The celebration of Indira Gandhi’s assassination in Canada has brought attention back to the ongoing Khalistan issue. Amritpal Singh, who is currently in custody, previously stunned Canada and India. He was the most recent separatist figure to call for the creation of a separate Sikh state. He attacked a police station to daringly save his aide, Lovepreet Singh Toofan.
Such incidents make us fathom how a small section of Khalistanis, sikh separatists, continue to live in Canada, and how they have influenced the country’s relationship with India.
Who Are Khalistanis?
Guru Nanak created the Sikh religion in Punjab in the 15th century, and it now has roughly 25 million adherents worldwide. In India, where there are 1.3 billion people, Sikhs make up fewer than 2% of the population, nonetheless, they are the majority in Punjab.
Around the time India gained independence from Britain in 1947, some Sikhs called for the creation of a nation in the state of Punjab specifically for adherents of their faith. This is when the modern Khalistan movement first gained traction. The Sikh community had made a “big call” for improved political representation.
Some of the worst violence occurred in Punjab, which was divided in two. Sikhs started to fight for their political and cultural independence more actively, and the Khalistan cause gained popularity. Many people have died in violent fights that have broken out between movement supporters and the Indian government throughout the years.
The Indian army’s invasion of the Golden Temple in 1984 enraged the Sikh community there and abroad and continues to be a simmering source of tension today.
According to Human Rights Watch, some Sikh separatists in Punjab engaged in a number of human rights violations at the height of the insurgency in the early 1980s, including killings of civilians, indiscriminate bombings, and assaults on minority Hindus.
Also Read: Who Is Amritpal Singh And Why Is He So Much In The News These Days?
Khalistanis In Canada
This is not the first time that the assassination of Indira Gandhi has been celebrated in Canada.
A depiction depicting Indira’s murder graced the cover of Toronto-based Punjabi-language weekly Sanjh Savera’s issue on the anniversary of her passing in 2002 and a headline urging readers to ‘Honor the martyrs who killed the sinner’.
Canada has for long been considered a safe haven for Khalistan supporters and militant voices accused of terrorism in India. “The meek Canadian response to the Khalistani challenge was a frequent target of Indian politicians as far back as 1982, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi complained about it to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau,” Terry Milewski wrote in his book Blood for Blood: Fifty Years of the Global Khalistan Project (2021).
According to the Canadian census of 2021, Sikhs make up 2.1% of the population and are the fastest-growing religious minority in the nation. Canada has the largest Sikh population in the world after India.
Sikhs now hold positions of authority in all tiers of the Canadian government, and the growing Sikh population is one of the nation’s most significant political constituencies.
How Do They Impact Canada-India Relations?
On June 4, a march was held in Brampton, where a tableau commemorating the killing of former prime minister Indira Gandhi included a woman with her hands raised and wearing a white saree splattered with blood while men wearing turbans pointed weapons at her. A poster behind the scene read “Revenge for the attack on Darbar Sahib”.
The tableau drew strong reactions from India, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar registering his disapproval. “Frankly, we are at a loss to understand other than the requirements of vote bank politics why anybody would do this … I think there is a larger underlying issue… I think it is not good for relationships, not good for Canada,” stated Jaishankar.
In fact, Amritpal Singh, the leader of the Sikh separatist movement, fostered unrest not only in India but also in Canada while he was on the run. Dramatic footage recorded hundreds of Singh’s fans marching through the streets of Punjab, some with swords and weapons, calling for his release. To ensure peace and order, numerous armed police and paramilitary units were stationed in different districts.
Unknown assailants vandalised a Ram temple in Mississauga on February 17, 2023, with anti-Indian graffiti. Extremist Khalistanis destroyed the Gauri Shankar Mandir on January 31, 2023, in Brampton, Ontario. ‘Khalistan Zindabad, Hindustan Murdabad’ slogans were spray-painted on the exterior walls.
The same sentiments, “Khalistan Zindabad, Hindustan Murdabad,” were painted on the walls of a Toronto temple in September of last year, according to videos that went viral on social media at the time. Backtracking even further, six Hindu temples were allegedly attacked in Toronto in February 2022 by radicals.
When conflicts between Khalistani and Indian supporters occurred in Mississauga in October 2022, police said that up to 400 people were involved. Videos of the chaotic events were shared on social media.
The relationship between India and Canada was shaken up by the movement’s expansion in Canada and a string of violent acts committed by those connected to it. On the one hand, the Canadian government has been criticized by the Indian government for failing to take strict action against Khalistanis living in India.
The Canadian government has said that it does not “support and recognise” the so-called “Khalistan referendums” that are routinely carried out in the nation by forbidden Sikh organizations and that it is in favour of a “united India.”
Though both the countries continue to condemn violence created by Khalistanis, they surely have touched a string of their relationship that might be near to tearing, in case violence persists.
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: Outlook, Indian Express, CNN
Find the blogger: Palak Dogra
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