California Sikhs embark on a 350-mile march to Sacramento. What do they hope to accomplish?

California Sikhs have embarked on a journey from Bakersfield to Sacramento not only to commemorate a dark day in history 40 years ago, but also to spotlight the trauma they feel now.

About 50 joined the 350-mile “Fearless for Justice March” Oct. 9, mirroring the 1966 Cesar Chavez-led farmworker march from Delano. They want to draw attention to what many consider a genocide perpetuated against Sikhs in 1984, as well as to protest transnational repression directed against Sikhs by the government of India. Organizers expect hundreds, perhaps thousands, to join them along the way, arriving at the Capitol steps Nov. 1.

According to the Fearless for Justice website , one of the main goals of the long walk is to press for legislation regarding TNR. “The goals are:... the need to pass transnational repression (TNR) prevention laws at federal and state levels to ensure democratic protection of all US residents against foreign interference. ”

A TNR bill — AB 3027 — passed the California Assembly 72-0, but died in the Senate appropriations committee in August, following a lobbying blitz from groups linked to Hindutva , an i deology that promotes Hinduism as the national identity of India.

“There is, I think, a recognition that this was not a just outcome, “ said Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano, the author of the bill and who joined the launch of the march. “Californians are at risk from TNR from China, Iran, Russia and India.”

Several participants said they were motivated to march by a recent Sacramento Bee story that revealed police chiefs, district attorneys and federal law enforcement officials attended a day-long “Combating Rising Hinduphobia” conference in April. The event included an hour-long training on the Khalistan movement, which aims to create part of the Indian state of Punjab as an independent state.

That training was called “Hate Violence and Extremism,” with conference training materials stating Khalistani leaders are linked to terrorism.

The training, organized by the Hindu American Foundation, falsely claimed that a troubling string of graffiti attacks against Hindu temples in California had been perpetrated by Khalistani activists. No arrests have been made. And it described Hardeep Singh Nijjar , the leader of Sikhs for Justice assassinated in Canada in 2023, as a “terrorist,” a charge rejected by Canada, which had refused requests by India to extradite the Sikh leader.

The slaying by masked assailants was linked to India’s Hindu nationalist government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi , according to U.S and Canadian intelligence agencies.

Canadian officials said the TNR danger persists. “ We want to hold all those who were involved in Nijjar’s murder responsible,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly at a Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference hearing Thursday. “And (we) especially want to prevent any further murders, because the threat is there.”

Jakara and Fresno

In another law enforcement meeting, more than a dozen Hindu visitors in October 2023 told Fresno’s chief of police and mayor that two local Sikhs — an elected official and a third grade teacher — were linked to terrorism and should be surveilled. The visitors shared photos of the two men at a protest about the slaying of Nijjar and pushed back against allegations that India was involved.

Following publication of The Bee’s story, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer reached out to Naindeep Singh, one of the Sikhs named in that meeting. Naindeep Singh is school board member and executive director of the Jakara Movement. Jakara is the primary organizer of the march.

Dyer reportedly said he wanted to meet with Singh and other Sikh leaders.

Following that meeting Monday, Dyer released a photograph and issued a statement:

“I had the privilege of meeting with several longtime friends from the Sikh community to discuss their concerns regarding recent national and international incidents targeting the Sikh community. These events have understandably caused fear and anxiety within the community. I want to assure our Sikh residents that their safety is a top priority, and I will not tolerate any acts of transnational repression or threats of violence against them. Fresno stands united against hate and discrimination.”

“I think he gets it,” Singh said in a phone interview from a Motel 6 in Famosa after walking 18 miles on the second day of the march. “What I stressed at the meeting with Mayor Dyer is there is this misconception out there that this is somehow a religious conflict between two groups, Sikhs and Hindus.

“That is simply not what this is,” he continued. “Sikhs fundamentally believe in equality and tolerance. Gurdwaras are open to everyone, Hindus sometimes pray with us. What is happening is a foreign government engaging in assassination plots. And now, through proxies in California. India is gaining access to law enforcement and spreading lies. That’s dangerous, and a big reason why we are marching.”

Advocates for TNR legislation point to the August shooting on Interstate 505 targeting three Sikh leaders as an example of a possible TNR threat that local and statewide law enforcement needs training to combat.

“When it comes to these kinds of threats, ones that are often well funded and clandestine, we need a cooperative partnership between local and federal officials, not an exclusive one,” said Arjun Sethi, a Georgetown law professor and an expert in transnational repression.

‘F labbergasted’ by the allegations

Ashveer Pal Singh , a Sacramento based anthropologist and UX researcher, plans to join the march.

Singh said he was “flabbergasted” to read that the Jakara Movement, an organization with chapters at multiple Sacramento area high schools, had been linked to extremism to law enforcement.

