The Khalistan movement is a separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing an ethno‐religious sovereign state called Khalistan in the Punjab region. The proposed boundaries of Khalistan vary between different groups; some suggest the entirety of the Sikh-majority Indian state of Punjab, while larger claims include Pakistani Punjab and other parts of North India such as Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Shimla and Lahore have been proposed as the capital of Khalistan.
An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until all such persons have disembarked, and in which (a) a person is fatally or seriously injured, (b) the aircraft sustains significant damage or structural failure, or (c) the aircraft goes missing or becomes completely inaccessible. Annex 13 defines an aviation incident as an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft that affects or could affect the safety of operation.
Air India Flight 182 was a passenger flight operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi–Bombay route, that on 23 June 1985, disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean as a result of an explosion from a bomb planted by Canadian Sikh terrorists. It was operated using a Boeing 747-237B registered VT-EFO. The incident happened en route from Montreal to London at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 m). The remnants of the aircraft fell into the sea approximately 190 kilometres off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 people on board, including 268 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens, and 24 Indian citizens. The bombing of Air India Flight 182 is the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history, the deadliest aviation incident in the history of Air India and was the world's deadliest act of aviation terrorism until the September 11 attacks in 2001. The mastermind behind the bombing was believed to be Inderjit Singh Reyat, a dual British-Canadian national, who pleaded guilty in 2003 and Talwinder Singh Parmar, a Canadian Sikh separatist leader, who was one of the key individuals associated with the militant group Babbar Khalsa.
Indian Airlines was a state-owned airline in India that later became a division of Air India Limited before ultimately ceasing operations. It was based in Delhi and focused primarily on domestic routes, along with several international services to neighbouring countries in Asia and limited flights to the Middle East and South-East Asia. It was a division of Air India Limited after the merger of eight pre-Independence domestic airlines.
Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814, was an Indian Airlines Airbus A300 en route from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India, on Friday, 24 December 1999, when it was hijacked and flown to several locations before landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Babbar Khalsa International, better known as Babbar Khalsa, is a Sikh militant organisation that aims to create an independent Sikh nation of Khalistan in the Indian and Pakistani states of Punjab. It has used armed attacks, assassinations and bombings in aid of that goal, and is deemed to be a terrorist entity by various governments. Besides India, it operates in North America and Europe, including Scandinavia.
Dal Khalsa is a Sikh organisation, based in the city of Amritsar. The outfit was formed in 1978 by Gajinder Singh, the hijacker of Indian Airlines Flight 423. It came to prominence during Insurgency in Punjab, India along with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in 1981. Members of the Dal Khalsa have also been accused of the assassination of Lala Jagat Narain. The primary aim of Dal Khalsa is to form a religion-based Sikh nation called Khalistan.
Tara Singh was a Sikh political and religious figure in India in the first half of the 20th century. He was instrumental in organising the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee and guiding the Sikhs during the partition of India, which he strongly opposed.
Lala Jagat Narain was an Indian editor, member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, Member of Parliament and founder of the Hind Samachar media group.
Indian Airlines Flight 427, a domestic passenger flight of the Indian Airlines between Srinagar Airport and the Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport, was involved in an aircraft hijacking that took place in India between 24 and 25 April 1993. Commandos from the National Security Guard (NSG) rescued all 141 hostages of the Indian Airlines Boeing 737, on the ground at Amritsar airport. The lone hijacker, Mohammad Yousuf, was killed within 5 minutes of commandos entering the plane, before he could react and harm any of the hostages. The rescue was code-named Operation Ashwamedh.
Indian Airlines Flight 410 was a domestic passenger flight from Calcutta to Palam Airport, Delhi, India. On 20 December 1978 the flight was hijacked by Bholanath Pandey and Devendra Pandey shortly before landing at Palam Airport. The hijackers claimed to be members of the Indian Youth Congress, and demanded the release of Indira Gandhi, withdrawal of the charges against her son Sanjay Gandhi, and the resignation of the Janata Party government. The hijackers surrendered shortly after 60 passengers managed to escape.
On 30 January 1971, an Indian Airlines domestic Fokker F27, also named "Ganga", flying from Srinagar Airport to the Jammu-Satwari Airport, was hijacked by two Kashmiri separatists belonging to the National Liberation Front. The hijackers were Hashim Qureshi and his cousin Ashraf Qureshi. The aircraft was flown to Lahore Airport in Pakistan where the passengers and the crew were released and the aircraft was burnt down.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is a centre-right Sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are many parties with the description Akali Dal, the party that is recognized as "Shiromani Akali Dal" by the Election Commission of India is the one led by Sukhbir Singh Badal. The party has a moderate Punjabi agenda. On 26 September 2020, they left the NDA over the farm bills.
On 5 July 1984, nine hijackers forced Indian Airlines Flight 405, an Airbus A300 on a domestic flight from Srinagar Airport to the Delhi-Palam Airport with 254 passengers and 10 crew on board, to be flown to Lahore Airport in Pakistan.
Bell Bottom is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Ranjit M. Tewari. The film is written by Aseem Arrora and Parveez Sheikh, with production by Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani, Deepshikha Deshmukh and Nikkhil Advani under their respective banners Pooja Entertainment and Emmay Entertainment. It stars Akshay Kumar as the lead character, with Vaani Kapoor, Lara Dutta and Huma Qureshi in an extended cameo appearance. Bell Bottom is inspired from real life hijacking events in India by Khalistani terrorists during the 1980s, such as the Indian Airlines Flight 423, 405 and 421 hijackings.
On 24 August 1984, seven members of the banned All India Sikh Students Federation hijacked an Indian Airlines jetliner Indian Airlines Flight 421, a Boeing 737-2A8, on a domestic flight from the Delhi-Palam Airport to Srinagar Airport with 74 people on board and demanded to be flown to the United States. The plane travelled to Lahore, then to Karachi and finally to Dubai, where the defence minister of the United Arab Emirates Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum negotiated the release of the passengers and the surrender of all hijackers to UAE authorities.
Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) is a militant outfit of the Khalistan movement. In February 2023, it was designated as a terrorist organization by the Indian government.
