‘Have Indian passport, but…’: Amritpal says Khalistan discussion ‘normal’

Radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh drew a parallel between “Hindu Rashtra” and “Khalistan” as he defended the slogans calling for a separate state.

Amritpal, the new face of the fundamentalist fringe in Punjab, said that Khalistan is a “very normal discussion” in Punjab and looks scary to outsiders only because they see it through the lens of media.

“When you are not Punjabi and do not visit the state very frequently, and when you see everything through media, it looks very scary. But it is not. Khalistan is a very normal discussion here,” the self-proclaimed separatist preacher told news agency ANI.

“When somebody says ‘Hindu Rashtra’ zindabad, what is ‘Hindu Rashtra’? Where is it established? People don’t feel threatened with it,” he said while also claiming that the idea of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ is totally opposite to the idea of ‘Khalistan’.

“Hindu Rashtra does not include other identities, either you are a Hindu or dead. They don’t give you options. The idea of Khalistan is so pure, it’s idea is the raj of Khalistan,” Amritpal added.

The 29-year-old pro-Khalistan controversial leader said that he does not consider himself an Indian citizen, calling the passport merely a “travel document” which does not make him an Indian.

Amritpal also defended his earlier remarks on Union home Amit Shah in which he had warned of “consequences” similar to former prime minister Indira Gandhi. On Thursday, he said, “Amit Shah had said that he won’t let the Khalistan movement rise. I had said that the same was done by Indira Gandhi and if you do the same then you’d have to face consequences. If the home minister says the same to those demanding ‘Hindu Rashtra’, then I will see if he remains home minister.”

Defending his statement, Amritpal said, “When Amit Shah said that he will suppress things, I said there will be consequences. It’s not just about Indira Gandhi’s murder as consequence. It’s not a threat to Home Minister. I would say is a threat to us. What options do we have when there are legal binaries in India? I don’t consider myself a citizen of India. I just have a passport, which does not make me Indian. It’s a travel document.”