Wellington, April 11 (NationPress) A New Zealand tribunal has made headlines by dismissing a Sikh man's asylum plea as "completely fabricated", a report revealed on Saturday. In a ruling issued on March 27, the tribunal rejected the harassment allegations presented by Ranbir Singh, originally from Jammu and Kashmir, due to a lack of credibility, instructing him to return to India.

The tribunal cautioned that if countries like Australia, Canada, and the US do not take decisive actions, the asylum system—intended to safeguard the persecuted—will be exploited as a back-door visa service by individuals aiming to relocate to the West.

Singh, a 27-year-old Sikh from Ranbir Singh Pura in Jammu, arrived in New Zealand in 2023 on a visitor visa. He claimed to have suffered repeated family evacuations owing to tensions at the India-Pakistan border and alleged assaults by local BJP members for his refusal to join them. However, New Zealand’s Immigration and Protection Tribunal saw through these claims. In its March 27 decision, it declared Jammu to be ‘reasonably safe’ for civilians, noting a significant drop in civilian fatalities from over 800 in 2002 to mere dozens annually, and dismissed Singh's narrative of political persecution as ‘completely fabricated’—particularly since he had not mentioned it in previous hearings. The tribunal dryly remarked that his situation was ‘far removed from genuine war-zone cases like those from Ukraine’ and instructed him to return home, as reported by 'Khalsa Vox.'

The report emphasizes that this incident is not an isolated occurrence but rather a part of a wider “cynical, industrial-scale strategy” prevalent in parts of Punjab, which is putting pressure on the asylum systems of Western democracies like Australia, Canada, and the United States.

According to the report, visa and immigration consultants operating openly in India are coaching clients on how to fabricate ‘evidence’ of oppression. Their strategy is well-documented and follows a dishearteningly repetitive pattern: attending pro-Khalistan rallies abroad, posing with banners and Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) referendum cards, taking selfies, and posting them online, then claiming they will face persecution upon returning to India for ‘supporting Khalistan’. This narrative can easily be replaced with another—whether it involves border tensions, BJP harassment, or vague 'political activity'.

In 2025, Canadian courts and the Immigration and Refugee Board encountered hundreds of these nearly identical, formulaic claims. At least 30 Federal Court reviews of Khalistan-related asylum appeals were dismissed that year, with judges consistently flagging ‘disingenuous’ political conversions, ‘last-minute’ social media posts, and ‘opportunistic’ narratives.

The report underscores that the broader context makes such fraudulent claims even more alarming, as Sikhs in India are not a persecuted minority but rather a vibrant, integral part of the national landscape. “A Sikh has served as Prime Minister; Sikhs hold prominent positions in the armed forces, business, and public life; and Punjab remains one of India’s more prosperous states. The Khalistan movement, which led to genuine violence in the 1980s and 1990s, is now a fringe cause rejected by the vast majority of Sikhs living in India,” it concluded.