NEW DELHI — Tensions between Canada and India have reached new heights with dueling diplomatic expulsions and an allegation of Indian authorities involvement within the killing of a Sikh activist on Canadian soil.
The row facilities across the Sikh independence, or Khalistan, motion. India has repeatedly accused Canada of supporting the motion, which is banned in India however has help among the many Sikh diaspora.
On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Parliament described what he referred to as credible allegations that India was related to the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June. The Indian authorities denied any hand in Nijjar’s killing whereas additionally saying Canada was making an attempt to shift the main target from Khalistan activists there.
Listed below are some particulars concerning the difficulty:
The Sikh independence motion started as an armed insurgency within the late Nineteen Eighties amongst Sikhs demanding a separate homeland. It was centered in northern Punjab state, the place Sikhs are the bulk, although they make up about 1.7% of India’s whole inhabitants.
The insurgency lasted greater than a decade and was suppressed by an Indian authorities crackdown by which hundreds of individuals have been killed, together with outstanding Sikh leaders.
Lots of of Sikh youths have been additionally killed throughout police operations, many in detention or throughout staged gunfights, in response to rights teams.
In 1984, Indian forces stormed the Golden Temple, Sikhism’s holiest shrine, in Amritsar to flush out separatists who had taken refuge there. The operation killed round 400 folks, in response to official figures, however Sikh teams say hundreds have been killed.
The lifeless included Sikh militant chief Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, whom the Indian authorities accused of main the armed insurgency.
On Oct. 31, 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who ordered the raid on the temple, was assassinated by two of her bodyguards, who have been Sikh.
Her demise triggered a collection of anti-Sikh riots, by which Hindu mobs went from home to deal with throughout northern India, notably New Delhi, pulling Sikhs from their properties, hacking many to demise and burning others alive.
There is no such thing as a lively insurgency in Punjab as we speak, however the Khalistan motion nonetheless has some supporters within the state, in addition to within the sizable Sikh diaspora past India. The Indian authorities has warned repeatedly over time that Sikh separatists have been making an attempt to make a comeback.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s authorities has additionally intensified the pursuit of Sikh separatists and arrested dozens of leaders from numerous outfits which might be linked to the motion.
When farmers camped out on the perimeters of New Delhi to protest controversial agriculture legal guidelines in 2020, Modi’s authorities initially tried to discredit Sikh individuals by calling them “Khalistanis.” Beneath strain, Modi authorities later withdrew the legal guidelines.
Earlier this 12 months, Indian police arrested a separatist chief who had revived requires Khalistan and stirred fears of violence in Punjab. Amritpal Singh, a 30-year-old preacher, had captured nationwide consideration by his fiery speeches. He mentioned he drew inspiration from Bhindranwale.
India has been asking international locations like Canada, Australia and the U.Ok. to take authorized motion in opposition to Sikh activists, and Modi has personally raised the difficulty with the nations’ prime ministers. India has notably raised these considerations with Canada, the place Sikhs make up almost 2% of the nation’s inhabitants.
Earlier this 12 months, Sikh protesters pulled down the Indian flag on the nation’s excessive fee in London and smashed the constructing’s window in a present of anger in opposition to the transfer to arrest Amritpal Singh. Protesters additionally smashed home windows on the Indian consulate In San Francisco and skirmished with embassy staff.
India’s overseas ministry denounced the incidents and summoned the U.Ok.’s deputy excessive commissioner in New Delhi to protest what it referred to as the breach of safety on the embassy in London.
The Indian authorities additionally accused Khalistan supporters in Canada of vandalizing Hindu temples with “anti-India” graffiti and of attacking the workplaces of the Indian Excessive Fee in Ottawa throughout a protest in March.
Final 12 months, Paramjit Singh Panjwar, a Sikh militant chief and head of the Khalistan Commando Power, was shot lifeless in Pakistan.