The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: A handful of US-based Sikh community organisations have demanded that the US Department of Justice be fully transparent about the investigation into the alleged Indian ‘plot’ to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, apart from asking other groups to begin conversations “about authoritarianism and human rights in India”.
Led by the group Jakara Movement, they issued a list of demands after it was revealed last week that an ‘identified Indian government employee‘ had directed the thwarted plot to target an American Sikh who is active in the Khalistan movement. Jaraka Movement said that all Americans and people committed to democratic principles should “come forward to ensure that Sikhs and all Indian minority communities living in the US are safe from India’s transnational repression.”
The statement also highlighted the alleged Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh citizen, in Vancouver in June. Jakara Movement recounted that the FBI had warned several other Sikhs in the US a few months ago that their lives could be in danger as well. “There has been at least one documented instance in recent months of an Indian government operative surveilling a Sikh house of worship in the US and then demanding information from a religious leader there,” it said.
“Sikhs and all Americans living in the U.S. should be able to practice their constitutional and human rights without experiencing repression from a foreign power. They must be able to gather, protest and speak out, free from intimidation, harassment, surveillance and violence from other nations and their agents,” the statement says.
The Sikh groups requested all democratic organisations and citizens to build pressure on the US government, suggesting the following steps:
1. Express solidarity with the Sikh community and other affected Indian minority communities in the US through statements, letters and online posts;
2. Convene conversations about authoritarianism and human rights in India at schools, colleges, libraries and other centers featuring impacted communities, activists and scholars;
3. Demand the DOJ be fully transparent about the investigation, unseal all indictments and prosecute all those responsible no matter how senior their position;
4. Demand the US government sanction any individuals and entities employed by the Indian government found to be responsible or connected to the foiled plot;
5. Call on state legislative bodies and Congress to hold hearings on transnational repression that include discussion of India;
6. Call on Congress to pass and President Biden to sign the Transnational Repression Policy Act;
7. Urge the US to honor its commitments as a signatory to the Declaration of Principles to Combat Transnational Repression;
8. Urge the US and other democracies to better coordinate on combating transnational repression, including imposing penalties like sanctions, diplomatic expulsions and criminal charges; and
9. Insist that the Indian government cooperate fully with all investigations.