Khalistan Liberation Force
Encyclopedia
The Khalistan Liberation Force or KLF is a militant
group, and is part of the Khalistan movement
to create a Sikh
homeland
called Khalistan
via armed struggle. The KLF appears to have been a loose association of scattered Khalistani groups.
The KLF Jathebandi (organization) was founded by Aroor Singh and Sukhvinder Singh Babbar in 1986.
Other KLF leaders who headed KLF after Aroor Singh were Avtar Singh Brahma (killed by Punjab police 21 May 1988), Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala (Killed by Indian security forces on July 30, 1992), Navroop Singh (Killed by India on August 4, 1992) Kuldip Singh Keepa Shekhupura, and Navneet Singh Khadian (killed 25 Feb 1994). After Navneet Singh Kadian KLF singhs hand over command to Dr. Pritam Singh Sekhon His death is a mystery till today. Now Harminder Singh (Nihang) @ Mintu from Dalli leads this organisation.
during the 1980s and 1990s, sometimes in conjunction with Kashmir
separatists.
KLF was among the Sikh groups that claimed responsibility for the 1991 kidnapping of the Romania
n chargé d'affaires in New Delhi, Liviu Radu.
This appeared to be retaliation for Romanian arrests of KLF members suspected of the attempted assassination of Julio Ribeiro, 62, the Indian ambassador to Romania, in Bucharest
.
Radu was released unharmed after Sikh politicians criticized the action.
In the year 1991, Khalistan Liberation Force along with Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan and Dr. Sohan Singh (Head of Panthic Committee) etc participated in the secret peace negotiations with India in the city of Ludhiana. These meetings were initiated by Union Minister of State for Home
Subodh Kant Sahay
on the orders of the (then) Prime Minister of India
Chandra Shekhar. It is said that this peace effort was sabotaged by Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence. Former Indian Intelligence Bureau
Joint Director, Maloy Krishna Dhar stated in a press report published by The Hindu that “Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her ISI advisers were determined not to let peace succeed. Pakistan’s covert war in Jammu and Kashmir had exploded in 1990, and its establishment understood that the Punjab conflict tied down our troops, and threatened our logistical lines into Jammu and Kashmir.”
The KLF was listed in 1995 one of the 4 "major militant groups" in the Khalistan movement.
India, in the 1995 era, alleged that Pakistan
provided Sikh militants with shelter and support.
The separatist movement was largely crushed in the mid 1990s.
In 1999 it was reported that former KLF operative Manjinder Singh Issi, who took part in the Radu kidnapping, became disillusioned with KLF when he realized that its Pakistani supporters were more interested in disruptive violence in Punjab than Sikh autonomy.
Arrests still occur as of 2005.
Per court case, Khalistan Liberation Force members blew up a portion of Indian police station at Sector 26 Chandigarh, India on July 1990. Per persecution case, Gurcharanjit Singh, Doulat Singh, Gurvinder Singh along with Satwinder Singh and Balwant Singh of the Chandigarh Police executed this action.
As per Police, Khalistan Liberation force militants killed a minister in Punjab Government Mr. Balwant Singh in Chandigarh in the year of 1990.
Khalistan Liberation Force attacked and killed 8 RPF (Railway Protection Force) men at Butari railway station in India. As per police, Surjit Singh alias Satta Kaleke, Gursewak Singh alias Fauji and other KLF members also took away 16 rifles of the securitymen.
In October 1991, KLF kidnapped a Romanian
diplomat, Liviu Radu to barter the release of two top militants, Harjinder Singh Jinda
and Sukhjinder Singh Sukha
On July 29, 1992, Punjab Police killed chief of Khalistan Liberation Force Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala in Ludhiana, Punjab.
On August 4, 1992, Indian police claimed to have killed Khalistan Liberation Force's new chief Navroop Singh Dhotian and four other sikhs in a 20 hour gun battle but later on August 29, 1992 declared that Mr Navrup Singh Dhotian is still alive.
As per Indian Government's request, Daya Singh Lahoria of the Khalistan Liberation Front was extradited from the U.S to India to face court cases. Lahoria's trial took approximately five years but at the end of he was acquitted of the charges because his complicity could not be proved.
Bail applications of two Khalistan Liberation force members were rejected by an Indian court.
On Oct 28 1998, Indian Police arrested two Khalistan Liberation Force members
Punjab Police
claimed that two Khalistan Liberation Force militants Manjinder Singh Issi alias Bhushan alias Pappu alias Variety and Sukhjinder Singh alias Lali on March 2 had surrendered to the police in India.
Punjab Police
claimed to have arrested 3 KLF militants on August 20, 1999 and also claimed to have captured a large quantity of ammunition from Jagtar Singh alias Raju of Deluana village in Mansa district; Ram Singh of Karandi in the Tohana police station area of Fatehabad district in Haryana; and Jasbir Singh alias Jassa of Manki village near Malerkotla town in Sangrur district in Punjab.
