A militant leader has been declared a martyr by the Sikh religion's highest political body, sparking fears of a revival of Sikh militancy in Canada and elsewhere in the world.

The martyrdom was recently bestowed upon Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed during a 1984 Indian army operation, called Operation Blue Star, to flush out militants holed up inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Police allege that Operation Blue Star on Sikhdom's holiest shrine triggered a revenge attack in which Sikh militants in Canada placed a bomb on Air India Flight 182 in June 1985.

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale

All 329 aboard died when the bomb exploded off Ireland and the jet fell into the ocean.

Two baggage handlers were killed an hour earlier at Tokyo's Narita Airport, when a bomb exploded in luggage from Canada that was being transferred to an Air India flight there.

The Air India bombing trial is ongoing in Vancouver's B.C. Supreme court.

The cop who is credited with putting down Sikh militancy in India is warning that the move to make martyrs out of those involved in Operation Blue Star will lead to a revival of Sikh terrorism worldwide.

"What is brewing is dangerous. Don't play with fire," said former Punjab police chief K.P.S. Gill.

"The attempt is to revive the Khalistani movement. They are trying to get all foreign Sikh groups to come under the banner of Pak Gurudwara Committee," Gill told an Indian TV station.

"This should not be seen in isolation but as a part of a series of events happening in Delhi and around the world," he said.

Gill was commenting on Sikh's highest body declaring Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale a martyr.

Bhindranwale was killed during a 1984 Indian army operation, called Operation Blue Star, to flush out militants holed up inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Families of around 40 other leaders who died during Operation Blue Star were also honoured. The move was described as dangerous by former Punjab police chief K.P.S. Gill.

Meanwhile, Canada's spy agency, in a rare statement last week, said allegations that one of its agents may have known about the Air India bombing before the plane blew up off the Irish coast in June 1985 were "absurd."

The statement followed media reports said that a Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) agent had infiltrated a Sikh militant group prior to the bombing and may have known about the plan. The reports, citing Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) interrogation files, allege that CSIS pulled out its mole"named as Surjan Singh Gill"just three days before Air India Flight 182 exploded and then hid his activities from the RCMP.

Vancouver businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri are currently on trial in Vancouver for their alleged role in the destruction of Air India Flight 182 and the murder of all 329 people on board.

The RCMP believe fanatical Sikh militants living in Canada designed and carried out the Air India and Narita bombings to further the push for an independent Khalistan, in India's Punjab region.

Part of the police theory was that Air India aircraft were legitimate targets because they were highly visible symbols of the Indian government.

Khalistan declared its independence on October 7, 1987. That declaration has not been recognized by any country - and India retains sovereignty over the area.

The battle over the region has been a bloody one. More than 250,000 Sikhs were killed by Indian security forces in Punjab between 1984 and 1992. It was also a period during which Sikh terrorists struck Indian targets seemingly at will.

The attacks escalated after Indian security forces stormed the Golden Temple in Amritsar on June 8, 1984.

Militant Sikhs had occupied the temple, the holiest shrine to Sikhs.

The Indian government claimed the temple was being used as a base by insurgents to plan terrorist attacks.

Sikhs argue that the assault on the Golden Temple, and 38 other temples in Punjab, was the beginning of an Indian genocide campaign against Sikhs.

Sikh officials say the Indian government killed 20,000 people in the assaults. Sikhs now observe June 8 as Khalistan Martyrs Day.