Tag: Khalistan referendum

Khalistani Activist Hardeep Nijjar, Wanted in India, Shot Dead in Canada

The 46-year-old was accused in several terrorism-related cases in India and said to have played a key role in organising a referendum on Khalistan in Canada’s Ontario last year.

New Delhi: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a man who was president of a Canadian gurdwara and wanted for terrorism in India, was shot to death by unidentified people in Surrey, British Columbia on Sunday, June 18.

The 46-year-old was found dead inside his truck in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey on the evening of June 18, the Vancouver Sun reported.

Local police have not yet confirmed his identity.

“Surrey RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] is aware of social media posts that are speculating on the identity of the victim, but are not in a position to confirm the victim’s identity at this very early time,” the Sun quoted an RCMP officer as saying.

A Twitter page named “BCSikhs” announced Nijjar’s death on Sunday evening (Pacific Daylight Time) saying that he was “shot dead, in his truck exiting the Gurdwara parking lot, by two gunmen”.

The Union government identified Nijjar as a terrorist heading a module called the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and accused him of being involved in “exhorting seditionary and insurrectionary imputations”, as well as “attempting to create disharmony among different communities in India”.

In July last year, the National Investigation Agency had announced a Rs 10 lakh reward on Nijjar, accusing him of killing a Hindu priest in Jalandhar in 2021.

Nijjar was also wanted for a bomb blast case from 2007 that killed six people in Ludhiana.

The Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia where Nijjar was shot dead. Photo: Google Street View/Google Earth.

According to The Quint, Nijjar was crucial in organising a referendum on Khalistan – a proposed separate nation for Sikhs in Punjab – in Brampton, Ontario in 2022 which saw over 1,00,000 people participate.

The external affairs ministry raised objections to the referendum and took up the matter with the Canadian authorities.

“We find it deeply objectionable that politically motivated exercises by extremist elements are allowed to take place in a friendly country. You’re all aware of the history of violence in this regard. And the government of India will continue to press the government of Canada on this matter,” ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said.

Irked Over Khalistan ‘Referendum’, India Urges Students in Canada to ‘Be Vigilant’

Indian students should “exercise due caution” as there has been a “sharp increase” in “anti-Indian activities” in the North American nation, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

New Delhi: A day after rebuking Canada for letting a ‘referendum’ on Khalistan take place on its territory, the Indian government has asked Indian students to “exercise due caution” as there has been a “sharp increase” in “anti-Indian activities” in the North American nation.

On Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that there had been a “sharp increase in incidents of hate crimes, sectarian violence and anti-India activities in Canada”.

The MEA and the Indian missions have taken up the matter in both Indian and Canadian capitals, with requests to investigate the crimes and take appropriate action. However, MEA stated that the “perpetrators of these crimes have not been brought to justice so far in Canada”.

“In view of the increasing incidences of crimes as described above, Indian nationals and students from India in Canada and those proceeding to Canada for travel/education are advised to exercise due caution and remain vigilant,” said the Indian government’s advisory.

While the Indian government had previously expressed concern about delays in giving visas to Indian students, this is the first time that it has effectively warned that Canada may not be a very safe place. 

The timing of the Indian advisory makes it clear that it is a signal of its ire with the Canadian government. Apart from the ‘referendum’, a Hindu temple in Toronto was defaced with Khalistani graffiti.

Less than 24 hours earlier, India reacted sharply to the “so-called Khalistan referendum” in Canada, saying it was “deeply objectionable” that such a “politically motivated” activity by extremist elements was allowed to take place in a friendly country.

The Khalistani group, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), banned in India since 2019, had organised a so-called referendum in Brampton, Canada, for carving out a separate nation from India. As per media reports, over 100,000 Canadian Sikhs voted in the ‘referendum’ on September 19.

Describing the event as a “farcical exercise”, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told reporters that after the matter had been raised, the government of Canada had reiterated that they respect India’s territorial integrity and will not recognise the referendum.

“However, we find it deeply objectionable that politically motivated exercises by extremist elements are allowed to take place in a friendly country. You’re all aware of the history of violence in this regard. And the government of India will continue to press the government of Canada on this matter,” he said.

India has been Canada’s largest source of international higher education students, with over 230,000 Indian citizens enrolled in Canadian institutions. With foreign students charged nearly three times more tuition fees than domestic students, Canadian universities and colleges depend on them for a significant part of their funding. Indian students contribute an estimated $4 billion in tuition fees to the Canadian education system.

This year, the process of issuing student visas has been plagued by chronic delays stretching into months, which has led many Indian students to miss the opening of their academic session. Flooded with complaints, the Indian high commission in Canada had to issue an advisory on August 25 urging Canadian authorities to expedite the processing of visa applications for Indian students.

Sikh Leader Allegedly Attacked By Khalistan Supporters in California

This is the second attack on the Shiromani Akali Dal leader. He was last week attacked in New York.

New York: The president of a prominent New Delhi-based Sikh body has been attacked outside a gurudwara allegedly by a group of pro-Khalistan supporters in the US state of California, the second attack on him in one week.

Manjit Singh G.K., president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), was in Yuba City to hold discussions among the Sikh community about the 550th birthday anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak which will be commemorated next year.

