Ideology of Khalistan dominating political discourse among Sikh social-networking users, reveals survey by Sikh24

Amritsar/ Jalandhar, Punjab (November 30, 2013): Recently Punjab police chief and Indian Home Minister, in their separate statements, expressed their ‘concern’ that the ideology of Khalistan is being highly propagated at social-networking websites, especially the Facebook.

In reaction to Indian Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde’s statements asking Punjab police chief to take appropriate steps to curb the propagation of Khalistan ideology on Facebook, a Sikh body – Dal Khalsa questioned Shinde saying “what wrong in propagating Khalistani ideology over social media?”.

Still, there is another view, which is prevalent among Indian media circles, that the ideology of Khalistan is dead now.

Sikh24.com, An online news portal, has reportedly conducted a survey on Facebook to know whether the claim by Indian media that the idea of Khalistan is dead now is reality based or not.

Introducing it’s survey the Sikh24.Com editors have written: “It is generally repeated in mainstream Indian media that so-called “radical” Sikhs have been reduced to small numbers and that the idea of Khalistan has almost died. A few years ago, Zee News, a Hindi news channel, broadcasted a special report entitled “Desh dhroh”—a sensationalized programme in which the anchor uttered the words repeatedly that the people who demand Khalistan are very few in numbers. In that programme, former Sikh freedom fighter Bhai Daljit Singh Bittu had clarified in an interview that the concept of Khalistan is not dead as Sikhs around the world say “Raj Karega Khalsa” while performing Ardas two times a day and the idea of a sovereign Sikh state prevails in their conscious. But still a propaganda campaign is being run to convince people that the community does not support alleged radical thought amongst Sikhs”.

“Sikh24 has conducted a random survey on Facebook, a leading social networking site, to know whether the claim by Indian nationalists is reality based or not. The survey has been conducted among the Punjabi community all around the world using social media. In this survey, Facebook users were asked questions about which ideology is dominating or in other words which ideology is widely discussed on Facebook” Sikh24 Editors have written further.

“The survey was not only conducted amongst Sikhs but also amongst Punjabi leftists and Hindus”.

As per Sikh24: [a] total of 90 percent of users responded with their views on the issue, whereas 10 percent remained silent. Out of all those who answered, around 98 percent agreed that Khalistani ideology is dominating on social media. Thus the ideology is proved to be the largest discussed ideology for Punjabi Facebook users.

Full report/write-up on the survey of Sikh24.Com, titled: “Op/Ed: Is Khalistani Ideology Really Dying?” by: Sikh24 Editors could be read at source page:- http://www.sikh24.com/2013/11/oped-is-khalistani-ideology-really-dying