International experts expose systemic violence against Sikhs in India

The issue of violence in India and the Sikh struggle is not merely an internal matter and will have consequences for the future of the region and the wider world, Warring Prabhjot Singh, legal counsel for the Sikh Federation, said at an international conference held in Baku.

Speaking at the conference titled “Racism and Violence Against Sikhs and Other Minorities in India: The Reality on the Ground,” Singh stressed that the international community must address structural injustice and colonial legacies, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

He stated that the global objective should be to eliminate inequality and advance decolonisation.
“International partnership based on mutual respect and justice is an important step on this path, and holding this conference today in Baku is a significant contribution to this process,” he noted.

Singh described the modern Indian state as imperialistic, arguing that it systematically violates the rights of the Sikh community. According to him, Indian authorities seek to strip Sikhs of their civil rights and subject them to oppression and violence whenever Sikh identity is expressed as independent and sovereign.

“This is about the Sikhs' aspiration for sovereignty and the creation of an independent homeland based on the principles of justice and human dignity,” Singh emphasised.

He added that repression is directed not only at individuals but also at the identity, values and collective existence of the Sikh community.

Similar concerns were voiced by Ranveer Singh, operations manager of the UK-based organisation Everything’s 13, who said that India has become a place where innocent people are killed.

Speaking at the same conference on January 16, Singh noted that Sikhs historically emerged not only as a religious or ethnic group, but as a sovereign people. He said that as a result of colonialism, more than two million Sikhs were displaced from their lands, tens of thousands were killed, and Sikh democratic institutions were dismantled.

According to him, India’s new constitution failed to recognise Sikhs as either a separate nation or a distinct religious group. Instead, Sikhs were administratively classified as Hindus and forced into a political framework shaped by Indian nationalist ideology.

Singh cited scholars who argue that this was not a bureaucratic error but a deliberate strategy aimed at weakening Sikh political consciousness and undermining the existence of an independent people, a process that significantly influenced the formation of the Indian state.

He further claimed that India has repeatedly used force against Sikhs, with the objective of eliminating the younger generation, particularly those aged between 15 and 35.

Much of the information about torture and persecution, Singh added, comes from survivor testimonies. “These accounts are horrific and remain a constant source of trauma for Sikhs around the world,” he said, reiterating that India has been a place where innocent people were killed.

By Vugar Khalilov