Babbar Khalsa’s new strategy: Radicalise rural Punjab, hit urban targets

Intelligence agencies have warned of a renewed push by Babbar Khalsa International to revive the Khalistan movement, with a strategy focusing on rural radicalisation and low-intensity attacks in urban centres across Punjab

New Delhi: Intelligence agencies have issued a fresh alert regarding plans by the banned outfit Babbar Khalsa International to revive the Khalistan movement in Punjab, with a new strategy focused on rural radicalisation and low-intensity attacks in urban centres, officials familiar with the development have said.

Security and intelligence agencies have foiled several such attempts in recent years, prompting the radical group to rethink its approach. While Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) had earlier focused on recruiting and radicalising youth in urban areas, officials say those efforts largely failed due to greater public awareness and tighter security monitoring. Now it would look to target urban areas, including Chandigarh, with low-intensity attacks.

---

As part of its revised strategy, BKI is now shifting its recruitment drive to rural areas, where intelligence officials believe misinformation can spread more easily. The group is reportedly targeting unemployed and less-educated youth, whom it sees as more vulnerable to propaganda.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that BKI is expected to launch a sustained online misinformation campaign in rural belts, spreading anti-India narratives and portraying Punjab as suffering due to its association with the Indian State.

“If such messages are circulated repeatedly in the rural areas, people may begin to believe them and could be drawn towards the ideology of the BKI,” the official said.

As per the intelligence inputs received by officials, the BKI also plans to invest heavily in poster campaigns promoting the Khalistan movement and figures such as Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. These posters are likely to be put up in areas that were less affected by the Khalistan militancy of the 1980s and 1990s in Punjab, unlike regions that witnessed the violence firsthand and remain wary of such movements.

In fact, in areas that bore the brunt of Khalistan militancy, people are more aware today. Having witnessed its devastating impact firsthand, many have been cautioning the youth about the dangers of the movement and urging them not to get involved.

Such campaigns have become increasingly difficult for the BKI in urban areas and in regions that were directly affected by Khalistan militancy. As a result, the outfit now plans to shift its propaganda and recruitment drive to rural pockets that were either less affected or untouched by the violence.

Another official said that even as BKI focuses on recruitment and radicalisation in rural areas, it is unlikely to abandon its plans to carry out low-intensity attacks in urban centres.

Attacks in urban areas are seen as more impactful and are intended to send a stronger message to the establishment. Potential targets include courts, intelligence offices, police stations and other government buildings. The objective, officials said, is to target the establishment rather than civilians, as attacking common people could further erode whatever support the group hopes to gain.

Officials also said BKI is under immense pressure from its own cadres as well as Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence to step up operations in Punjab. The ISI’s strategy in shielding, funding and training BKI cadres is aimed at destabilising Punjab and simultaneously creating unrest in both Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.