Devender Pal Singh, a Sikh militant belonging to Khalistan Liberation Force was sentenced to death by the an Indian court.
Indian police claimed to have arrested a KLF member from a village in Punjab
India got a KLF militant Jasbir Singh alias Seera extradited from Canada under India-Canada Extradition Treaty and charged him with new sedition cases after he raised pro-Khalistan slogans in Indian courts.
In 2008, a member of the KLF launched an attack on the head of Dera Sacha Sauda.
In 2009 KLF assassinated RSS Punjab President Rulda Singh.
In 2009 KLF assassinated Dera Sacha Sauda, Srisa Manager Lilly Kumar in Ludhiana.
In 2009 KLF assassinated 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots main accused Dr. Budh Parkash Kashyap.
Militant
The word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
group, and is part of the Khalistan movement
Khalistan movement
Khalistan refers to a global political secessionist movement to create a separate Sikh state, called Khālistān , carved out of parts mostly consisting of the Punjab region of India, depending on definition....
to create a Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
homeland
Homeland
A homeland is the concept of the place to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular national identity began. As a common noun, it simply connotes the country of one's origin...
called Khalistan
Khalistan
Khalistan refers to a global political secessionist movement to create a separate Sikh state, called Khālistān , carved out of parts mostly consisting of the Punjab region of India, depending on definition....
via armed struggle. The KLF appears to have been a loose association of scattered Khalistani groups.
The KLF Jathebandi (organization) was founded by Aroor Singh and Sukhvinder Singh Babbar in 1986.
Other KLF leaders who headed KLF after Aroor Singh were Avtar Singh Brahma (killed by Punjab police 21 May 1988), Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala (Killed by Indian security forces on July 30, 1992), Navroop Singh (Killed by India on August 4, 1992) Kuldip Singh Keepa Shekhupura, and Navneet Singh Khadian (killed 25 Feb 1994). After Navneet Singh Kadian KLF singhs hand over command to Dr. Pritam Singh Sekhon His death is a mystery till today. Now Harminder Singh (Nihang) @ Mintu from Dalli leads this organisation.
KLF
The KLF was responsible for several bombings of civilian targets in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
during the 1980s and 1990s, sometimes in conjunction with Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
separatists.
KLF was among the Sikh groups that claimed responsibility for the 1991 kidnapping of the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n chargé d'affaires in New Delhi, Liviu Radu.
This appeared to be retaliation for Romanian arrests of KLF members suspected of the attempted assassination of Julio Ribeiro, 62, the Indian ambassador to Romania, in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
.
Radu was released unharmed after Sikh politicians criticized the action.
In the year 1991, Khalistan Liberation Force along with Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan and Dr. Sohan Singh (Head of Panthic Committee) etc participated in the secret peace negotiations with India in the city of Ludhiana. These meetings were initiated by Union Minister of State for Home
Ministry of Home Affairs (India)
Ministry of Home Affairs , known as the Home Ministry or MHA, is an Indian government ministry. It is an interior ministry mainly responsible for the maintenance of Internal security and domestic policy.-Ministerial Team:...
Subodh Kant Sahay
Subodh Kant Sahay
Subodh Kant Sahay is a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represents the Ranchi constituency of Jharkhand, and is a member of the Indian National Congress political party. He is the Cabinet Minister for Tourism. He was the Minister of State for Home in V P Singh government when Mufti Mohd...
on the orders of the (then) Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
Chandra Shekhar. It is said that this peace effort was sabotaged by Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence. Former Indian Intelligence Bureau
Intelligence Bureau (India)
The Intelligence Bureau also known as IB is India's internal intelligence agency and reputedly the world's oldest intelligence agency. It was recast as the Central Intelligence Bureau in 1947 under the Ministry of Home Affairs...
Joint Director, Maloy Krishna Dhar stated in a press report published by The Hindu that “Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her ISI advisers were determined not to let peace succeed. Pakistan’s covert war in Jammu and Kashmir had exploded in 1990, and its establishment understood that the Punjab conflict tied down our troops, and threatened our logistical lines into Jammu and Kashmir.”
The KLF was listed in 1995 one of the 4 "major militant groups" in the Khalistan movement.
India, in the 1995 era, alleged that Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
provided Sikh militants with shelter and support.
The separatist movement was largely crushed in the mid 1990s.
In 1999 it was reported that former KLF operative Manjinder Singh Issi, who took part in the Radu kidnapping, became disillusioned with KLF when he realized that its Pakistani supporters were more interested in disruptive violence in Punjab than Sikh autonomy.
Arrests still occur as of 2005.
