Peaceful Protests
A Canadian Sikh group has urged its members to protest outside the main Canadian cities’ Indian diplomatic missions on Monday, a week after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised the prospect of New Delhi’s involvement in the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia.
Last week, Trudeau stated that Canada was pursuing “credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead outside a Sikh temple on June 18 in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a high Sikh population.
India swiftly denied any role in the killing and labeled the allegations as “absurd.” The accusations have escalated tensions between the two countries, resulting in both nations expelling diplomats, and New Delhi suspending visas for Canadians.
Jatinder Singh Grewal, a director for Sikh for Justice in Canada, told Reuters on Sunday that his organization would lead the demonstrations outside the Indian embassies and consulates in Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver to increase public awareness about Nijjar’s killing.
“We are asking Canada to expel the Indian ambassador,” Grewal said.
Representatives for India’s diplomatic missions in Ottawa and Toronto were not immediately available for comment.
The report stated that the intelligence included communications of Indian officials present in Canada, adding that some of the information was provided by an unidentified ally in the Five Eyes alliance.
Moreover, Canada is home to about 770,000 Sikhs, the highest population of Sikhs outside their home state of Punjab. The country has been the site of many demonstrations that have irked India.
Sikhs make up just 2 per cent of India’s 1.4 billion population, but they are a majority in Punjab, a state of 30 million where their religion was born 500 years ago.” Overall, Canadian Sikh leaders advocate for peaceful protests near Indian diplomatic outposts.
