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India blames separatists for violence in the Punjab

India has blamed Sikh separatists and their network of supporters in Europe and North America for communal violence in which it is reported hundreds have been killed and thousands have been arrested.

A 196-page official report entitled ''White Paper on Punjab Agitation'' and published by the government Tuesday said Sikh groups based in the United States, Canada, Britain, and West Germany actively supported a campaign to establish a separate nation called Khalistan in the rich farming state of Punjab.

''A sensitive border state with a dynamic record of agricultural and industrial development would be an obvious target for subversion. In this context the activities of groups based abroad acquire a special significance ,'' it said.