A dangerous turn in Punjab

India's politicians will have to place national interest ahead of electoral benefit to combat the emergence of the new Khalistan movement

Every single time, I interviewed Amarinder Singh when he was chief minister of Punjab, he came back, again and again, to the same point. There was, he said, a concerted attempt to revive the Khalistan movement. The campaign had very little to do with Sikhs in Punjab but was financed from abroad. There were, he suggested, extremist Sikh groups in such countries as Canada who were backing this campaign. And, of course, Pakistan was providing support. It was probably the mastermind of the strategy.

His concern, he said, was that we were not paying enough attention. And though he had cried