Babbar Khalsa

The Babbar Khalsa or Babbar Khalsa International (BK, Punjabi: ਬੱਬਰ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, [bəbːəɾ xɑlsɑ]), is a pro-Khalistan militant organisation that aims to create an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region. It has used armed attacks, assassinations and bombings in aid of that goal, and is deemed to be a terrorist entity by various governments. Besides India, it operates in North America and Europe. BKI was created in 1978 after clashes with the Nirankari sect of Sikhs. It was active throughout the 1980s in the Punjab insurgency and gained international notoriety in June 1985, for killing 329 civilians (mostly Canadians) in Air India Flight 182 in Canada's worst case of mass murder and for the associated 1985 Narita International Airport bombing in Japan – a bungled attempt at mass murder on Air India Flight 301, intended to happen while both flights were simultaneously airborne to India; an incorrect setting, or a faulty timer, resulted in the second bomb killing two baggage handlers while the suitcase was being transferred to the Air India 747. Its activities and influence severely declined in the 1990s after several of its senior leaders and other militants were killed in encounters with Indian state and central police forces. The organisation is designated as an international terrorist organisation by the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the 27-nation European Union, Japan, Malaysia, and India.