Is Sikh militancy on a revival mode? This question seems to have been haunting the Union home ministry for quite some time now. The role of ISI in keeping Sikh militancy alive, and radicalisation of Sikh youth in other parts of the world, are something that have become part of the intelligence inputs it receives regularly, but is devoid of any actionable intelligence. So much so that when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in New Delhi last month, the intelligence agencies had no idea how convicted Khalistan separatist Jaspal Atwal landed at the dinner hosted in honor of Trudeau. An embarrassed home ministry then said his name had been struck off the black list as he was no longer perceived as a ''security threat'' which enabled him to travel to India.
The flip flop on revival of Sikh terror has been continuing over the years, with the home ministry receiving regular intelligence inputs saying Pakistan's ISI is trying to foment trouble in Punjab.
The latest are the findings of the home ministry this year which again points towards Sikh commanders based in Pakistan facing pressure from the ISI to carry out its terror plans not only in Punjab but also in other parts of the country.
“Sikh youth are being trained in ISI facilities in Pakistan. Interdiction and interrogations have revealed use of jailed cadres, unemployed youth, criminals and smugglers by Pakistan based Sikh terror groups for facilitating terror attacks ,'' said the home ministry in its 28th report of Committee on Estimates titled 'Çentral Armed Police Forces and Internal Security Challenges' tabled in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
But experts in the security establishment call it ''just a hype'' and feel that the warnings are only to keep the state government and security agencies on their toes.
“The ISI will definitely want to tap Sikh extremist groups. But over the last one decade, there is no real threat of the revival of Sikh militancy,'' said Arun Choudhry, former special director in the Intelligence Bureau.
Choudhry said the kind of Sikh militancy that was there in the 1980s was a real threat and was part of the ISI's K2 plan to bring together Khalistani and Kashmiri terrorists. ''But that isn't happening now nor will the Sikh community allow it. That was a different time when the agrarian Sikhs were being targeted and tapped by the ISI as part of its strategy. But now this type of militancy isn't visible nor viable as there are no takers for it. So how so ever much the ISI may want to do it, it cannot,'' said Choudhry.
However, he agrees with the intelligence community that the security establishment must remain alert and vigilant.
Intelligence officials say that threat from Sikh militant groups remains alive given the role of ISI in tapping outfits like the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), International Sikh Youth Federation and collaborators in European and North American countries to revive Sikh militancy. A security official pointed towards the movement of some operatives from Uttar Pradesh to Nepal and their presence in Goa and Maharashtra which was observed some years back.
At one point in time, an intelligence warning even claimed that a Sikh militant, who was a Canadian national with roots in India, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, arrested and deported from Thailand in 2015, had been coordinating a plan to attack the Dera camps in Punjab and Haryana by ''suicide attackers'' using ''para gliders''. Nijjar was a close associate of Jagtar Singh Tara , chief of Khalistan Tiger Force.
But when Atwal's name was being removed from the blacklist by the government, he wasn't alone. In 2011, the home ministry officially removed names of 142 men, including the heads of various Sikh extremist groups, from its list of persons who had been blacklisted from travelling into the country and other parts. The persons whose names were deleted are believed to be based in countries like Pakistan, the US, Canada, Norway, France and Germany.
What's more, the same year the home ministry also removed names of three persons, who figured in the list of 50 ''most wanted'' persons – these included Lakhbit Singh alias Lakhbir Rode, leader of International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) and nephew of dreaded slain terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Lakhbir Singh. The other names removed from the list were Ranjit Singh alias Manpreet Singh alias Neeta who was heading Khalistan Zindabad Force and Paramjit Singh Panjwar, chief of Khalistan Commando Force (KCF).
The home ministry's move came after the Delhi High Court asked government to review its list of 169 Sikhs who have been blacklisted after a petition claimed that it had led to "unnecessary harassment" to various individuals at different airports and embassies across the world. The move had resulted in the Sikh community thanking the previous UPA government for keeping its concerns in mind and building relations with Sikh NRIs in other countries.