OTTAWA: Canadian Sikhs are grateful to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for giving voice to their fears and standing up to India at the risk of severe backlash from New Delhi, which he said could be linked to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader.
The Indian government considered Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who was shot to death in June in British Columbia (BC), a terrorist because of his advocacy for Khalistan, an independent Sikh state.
India has forcefully denied its involvement in Nijjar’s murder, which took place in the parking lot of a Sikh temple in Surrey, BC. But Canadian Sikhs are unconvinced, and the minority who are active proponents of Khalistan are afraid.
“There’s a lot of fear,” said Sentokh Singh, who was among the small group who protested in front of the Indian High Commission in Ottawa this week. “That’s why we are here today.”
Both countries expelled diplomats in a tit-for-tat retaliation after Trudeau’s bombshell announcement last week, but India has gone further, issuing a travel warning and halting visa issuance to Canadians.
Trudeau’s move risks derailing a strategic economic and political shift many Western countries are making towards India to counter China. It also distracted attention from his push to address cost-of-living concerns, which have weighed heavily on his popularity in opinion polls.
Canada is home to about 770,000 Sikhs, the highest population outside the northern Indian state of Punjab, and the Indian government has for decades expressed its displeasure with some community members’ outspoken support for Khalistan.
Sikhs punch above their weight in Canadian politics. They have 15 members in the House of Commons, more than 4 per cent of the seats, mostly from key battlegrounds in national elections, while comprising only about 2 per cent of the Canadian population.
Furthermore, one member is Jagmeet Singh, leader of the opposition New Democrats, a left-leaning party that is supporting Trudeau’s minority government.
“In political terms, this is no-brainer: You got to get out ahead of the story and you got to express outrage,” said Fen Hampson, professor of international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa.
Trudeau’s “unsubstantiated allegations” seek to shift focus away from “Khalistani terrorists and extremists who have been provided shelter in Canada,” India’s foreign ministry said.
Canada says Sikhs have a right to peaceful protest and there has been no evidence of violence, terrorist activity or wrongdoing.
Source: CNA
