Babbar Khalsa International
| Babbar Khalsa International | |
|---|---|
| ਬੱਬਰ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ | |
 |
|
| Also known as | Tigers of the True Faith |
| Leader(s) |
Talwinder Singh Parmar Sukhdev Singh Babbar Wadhawa Singh Babbar |
| Dates of operation | 1980-present |
| Motives | The creation of a Sikh independent state of Khalistan in Punjab, as well as some districts of neighboring states of India. |
| Active region(s) | India, Canada, Germany, England |
| Ideology | Sikh nationalism |
| Status | Active |
Babbar Khalsa International (BKI, Punjabi: ਬੱਬਰ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, [bəbːəɾ xɑlsɑ]), also known as Babbar Khalsa, is a Khalistani militant organisation based in India. The Indian and the British governments considers Babbar Khalsa a terrorist group, while its supporters consider it to be a resistance movement, and it played a prominent role in the Punjab insurgency. BKI was created in 1978, after several Sikhs were killed in clashes with the Nirankari sect. It was active throughout the 1980s in the Punjab insurgency but its influence declined in the 1990s after several senior members were killed in "encounters" with police. The BKI have been designated as a terrorist organisation in many countries, including Canada, Germany, India, and the United Kingdom.
The name Babbar Khalsa is taken from the Babbar Akali Movement of 1920, which agitated against British colonial rule in India. The modern-day Babbar Khalsa was created as a result of the bloody clash on April 13, 1978, between a group of Amritdhari Sikhs of Akhand Kirtani Jatha who went to protest against a gathering of the rival Nirankari sect. The confrontation led to the murder of thirteen demonstrators. When a criminal case was filed against the Nirankari leader, he had his case transferred to neighboring Haryana state, where he was acquitted the following year. This gave rise to new organisational expressions of Sikh aspirations outside the Akali party, and an angry sentiment that if the government and judiciary would not prosecute enemies of Sikhism, taking extrajudical measures could be justified to avenge the death of Sikhs. Among the chief proponents of this attitude was the Babbar Khalsa founded by Talwinder Singh Parmar.
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