Canada, India and the Return of Khalistan

Plus: Poland is not Ukraine's enemy, loudness in restaurant kitchens and more [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a brief history of Bloomberg Opinion’s most recent opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Must-Reads - [Putin is winning]( the grain war thanks to Zelenskiy. - Is the fire season coming for [Australia]( again? - Limp ARM? [No gloating please](, we’re British. - Green shoots vs [hawkish boots](. - Who bought out my neighbor [Totoro](? - The method to the [loudness]( in restaurant kitchens. The Long Memory of the Sikhs I was a year into my first US journalism job at Time magazine when the Indian Army stormed the Golden Temple in Amritsar in the state of Punjab. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sent her troops into the holiest shrine in Sikhism to flush out separatists who had been holed up there for months. As Karishma Vaswani [recounts]( in her latest column, the militants in the temple were trying to form an independent state, “a land of the pure, as the word Khalistan means.” The consequence was horrendous bloodshed — immediately and through the rest of 1984, including the revenge assassination of Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Karishma writes: “[Official]( records say around 2,000 people died — [other]( estimates put it much higher. Many Sikhs feel their [grievances]( have never properly been addressed.” The images were heart-wrenching, horrific and indelible: bodies strewn along the Harimandir Singh — as the temple is known to Sikhs — reminding me of Eugene Delacroix’s great painting of outrage over an 1822 massacre in the Greek War of Independence. Those were followed by the televised footage of Gandhi on her funeral pyre, her unmistakable profile staring skyward, shortly before her son Rajiv lit the flames that would consume her bullet-ridden corpse. That was four decades ago. Many Sikhs are in the diaspora (an influential cohort that includes US presidential candidate Nikki Haley, born to Punjabi migrants). Their separatist movement in India itself had gone quiet. Yet Khalistan is once again in the news around the world. This week, Canada accused India of complicity in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh activist in British Columbia. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi denied the allegations vehemently. A diplomatic tit-for-tat has ensued, and old wounds reopened. Indeed, as Karishma notes, “Khalistan …  is a crisis of India’s own making. Successive governments have neglected, manipulated and exploited the state of Punjab — traditionally seen as India’s breadbasket — and the Sikhs who inhabit it for their own political and economic gain. That, in turn, has led to a brewing resentment among the community both in and outside India that could revive a mostly dormant domestic independence movement, transforming it into another flashpoint like Kashmir or [Manipur]( in the northeast.” There is so much historical kindling for this potential firestorm. In the early 19th century, the Sikh kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the only real military rival to the encroaching forces of the British Empire. Some scholars posit a proto-democratic stratum to the legacy of the ten founding gurus of the faith (as opposed to Modi’s less credible claims of India as the birthplace of democracy). Sikhism is also a magnet because of its egalitarianism, as opposed to the prevalent caste system in much of the country. Its heroes are also female. Among them, Maharani Jind Kaur, the lowest born of Ranjit Singh’s wives, ruled as queen-regent after his death, defying the British (who insulted her as the “Messalina of the Punjab” after a notorious wife of the Roman emperor Claudius) until they managed to exile her to Nepal and win hegemony over the subcontinent. Priya Atwal chronicles much of this period in her valuable 2020 book, Royals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire. Sikh hero: Maharani Jind Kaur Photographer: Pictures from History/Universal Images Group Editorial New Delhi isn’t likely to diminish the chances of conflagrations. As Mihir Sharm [wrote]( in New Delhi earlier this week about the reaction of Modi’s partisans: “There was both jubilation and a bit of confusion” on social media after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made his charge. “Some commenters seemed to assume we did carry out the hit — and should be proud of how powerful a nation we have become. Others tried to argue we didn’t do it and Trudeau was an obvious liar. Many tried both, sometimes in the same tweet.” To paraphrase William Faulkner: The past isn’t over, it’s not even past. Not after 40 years — or 200. Note to Ukraine: Poland Is Not Thy Enemy Meanwhile, the war isn’t over till it’s over — and Ukraine is in a slog. Diplomatically, Kyiv has got itself into a serious tiff with neighbor (and ostensible ally) Poland. In his speech this week at the United Nations General Assembly, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy alluded to EU countries that weren’t being cooperative with his country’s attempts to “preserve the land routes for grain exports” to get around Russia’s sea blockade. (Indeed, Kyiv has said it plans to sue Poland, as well as Hungary and Slovakia at the World Trade Organization over transport bans for a crop that is key to Ukraine’s economic well-being.) Kyiv’s agriculture shipments have been a thorn in the side of Polish farmers — and Warsaw is facing national elections on Oct. 5. Zelenskiy’s linking grain to support for Ukraine has created a very public political hot potato for the ruling (and right-wing zany) Law and Justice Party, which is counting on rural voters to remain in power. Warsaw declared itself insulted by any hint that “some EU countries feigned solidarity while indirectly supporting Russia.” It promptly