The Modi government’s transnational repression of Sikhs living abroad came under international scrutiny during a high-profile conference organized by the Sikh Federation UK on the sidelines of the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Titled “Countering Indian Transnational Repression: Sikh Resistance and United Nations,” the conference brought together Sikh diaspora leaders from Canada, the UK, Australia, the US, and Switzerland to expose the Modi regime’s systematic targeting of activists and communities living outside India. 

Speakers highlighted decades of repression, noting that since the 1984 attack on Sri Harmandir Sahib and the rise of the Khalistan movement, India has maintained surveillance, intimidation, blacklisting, and passport restrictions to control Sikhs abroad. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, this transnational repression has intensified, including the creation of dossiers, threats, coercion, extrajudicial killings, and pressure on “friendly” governments. 

Conference participants warned that dossiers and intelligence gathering have already led to assassinations in 2023 and jeopardized the safety of family members in India, while peaceful activists abroad are increasingly branded as extremists. The diaspora now faces chilling effects, travel restrictions, and forced compliance, yet remains vocal on issues of self-determination and human rights. 

A key appeal of the event was for the UN to appoint special rapporteurs to document human rights violations and ensure international monitoring and accountability for India’s treatment of ethnic and religious minorities. UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk underscored the need for “zero tolerance” toward such transnational repression. The conference highlighted Modi’s chilling April 2024 statement, “We no longer send dossiers, we go into their homes to kill them,” as evidence of the urgent threat facing the Sikh diaspora.

Organizers warned that without coordinated global action, India’s TNR strategy could undermine sovereignty, the rule of law, and basic freedoms in democratic nations. Observers said the Geneva event marked a milestone, bringing the plight of Sikhs to a global platform and uniting diaspora communities in the fight against the Modi regime’s escalating extraterritorial intimidation.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)