India has strongly criticised the recent attacks on its diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom and the United States and desecration of the Indian national flag by pro-Khalistan activists.
However, former Indian diplomats who had dealt with the problem in the past said that even at the height of the Khalistan movement of the 1980s, the Indian national flag or the missions abroad never came under attack by the Punjab separatists.
“There were protests and rallies outside the embassy and consulates by Khalistan supporters in London, New York and elsewhere,” says former Indian diplomat Talmiz Ahmad.
“Though they were often large in number, protests were peaceful and under no circumstances the Indian missions came under attack or the Indian tricolour flying in the premises touched by protestors,” he added.
Ahmad had postings both in the Indian High Commission in London and the Indian Consulate in New York in the early 1980s and 1990s.
The attacks on the Indian missions are part of recent incidents of vandalism by Khalistan supporters in a number of Western countries including Canada, the US, Australia and some European nations.
Attacks on Indian religious places
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the issue with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese when he visited New Delhi recently.
Modi had told Albanese that the regular reports of attacks on the Indian religious places in Australia were a matter of regret and it bothers and disturbs the minds of people in India.
“It is a matter of regret that attacks on temples have been regularly reported in Australia over the past few weeks. It is natural that such news worries the people in India and disturbs our mind,” Modi said.
On Monday, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) deplored the attack on the Indian High Commission in the UK, and said it found unacceptable the indifference of the UK government to the security of Indian diplomatic premises and personnel.
The statement was made after a serious security breach outside the Indian High Commission in London when Khalistan supporters pulled down the Indian national flag from the building’s first-floor balcony and raised pro-Khalistan slogans.
Serious security lapse
The MEA summoned the senior-most British diplomat in New Delhi since the High Commissioner was not in town and demanded an explanation over the serious lapse of security in London that led to the attack on the Indian diplomatic building.
“An explanation was demanded for the complete absence of the British security that allowed these elements to enter the High Commission premises. She was reminded in this regard of the basic obligations of the UK government under the Vienna Convention,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
The MEA urged the UK government to get to the bottom of the security lapse with immediate steps to identify, arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.
But on Monday, the Indian consulate in San Francisco was vandalised by Khalistan supporters.
Indian foreign ministry officials met the US Charge d’Affaires in New Delhi and asked the US administration to take appropriate measures to prevent such incidents.
A similar message was delivered to the US State department by the Indian Embassy in Washington.
Basic duty of host country
“Protecting foreign diplomats and their missions is the basic duty of the host country,” said Ahmad while describing the incidents in London and New York as huge lapses on part of the authorities of the host countries.
The desecration of the national flag is a very serious offence,” Ahmad added.
The former diplomat pointed out that one reason for the lapse could be because the attack took place on a Sunday when the embassy had few people.
But the former diplomat added that there should have been stricter vigil by the local security apparatus.
According to Ahmad, the British and most other governments in the West allowed protests by the Khalistan supporters and other anti-Indian groups to take place as long as they remained peaceful.
“We faced regular protests outside the High Commission and the Consulates during the Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations where a large number of guests were invited,” said Ahmad.
But the protestors always remained outside the premises of the Indian diplomatic missions and there was no violence.
As the situation quietened and stabilised in Punjab, the protests on foreign soil also petered out.
Challenge looms for India
But the British authorities also started taking action against the Khalistan supporters when their rivalry over the control of the Gurdwaras in the UK turned violent and spilled onto the streets.
“It was only then that the British government began to take action against them and deported some leaders,” Ahmad said.
Though there have been reports from a number of countries of attacks and protests by Khalistan supporters, the resurgence seems to have originated from Canada where the Justin Trudeau government had been more sympathetic to them.
Recently it has grabbed headlines but Indian officials are not sure whether to describe it as resurgence or something that is limited to a small group.
The attacks in London and San Francisco come in the wake of Indian authorities' attempt to arrest Amritpal Singh, the leader of a militant group ‘Waris Punjab de’ and referendums for Khalistan—a separate Sikh state -- by breaking away from India, were held in a number of western countries.
Amritpal and his supporters, who had been campaigning for Khalistan, tried to storm a police station in Punjab and attacked the police in their attempts to free some of their leaders from police custody last month.
There have been reports from intelligence agencies that Pakistan was involved in such incidents to foment trouble for India both inside the country and abroad.
The British and American governments have assured India that appropriate steps will be taken to ensure the safety and security of the Indian missions.
But the latest incidents in the West indicate a challenge for India on the horizon.
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