BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 14. On January 16, 2026, the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) will host an international conference for the first time in Azerbaijan, dedicated to the Indian government’s repressive policies against ethnic minorities, Trend reports via the BIG.
The conference, titled “Racism and Violence Against Sikhs and Other National Minorities in India: Current Realities,” will bring together officials, academics, and activists to examine ongoing human rights violations.
The Baku Initiative Group has confirmed that the conference will feature a diverse array of participants, including Ramesh Singh Arora, Punjab’s Minister of Human Rights and Minorities, senior Indian officials, as well as leading figures from the Sikh communities in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The event will also host directors of prominent think tanks, scholars specializing in human rights and ethnic minority studies from international academic institutions, and individuals personally affected by India’s repressive policies.
The discussions will focus on the systemic racial discrimination, violence, and oppression faced by Sikhs and other ethnic minorities in India. Special attention will be devoted to the Indian government’s ongoing violations of its obligations under international frameworks, including the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention Against Torture. Central to the dialogue will be efforts to keep this issue on the agenda of international organizations, advocating for action such as investigations by the UN Human Rights Committee into extrajudicial executions, documentation of abuses by UN special rapporteurs, and comprehensive international monitoring.
The conference will also scrutinize the vital role played by both international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and academic institutions, especially their contributions through detailed reports, legal analyses, and policy recommendations that seek to shape international decision-making and influence global responses to the crisis.
Sikhism, founded in the 15th century, promotes full equality among all people regardless of caste, gender, or language and rejects India’s traditional caste system. The Sikh population in India exceeds 25 million, with the majority residing in Punjab, the country’s primary agricultural region.
Reports submitted by NGOs and independent experts to international organizations note that during armed attacks and repressive actions by Indian authorities, between 8,000 and 17,000 Sikhs were killed in 1984 alone, and over 50,000 fled abroad to escape persecution. From 1980 through 1990, thousands of Sikhs in Punjab were kidnapped or murdered on fabricated charges without trial. Today, Sikh activists seeking their rights are frequently imprisoned under accusations of separatism or espionage, and police raids in Punjab continue to rise. Abroad, acts of terror have targeted Sikh activists, with Canadian and U.S. authorities attributing some of these attacks to Indian intelligence services.
The majority of the displaced Sikh community now resides in Canada, the UK, the U.S., and Australia, continuing to demand justice for ongoing political repression in India.
The Sikh community calls on the Indian government to officially recognize the 1984 anti-Sikh massacres as genocide, establish an independent investigative commission, bring the perpetrators to justice, clarify the fate of thousands of forcibly disappeared persons in Punjab during the 1980s and 1990s, release unlawfully imprisoned activists and grant them political prisoner status, expand Punjab’s autonomy, prevent central government interference in local administration, halt transnational repression of Sikh activists, allow international investigations, issue an official apology for the 1984 massacres, and provide compensation to the victims.
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