“Jakara inspired me to pursue a Ph.D. from Stanford and a masters degree from the University of Chicago,” he said. “Jakara teaches values like equality, justice and achievement, not extremism.”

While tensions between Fresno city leaders and Sikhs have eased following Dyer’s statement, raw feelings between many Sikh leaders and Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen persist. Rosen helped recruit police chiefs and other DAs to attend the HAF training.

Following revelations about the law enforcement training, more than a half dozen gurdwara leaders from Santa Clara to Stockton wrote Rosen a letter insisting that the DA host TNR training to counter the harm that had been caused.

“As we read the Sacramento Bee article, California Sikhs have been shot at and accused of terrorism, we learned about a conference for Northern California legal and law enforcement officials sponsored by the Hindu American Foundation and facilitated by your office,” the letter read. ““The article reminds us that Sikh Americans are being physically attacked for their religious and political views, with connections tracing back to India. But it also makes clear that violence is not the only threat we face. Distortions and half-truths deserve clarity and full truth.”

Naindeep Singh and a national organization, the Sikh Coalition, also wrote Rosen a joint letter requesting “the opportunity to brief you and the other law enforcement officers that you convened for HAF’s conference to provide our perspective on this complex issue and clarify any misinformation or disinformation you may have received.”

Rosen responded to the various Sikh leaders. “Thank you for your letter,” he wrote. “I would be happy and honored to meet with you in my office in the coming weeks…

“It is the Hindus and the Sikhs, and the Muslims and the Jews and the untold others who we must know not from the color of their skin but from the content of their character, as a great man once said,” he continued. “We, all of us, are the best protection against hatred. I hope you agree.”

Naindeep Singh said that he considers a proposed meeting progress, but the harm remains.

“I don’t think DA Rosen is understanding his role in the hurt that has been caused,” he said. “HAF utilized his authority to access law enforcement agencies to spread falsities, lies and waste our local police resources. All the while these Hindutva organizations have been actively working to thwart bills that would provide law enforcement with the funds for training and protecting all California residents against transnational repression.”

New TNR bill

March organizers said that they hope by the time they reach Sacramento, a new TNR bill will be in the works.

Bains has reported numerous threats to law enforcement and been contacted by the FBI multiple times.

She said the vitriol directed at her started because of her support of a caste discrimination legislation she helped sponsor in 2023, as well as a resolution recognizing a 1984 genocide against Sikhs that was enacted unanimously by the state legislature last year.

“Those most victimized by caste discrimination are women,” she said. “What outraged these people was that a Sikh woman would have the audacity to question caste.”

Bains said, because of her support of SB403, the caste discrimination bill, several men came to her office last year and became menacing. Angry about the caste bill, one of the visitors stated, “we will do everything we can to get rid of you,” she said.

She reported the visit to the FBI.

The Hindu American Political Action Committee is currently circulating a questionnaire to California candidates stating that the TNR and caste discrimination bill targets Indian Americans and ignores pro-Khalistan terrorism. The questionnaire asks candidates whether they would pledge to oppose such legislation.

Rosen is one of the California local officials HAPAC states it has endorsed on its web page.

“They are baselessly saying that I’m a terrorist sympathizer,” Bains said. “The TNR legislation was heavily supported by law enforcement, including the California sheriff association . That kind of thing has no place in California politics. I have no question that foreign money and influence from India is involved. This should, and I believe is, being investigated.”

HAF alleges bias

Dozens of emails and documents from the Hindu American Foundation to the Santa Clara District Attorney’s office mention both Bains and the caste discrimination bill.

Following the April law enforcement conference, HAF outreach director Ramya Ramakrishnan , in an email to the DA’s office, said the California’s Civil Rights Department, a California law enforcement branch with an active case related to caste discrimination, had “bias” and was perpetuating “unethical conduct and prosecutorial abuse.” Another HAF document emailed to the DA’s office stated that caste legislation would further “weaponize CRD’s profiting from their bounty hunter privileges.”

The Santa Clara District Attorney’s office did not respond to questions about communications from HAF about the caste discrimination bill, or HAF’s characterization of CRD.

“Our goal in meeting community groups is to raise trust and awareness about how we can all make our community safer and fairer,” said Sean Webby, the Santa Clara DA’s office communications director. “We are organizing a meeting with members of the Sikh community to discuss these issues. We look forward to it.”

In social media posts and in a piece by Ramakrishnan in New India Abroad, HAF said it had no plans to curtail its efforts to educate law enforcement.

In a post on X the organization said, “let’s be clear: educating law enforcement about anti-Hindu violence & threats from Khalistani actors is not repression — it’s an urgent necessity.”