Sikh Youth of Punjab (SYP)

What it is: Sikh Youth of Punjab (SYP) is the youth wing of Dal Khalsa, the Amritsar-based Sikh organisation that demands an independent Khalistan by political means. Sikh Siyasat News calls it Dal Khalsa's youth wing, and The World Sikh News calls it "a Dal Khalsa affiliate".

How it began: At a Dal Khalsa general body meeting at Gurdwara Akalgarh, Amritsar, on 8 August 2008, which also elected Harcharanjit Singh Dhami president for a two-year term, the party decided to form a youth wing under this name. SikhNet records its purpose as to "promote the spirit of Sikh Nationalism" and to "instill a sense of pride among young Sikhs", with its structure to be announced on 28 November, the birth anniversary of Baba Zorawar Singh (the report gives no year). The next trace is a meeting in Amritsar on 18 November 2012, when SikhNet named Ranbir Singh as head and reported a resolve to act against drug abuse, apostasy and the spread of deras.

Leaders, in order: Ranbir Singh headed it in 2012. Paramjit Singh Tanda was its president in August 2017. On 25 September 2017 Sikh Siyasat News reported that he had resigned from SYP to join Dal Khalsa, where he was made secretary general, and that Paramjit Singh Mand was appointed acting head of SYP, tasked with reviving the body by the end of that year. Reports call Mand SYP president in November 2018 and December 2019. In November 2023 and March 2025 the president was Gurnam Singh Moonak, with Maan Singh and Satbir Singh named as vice president and general secretary. The reports found do not show who led SYP between 2020 and 2023, or who leads it now.

Key moments

• April 2018: SYP announced a gherao of the Punjab Governor's House in Chandigarh to stop the release of the film Nanak Shah Fakir, which depicts Guru Nanak. Mand said the copies should be confiscated and destroyed.
• 20 November 2018: Punjab Police raided the homes of several Sikh youth activists. Gurjant Singh, SYP district president for Amritsar, was taken into custody, and Mand's house was raided in his absence. The purpose of the raids was not known.
• 17 December 2019: Led by Mand, SYP stood with students of Guru Nanak Dev University protesting police action at Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University and opposing the citizenship law (CAA) and the proposed NRC.
• November 2023: an Ardas outside Sachkhand Sri Darbar Sahib for the Bandi Singhs on the eve of Bandi Chhor Divas, with placards of Jagtar Singh Johal, Sandeep Singh Sunny and Amritpal Singh.
• March 2025: with Dal Khalsa, it pasted posters of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale on Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation buses at Hoshiarpur, after flags carrying his image were removed from Punjabi youths' motorcycles at Manali, ThePrint reported.

Where it stands: Coverage is thin and mostly from Panthic outlets, chiefly Sikh Siyasat News. The reports found give no constitution, membership figures or election process for the body.