Once again, India and Canada are at an impasse. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused the Indian government of making a “fundamental error” by allegedly supporting a campaign of violence against Canadian citizens. Canada claims to have expelled six Indian diplomats. India denied the allegations and quickly retaliated, ordering six Canadian diplomats to leave the country within a week, fearing their safety.
Sanjay Kumar Verma, the recalled Indian High Commissioner to Canada, narrated to mediapersons the terrifying moment when a Khalistan supporter attacked him with a sword in Alberta. “A couple of times they came very close to bodily harm us…They were carrying a sword, it was not a Kirpan…When I was in Alberta, a sword came around 2-2.5 inches close to my body,” he said.
This was not the first time, nor will it be the last, that Khalistanis have attended an event of the peaceful Indian community in Canada. Just this October, Khalistani extremists tried to disrupt two events hosted by COHNA (Coalition of Hindus of North America) in Calgary and Edmonton.
Being one of the scheduled speakers at both events, I had a firsthand experience of how the Khalistanis stood outside, trying to “intimidate attendees and discourage speakers via on-site demonstrations.” There was a conscious attempt by them “to block entrances, raise threatening slogans on loudspeakers,” they even “refused to vacate private property despite requests from venue managers and owners. The demonstrators displayed large posters calling for violence against state heads as well as hateful imagery depicting MP Chandra Arya. The heightening tensions created a situation where CoHNA had to request law enforcement to ensure the safety of organisers and attendees.”
Khalistanis in Canada
At Edmonton, Khalistanis went one step further. A local radio host, Gursharan Buttar, misused his press credentials, entered the meeting, and tried to disrupt the programme during the Q and A session.
One particular incident left a mark on me. As Buttar challenged the host with ridiculous questions, he “pointed toward a nearby Hindu temple in a menacing tone, threatening that such events could harm community peace. When community members attempted to engage with him, Buttar and his followers walked out of the event, disrupting the decorum of the civil engagement.”
Such is the pressure from Khalistanis that many guests scheduled to attend the talks did not show up. COHNA was told before the event that three city councillors and Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith, would attend the event in Calgary. In Edmonton, Alberta’s Minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism, Mohammad Yaseen, did not join but sent his parliamentary secretary to convey his support.
Independent journalist Mocha Bezirgan recorded a Khalistani protester taking a picture of his licence plate. Some volunteers claimed that the Khalistanis allegedly took photos of almost everyone’s car who attended the talks in both Calgary and Edmonton. While Buttar was heckling the host at Edmonton, two other gentlemen recorded other attendees from their cellphones inside the venue.
The question that arises after reading this tale of intimidation and heckling by Khalistanis is: what circumstances have led them to be so brazen in a supposed first-world country like Canada? Can such actions happen without political encouragement and tacit approval from the entire political landscape in Canada? The Canadian Khalistani movement works in a multi-layered manner, influencing various aspects of Canadian socio-political life.
Verma is right when he says “there are only about 10,000 such people, while supporters amount to perhaps 1 lakh in a Sikh population of about 8 lakh”. But this number is enough for the Khalistanis to influence Canadian life disproportionately.
Let us take a look at a few examples. During the farmers’ protest, almost every political leader of Punjabi origin in Canada took the same stance, cutting across party lines. How can this feat be achieved? In some cases, the leaders do not even bother changing the text of their tweets.
Deeply concerned about news reports coming out of #Punjab, India. The suspension of internet services and restricted gatherings of more than 4 people in some areas. We are closely following the situation.
— Randeep S. Sarai (@randeepssarai) March 18, 2023
Deeply concerned about reports coming out of Punjab. Civil rights and liberties should be maintained in a democracy. Hope this is resolved peacefully soon.
— Arpan Khanna (@ArpanKhanna) March 19, 2023
Very concerned about reports coming out of Punjab, India. The government has suspended internet services and restricted gatherings of more than 4 people in some areas. We are closely following the situation.
— Tim S. Uppal (@TimUppal) March 18, 2023
Very concerned about reports coming out of Punjab, India. The government has suspended internet services and restricted gatherings of more than 4 people in some areas. We are closely following the situation.
— Jasraj Singh Hallan 🇨🇦 (@jasrajshallan) March 18, 2023
A rigged system
ThePrint recently reported how the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) confirmed that Sandeep Singh Sidhu, who is “wanted for promoting terrorist activities” in Punjab and the murder of a Shaurya Chakra awardee in Punjab’s Tarn Taran, is one of their employees.
The Canadian primary system is completely rigged. Veteran Canadian journalist Balraj Deol explained this in detail when he narrated how the Khalistanis hijacked almost every nomination race in the Indian majority areas of the Canadian political system, especially in the case of Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) and the New Democratic Party (NDP).
PM Trudeau recently defended the rules allowing foreigners to vote in Liberal nomination races even if they aren’t permanent residents. In a pre-hearing interview for the Hogue inquiry, he said, “Expanding the pool is also a way to try to engage future voters—those too young to vote or who are not yet Canadian citizens.” Katie Telford, a top aide to Trudeau, also opposed the need for uniform rules for party riding nomination races, which are largely unregulated in Canada.
Khalistanis systematically exploit this loophole in the Canadian system, using the old Indian adage of Sāmā, Dāna, Daṇḍa, and Bheda. Even though they number at most around 100,000, they manage to place a disproportionate number of Khalistanis within the federal, provincial, and municipal systems. These people then toe the Khalistani line, as they are both ideologically and financially dependent on those who helped them get elected.
If some independent journalists report on the activities of Khalistanis, they are silenced either through lawsuits or physical intimidation. If Sikh community leaders like San Jose California Gurudwara chief Bhupinder Singh Dhillon try to oppose them, then Khalistanis put a virtual bounty on their head by displaying their photographs.
India needs to do more
The Indian government thinks banning X accounts of individual Khalistanis in India might help it solve the problem. But Indian passport holders live outside India too. The Indian government recently extended the ban imposed on pro-Khalistan group Sikhs For Justice for five years. That has not stopped Gurpatwant Singh Pannun from issuing constant threats to Indians across the globe.
If the Indian government really wants to solve the Khalistan problem outside Canada and make life safer for Indian citizens living abroad, it will have to take a more aggressive and proactive approach. Targeted cancellation of OCI accounts and rethinking our trade with Canada will be a great starting point.
But the messaging from India seems to be mixed. Yes, Khalistan might well be a Canadian problem, but it still affects Indian passport holders living in Canada. The Indian state also shares the responsibility for the safety and security of those citizens, and it should try to adopt a multi-pronged strategy to nip this in the bud.
Kushal Mehra hosts the Cārvāka podcast and is the author of “Nastik: Why I Am Not An Atheist”. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)
It’s sad and utterly disappointing.
The Canadians do not realise this today but the Khalistani snakes, being reared so lovingly by them, will turn on them sooner or later. And they will reap what they have sown.
Snakes have no sense of loyalty or allegiance. And they eventually bite the hand that feeds them. The Pakistanis can attest to this.