The extradition of three British Sikhs to India has sparked outrage within Uk’s Sikh community.

These arrests followed Domonic Raab’s visit to India in December 2020 when three Sikhs houses were stormed by the counter-terrorism units and were arrested.

It is understood India is demanding their extradition for an offence that took place in India more than 11 years ago, in July 2009, when all three were in their 20s.

The Indian police initially registered a case against unidentified persons in July 2009 and arrested four persons from India, but later let them go.

More than ten years ago, four Britons were arrested, questioned and released regarding killing a man in India linked to the Hindu supremacist paramilitary organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The month of June is already a very dark time for Sikhs following operation Bluestar, a preplanned armed assault by the Indian Army on the Sikhs holiest shrine, the Golden Temple.

As a result, thousands of Sikh pilgrims lost their lives, and young Sikhs were forced to fight back, leading to the death of Sikh leader Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale.

Every year in the UK since 1984, a rally is held from Hyde park to Trafalgar square. In addition, a large scale program is organised within Trafalgar square, where this year, many speakers spoke of 3 issues that have worried the Sikh community within the UK.

• The first is the plans to deport these Sikhs, British citizens with few links to India. 

• The second is the total silence of the government on Jagtar Singh Johal, a Sikh who was arrested during his wedding and has now spent 1312 days in custody without any evidence linking him to crimes. 

• The third and the most worrying was the revelations of 2014 when documents were leaked that showed their British involvement in Operation Bluestar. The extent of which has failed to be brought to light since then. 

When talking to Dabinderjit Singh Sidhu OBE Director at the National Audit Office, he said,

“it’s saddening to see that the British government completely ignores Sikh issues despite their longstanding service and cooperation.” 

Gurpreet Singh Johal, brother of Jagtar Singh Johal, said,

it’s about time the government decides who they support; their own citizen, or a country that has been under investigation many times for lack of religious freedom.

Tom Watson, a Labour MP of West Bromwich with many Sikhs within his constituency, has demanded that the foreign office disclose their documents about British involvement. However, they seem to fall on deaf ears. 

In the coming days, Sikh organisations within the UK will be gathering to discuss future plans and possible protests if they feel their requests are still not met.