Whitewashing Terror: The Dangerous Politics Behind ‘Khalra Day’

On September 6, the government of British Columbia decided to mark what it calls “Jaswant Singh Khalra Day.” To the casual observer, this may seem like a harmless cultural tribute, a nod to human rights, a gesture of solidarity. But look closer, and you’ll see something far more troubling: a rewriting of history that brushes past the darkest chapter of Punjab’s modern story and lends legitimacy to a separatist narrative long rejected by the very people it claims to represent.

The Selective Memory of the 1980s and ’90s

In Western capitals, Khalra is often painted as a lone crusader for justice, a man who spoke up against state excesses. What rarely makes the same headlines is the world he was living in, the Punjab of the 1980s and 1990s. These were years when ordinary citizens bore the brunt of Khalistani terror. Teachers were shot in classrooms, moderate Sikh leaders assassinated in cold blood, and entire busloads of passengers- Hindu and Sikh alike, were massacred for nothing more than their identity.

It was not just “the state” that inflicted pain. It was the militants themselves, who turned Punjab into a killing field. And yet, in the carefully curated version of history being exported abroad, that blood-soaked truth is quietly airbrushed out. By elevating Khalra in isolation, British Columbia reduces a complex, painful period into a one-sided morality tale, one where militants morph into martyrs, and the real victims fade into silence.

The Sikh Story That Separatists Ignore

Here is what the separatist narrative does not tell you: that Sikhs in India are not only secure, but thriving. Punjab remains one of the country’s most prosperous agricultural states. Sikh men and women have risen to the highest echelons of public life- Prime Ministers, Army Chiefs, Governors, Supreme Court judges, business tycoons, sports icons. The image of a persecuted community trapped under systemic oppression, so often invoked abroad, collapses under the weight of this lived reality.

The truth is plain: the overwhelming majority of Sikhs in Punjab and across India want nothing to do with Khalistani separatism. Their legacy is one of progress, dignity, and prominence- not grievance.

Canada’s Political Blind Spot

British Columbia’s proclamation is not an isolated misstep. Canada has repeatedly stumbled into this dangerous theatre, mistaking separatist lobbying for community representation. What is framed as “symbolic recognition” ends up emboldening radical voices and straining ties with India.

This is not about honoring Sikh contributions- contributions that are immense, in Canada and worldwide. It is about choosing the wrong symbols, about giving a platform to distorted memories that erase the suffering of countless innocents.

The Legacy Worth Celebrating

If Canada truly wishes to honor Sikhs, it should turn to the stories that reflect the community’s real spirit: farmers and entrepreneurs who built economies from the ground up, soldiers whose valor is etched in battlefields from Europe to Asia, artists and athletes who carry the Khanda into the world’s arenas. That is the legacy Sikhs themselves embrace. That is the story worth telling.

A Proclamation That Distorts, Not Honors

By declaring “Khalra Day,” British Columbia does not celebrate human rights, it participates in political tokenism that validates separatist propaganda. For Sikhs in India, who have lived, rebuilt, and flourished after the terror years, such proclamations feel less like respect and more like insult.

Punjab bled once. To dress up that history in selective memory is not justice. It is propaganda wearing the mask of virtue. And in indulging it, Canada risks not only distorting truth but also dishonoring the very Sikh legacy it claims to celebrate.