How the Khalistan movement grew and flourished in Canada

India and Canada ties have nosedived. On Tuesday, a tit-for-tat move was initiated by New Delhi, expelling a Canadian diplomat after Ottawa did the same a day prior. The action came after Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau told leaders in parliament that there was “credible” information connecting Indian government agents to the assassination of a “Sikh leader” known as Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June. India has denied Canada’s allegations, calling them all “absurd and motivated”. In fact, it once again raised the issue of the growing pro-Khalistan sentiment and questioned why Canadian authorities continue to allow anti-Indian activities to propagate on their soil. But what is the Khalistan movement? And how has it found space to grow in Canada? We get you the answers. The Khalistan movement, explained The word Khalistan means “Land of the Khalsa” or “Pure.” The movement, launched around the independence of India, seeks a separate homeland for Sikhs in Punjab. However, as simple as it may sound, the movement is complex. The Khalistan movement, many state, is a result of widespread dissatisfaction with the economic, social and political conditions for Sikhs in post-independence India. The partition of Punjab between Pakistan and India in 1947 created fear and disaffection in the Sikh community. Then in 1966, the state of Punjab in India was divided again, this time on linguistic lines, as a new Hindi-speaking state of Haryana was carved out of the region. In addition to this, the Green Revolution in the 1960s in India led to resentment among Sikhs due to the inequitable distribution of wealth. Additionally, they were upset when water from the Sutlej River that flowed through Punjab was diverted to the neighbouring states of Haryana and Rajasthan. All this resentment found a voice in the late 1970s through Sikh preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who claimed the Indian government was discrimination against the Sikhs and undermining Sikh identity. In 1984, India crushed this movement when it stormed the Golden Temple in Amritsar where Bhindranwale had taken residence and killed him. [caption id=“attachment_13145822” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A man rides a bike outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia. While the Khalistan movement is banned in India, it finds support in Canada. AP[/caption] From India to Canada But by then the Khalistan movement found its roots in Canada, thanks to the growing Sikh population in the western country. Immigration of the Sikh population to Canada began in the early 20th Century. It started when Sikh soldiers in the British Army passing through British Columbia were attracted by the fertile land they saw. By 1970, the Sikhs numbers in Canada rose and they became a visible face among the communities. However, at the time the Khalistan movement found little prominence among the Sikhs residing there. But the first signs of Khalistan finding its voice in Canada came in the late-’70s when it also started becoming louder in India. After Operation Blue Star, there was an influx of Khalistanis into Canada. Moreover, after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, India saw massive anti-Sikh riots during which members of the community were dragged out of their homes, and killed. Those who survived the riots, fled and found solace in Canada. Interestingly, Canada took them all in. As Shinder Purewal, professor of political science at the Kwantlen Polytechnic University in British Columbia, is quoted as telling The Hindustan Times, “Nobody cared about their background, they all got political asylum.” What’s even more notable is that Canada at the time was already sharing tense ties with India. In May 1974 when India conducted the Pokhran nuclear tests in Rajasthan, it left the Canadian government seeing red. This was because the CANDU-type reactors had been repurposed by the Indians for military use. Then Canadian prime minister, Pierre Trudeau – father of Justin Trudeau – was furious and had caused ties with New Delhi to wither.

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Khalistan movement flourishes in Canada Since the movement found space in Canada it has grown and flourished in the country. One of the first examples of Khalistani activity on Canadian soil was the bombing of Air India flight 182, the Kanishka on 23 June 1985, killing all 329 people on board. Khalistani terrorists blew up the plane, citing it as revenge against India for the atrocities during the anti-Sikh riots. [caption id=“attachment_13145842” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A sign outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple is seen after the killing on its grounds in June 2023 of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Surrey, British Columbia. India and Canada ties have nosedived after Justin Trudeau expelled a diplomat, saying there was credible information that Indian agents were involved in the killing of Nijjar. Reuters[/caption] Since then, Khalistani activities have only increased in Canada. In 2002, Toronto-based Punjabi-language weekly Sanjh Savera greeted Indira’s death anniversary with a cover illustration of her murder and a headline urging readers to ‘Honour the martyrs who killed the sinner’. Earlier this year too, Canada has seen several anti-India activities. On 4 June, a parade was organised in Brampton, Ontario ahead of the anniversary of Operation Bluestar. The parade saw a float celebrating the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi — a female figure was shown in a blood-stained white saree, with the hands up, as turbaned men pointed guns at her. A poster behind the scene read “Revenge for the attack on Darbar Sahib”. The incident had evoked a strong reaction from External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who had then said: “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 about the space which is given to separatists, to extremists, to people who advocate violence.” Prior to this, the Sikhs for Justice group, banned in India, held a referendum in Canada on the issue of Khalistan, with organisers claiming that more than 100,000 people had turned up in support of Khalistan. Pro-Khalistani supporters have also vandalised Hindu temples in Canada as well as threatened Indian diplomats. A Mahatma Gandhi statue was also vandalised back in July last year. Also read: How Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing has led to rise in Khalistan terror in US, Canada All this as Canada fails to take any concrete steps in checking anti-India activities in the country despite India expressing grave concerns. While he was in New Delhi for the G20 Summit, Justin Trudeau at a press conference had said that his country would always defend freedom of peaceful protest but at the same time asserted that it will always prevent violence and push back against hatred. “Canada will always defend freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, and freedom of peaceful protest and it is extremely important to us,” he said. “At the same time, we are always there to prevent violence and to push back against hatred. I think on the issue of the community, it is important to remember that the actions of the few do not represent the entire community or Canada,” Trudeau added. With inputs from agencies