threatened to cancel all arm shipments to Kyiv — a proposal it eventually rescinded. But the anger is now on the table. At this rate, Vladimir Putin is winning the grain war. Marc Champion and Javier Blas [offer]( three (unattractive) options to Ukraine and the West to try to change the momentum on this front. One: Hope that global grain prices rise and narrow the attractiveness of Putin’s grain exports; Two: the European Union should shower Eastern European farmers with cash to compensate them for their lost profits; Three: the West can lift some sanctions on Russia to allow Ukraine a less restrictive path to export its grain by sea. “Poland has spent more as a percentage of gross domestic product supporting Ukraine than any other nation has,” Marc and Javier write, “Zelenskiy needs to step back to prevent further damage.” Meanwhile, Putin is likely using all this to play for time — and hope for the return of Donald Trump to the White House. That’s because the US under Biden is key to Ukraine’s war effort. To survive a sudden sapping of American support, the US, the EU and Ukraine need a new strategy. Mostly, that means the EU has to step up its military support. Hal Brands [says](, “The US and its allies need to start equipping Ukraine now for operations in 2024 and after.” And Zelenskiy should stop poking his friends. Telltale Charts “A relatively dry southern hemisphere winter means the ground is already more parched than you’d expect coming out of three years of downpours. Root-zone soil moisture was well below average across a swath of southeastern Australia in August, a situation that’s likely to spark grass fires in arid inland farming areas … The warmer atmosphere itself means it’s hard to count on landscapes remaining as damp as they did in the past. Hotter air acts like a sponge, sucking water more readily from plants and soils than if it was cooler.” — David Fickling in “[Australia hoped to dodge wildfires. El Niño has other plans.](” Southeastern Australia is already seeing low levels of moisture in the topsoil. Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology “While the international bond market is its  single biggest source of financing, Indian and overseas banks, taken together, are relatively more important for keeping [beleaguered Indian tycoon Gautam Adani] moving and growing. For now at least, global bankers don’t have a reason to worry about the juggernaut spiraling out of control.” — Andy Mukherjee in “[Why Adani’s Grip on Banks Is Tighter Than His Hold on Markets](.” Further Reading Brits won’t have to worry about their [housing shortage]( — in the year 2100. — Matthew Brooker and Marcus Ashworth [Decoupling](with China is going to cost the US. — Eduardo Porter The wilting of Britain’s [green](agenda. — Lara Williams Fear of Trump leads [France](to the UK’s opposition. — Lionel Laurent When running [the dryer](is good for the planet. — David Fickling The platform [formerly known as Twitter]( is not going to get any better. — Dave Lee Walk of the Town: A Missing Suit at the Victoria and Albert Gabrielle Chanel, Fashion Manifesto is the new blockbuster show at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington. She’s more famously known as Coco, one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in history. The family of her business partner still runs the enterprise she started in the early 20th century. Last year, the global value of the Chanel brand — which is privately held — was [estimated]( at $15.3 billion. The exhibition has exquisite examples of her dresses and suits from other museums and private collections, all put on elegant but spectacular display ([here]( and [here](are brief videos on my Instagram feed). Variations on Chanel’s classic little black dress, at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Photograph by Howard Chua-Eoan The show does not skirt the controversial question of Chanel’s collaboration with the Germans during their occupation of Paris (it notes that she also worked with the French resistance). Still, something’s missing from the extravaganza. There’s no mention of the most historic — perhaps notorious — Chanel suit. On Nov. 22, 1963, US First Lady [Jacqueline Kennedy wore it]( as she accompanied her husband on a motorcade through Dallas, Texas. She still wore the blood-spattered pink outfit hours after he’d been killed, as she stood at the emergency swearing-in of his successor, Lyndon Johnson, on Air Force One. Lyndon Johnson being sworn in as president as Jacqueline Kennedy (right) looks on Photographer: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group Editorial There’d always been some controversy over whether the suit was an authentic Chanel. But the designer’s official biographer explained that, though it had been put together in the US, it had been authorized by Chanel, assembled with approved material and specifications. That was to help keep within the “buy American” ethos of the time. The suit — which has never been cleaned — is, in any event, not available. It is in the US National Archives and will not be allowed to be on public display till at least the 100th anniversary of the assassination, a condition imposed by the Kennedys only surviving child, Caroline. Still, it is painfully ironic that the exhibition includes a comment by and a photograph of Marilyn Monroe, a paramour of John F. Kennedy. Life magazine had asked the actress what she wore to bed. Monroe replied, “Chanel No.5.” (Gabrielle Chanel, Fashion Manifesto is at the Victoria and Albert Museum through Feb. 25, 2024) Drawdown Thanks for coming back this week. I’m grateful, make no mistake about it. ”Yeah, I’m still looking. That ‘Specious Apartment for Rent’ wasn’t a typo.” Illustration by Howard Chua-Eoan Notes: Please send feedback of substance (or specious if you insist) to Howard Chua-Eoan at hchuaeoan@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](