The call for a separate Sikh state began during the 1930s, when British rule in India was nearing its end.[6] In 1940, the first explicit call for Khalistan was made in a pamphlet titled "Khalistan".[7][8] With financial and political support of the Sikh diaspora, the movement flourished in the Indian state of Punjab – which has a Sikh-majority population – continuing through the 1970s and 1980s, and reaching its zenith in the late 1980s. The Sikh separatist leader Jagjit Singh Chohan said that during his talks with Pakistani prime minister that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto affirmed "we'll help you and make it the capital of Khalistan" and claimed Bhutto wanted revenge over Bangladesh.[9]
^Cite error: The named reference keith-call-homeland was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Shani, Giorgio (2007). Sikh Nationalism and Identity in a Global Age. Routledge. p. 51. ISBN978-1-134-10189-4. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023. However, the term Khalistan was first coined by Dr V.S. Bhatti to denote an independent Sikh state in March 1940. Dr Bhatti made the case for a separate Sikh state in a pamphlet entitled 'Khalistan' in response to the Muslim League's Lahore Resolution.
^Bianchini, Stefano; Chaturvedi, Sanjay; Ivekovic, Rada; Samaddar, Ranabir (2004). Partitions: Reshaping States and Minds. Routledge. p. 121. ISBN978-1-134-27654-7. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023. Around the same time, a pamphlet of about forty pages, entitled 'Khalistan', and authored by medical doctor, V.S. Bhatti, also appeared.
^Cite error: The named reference india-canada-list was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Fair, C. Christine (2005). "Diaspora Involvement in Insurgencies: Insights from the Khalistan and Tamil Eelam Movements". Nationalism and Ethnic Politics. 11: 125–156. doi:10.1080/13537110590927845. S2CID145552863.
^Majumdar, Ushinor. "Sikh Extremists in Canada, The UK And Italy Are Working With ISI Or Independently". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2018. Q. Is it clear which "foreign hand" is driving this entire nexus? A. Evidence gathered by the police and other agencies points to the ISI as the key perpetrator of extremism in Punjab. (Amarinder Singh Indian Punjab Chief Minister)