Federation chairman accuses India of persecuting Sikhs even beyond its borders

India continues to target Sikhs even outside its borders, Sikh Federation Chairman Bual Moninder Singh said on the sidelines of an international conference in Azerbaijan’s capital city Baku focused on the Indian government’s policies toward minorities.

Speaking to reporters, he said that over the past three years, incidents of violence against Sikhs have been recorded in the United Kingdom and Canada, including killings carried out by Indian agents, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

According to Singh, the current situation is part of a long-standing pattern of repression dating back decades.

“This is a continuation of the systemic violence that Sikhs and other minorities have faced for over 70 years, since 1947,” he said.

The Sikh Federation chairman thanked the Azerbaijani side for its hospitality and praised the organisation of the event, stressing the importance of international solidarity and cooperation among non-governmental organisations, including at UN venues.

“We are not here to flee violence, but to confront it,” Singh said, adding that Sikhs want to be heard not as victims, but as people who have been defending their rights and freedom for decades.

He said Sikhs stand in solidarity with other ethnic minorities in India — including Dalits, Nagas and Christians — who, he said, also face systemic violence.

Singh stressed the need to draw the international community’s attention to issues of freedom and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities in India, including Muslims, Christians and Dalits.

By Sabina Mammadli