The role of the Poetic Justice Foundation (PJF) and its ‘Ask India Why’ campaign in fueling Khalistani sentiments using the ‘farmer protests’ was exposed when Greta Thunberg shared a ‘toolkit’ on her Twitter account and inadvertently, revealed the dark underbelly of the protests.
The revelation came only days after the Republic Day Riots at the national capital and indeed, people were shocked at the intricacy of the plot. As it turns, the Poetic Justice Foundation and ‘Ask India Why’ are gearing up to spread anti-India propaganda on Independence Day as well.
The theme of their Independence Day campaign is, “India is a Gangster’s Paradise”. The campaign says, “On August 15, India celebrates the 75th anniversary of its independence. We ask, who in India is free?” Then it goes on to add, “State violence and crackdowns against dissent existed in India before, however, Modi’s fascist regime has taken it to a whole new level.”
It states further, “As the nation continues to slide from democracy to a facist regime run by a criminal mastermind, our hearts go out to the people of India. That’s why we created the #AskIndiaWhy campaign earlier this year, inspired by the #FarmersProtest.”
The campaign also drags in caste into their Khalistani propaganda. It says, “Radicalized Hindu nationalists call for the genocide of minorities with impunity, no consequences at all because they are supported by the leaders and their cronies. Caste and gender violence continues — the fleeting headlines about young Dalit girls violently raped and murdered at the hands of dominant caste men have become a common occurrence — while the governing elite reconfigure India’s economy and institutions to serve corporate thugs.”
Khalistan propaganda by Mo Dhaliwal
Mo Dhaliwal, the co-founder of the PJF, has created several documents to spread Khalistani propaganda which is accessible through Google Drive. One of the documents which was created for people on social media to copy from for their posts has explicit Khalistani propaganda.
It says, “On August 15, 1947, the ruling class of India gained their freedom, and proceeded to use caste and class to subjugate their people. Since then, India has been an oppressive place where minorities are mistreated and dissent is silenced violently. Now, with 50% of sitting MPs having criminal records, the modern nation is run by thugs and a cabal of corporate interests.”
The document further claims that Sikh leaders were convinced to join the Indian Union through false promises. It says, “During this time, the Sikh nation of Punjab had the opportunity to reclaim its independence once again. However, politicians of the era convinced Sikh leaders to join the nation of India with its promises of secularism, and enjoy a special status within its newly formed borders — much like Kashmir. Sikh leadership acquiesced, even though they never signed off on the new Indian constitution or agreed to the limitations inferred upon them. The betrayal was recognized in the coming years, as Punjab’s borders were further reduced, waters diverted and rights curtailed. The only special status accorded to Punjab was its continued occupation by armed forces, deployed by the Central Government of India.”
It goes on to assert, “The greatest attack on freedom and the most ambitious centralization of power has been perpetrated by the BJP Government of Narendra Modi. Co-opting the free press, corrupting the judiciary, and violating India’s own constitution in removing powers from States in favour of the Central Government, Modi is spearheading the creation of a Hindu nation — laying waste to the 1947 promise of a secular democracy. It’s interesting to note that it was radical Hindu nationalists who enacted the assassination of Mohandas Gandhi after partition for not upholding their dream of a Hindu nation. The very same radical Hindu nationalist movement is the one in control of the country today.”
Then the document proceeds to say, “#AskIndiaWhy it continues to brutalize journalists and activists. #AskIndiaWhy it meets dissent with violence and murder. #AskIndiaWhy the elite continue to oppress common people.”
None of this is true and all of it is demonstrably false. Yet, the Ask India Why Campaign has decided to spread malicious propaganda with the explicit intention of targeting the integrity and sovereignty of the Indian Union.
The Ask India Why Campaign by Poetic Justice Foundation on Independence Day
The campaign asks users to use the hashtag #AskIndiaWhy “to show your support for minorities and marginalized people of India.” It also says, “Please try to tag the social media accounts of government officials, media and prominent personalities in your messages.”
The campaign also urges people to “organize an on-ground action near the closest Indian Embassy.” Apart from that, the campaign also has a list of accounts it wants people to tag in their tweets. The list also contains hashtags related to the ‘farmer protests’ and Khalistani accounts.
Soon after the Greta toolkit was exposed, a video of Mo Dhaliwal had gone viral where he could be heard saying, “If the farm bills get repealed tomorrow, that is not a victory. This battle begins with the repeal of the farm laws. It does not end there. Anybody who tells you that this is going to end with the repeal of the farm bills is trying to drain energy from the movement. They are trying to tell you that you are separate from Punjab and the Khalistan movement.”
He emphasised, “The reason Khalistani people are so passionate about this (anti-farm law agitation) is that we are seeing the truth that they predicted in the 1970s. They (Khalistanis) wanted an independent land so that we did not have to live through this movement. I request to all of the young people here – Don’t close your eyes, hearts and minds to each other.”
It appears that continuing with his agenda, Khalistani Dhaliwal has decided to target Independence Day for his propaganda, after he had targeted Republic Day with the same.
