{"id":8571,"date":"2025-10-16T21:54:03","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T21:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/8571\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T21:54:03","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T21:54:03","slug":"vetoed-california-bill-divides-indian-americans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/8571\/","title":{"rendered":"Vetoed California bill divides Indian Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Oct. 13, California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill, SB 509<\/a>, that would have trained local police on how to recognize and intervene when a foreign government appears to threaten members of its diaspora who express political dissent against their home countries.<\/p>\n

Known as \u201ctransnational repression,\u201d these intimidation tactics by foreign governments range from online harassment and digital surveillance to physical assault and extrajudicial killings. According to the human rights organization Freedom House, researchers have found that transnational repression is becoming increasingly common<\/a> worldwide, and several high-profile cases<\/a> have been reported in the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Sikh diaspora in particular has found itself in the crosshairs of alleged transnational repression by the Indian government, as several outspoken Sikh activists in the U.S. and Canada have been targeted, surveilled, and, in some cases, killed in attacks that activists allege were orchestrated by individuals with links to the Indian government. <\/p>\n

In June 2023, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and advocate for an independent Sikh state called Khalistan, was assassinated by four Indian nationals<\/a>. Then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadian officials had \u201ccredible allegations<\/a>\u201d that linked the Indian government to Nijjar\u2019s killing. Indian officials have denied involvement, though a U.S. court filing<\/a> this month suggested new evidence of possible coordination between Indian operatives and accused conspirators in separate cases. Around the same time, FBI agents foiled a murder-for-hire plot<\/a> against a Sikh separatist leader in New York. In California, FBI agents also visited three Sikh activists after Nijjar\u2019s assassination to warn them<\/a> that their lives were in danger.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Though SB 509 did not name specific countries, debate around the bill has inflamed political divisions<\/a> among South Asian groups in California. Three Sikh organizations, alongside progressive Indian and Kashmiri advocacy groups, stressed that the bill would protect vulnerable immigrant and refugee communities in the state.<\/p>\n

While one Sikh organization had opposed the bill, the most vocal criticism came from two influential Hindu advocacy organizations: Hindu American Foundation<\/a> (HAF) and the Coalition of Hindus of North America<\/a> (CoHNA). In their joint campaign, they argued that Hindus\u2019 political speech would be criminalized should it align with the Indian government, including criticisms of the Khalistan movement that some Sikhs advocate for.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to HAF\u2019s online campaign materials, HAF also appealed to pro-Israel and Jewish groups to join the opposition, like Stand With Us<\/a> and the Bay Area Jewish Coalition<\/a>, both of which officially opposed SB 509. In those materials, HAF called the Sikh Coalition<\/a> and the Jakara Movement<\/a>\u2014two of the pro-SB 509 Sikh groups\u2014antisemitic for supporting pro-Palestine activism and drew broad comparisons between the Khalistan and Palestine causes.<\/p>\n

In a statement<\/a> explaining the veto, Newsom said he believes the governor\u2019s administration and federal agencies are best positioned to address transnational repression and that codifying the definitions presented in the bill of what constitutes a threat by a foreign government would hamper the state\u2019s ability to respond.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy administration moved quickly to provide local agencies with the necessary tools to protect these impacted communities while maintaining essential administrative flexibility to adapt to this evolving issue,\u201d Newsom said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also pointed to a training<\/a> already in development by California\u2019s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) in partnership with federal agencies to educate local law enforcement on transnational repression. It is not yet clear to what extent this training will meet the goals of SB 509.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a press release<\/a>, HAF said the bill contained \u201cvague language which threatened to institutionalize bias against Hindus, Indian Americans, and other ethnic minorities.\u201d Advocates for SB 509 dispute that characterization<\/a>, saying the bill protected all communities and didn\u2019t reference any religion or ethnicity. HAF said it met several times with the bill\u2019s authors\u2014state Sen. Anna Caballero and state Assembly Members Jasmeet Bains and Esmeralda Soria\u2014to discuss changes to the bill, but said the updates were insufficient.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout these further protections, SB 509 would have effectively silenced Hindus from speaking out against Khalistani extremism and separatism, as well exposed Hindu Americans to accusations of supporting foreign governments,\u201d HAF said. The organization also said that it will work with the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to ensure the training in development is \u201cunbiased and that the Hindu community is protected.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an Instagram post<\/a>, the Sikh Coalition said that it remained committed to supporting tools to combat transnational repression and reached out to CalOES to learn more about the new training. The group condemned HAF in a press release<\/a> as part of \u201ca vocal minority with outsize influence\u201d for fearmongering and spreading misinformation about the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany such voices have justified transnational repression, claimed it doesn\u2019t exist, or otherwise belittled the threats and violence our community has experienced,\u201d the Sikh Coalition said on Instagram. \u201cAt the same time, Sikhs continue to face discrimination and coordinated targeting from the government of India.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foreign threats against California\u2019s Sikhs<\/p>\n