This is the second attack on the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader. He was last week attacked in New York.

Singh was visiting the main Gurudwara in Yuba City, California yesterday when, he said, a group of 30-35 people supporting the ‘Khalistan 2020 referendum’ attacked him.

“I am hurt. They pushed me and kicked me brutally. It was a brutal murderous attack,” he told PTI over phone from California.

One of his associates has been hospitalised, he said.

Police have arrested three persons in connection with the attack, the DSGMC chief said, adding that the attack will not deter or intimidate him.

Singh said that those demanding Khalistan can continue their fight but resorting to violence is not the answer.

“We are not going to shy away. We will not be a part of this fight for Khalistan,” he said.

Meanwhile, ‘Sikhs For Justice’ (SFJ), a group demanding justice for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims and supporting the ‘Khalistan 2020 referendum’, in a statement issued through its legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, accused Singh and his supporters of “instigating violent attacks on pro-Khalistan activists” who were “peacefully protesting” in the SAD leader’s presence in Yuba City Gurdwara.

Pannun said the SFJ has also filed a complaint against Singh with the US Department of Justice for violating the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) laws.

He said SFJ filed the complaint against Singh for holding, attending and addressing political gatherings in the US in violations of FARA laws.

“We will now ask US Immigration to take notice of illegal activities of Singh and make him inadmissible to the United States,” he added.

(PTI)

Is There a Pakistani Hand Behind Unofficial ‘Khalistan Referendum’ in London?

Even though Indian authorities have protested against the event as the organiser is wanted for terror, and critics have slammed it for ‘wasting resources’, the UK has maintained that it will not withdraw permission.

London: Three days before India celebrates Independence Day on August 15, a little-known Sikh body will hold a ‘Referendum 2020’ rally at London’s Trafalgar Square on the issue of an independent ‘Khalistan’ on August 12. Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), the organisation behind the ‘Referendum 2020’, hopes that the rally will ultimately pave the way for an actual referendum in India. The call has also divided Sikhs in the UK with critics saying that the rally is misleading and will in no way benefit the community.

According to SFJ, ‘Referendum 2020’ is a campaign “to liberate Punjab, currently occupied by India”. Their website admits that “Referendum 2020 is an unofficial referendum where the outcome is not legally binding on India”.

SFJ has also promised help and assistance for those seeking visas to come to London to attend the rally. The organisation has booked rooms in a hotel in Southall for participants travelling from outside the UK. From Britain’s Green Party, which has a lone MP in Westminster, Caroline Lucas and George Galloway, a former MP and former broadcaster respectively, have registered their support for the rally. “Sikh people have a right to determine for themselves whether they want to establish an independent Punjabi state,” said Lucas.

In a letter, Preet Kaur Gill, the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on UK Sikhs, has cited a prior commitment for her absence from the rally. Gill, who is a Labour MP from Birmingham Edgbaston, said that non-binding referendums “run the risk of lacking credibility, wasting significant resources and building false expectations”.

She also cautioned her constituents that many have been “imprisoned for promoting this idea” in India. This led to an angry response from SFJ, who questioned her commitment to Sikh interests and accused her of spreading fear. 

While the call for Khalistan may not have many takers, there is no denying the feeling of injustice and discrimination among the community over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Some community leaders say that it is the lack of justice that facilitates such gatherings allowing it to be used by vested interests. “What will the state of Khalistan look like? It is a recipe for disaster. But it is also true that Sikhs have not got a sense of closure over the killings that we faced,” Rami Ranger, co-chair of the Conservative Friends of India told The Wire. 

The rally has got some traction on social media by riding on the separatism wave and also by seeking to draw parallels with events in different parts of Europe. The demand for secession from Spain in Catalonia has been used as an example to draw attention to the legitimate demands for Khalistan. In a promotional video, Galloway has compared Punjab with the position of Scotland within UK.

“They may decide to stay where they are and what they are, they may decide to change that either way just like the people of Scotland have inalienable right to say how and with whom they want to live I believe the Sikh people of the Punjab have that right too,” he said. Galloway is also expected to speak at the rally.   

A poster offering sponsorship to students from Pakistan and Afghanistan to attend.

One of the key organisers of ‘Referendum 2020’, Paramjit Singh Pamma, who got political asylum in the UK, is wanted on terror charges in India. The organisers of the rally have also been linked to Pakistani intelligence agencies and it has been is alleged that elements in Pakistan are financing the whole operation. Several Pakistani organisations have also been promoting the event and SFJ has promised to arrange visas and accommodation for students from Pakistan and Afghanistan to attend the protest.

“It is very clear that the funding of this event is coming from Pakistan. These agencies are stroking the angst among the Sikhs against the Indian government over the 1984 events in the hopes that it would break India one day,” said a community leader of a Southall based gurdwara.

“SFJ respects everyone’s stance on Khalistan unlike India, which labels those who seek referendum as terrorists,” said New York-based lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. 

Meanwhile, a counter demonstration has been planned at the same venue few hours before the ‘Referendum 2020’ rally. Despite India’s protests, the UK has maintained that it will not withdraw permission for the event, maintaining that everyone has a right to protest if they act within the law.