Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: As suspected, the Khalistani hand has been unearthed in the so-called ‘international’ support extended to the farmers’ agitation in India and their well-coordinated machinations and conspiracy to create disturbances across India.
A Khalistani leader allegedly paid pop star Rihanna $2.5 million (Rs.18.19 crore) to support and glorify the ‘farmers’ agitation’ in India against three reformist farm laws passed by Parliament.
Sitting almost idle for a year, Rihanna got the opportunity to be back in show business. Her single tweet suddenly catapulted the 70-day-long farmers’ protest into the global spotlight. Her tweet came in handy for all anti-India forces who trended it at once on social media. For this ‘humanitarian service’ she was allegedly paid a fee of $2.5 million (Rs 18 crore) by Skyrocket, a Canada-based Public Relations firm with alleged Khalistani links, media reported.
Self-proclaimed “Sikh separatist” Mo Dhaliwal, the founder of the Canada-based Poetic Justice Foundation (PJF) that also created the controversial ‘toolkit’ tweeted by Swedish green activist Greta Thunberg, 18, is a director in Skyrocket, which funded the ‘international’ support.
The toolkit—a digital ‘package’ that enables the user with a do-it-yourself kit–that was tweeted and then deleted by Greta to ‘support’ the protest was “fed to her” as part of a “larger conspiracy to create disharmony”, media reports, quoting security sources, said.
PJF played a “vital role” in “starting a global campaign”, with backing from “political leaders and activists based out of Canada”. In the recent past, Canada has been suspected to have become the hub of “Khalistani” separatists who gave a second life to the anti-India movement. The Canadian government has four Sikh ministers, unlike only one in India.
Apart from Dhaliwal, the Indian agencies are also investigating the roles played by Marina Patterson, a relationship manager with PR firm, Anita Lal, director of the Canada-based World Sikh Organization (WSO) and co-founder of PJF, and Canadian MP Jagmeet Singh who is close to Dhaliwal.
Jagmeet, who lauded Rihanna’s tweet, has often courted controversy for allegedly supporting the Sikh separatist movement. He also participated in a 2015 rally in the US where a poster of Sikh extremist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was allegedly displayed. But he denied these charges.
The PJF, which boasts of being an organization that “challenges structures of oppression and discrimination through intersectional grassroots advocacy”, claims on its website that “currently we are most actively involved in the #FarmersProtest”.
On Twitter, the organization has been actively tweeting about the farmers’ protest with the hashtag “AskIndiaWhy”, which has also spawned a website by the same name.
“India’s farmers and citizens need the global community to pay attention,” the website says. “International focus on these protests may be the only thing preventing state-sponsored violence and another string of massacres in the country,” it adds.
The PJF also defended the hoisting of the Nishan Sahib at the Red Fort in New Delhi on January 26, amid violence.
In October 2020, Dhaliwal was a panelist for a webinar named ‘Khalistan, a conversation on trauma, racism, and sovereignty’. Organized by the Poetic Justice Foundation, it involved a discussion on the Sikh separatist movement.
Marina, who was “live-editing” the toolkit that was finally posted, played a key role in drafting it, sources added.
Officials have also found out Greta Thunberg’s association with Pune-based Extinction Rebellion India and Delhi-based Fridays for Future, for “promoting the campaign”.
The toolkit she tweeted sought to lay down different ways people can participate in the farmers’ protest. The first one included references to “tweetstorms” on or before Republic Day and protests around Indian missions. She deleted this version before uploading another one, saying the earlier document was “outdated”.
“Point 4 of the objectives that were listed in the toolkit (the one Thunberg deleted) said they want to ‘disrupt yoga & chai image of India in general’. This shows the intention behind this campaign” sources said.
On Thursday, the Delhi Police filed a case in connection with the toolkit, booking unknown persons under sections for sedition, criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between religions, and provocation with intent to cause a riot.
According to sources, Rihanna, Greta, and others have some “linkages” to the PJF. The government is probing as to why these celebrities have “suddenly sprung into action” on an issue that “does not impact them directly”.
India has also alerted all its missions based in the US and Europe to identify the organizations that are working to create a “negative campaign against India”, the sources said.
The PJF has been running a “form” on its website since a couple of months before Republic Day, calling for people to join the “Global Day of Action”, sources said.
On Thursday, the PJF urged people to post matters related to the farmers’ protest by “tagging a celebrity, politician, or influencer…” “We’re stronger together. Let’s make some noise,” it said.
The Delhi Police said the toolkit had an “action plan” that said, “digital strikes through hashtags on and before 26 January will be carried out”. It also talked about “tweetstorms from 23 January onwards and physical action on 26 January”.
“This particular action plan was uploaded on the public domain. The action which has been delineated in this toolkit is a copycat execution of 26 January, which is a matter of concern,” Delhi Special Commissioner of Police for Crime Praveer Ranjan said.
“The intention of the creator of the toolkit is to create disaffection against the government of India. It also aims at and mentions waging socio-economic war against the government of India,” he said.
