Swaminomics: Why should India not adopt the strategy of America or Israel to deal with Khalistanis?

Swaminathan S Anklesaria Iyer
Political assassinations may become more popular. Mossad’s israel It is praised in India and it is said that similar steps should be taken in India to eliminate national security threats. Last week, Israel killed Yahya Sinwar, who masterminded the October 7 Hamas attack. It was the latest in a list of other assassinations, including that of Hamas political head Ismail Haniya and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon.

‘People die in murders, not ideas’

Most Israelis are happy considering these killings as mere revenge. But Alan Pinkas, a veteran Israeli diplomat, told ‘The Washington Post’, ‘For Israelis, Sinwar is the embodiment of evil, but there should be no doubt about that. Killing him/her will not lead to the destruction or destruction of Hamas or any reduction in its actions. Nor would it represent victory. You can kill persons, but not any idea, whether you like that idea or not.’

When bin Laden was killed, ISIS created a stir

These murders only give birth to new martyrs to further the eternal cycle of vengeance. In the case of small, limited groups like Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda, one murder can close the case. However, the ideas related to it have been reborn in the form of ISIS. Millions of supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah are dedicated to an idea they hold sacred. Killing their leaders will not kill that idea. There are lessons for India in this. India abhors the idea of ​​Khalistan, but it attracts a section of Sikhs, especially in the diaspora.

What should be the stance on the issue of Khalistan?

Political and financial support for Khalistan has come generously from Canadian Sikhs. India has long been demanding the extradition of 26 Canadians whom it considers linked to Khalistani terrorism, but to no avail. Demanding secession is legitimate politics in Western democracies, whereas in India secession is considered a crime. Canada has a separatist party, the Québécois. Rather than banning it as a threat to national security, Canada allows it to campaign for secession. Spain’s Catalonia province has a separatist party that contested and won elections.

France has long tolerated a separatist party in Corsica. Britain has formally given Scotland and Wales permission to secede if they wish to do so. Not only this, Scotland came close to this in the 2014 referendum. The NDA government believes that the previous Congress governments were too soft on foreign support to terrorists in Kashmir and Punjab. Many Indians have also long admired the Mossad’s ability to attack enemies around the world and want India to follow the same path.

Canada could not provide evidence in Nijjar’s murder

Canadian police claim they have ‘conclusive’ evidence showing that Indian diplomats worked with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to murder Canadian Khalistan supporter Hardeep Singh Nijjar. A top US national security expert who has worked in previous governments told this columnist that Canada has shared phone and text intercepts with the Indian and US governments that cement the case. All this comes under the scope of claims and counter claims. India says Canada has not provided any evidence. Citing Justin Trudeau’s testimony, he/she said Canada had no ‘concrete evidence’.

America’s support in action against Vikas Yadav

However, Canada could use another case, which is in US court documents, about former RAW agent Vikas Yadav. he/she is accused of asking Nikhil Gupta to hire a hitman to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, a Khalistani. The plot seems ridiculously absurd. The alleged hitman who got the contract for this work turned out to be an American intelligence officer. India has dismissed Vikas Yadav and is cooperating with the US investigation and action.

America itself failed to act

Although the government has denied hiring anyone for assassinations abroad, India’s social media shows overwhelming support for eliminating enemies. America tried to assassinate Cuban President Fidel Castro several times and hired hitmen from the American mafia for this work. Many Indians feel that now that India is a rising global power, it should do what the US and Israel have been doing for a long time. Why follow a policy that has been exposed as a failed policy? Killing Castro proved difficult and the US failed again and again. Even if he/she had been killed, Cuban communism would not have ended.

What the former heads of the Israeli agency said

Murders quench the thirst for blood, but further intensify the vicious cycle of murders and counter-murders. Hollywood director Steven Spielberg’s film ‘Munich’ featured the Mossad’s assassination of Arab terrorists who killed 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The film ends without a sense of victory, only that the killings will lead to more violence. Another award-winning documentary, ‘The Gatekeepers’, interviewed the former heads of Israel’s intelligence agency Shin Bet. Each former chief said that killings and repression cannot bring lasting peace, only political negotiations can.

What is the lesson for India?

Trying to eliminate Khalistanis abroad is a bad idea. This is not only for moral reasons but also for practical reasons. Even if such killings are successful, they will create new martyrs. Apart from this nothing will be achieved. The demand for Khalistan must be countered by convincing Sikhs that India is a place where they will be treated fairly and can prosper. The dream of Khalistan did not end with the murder of Khalistan leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. This dream cannot end even by the killing of small Khalistanis abroad. Forget moral exhortations from Canada or America. Instead, pay attention to the words of former Shin Bet heads. The battle for people’s hearts and minds cannot be won by murder.