Military Periscope :: Babbar Khalsa International

Babbar Khalsa International

Group Name:

Babbar Khalsa International (BKI)

Location/Area of Operation:

India. BKI is believed to also have active branches in Belgium, Canada, Germany, France, Great Britain, Norway, Pakistan, Switzerland and the United States.

Stated Purpose:

Babbar Khalsa seeks to establish the sovereign state of Khalistan in the areas of northern India where Sikhs constitute a majority, including the Punjab and the surrounding regions. Babbar Khalsa has not articulated precise plans for the geographical, political, economic or religious characteristics of its desired state.

Strength:

Unknown

External Aid and Links:

Branches of BKI are located in Pakistan and several European and North American countries. India accuses Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency of supporting BKI and fomenting Sikh terrorism. Some reports suggested the ISI unsuccessfully tried to help the BKI establish bases in China.

As reported by the Hindu, Indian intelligence reports suggest that as early as 2001 the ISI helped form a joint committee in Germany to coordinate the activities of major terrorist organizations abroad: the International Sikh Youth Federation, Babbar Khalsa International and Kamagata Maru Dal of Khalistan along with other, smaller organizations.

The Hindu also reports that the BKI has connections with Dawood Ibrahim, a fugitive Indian underworld kingpin in Karachi. Ibrahim's gang was reportedly involved in the BKI's 1995 assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.

Sikh cells gather funds from overseas Sikh communities. A variety of international organizations lobbying for the Sikh cause have been formed, including the World Sikh Organization and the International Sikh Youth Federation. The funds are used for the BKI and other Sikh militant groups in Khalistan, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

Activities:

The BKI has conducted terrorist attacks against the Indian majority. Although the group has been relatively quiet since the mid-1990s, the group appears to have undergone a revival of sorts. Since 2005, Indian police have arrested more than 100 BKI members and made numerous seizures of weapons and explosives. Regardless, violence in Punjuab is down 95 percent since 1991, when 3,300 civilians died.

Overview:

Sukhdev Singh Babbar and Talwinder Singh Parmar were the founding members of the BKI organization. Parmar later broke off to form another Sikh separatist group; Babbar was killed by police in 1992.

Babbar Khalsa was at its strongest in the early- to mid-1980s, mirroring a groundswell of Sikh nationalism. A police crackdown on Sikh militants and the death of Babbar in 1992 largely subdued the group.

Wadhwa Singh is believed to be the current leader, and Mehal Singh his deputy. Both men are believed to be hiding in Pakistan. India has requested their extradition. Wadhwa Singh's son-in-law Satnam Singh Malian operates from Germany, according to a report from the South Asia Terrorism Portal.

Group Chronology:

1978

Babbar Khalsa was formed.

1984

June 6: Around 800 Sikh militants and 200 soldiers died when Indian troops stormed the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the Sikhs' holiest shrine.

Oct. 31: Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. The Sikhs were said to be acting in retaliation for the storming of the Sikh Golden Temple in June.

1985

June 23: Air India Flight 182 crashed off the coast of Ireland after a bomb exploded on board. All 329 people aboard the plane were killed. A second bomb exploded in Tokyo's Narita airport the same day. The bag containing the bomb was being transferred to another Air India flight. Both bombs were believed to have originated in Vancouver, Canada. Members of the Babbar Khalsa Society in Canada were blamed for the bombings.

1992

Aug. 9: Indian police ambushed and killed Babbar Khalsa leader Sukhdev Singh Babbar near Sahnewal.

Oct. 15: Talwinder Singh Parmar was killed in Punjab during an encounter with Indian police.

1995

Aug. 31: Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh was assassinated at the offices of the civil secretariat in Chandigarh. Singh was known for his hard-line approach to the Sikhs. BKI militants were blamed for the murder.

2004

Jan. 22: BKI members Jagtar Singh Hawara (BKI chief of Indian operations), Jagtar Singh Tara and Paramjit Singh escaped from the Burail high-security prison in Chandigarh. The three were serving time for the assassination of Beant Singh.

2005

May 22: Bombs exploded in two Delhi cinemas showing the movie "Jo Bole So Nihaal" ("Blessed is the One"), which many Sikhs found offensive. One person died and 49 were injured in the bombings.

June 8: Police capture Jagtar Singh Hawara and another BKI member in a raid in a suburb of New Delhi. Paramjeet Singh Bheora later replaced Hawara as BKI chief of Indian operations.

Nov. 19: Police foiled a suspected BKI attack in Chandigarh and Delhi, arresting three members and seizing bomb materials and ammunition in their possession.

2006

March 20: Paramjeet Singh Bheora and two other BKI members were arrested in Delhi.

2007

July 27: A special court in Chandigarh convicted six BKI members on charges related to the 1995 assassination of Beant Singh. Those convicted included Jagtar Singh Hawara, Balwant Singh, Shamsher Singh, Lakhwinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Naseeb Singh.

Dec. 13: An attempt to assassinate three sect chiefs in Punjab was foiled by police. The senior three BKI members were arrested and two explosive devices recovered. The police also seized bomb-making materials. Twelve other BKI members escaped, according to police.

2008

Jan. 4: Police in Delhi foiled an attack on a Ropar-based religious leader by arresting four BKI militants.

Last Updated:

November 2008