If the rise of Amritpal Singh has taught us anything, it is evident that a substantial population among our Sikh brothers and sisters longs for the Sikh pride that once was the Sikh empire stretching from Mainland Punjab, Jammu, Kashmir all the way to parts of Afghanistan.

At the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s passing, the Sikh empire, although weakened, was still consolidated and recognized by the British.

This empire spanned five rivers from east to west (Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum) along with a sixth river Indus (Sindhu) and stretched all the way to Suleiman Mountain ranges to Baluchistan (now in Pakistan).

Is it essential for Sanatanis to unite this land in-line with Sikh glory? – Yes
Is secession of Indian Punjab from India required? – No

On the contrary we need to unite the land and people we lost to Pakistan (and the Gurudwaras along with it). There is more at play here.

Our civilization doesn’t prosper by breaking our motherland into smaller bits, we expand our footprint by uniting more people in our dharmic fold.

Fall of Pakistan is central

With the current state of affairs in Pakistan, a land built on one particular religion alone, the fissures resulting from cultural, linguistic and civilizational values are deepening. It is failing to prove enough of a glue to hold the region together. And the existence of Pakistan in its current form is proving hazardous to the world, Bharat and the people (Sikhs, Baloch, Sindhus, Mahajirs, Pashtuns, etc.). All this while it has become abundantly clear that the existence of the Pakistani State is detrimental to national security of the Indo-Asiatic and Indo-Pacific region.

In 2019 Forum for Awareness of National Security (FANS) proposed a plausible solution to the Pakistan problem.

Religio-Civilizational POV

If we plot the birthplaces of all our Sikh gurus as centers of dharmic importance, the map would looks something like this

Guru	Place (old)	Place (new)	Dates	In Indian Punjab?
Guru Nanak Dev Ji	Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Delhi Sultanate	Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan	14 April 1469 – 22 September 1539	No
Guru Angad Dev Ji	Muktsar, Punjab, Mughal Empire	Sri Muktsar Sahib, Punjab 152026, India	31 March 1504 – 29 March 1552	Yes
Guru Amar Das Ji	Amritsar, Punjab, Mughal Empire	Amritsar, Punjab, India	5 May 1479 – 26 April 1552	Yes
Guru Ram Das Ji	Lahore, Punjab, Mughal Empire	Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan	24 September 1534 – 1 September 1581	No
Guru Arjan Dev Ji	Goindval, Punjab, Mughal Empire	Goindwal Sahib, Punjab 143422, India	15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606	Yes
Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji	Amritsar, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire	Amritsar, Punjab, India	19 June 1595 – 28 February 1644	Yes
Guru Har Rai Ji	Kiratpur Sahib, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire	Kiratpur Sahib, Punjab 140115, India	16 January 1630 – 6 October 1661	Yes
Guru Har Krishan Ji	Kiratpur Sahib, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire	Kiratpur Sahib, Punjab 140115, India	7 October 1661 – 30 March 1664	Yes
Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji	Amritsar, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire	Amritsar, Punjab, India	1 April 1621 – 11 November 1675	Yes
Guru Gobind Singh Ji	Patna Sahib, Bihar Subah, Mughal Empire	Patna Sahib, Jhauganj, Hajiganj, Patna, Bihar 800008, India	5 January 1666 – 7 October 1708	Yes
Guru Granth Sahib	Takht Sri Damdama Sahib	Near, Sangat – Talwandi Road, Talwandi Sabo, Punjab 151302, India	29 August 1604 – present	Yes

Noteworthy observations

1. The birthplace of our 1st and 4th gurus is outside Indian Punjab and we do not have continuous, direct and free access to our spiritual roots
2. Sikh population is dwindling in Pakistan and cases of persecution again Sikhs in Pakistan is a daily affair.

Sikh Population in Pakistan

If it is clear to us that the place of birth of two of our gurus is of significant civilizational importance to us, then we could at least have solace knowing that our Sikh brothers & sisters in Pakistan have access to those centers and are empowered to fly the Khalsa flag high… Not quite.

Prior to independence in 1947, 2 million Sikhs resided in the present day Pakistan and were spread all across Northern Pakistan, specifically the Punjab region and played an important role in its economy as farmers, businessmen, and traders.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism_in_Pakistan

Sikh organizations, including the Chief Khalsa Dewan and Shiromani Akali Dal led by Master Tara Singh, condemned the Lahore Resolution and the movement to create Pakistan, viewing it as welcoming possible persecution; the Sikhs largely thus strongly opposed the partition of India.

Kudaisya, Gyanesh; Yong, Tan Tai (2004). The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia. Routledge. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-134-44048-1.

Sikh population in Pakistan has drastically come down within the past two decades – from around 40,000 in 2002 to 8,000, say rights campaigners.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/sikhs-on-verge-of-extinction-in-pakistan-campaigner-1593674-2019-08-30

The same article goes on to cover the inhumane atrocities committed by the Pakistani state on our Sikh brothers and sisters across the border.

The teen is a daughter of a granthi, or a priest, from a local gurdwara in the same Nankana Sahib neighbourhood.

In a video, her family has alleged she was forcibly picked and converted to Islam. In a separate video, the woman is heard denying coercion.

For the tiny Sikh community in Pakistan though, her consent on tape sounds little convincing. For them, there’s more to her recorded message than meets the eye.

Pakistani authorities excluded the Sikhs from the most recent census in 2017, the country’s first national headcount in 19 years. So, there’s no real figure of its population in Pakistan. But rights campaigners say its size has drastically come down within the past two decades – from around 40,000 in 2002 to 8,000 now, they say.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/sikhs-on-verge-of-extinction-in-pakistan-campaigner-1593674-2019-08-30

The path forward for Khalsa Unification

1. Pakistan has to be broken apart and the land returned to their rightful owners (Sikhs, Sindhus, Mahajirs, Pashtuns, Balochs)
2. Pakistani Punjab must merge with Indian Punjab to give us free access to birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Guru Ram Das Ji

The constitutional framework to achieve this will take some work. However, until such a time comes the Khalistan movement must be channeled to unite the Sikh land and not to divide it further. If anything, the division of the holy land of Punjab by partition was a beadbi of the holy land, the holy gurus and the rich civilization this land has birthed.