The patron saint of the Khalistan movement never gained majority support in Punjab.
> In 1979, Bhindranwale put up forty candidates against the Akali candidates in the SGPC election for a total of 140 seats, winning four seats
He suffered a humiliating loss when trying to gain support of the largest democratic Sikh religious organization.
> keep doubting the premise that these sentiments only exist in the diaspora outside of Punjab.
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/06/29/religion-in-...
Pew is the most respected non-partisan global survey corp, and 95% Sikhs said they were proud to be Indian. There simply isn't a desire for it in India.
> My understanding of the history of tensions within India between Sikhs and the rest of the country is painted based on broad incidents, like the assassinations of leaders, Golden Temple, etc.
That is the wrong way to look at our country. The above incidents are like explosions but don't carry enough information on what has happened. Indian society is passive for far longer than appropriate and at some point a literal straw will break the bull's back. Good observers of the society will give you a full accounting rather than draw - sorry to say - imbecilic, often self serving, conclusions from these massive historic events.
The late VS Naipaul was one such observer. He came and lived here made observations and was open and sincere enough to look as deep as he could, and he was humble enough to unlearn what he had written in earlier works and learn and produce updated works later.
Personally I don't care whether any Canadian or American cares to learn about India or not. Even Khalistanis can happily hold whatever rallies they want in Canada, give ridiculous speeches and vote on any referendum they care about. Maybe Canada will be generous enough to give them an Independent Khalistan, carved out from their own territory.
What Canada should care about, is criminals and malcontents coming into their country, gaming the system to get a citizenship, and then forming organised crime syndicates to bully other peaceful immigrants - and this is still none of my business. But then they go on to coordinate criminal and terrorist activities back in their home country. That is the real threat to Canada's sovereignty. Canada simply needs to police its citizens better than to embark on the impossible task of learning the nuances of every global culture out there.
I will not draw any parallels with Quebec and Canada because that is just not how the world works. Even if you say people will tend to behave in similar ways when put in similar situations, usually you just don't know enough to compare the situations themselves. People love to make up heuristics that can help them make sense of the madness that is our world. It is only an exercise in intellectual arrogance.
I don't think you are insincere. I'm certain that you are a very good person. But there is a certain arrogance in trying to understand things you are not equipped to understand. Not being equipped to understand things is not always a bad thing. And it certainly does not mean that things are always out of your control.
I must admit that I'm not articulate or authoritative to present this myself. I would recommend listening to this conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpa597jg4uY with as much open mindedness as you can muster.
Either ways, as sibling comments have rightfully noted, you are unable to grasp the true psyche of India and Indians. For you to truly understand India, you will have to stop referring to Western publications of India (which are so out of touch with ground reality it is hilarious) and move to India and live her for at least a decade. You will reach the same conclusions as Indians then.
I deserve this call-out. I acknowledge I'm uninformed, and I am attempting to get more informed through the various discussions on this thread.
But it's VERY hard to fact-check a lot of the things being said. Some are leading with obvious bias. You are not. I'm inclined to believe more of what you have to say.
I assure you I am not malicious. I have a great respect for India, Hindus, Sikhs, Punjabs, and Canadians. I have a great disrespect for Narendra Modi and his policies. I do not support terrorism, but I also fall short of saying that non-violent resistance is the only path to liberation. History has vindicated violence as a means to achieve freedom in many contexts.
My understanding of the history of tensions within India between Sikhs and the rest of the country is painted based on broad incidents, like the assassinations of leaders, Golden Temple, etc. I gather my instincts from that.
But for modern perspectives, it is incredibly hard for me from my western bubble to get accurate impartial information or statistics. What percentage of Punjab citizens want independence? What percentage of Punjabi Canadians in the diaspora? What percentage support violence to achieve Khalistan?
I would like to learn.
Many threads have drawn comparisons to Quebec. I moved to Canada as an immigrant in 1995. I was infatuated with the country. And I was immediately confronted with the country's 2nd largest subdivision https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Quebec_referendum coming inches within 0.6% of voting to leave. I was furious. I didn't understand. I spent the next decade of my youth joking to anyone who would hear that "Canada should've kicked Quebec out for the vote being so close. They would have died economically, and they would've crawled back begging."
Then I looked into the actual history of Quebec and Canada. And I understood just how much propaganda and misinformation exists in English-language Canada that mocks Quebecois uniqueness and interests.
And I decided I actually understand why so many Quebecers wanted to separate, but that I wanted them to stay because their uniqueness is vital to the Canadian spirit. I can't imagine what I would think if the history was as violent as it was with Sikhs within India.
Which is why I keep doubting the premise that these sentiments only exist in the diaspora outside of Punjab.