Australian Hindus: Stop whitewashing pro-Khalistan activities

By Girish Linganna | First Published Jun 14, 2023, 9:51 AM IST

It is pretty obvious that the pro-Khalistani elements are having a free run in Australia. The recent attack on Australian Hindus by sword-wielding Khalistanis is proof of that. Also despite concerns expressed by the Indian government and assurances from Australia, the Khalistan referendum was held in Sydney. Girish Linganna reports

Pro-Khalistan separatists received a setback last Sunday (June 4, 2023) after five venues refused to allow their premises to be used for the so-called 'Sydney Referendum'. The event was eventually held at a construction site. The Khalistanis claimed a huge turnout and attempts by some Hindus to disrupt the proceedings. They said the police present at the venue turned away these Hindus and voting went on peacefully throughout the day. In reality, however, attendance was low. And that too, was mostly the same set who had attended an earlier Melbourne rally where tensions ran high.

The so-called ‘Punjab independence referendum’ in Melbourne had ended in two separate tussles between sword-wielding Khalistani activists and pro-India demonstrators -- many of them Hindus -- in the coastal capital of Australia’s southeastern state of Victoria. Two persons were injured and many Sikhs were detained.

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Non-resident Sikhs in Australia, with their secessionist agenda of forming an independent Khalistan in Punjab, have been holding a series of ‘referendums on the issue under the garb of the worldwide organization, Sikhs for Justice.

The Griffith Sikh Games

A week before the June 4 event, the Australian Hindu community alerted the police and Council that the Griffith Sikh Games on June 10-11 might raise anti-India flags and put up anti-Hindu posters and slogans. The Council was handed over the letter with the details of Australian Hindu concerns to ensure that no such things happened since this was a safety issue.

The Council and the police acknowledged the concerns and assured them that no such thing would be allowed to take place. They also advised them that, if any community members witnessed such things, they should immediately raise it with the police.

On June 10, the Australian Hindu community witnessed flags at the Griffith Sikh Games and their social media pages also posted videos of Khalistani flags and posters. The Australian Hindu community and Australian Hindu Association (AHA) members raised concerns with the police yet again.

But, surprisingly, the police seemed not to care and ignored their concerns. A largely-disappointed Australian Hindu community planned to hold a Tiranga rally on June 11. On the day, around 8 am, the Australian Hindu community handed over their rally route at the Griffith police station. About 25-28 cars joined the Tiranga rally.

About 30 Hindus took part in the rally. Each car had Tiranga flags tied to the rear passenger seat window. Around 10.30 am, after the convoy of cars had left the Griffith police station car park, five cars were attacked near Clifton Boulevard, Griffith near the place where the Shaheedi Tournament event was to take place.

Around 10.40 am, attackers smashed the cars of the Tiranaga rally, shattered their windscreens, side windows and rear-view mirrors and dented the rear doors with swords and heavy metal rods. This incident happened in front of a passive police force and bystanders present at the spot. While all this was happening, the police stopped the Tiranga cars from behind, took away their flags and asked them to take another route.

No attackers were arrested. When the Australian Hindu community, along with AHA members, approached Griffith police station to lodge a report, the police, initially, were hesitant to take any action. In fact, they turned on the Tiranga rally participants and questioned their intentions behind holding the rally. Their initial response was as surprising as it was ineffectual. Later, however, they were constrained to take down the statements of the car rally participants whose cars had been attacked.

The Australian Hindu Media took to Twitter to appeal: "An appeal by Australian Hindus in Griffith whose cars were attacked by sword-wielding Khalistanis today. The attacks took place in full view of @nswpolice. Yet another attack on Hindus and still no arrests."

Not a Sikh-Hindu Conflict: AHA

The Australian Hindus Association called out the state-owned media for whitewashing pro-Khalistani activities in Australia. Speaking to the online news portal OpIndia, AHA president Amendra Singh said, "The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), another state-owned broadcaster, have a history of being propaganda mouthpieces for anti-Indian and anti-Hindu causes, such as the Khalistan movement."

Singh further pointed out that a recent report on ABC by journalist Stephen Dziedzic had sidelined the concerns of the AHA and Indians living in the country. Dziedzic had extensively quoted members of a dubious, non-registered organization named the ‘Sovereign Sikh Society’, which justified Referendum 2020.

The report also skipped the known links of the Khalistan movement to violence and terror. The report spoke of the so-called tension flaring up among Sikhs and Hindus living in Australia in the wake of the voting designed to build “political support for an independent Sikh state in India”.

While the report mentioned that the so-called referendum has no legal standing, it failed to explain why the recent Sydney voting was held at a construction site. Interestingly, local Hindus -- mainly the AHA -- and the Government of India raised objections to the rising Khalistani elements in Australia.

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