aimed to flush out militants residing in the Golden Temple in Amritsar, a holy site for Sikhs. Terrorism, police brutality and corruption of the authorities greatly exacerbated a tense situation. By the mid-1980s, the movement had evolved into a militant secessionist crisis due to the perceived indifference of the Indian state in regards to mutual negotiations. Eventually, more effective police and military operations, combined with a policy of rapprochement by the Indian government and the election loss of separatist sympathizers in the 1992 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, largely quelled the rebellion by the mid-1990s.
The Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) is a Khalistani militant organisation operating in the Punjab with prominent members based in Canada, United Kingdom and Pakistan. Its objective is the creation of a sovereign Sikh nation‐state of Khalistan through armed struggle. It is responsible for numerous assassinations, abductions, and military engagements with the Indian Armed Forces during the Insurgency in Punjab. The KLF is also listed as a designated terrorist group by India.
Dhilwan is a town and a nagar panchayat in Kapurthala district in the state of Punjab, India.
Harjinder Singh Jinda was a Sikh freedom fighter and one of the two Sikh Revolutionaries who took revenge by killing Arun Vaidya. He was responsible for three high-profile assassinations: Arjan Dass, Lalit Maken and Gen. Vaidya. He along with other members of Khalistan Commando Force participated in Indian history's biggest bank robbery of ₹ 57 million from Punjab National Bank, Miller Gunj branch, Ludhiana to finance the militancy for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan.
Sukhdev Singh Dhillon, also known as General Labh Singh and Sukha Sipahi was an Indian militant, police officer, and Sikh separatist who took command of the Khalistan Commando Force after its first leader, Manbir Singh Chaheru, was arrested in 1986.
Lalru is a town and a Municipal Council In Mohali District about 30 km from Chandigarh, the capital of both Haryana and Punjab, on the Chandigarh-Ambala National Highway, NH 22. Lalru is having one of the toll tax barriers on this Chandigarh - Delhi National Highway. It is part of Greater Mohali and Chandigarh Capital Region (CCR) or Chandigarh Metropolitan Region (CMR), Which is an area, which includes the union territory city of Chandigarh, and its neighboring cities of Mohali, Zirakpur, New Chandigarh, and Panchkula. Chandigarh Administration, Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) are different authorities responsible for the development of this region.
1986 Muktsar bus massacre was a massacre of 14 Hindu and one Sikh bus-passenger by Khalistani militants. It occurred on 25 July 1986, when a bus was attacked by militants in which 15 people were shot dead in Muktsar in the northern state of Punjab, India.
The 1983 Dhilwan Bus massacre was a massacre of 6 Hindus by Sikh extremists amidst the Insurgency in Punjab. It occurred on 5 October 1983, when a bus going from Dhilwan in Kapurthala district to Jalandhar was attacked by Sikh militants in which six Hindu passengers were shot dead in Dhilwan in the northern state of Punjab, India.
The 1987 Lalru bus massacre was a massacre of 38 Hindu bus passengers on 6 July 1987, by the Khalistan Commando Force militants near Lalru town in Punjab, India.
The following timeline documents the insurgency in Punjab, India:
On 7 July 1987, Khalistani militants killed 34 Hindus on two buses near Fatehabad in the Hisar district of Haryana, India. The same attackers may have been involved in the Lalru bus massacre a day earlier.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is one of the main leaders of the Khalistan movement, which advocates for a religion-based separate state to be split out from Punjab and many neighbouring areas in India, to be known as Khalistan. He is the legal advisor and spokesperson for Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which aims to promote the idea of a separate Sikh state. As of July 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs of India has declared Pannun a terrorist on the grounds of sedition and secessionism, and has requested an Interpol red notice for him.
Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) is a militant outfit of the Khalistan movement. In February 2023, it was designated as a terrorist organization by the Government of India.
