Editing Khalistan movement (section)

===Emergence in the diaspora===
According to the 'events outside India' narrative, particularly after 1971, the notion of a sovereign and independent state of Khalistan began to get popularized among Sikhs in [[North America]] and [[Europe]]. One such account is provided by the Khalistan Council which had moorings in [[West London]], where the Khalistan movement is said to have been launched in 1970.{{sfnp|Fair, Diaspora Involvement in Insurgencies|2005|p=134}}

Davinder Singh Parmar migrated to London in 1954. According to Parmar, his first pro-Khalistan meeting was attended by less than 20 people and he was labelled as a madman, receiving only one person's support. Parmar continued his efforts despite the lack of following, eventually raising the Khalistani flag in [[Birmingham]] in the 1970s.{{sfnp|Fair, Diaspora Involvement in Insurgencies|2005|p=135}} In 1969, two years after losing the Punjab Assembly elections, Indian politician [[Jagjit Singh Chohan]] moved to the [[United Kingdom]] to start his campaign for the creation of Khalistan.<ref name="NYT_Chohan_Dies">{{cite news|last=Pandya|first=Haresh|date=11 April 2007|title=Jagjit Singh Chauhan, Sikh Militant Leader in India, Dies at 80|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/world/asia/11chauhan.html|access-date=17 February 2017|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220150041/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/world/asia/11chauhan.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Chohan's proposal included Punjab, Himachal, Haryana, as well as some parts of [[Rajasthan]].<ref name=":2">{{harvp|Axel, The Nation's Tortured Body|2011|pp=101–}}</ref>

Parmar and Chohan met in 1970 and formally announced the Khalistan movement at a London press conference, though being largely dismissed by the community as fanatical fringe without any support.{{sfnp|Fair, Diaspora Involvement in Insurgencies|2005|p=135}}

==== Chohan in Pakistan and US ====
[[File:Pakistan - Punjab - Nankana Sahib.svg|thumb|Location of [[Nankana Sahib]] in [[Punjab, Pakistan]], that was proposed as the capital of Khalistan by ZA Bhutto.]]
Following the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]], Chohan visited [[Pakistan]] as a guest of such leaders as [[Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi|Chaudhuri Zahoor Elahi]]. Visiting [[Nankana Sahib]] and several historical gurdwaras in Pakistan, Chohan utilized the opportunity to spread the notion of an independent Sikh state. Widely publicized by Pakistani press, the extensive coverage of his remarks introduced the international community, including those in India, to the demand of Khalistan for the first time. Though lacking public support, the term ''Khalistan'' became more and more recognizable.{{sfnp|Fair, Diaspora Involvement in Insurgencies|2005|p=135}} According to Chohan, during a talk with Prime Minister [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]] of Pakistan, Bhutto had proposed to make Nankana Sahib the capital of Khalistan.<ref name="ChohanIT">{{cite news|last1=Gupta|first1=Shekhar|last2=Subramanian|first2=Nirupaman|date=15 December 1993|title=You can't get Khalistan through military movement: Jagat Singh Chouhan|language=en|work=India Today|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/interview/story/19931215-you-cant-get-khalistan-through-military-movement-says-jagat-singh-chouhan-811922-1993-12-15|access-date=29 November 2019|archive-date=4 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204070745/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/interview/story/19931215-you-cant-get-khalistan-through-military-movement-says-jagat-singh-chouhan-811922-1993-12-15|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 13 October 1971, visiting the United States at the invitation of his supporters in the [[Sikh diaspora]], Chohan placed an advertisement in the ''[[New York Times]]'' proclaiming an independent Sikh state. Such promotion enabled him to collect millions of dollars from the diaspora,<ref name="NYT_Chohan_Dies" /> eventually leading to charges in India relating to [[sedition]] and other crimes in connection with his separatist activities.

==== 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}}

====Operation Blue Star and impact====
In later disclosures from former special secretary G.B.S. Sidhu of the [[Research and Analysis Wing]] (R&AW), the foreign-intelligence agency of India, R&AW itself helped "build the Khalistan legend," actively participating in the planning of [[Operation Blue Star]]. While posted in [[Ottawa]], Canada in 1976 to look into the "Khalistan problem" among the Sikh diaspora, Sidhu found "nothing amiss" during the three years he was there,<ref name=dulat>{{cite news |last1=Dulat |first1=A. S. |author-link=A. S. Dulat |title=Genesis of tumultuous period in Punjab |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/reviews/story/genesis-of-tumultuous-period-in-punjab-183639 |website=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] |location=Chandigarh, India |access-date=13 June 2021 |date=13 December 2020 |quote=Bhindranwale never raised the demand for Khalistan or went beyond the Akali Anandpur Sahib Resolution, while he himself was prepared for negotiations to the very end. |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624195655/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/reviews/story/genesis-of-tumultuous-period-in-punjab-183639 |url-status=live }}</ref> stating that "Delhi was unnecessarily making a mountain of a molehill where none existed," that the agency created seven posts in West Europe and North America in 1981 to counter non-existent Khalistan activities, and that the deployed officers were "not always familiar with the Sikhs or the Punjab issue."<ref name=dulat/> He described the secessionist movement as a "chimera" until the army operation, after which the insurgency would start.<ref name=dulat/>

According to a ''New York Times'' article written just a few weeks after the operation, "Before the raid on the Golden Temple, neither the Government nor anyone else appeared to put much credence in the Khalistan movement. Mr. Bhindranwale himself said many times that he was not seeking an independent country for Sikhs, merely greater autonomy for Punjab within the Indian Union.... One possible explanation advanced for the Government's raising of the Khalistan question is that it needs to take every opportunity to justify the killing in Amritsar and the invasion of the Sikhs' holiest shrine."<ref name=stevens>{{cite news |last1=Stevens |first1=William K. |title=Punjab Raid: Unanswered Questions |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/19/world/punjab-raid-unanswered-questions.html |access-date=12 June 2021 |work=The News York Times |date=19 June 1984 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205941/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/19/world/punjab-raid-unanswered-questions.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Khushwant Singh had written that "considerable Khalistan sentiment seems to have arisen since the raid on the temple, which many Sikhs, if not most, have taken as a deep offense to their religion and their sensibilities," referring to the drastic change in community sentiments after the army attack.<ref name=stevens/>