How worried should British Sikhs be about the threat to their lives from forces acting on behalf of the Indian government? The question has arisen after it was revealed that some Sikhs have been issued with ‘threat to life’ warnings by West Midlands police. Such warnings – called ‘Osman warnings’ – mean there is credible intelligence of a death threat or risk of murder but not sufficient to justify an arrest.
The warnings by British police follow claims of murder and an assassination attempt on activists in Canada and the United States last year. This has fuelled speculation that Sikhs are being targeted by India because of their support for the formation of an independent state of ‘Khalistan’ in the Punjab. India has always denied the claims.
There is almost no viable chance of a separatist Sikh state coming into existence in India
The police have not provided any detailed information about the latest warnings or said anything about a potential link to the Indian state. One
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