| Republic of Khalistan | ||||
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 Northwest, in the red
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| Capital | Chandigarh | |||
| Largest city | Ludhiana | |||
| Official languages | Punjabi, | |||
| Demonym | Khalistani | |||
| Government | ||||
| - | President of Khalistan | Isher Singh Bhindranwale | ||
| Establishment | ||||
| - | Declared | November 12 1983 | ||
| Currency | Khalistani dollar(K$) (K$) |
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| Time zone | Indian Standard Time | |||
| Drives on the | left | |||
Khalistan, officially the Republic of Khalistan is former country which bordered Pakistan to the North & West and the rest is UIP. Khalistan was ruled by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale until he stepped down for his son Isher Singh to succeed. It was initially a close ally of Pakistan although there was an observable downturn in their relations ever since the protests in Pakistani Punjab asking to unify with Khalistan. Though the representative of the 2 countries recently issued a joint statement saying the two countries are still "close allies and would come together to ward off any Indian threat".
However, by 2015 relations with India had significantly warmed thanks to the intensive lobbying of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a Sikh himself, who had made efforts to entice Khalistan to join the Union of India a centerpiece of his policy agenda. In 2015, Khalistan was formally admitted into the Union of India.
History[]
The Khalistani separatist movement as called by UIP leaders or Khalistani nationalism, as termed by the country's former Vice-President, traces its roots back to the Khalistan movement of the 1800s. The movement was a small-scale movement until support for it grew in the 1960s. The movement reached its zenith in the 1970s & 1980s and finally culminated in success when India collapsed in 1984. The Khalistani War of Independence culminated in the the state becoming an independent nation though the Khalistani militants failed to seize Punjabi-speaking parts of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana & Kashmir as was initially planned.
Foreign Relations[]
Khalistan was initially a strong ally of Pakistan. In 2007, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry released a statement admitting to providing aid to Khalistan during the War of Independence. Though the Khalistani movement was initially a pro-American & pro-West movement due to India's inclination with the USSR, Khalistan as a nation tried to stay away from the post-Doomsday power blocs, on the lines of its main ally Pakistan. However, like Pakistan, Khalistan also drifted towards the SAC, with which it has now very strong economic and military relationships. The SAC aided Khalistan's failing agriculture during the 1990s. During those years, about 70% of Khalistan's food imports were from the SAC.
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