The lawmakers behind SB 509 represent some 2 million Californians from the diverse cultural mosaic of the Central Valley. The region is the epicenter of the state\u2019s multibillion-dollar agricultural industry and home to multiple generations of Sikh immigrants from the Indian state of Punjab.<\/p>\n

The Central Valley is also a site of activism in support of establishing an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan. The Indian government considers the Khalistan movement<\/a> to be an extremist national security threat due to a violent insurgency led by Sikh guerrillas in the 1980s and 1990s. The armed movement is no longer active, but a number of Sikhs abroad\u2014some of whom sought asylum in California during the uprising and India\u2019s brutal counterinsurgency\u2014organize nonviolent rallies<\/a> and nonbinding referendums<\/a> in support of Khalistan. The Sikh Coalition and the Jakara Movement do not take pro-Khalistan positions, but support Sikh Americans\u2019 First Amendment right to advocate for the cause.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In recent years, Sikh Californians have reported incidents of surveillance and threats<\/a> by people claiming to work for the Indian government. According to a report conducted by the Sikh Coalition, in 2023, a man walked into a gurdwara in Stockton known as a hub for Khalistan activism and told a religious leader there that India was monitoring the gurdwara and to stop its political activities. Members of the gurdwara\u2019s leadership later received suspicious phone calls and text messages, including from someone claiming they worked for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s political party.<\/p>\n

Since SB 509 was introduced earlier this year, Sikh communities up and down the valley organized to support its passage, often rallied together by the larger Sikh organizations that endorsed the bill. <\/p>\n

Graham F. West, the Sikh Coalition\u2019s managing director of policy and communications, explained how the training proposed in the bill would have helped law enforcement distinguish between an interpersonal threat and a potential case of transnational repression.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomebody who looks like me,\u201d said West, who is white, \u201cwho calls the police to say, \u2018I think somebody might be stalking me or taking photos outside of my home,\u2019 versus somebody who\u2019s very active in Sikh self-determination or has a credible fear around foreign interference \u2026 law enforcement should hear those two calls very differently, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

SB 509\u2019s supporters believed that the bill was a much-needed safeguard against the long arm of authoritarian governments<\/a> in Iran, India, China, and other countries known to target the political speech and actions of emigres.<\/p>\n

We need to make sure that law enforcement and our government is equipped to investigate and \u2026 protect Californians from targeting by foreign countries. We don\u2019t think that is a controversial goal.<\/p>\n

Vivek\u00a0Kembaiyan, Western Regional organizer for Hindus for Human Rights<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to make sure that law enforcement and our government is equipped to investigate and respond to that and to protect Californians from targeting by foreign countries,\u201d said Vivek\u00a0Kembaiyan, the Western Regional organizer for Hindus for Human Rights<\/a>, an advocacy group that supported the bill. \u201cWe don\u2019t think that is a controversial goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nationally, victims, advocates, and political scientists have also sounded the alarm on the prevalence of foreign governments surveilling and threatening<\/a> Americans for their protected speech.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sarah Leah Whitson is the executive director of the human rights nonprofit DAWN<\/a>, founded by Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist who was murdered by the Saudi government<\/a> in 2018. Whitson cited Khashoggi\u2019s assassination as an example of transnational repression, as well as the recent beating<\/a> of 22- and 15-year-old pro-Palestinian protesters by Egyptian government officials outside of a United Nations building in New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She suggested that legislators need to be more scrutinizing of transnational repression not just from governments like China and Russia, but also U.S. allies like Saudi Arabia and Israel, as well as Egypt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hoping that the state of California will take these episodes of transnational repression more seriously,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Free speech debates<\/p>\n

