New Delhi: In a chilling new video, Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has threatened to launch an attack on Hindu temples, including the recently inaugurated Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The video, released by the banned separatist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), marks an escalation in Pannun’s ongoing calls for violence, targeting key religious sites linked to India’s Hindu community.
Pannun, who is based in the United States, made the threat for dates coinciding with the anniversary of the Ram Mandir’s inauguration, November 16 and 17, 2024.
He ominously stated, “We will shake the foundations of Ayodhya, the birthplace of the violent Hindutva ideology.” The video also featured an image of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praying at the Ram Mandir during its historic opening in January 2024.
Pannun, the general counsel of SFJ, has long been associated with the group’s calls for an independent Sikh state, Khalistan, in Punjab. The SFJ has been banned in India, and Pannun himself was designated a terrorist by the Indian government in 2020.
This threat follows a recent incident in Canada, where Khalistani supporters attacked Hindu devotees outside a temple in Brampton, Ontario, an event that drew strong condemnation from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The latest video has raised alarms among security agencies, with authorities concerned about the growing international reach of Khalistani groups and the possibility of violence tied to Sikh separatist agendas. While Indian officials have yet to officially respond to the threat, the situation is being closely monitored, given the rising tensions surrounding Sikh separatism globally.
