Dozens of pro-Khalistan Sikh activists protested outside the Indian consulate in Vancouver on Wednesday to mark the second anniversary of the killing of B.C. gurdwara leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The Khalistan movement refers to a Sikh separatist movement that seeks to create an independent Sikh state in parts of northern India.
Nijjar, a key organizer for an unofficial overseas referendum on Khalistan, was gunned down in the parking lot of Surrey, B.C.’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, where he was president, on June 18, 2023.
Moninder Singh, spokesperson for the Sikh Federation (Canada), said Nijjar’s death has galvanized the community over the last two years.
“It was a wake-up call that that violence has made its way to Canada, unfortunately.” Singh said at the Vancouver protest.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a gurdwara leader who advocated for an independent Sikh state, known as Khalistan, in parts of present-day India. He was killed at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey in 2023, in a high-profile case that strained relations between Canada and India. Four Indian nationals have since been charged with first-degree murder in relation to the death. As CBC’s Jessica Cheung explains, some in the Surrey community are still looking for answers regarding who ordered Nijjar’s death and whether there are more targets.
Four Indian nationals — Karan Brar, Kamalpreet Singh, Karanpreet Singh and Amandeep Singh — have been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with Nijjar’s killing.
Months after Nijjar’s death in 2023, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being linked to Nijjar’s killing, leading to strained relations between India and Canada.
On Wednesday, Singh highlighted that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has said India’s government continues to be a foreign interference concern, according to its annual report released Tuesday.
“Links between the Government of India and the Nijjar murder signals a significant escalation in India’s repression efforts against the Khalistan movement and a clear intent to target individuals in North America,” said the CSIS report.
Singh said the issue of foreign interference extends beyond the Sikh community.
“That’s actually violating Canada’s sovereignty, undermining its electoral process, its democratic institutions,” he said.
“So for us this is really very much a Canadian issue, and not just a Sikh issue.”
Day after G7 meeting
The anniversary rally comes a day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the G7 summit in Alberta and met with his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney.
After the meeting, the two countries agreed to reinstate their high commissioners and are eyeing renewed visa services to each other’s citizens and businesses, in a sign that Canada-India relations are defrosting.
Singh said it was “frustrating” to see Modi at the meeting, and added that rebuilding the bilateral relationship without set outcomes is “very, very premature.”
He said without clear objectives, the Canadian government won’t be able to share how it has mitigated the threat of India’s foreign influence.
At the G7, Carney did not directly answer a journalist’s question about his discussion with Modi about Nijjar’s murder.
“We have had a discussion, the prime minister and I, about the importance of having the law enforcement-to-law enforcement dialogue, not just dialogue, but co-operation,” Carney said during a G7 news conference Tuesday.
“Obviously there is a judicial process underway, and I need to be careful about further commentary.”
Modi’s government has denied ordering killings in Canada.
