Khalistan was the name given to a proposed nation-state encompassing much of the area of Punjabi-speaking India and Pakistan.
The literal meaning of Khalistan is "The Sovereign Land," which would be comprised of an egalitarian social system. The ideal type of governance would be the Sikh concept of "halemi-raj," meaning 'humanitarian & just governance.' In this definition of governance, the citizens of the country with political authority are servants of the same ideology as normal citizens; and their position as an official of the government would grant them authority to make decisions based on the public, rather than self-serving power.
It is supported by Sikh separatists as a homeland for the Sikhs and other communities. Since there is no historical claim to the land as a Sikh homeland, and on account of the portrayal by International media of Sikhs as radical, public opinion in India is against the proposal. The idea of a nation-state called Khalistan is no longer prominent in India, but is supported by some Sikhs in other countries, notably the United States.
Sociologically, the Khalistan movement could be interpreted as a consequence of the "Green Revolution" which transformed agriculture in Indian Punjab from a subsitence farming to an agricultural industry. Instead of farmers relying on nature farmers adopted mechanised irrigation and cultivation. This resulted in squeezing out those who could not acquire new technology or had little land or were against the new values of profit and making money used Sikh religion as a garb to express their frustration in the form of protests and the assertion for political autonomy.