In their campaign against SB 509, HAF and CoHNA argued that the bill could prevent California\u2019s Hindus from vocalizing their criticisms of the Khalistan movement without being accused by state law enforcement of engaging in transnational repression.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bill would train law enforcement to treat any Californian of Indian origin\u2014particularly Hindus\u2014as agents of the Government of India,\u201d read their joint petition<\/a>, which was taken down after Newsom vetoed the bill.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf law enforcement is trained to believe certain ethnic or religious communities are inherently vulnerable or inherently suspect, without adequate evidentiary standards, then it is not a far leap to believe that certain groups can be criminally prosecuted for being alleged foreign agents,\u201d Mat McDermott, a spokesperson for HAF, told Prism in an email before the veto. He referenced false espionage accusations<\/a> leveled by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Chinese citizens living in the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bill did not specify any ethnic or religious communities, and a draft outline of the training proposed by SB 509 included case studies of transnational repression from China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia, and India.<\/p>\n

Pushpita Prasad, CoHNA\u2019s chief communications officer, pointed to an uptick in \u201canti-India\u201d graffiti sprayed on Hindu temples<\/a> around California as part of her reason for opposing the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe attackers through their actions clearly imply that the congregants of these temples are proxies for the Indian Government and thus seen as available targets,\u201d CoHNA said in an email before the veto. \u201cSB 509 will give legal weight to that presumption that Hindu [sic] and Hindu places are proxies for the Indian Government.\u201d<\/p>\n

While CoHNA and HAF have voiced concern about Hindu Americans being the potential targets of investigations into transnational repression, HAF has held sessions for law enforcement in California that portrayed Khalistan activists as linked to terrorism and suggested they be \u201cmonitored,\u201d according to an investigation<\/a> published in The Sacramento Bee in February 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sikh Coalition Senior State Policy Manager Puneet Kaur Sandu said SB 509 would have protected First Amendment rights for all Californians, regardless of background or political convictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s speech or organizations\u2014especially those that serve diasporic communities\u2014[they would have been] more protected, not more threatened, by this legislation,\u201d Sandu said. \u201cAt its core, this is a bill about freedom of speech, about safety, about civil liberties for all Californians, including HAF and CoHNA, despite our disagreements.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Political researchers<\/a>, academics<\/a>, and activists have denounced HAF and CoHNA as advocating for policies\u2014both domestically and in India\u2014that they say align with Hindu nationalism, the political ideology<\/a> of Modi and his party. Both organizations have engaged in efforts to deplatform scholars<\/a> whose research focuses on the dangers of Hindu supremacy.<\/p>\n

In June, a gurdwara in Fremont that supported SB 509 asked the DOJ to investigate HAF<\/a> for allegedly maintaining a \u201cfiduciary\u201d relationship with the Indian Embassy, which HAF has denied. HAF was also criticized for its position against a California bill that would have created legal protections for caste-oppressed workers<\/a>. Newsom vetoed the bill in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cHAF is not a Hindu nationalist organization, whatever that term means,\u201d McDermott told Prism. \u201cWe represent Hindu Americans, a diverse group that includes those with no ancestral ties to India or who have little to no connection to India.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In drumming up opposition against SB 509, HAF reached beyond South Asian communities to pro-Israel Jewish organizations by claiming that the bill would classify pro-Israel advocacy as transnational repression.<\/p>\n

HAF alleged in a document titled \u201cWhy SB 509 Should Worry California\u2019s Jewish Communities\u201d that the Sikh Coalition and the Jakara Movement \u201cespouse antisemitic hate,\u201d which HAF included as expressing sympathy with the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, speaking out in support of pro-Palestine protesters, and opposing the federal government\u2019s widely criticized<\/a> effort to expand the definition of antisemitism<\/a>. \u201cWe stand by the threats that the vague language in SB 509 would have posed to a number of communities in California, including the Jewish community and many others,\u201d HAF Managing Director Samir Kalra told Prism in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n

The document also compared the Khalistan movement to \u201cPro-Palestine extremism,\u201d and claimed that pro-Palestine advocates \u201cfalsely claim Israel has committed a genocide against Muslims in Gaza and the West Bank.\u201d One Jewish and two Israeli American organizations registered their opposition to SB 509.<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly their priority is not in passing sound public safety policy\u2014it\u2019s in stoking fear and spreading misinformation, which really hurts all of our communities, not just the communities they represent,\u201d said Sandhu. \u201cTo try to frame your opposition as an interfaith conflict really hurts the greater diaspora overall, at a time where we would like to be sticking together and working together more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Editorial Team:
Rashmee Kumar, Lead Editor
Carolyn Copeland, Top Editor
Rikki Li, Copy Editor<\/p>\n

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