British sought to exploit these:
- After Maharaja Ranjit Singh's death, Punjabi elite fought among themselves.
- Sikhs were loyal to the British during 1857
/1
British engineered a Sikh identity distinct from Hindu identity.
First tried to convert them to Christianity.
Then wanted to take a softer approach of buying out the elite by offering them gov. positions.
(They seem to try these approaches even till this day)
/2
Meanwhile there was a rebellion launched by Namdhari Sikhs.
A point to note is when Gurdwara Act was passed by the British in 1925, they excluded Namdharis from definition of Sikhs.
British stooge SGPC and Khalistanis till date don't consider Namdharis as Sikhs. /3
Many Sikhs migrated to British Columbia in early 1900s & were organizing anti-British activities.
A British intelligence agent William Hopkinson was sent to infiltrate the Gurudwaras in Canada.
These are the Gurudwaras which are till this day hotbeds of Khalistani activity. /4
The British started investing into creating a pro-British lobby in Canada and UK by infiltrating Gurudwaras. These till date is where Khalistani teггoгism originates.