Violence inevitable fallout of Trudeau’s soft-pedalling on Khalistan extremism

The violent confrontation between Khalistan supporters and worshippers at the Hindu Sabha Temple in Brampton in the Greater Toronto area on Sunday, though unprecedented in Canada’s history in many ways, seemed inevitable, given the preceding events of recent months.

It is no coincidence that the clash in Brampton and a narrowly avoided confrontation in Surrey, British Columbia (BC), occurred the same day — the two towns are located in either end of the country. Though both these protests were organised to oppose Indian High Commission officials from holding camps for issuing life certificates to Indo-Canadians, these incidents came just days after Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of the Sikhs for Justice threatened Hindus, warning against Diwali celebrations involving firecrackers in Punjab and beyond.

In a video that surfaced post-Diwali (October 31), Pannun urged “Sikh youths” to prevent bursting of firecrackers near Hindu temples during Diwali. He suggested they first ask Hindus politely, but, if necessary, resort to what he termed “traditional Khalsa ways” to stop them. Notably, Pannun is designated a terrorist by India

and has been accused of promoting terrorist activities within the country. But politicians in Canada, including PM Justin Trudeau, have refrained from condemning, or even directly referring, to the aggressive stance of figures like Pannun or other Khalistan sympathisers. They have limited their reaction to a mere condemnation of the violence and appealed for “religious tolerance”.

This cursory response needs to be seen in the context of recent developments, marked by aggravated tensions between Canada and India. While these tensions may not have directly driven the latest incidents of violence, Trudeau’s stance against the Modi government — accusing it of extrajudicial actions against pro-Khalistan activists in Canada — has emboldened these hardline elements, who are, in fact, in minority in the Sikh community in Canada. The fact that prominent Canadian political leaders, from Trudeau to NDP’s Jagmeet Singh and Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, condemned Sunday’s violence without specifically calling out pro-Khalistan supporters as the perpetrators has been seen by some as tacitly excusing these elements.

Former MP and Conservative Party leader Maxime Bernier took to Twitter to highlight this issue, stating, “Can you spot the difference between my tweet and that of the three establishment party leaders? Not one of these cowards dares to even name the Khalistani Sikhs who are committing the violence. They’re afraid to offend some voters, even though Khalistani supporters are a minority of Sikh Canadians. This complacency explains why Khalistani extremism keeps growing in this country.”

Bernier’s criticism strikes at the reality of political sensitivity. Canadian leaders could well be avoiding the term “Khalistan” due to electoral considerations. Although pro-Khalistan supporters are a minority among Canadian Sikhs, their vocal and aggressive tactics has effectively silenced the majority of moderate voices within the community.

Clashes and skirmishes

Sunday’s shocking violent scenes were disturbing to many, but skirmishes involving Khalistan supporters and others, including dissenting members of the Sikh community, have been frequent across Canada — from Toronto to BC to Alberta. Tensions have escalated recently; last month, a Sikh family in Abbotsford, BC, faced verbal abuse after attempting to prevent SFJ activists from desecrating an Indian flag.

In March, Khalistan supporters armed with swords and spears clashed with the police in Alberta while trying to disrupt an event attended by then Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma, who was later expelled by Canada amid allegations of “clandestine activities.” In June, pro-Khalistan activists held a protest outside the Indian Consulate, praising late Indian PM Indira Gandhi’s assassins and calling for violence against Modi. In May, a potential confrontation was narrowly averted in Calgary when hardliners tore down an Indian flag and nearly clashed with pro-India supporters.

Desecration of Hindu temples

Alongside these protests and skirmishes, several Hindu temples have been desecrated in Canada in recent months.

In July, a temple in Alberta was vandalised with anti-Hindu graffiti and threats targeting Modi and Canadian MP Chandra Arya. In August, a temple in Surrey was defaced with anti-India and pro-Khalistan slogans, with “Wanted” posters of Indian officials posted on its walls. Similarly, in January, the Gauri Shankar temple in Brampton was defaced with graffiti and threats.

These recurring incidents underscore the growing tension fuelled by pro-Khalistan extremism in Canada, affecting not only Indo-Canadian communities but the broader Canadian society as well.

Even more concerning is their effect on the ties between the world’s largest democracy and a nation that is also supposed to function within the framework of parliamentary democracy but has seen a worrying decline in its score on the Economist Democracy Index in recent years.

The deteriorating ties between the two countries have the potential to further disturb the global geopolitical balance, which has already tipped dangerously on account of the Russia-Ukraine war and the West Asia crisis. This is, indeed, a disconcerting thought, which needs to be debated and discussed at the highest levels between the two nations to avert further worsening of the situation, before it is too late!