KLA
The Khalistan Liberation Army (KLA) is reputed to have been a wing of, or possibly associated with, or possibly a breakaway group from, the KLF.Activities
On 12 31 1987, KLF attacked and killed 9 police personal in Punjab.Per court case, Khalistan Liberation Force members blew up a portion of Indian police station at Sector 26 Chandigarh, India on July 1990. Per persecution case, Gurcharanjit Singh, Doulat Singh, Gurvinder Singh along with Satwinder Singh and Balwant Singh of the Chandigarh Police executed this action.
As per Police, Khalistan Liberation force militants killed a minister in Punjab Government Mr. Balwant Singh in Chandigarh in the year of 1990.
Khalistan Liberation Force attacked and killed 8 RPF (Railway Protection Force) men at Butari railway station in India. As per police, Surjit Singh alias Satta Kaleke, Gursewak Singh alias Fauji and other KLF members also took away 16 rifles of the securitymen.
In October 1991, KLF kidnapped a Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
diplomat, Liviu Radu to barter the release of two top militants, Harjinder Singh Jinda
Harjinder Singh Jinda
Harjinder Singh Jinda was a member of a Sikh organization Khalistan Commando Force and one of the two assassins of Arun Vaidya . He was responsible for three high-profile killings; Arjan Dass, Lalit Maken and Gen. Vaidya...
and Sukhjinder Singh Sukha
Sukhdev Singh Sukha
Sukhdev Singh Sukha was a member of the militant organization Khalistan Commando Force and one of the assassins of Arun Vaidya, the Chief of Indian army at the time of Operation Bluestar and also the architect of Operation Bluestar. He was responsible for three high-profile killings; Arjan Dass,...
On July 29, 1992, Punjab Police killed chief of Khalistan Liberation Force Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala in Ludhiana, Punjab.
On August 4, 1992, Indian police claimed to have killed Khalistan Liberation Force's new chief Navroop Singh Dhotian and four other sikhs in a 20 hour gun battle but later on August 29, 1992 declared that Mr Navrup Singh Dhotian is still alive.
As per Indian Government's request, Daya Singh Lahoria of the Khalistan Liberation Front was extradited from the U.S to India to face court cases. Lahoria's trial took approximately five years but at the end of he was acquitted of the charges because his complicity could not be proved.
Bail applications of two Khalistan Liberation force members were rejected by an Indian court.
On Oct 28 1998, Indian Police arrested two Khalistan Liberation Force members
Punjab Police
Punjab Police
Punjab Police may refer to:* Punjab Police , which operates in the Indian state of Punjab* Punjab Police , which operates in the Pakistani province of Punjab...
claimed that two Khalistan Liberation Force militants Manjinder Singh Issi alias Bhushan alias Pappu alias Variety and Sukhjinder Singh alias Lali on March 2 had surrendered to the police in India.
Punjab Police
Punjab Police
Punjab Police may refer to:* Punjab Police , which operates in the Indian state of Punjab* Punjab Police , which operates in the Pakistani province of Punjab...
claimed to have arrested 3 KLF militants on August 20, 1999 and also claimed to have captured a large quantity of ammunition from Jagtar Singh alias Raju of Deluana village in Mansa district; Ram Singh of Karandi in the Tohana police station area of Fatehabad district in Haryana; and Jasbir Singh alias Jassa of Manki village near Malerkotla town in Sangrur district in Punjab.
Devender Pal Singh, a Sikh militant belonging to Khalistan Liberation Force was sentenced to death by the an Indian court.
Indian police claimed to have arrested a KLF member from a village in Punjab
India got a KLF militant Jasbir Singh alias Seera extradited from Canada under India-Canada Extradition Treaty and charged him with new sedition cases after he raised pro-Khalistan slogans in Indian courts.
In 2008, a member of the KLF launched an attack on the head of Dera Sacha Sauda.
In 2009 KLF assassinated RSS Punjab President Rulda Singh.
In 2009 KLF assassinated Dera Sacha Sauda, Srisa Manager Lilly Kumar in Ludhiana.
In 2009 KLF assassinated 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots main accused Dr. Budh Parkash Kashyap.
See also
- History of the PunjabHistory of the PunjabThe first known use of the word Punjab is in the book Tarikh-e-Sher Shah Suri , which mentions the construction of a fort by "Sher Khan of Punjab". The first mentioning of the Sanskrit equivalent of 'Punjab', however, occurs in the great epic, the Mahabharata...
- Operation Blue StarOperation Blue StarOperation Blue Star ) 3– 6 June 1984 was an Indian military operation, ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, to remove Sikh separatists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar...
- Terrorism in IndiaTerrorism in IndiaTerrorism in India is primarily attributable to religious communities and Naxalite radical movements.The regions with long term terrorist activities today are Jammu and Kashmir, Mumbai, Central India and the Seven Sister States...
- Sikh extremismSikh extremismSikh extremism refers to threats or acts of violence against civilians, or material support for the acts of violence.Some extremists have been separatists pursuing the formation of a Sikh state, often referred to as Khalistan....