The conferences would be organized by Punjab Independence Referendum Conference

Radical Sikh groups in the United States are planning to organize pro-Khalistan conferences in North American, and the first conference in this series will be held in Philadelphia on May 27.

The conferences would be organized by a group named Punjab Independence Referendum Conference. Other radical groups including Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) have started campaigning for the upcoming event through social media.

According to an India Today report, these conferences are part of the pro-Khalistan movement and anti-India activities. It is pertinent to mention here that similar movements are brewing in Canada, too. The groups are planning to organize several conferences in New York, Dallas, Houston and few other cities.

On April 6, the legislative assembly of Canada’s Ontario province recognized the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as genocide. In response, the Indian government expressed strong displeasure. The 1984 anti-Sikh riots broke in north India, apparently, as an aftermath of the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards.

Punjab’s Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had to face protests and threats from Khalistan supporters on April 22 in Surrey, Canada, during a Baisakhi event.

India, too, raised concerns over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s presence during Khalsa Day event in Toronto on April 30. Two Sikh Canadian legislators, who wrote the motion in the Ontario Assembly, were felicitated during the event.

The Department of Telecommunications in India have already blocked Sikh For Justice’s official website for spreading anti-India propaganda. The fringe radical groups based in Pakistan and Canada may try to disturb peace in Punjab, according to the police sources, India Today reported.