Editing Khalistan movement (section)

==== Council of Khalistan ====
After returning to India in 1977, Chohan travelled to Britain in 1979. There, he would establish the [[Council of Khalistan]],<ref>{{cite news |first=Jo |last=Thomas |title=London Sikh Assumes Role of Exile Chief |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/14/world/london-sikh-assumes-role-of-exile-chief.html |work=The New York Times |date=14 June 1984 |language=en |access-date=24 October 2018 |archive-date=24 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024074249/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/14/world/london-sikh-assumes-role-of-exile-chief.html |url-status=live }}</ref> declaring its formation at [[Anandpur Sahib]] on 12 April 1980. Chohan designated himself as President of the Council and Balbir Singh Sandhu as its Secretary General.

In May 1980, Chohan travelled to [[London]] to announce the formation of Khalistan. A similar announcement was made in [[Amritsar]] by Sandhu, who released stamps and currency of Khalistan. Operating from a building termed "Khalistan House", Chohan named a Cabinet and declared himself president of the "Republic of Khalistan," issuing symbolic Khalistan 'passports,' 'postage stamps,' and 'Khalistan dollars.' Moreover, embassies in Britain and other European countries were opened by Chohan.<ref name="NYT_Chohan_Dies" /> It is reported that, with the support of a wealthy Californian peach magnate, Chohan opened an Ecuadorian bank account to further support his operation.<ref name=":2" /> As well as maintaining contacts among various groups in Canada, the US, and Germany, Chohan kept in contact with the Sikh leader [[Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale]] who was campaigning for a [[Theocracy|theocratic]] Sikh homeland.<ref name="NYT_Chohan_Dies"/>

The globalized Sikh diaspora invested efforts and resources for Khalistan, but the Khalistan movement remained nearly invisible on the global political scene until the Operation Blue Star of June 1984.{{sfnp|Fair, Diaspora Involvement in Insurgencies|2005|p=135}}