Canada and Khalistan Movement
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a Canadian Sikh Khalistani separatist. He was wanted by Indian authorities and was designated a terrorist under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, accused of plotting the murder of Hindu priest in Punjab. Nijjar was shot and killed in British Columbia on 18th June 2023. Three days back Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that intelligence gathered by the Canadian government indicated that Indian government agents had assassinated Nijjar. India’s foreign ministry rejected the allegation, calling it absurd and politically motivated. Subsequently, the Indian government expelled a top Canadian diplomat, who sources described as the Canadian intelligence station chief in India.
Now let us see what is the Khalistan movement.
Khalistan means ‘the of the pure’, though in this context the term ‘Khalsa’ refers broadly to the religious community of Sikhs, and the term ‘Khalistan’ implies that they should have their own nation. The ideal location for this nation would be in Punjab state in northern India where 18-20 million Sikhs live. A further 8 million Sikhs live elsewhere in India and abroad, mainly in UK, USA, and Canada. The idea of an independent land for Sikhs goes back to pre-partition India when the concept of a separate land for Muslims was being considered. The idea was rejected by the Indian government, and instead, Sikhs became part of the state of Punjab. At that time Sikhs were a minority in the state, as Punjab state had areas which were later became states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. But Sikhs were not happy with this arrangement, and the states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were created to pacify Sikhs in mid-1960s so that Sikhs were the majority in the state of Punjab.
What is the Indian government’s concern now?
Friends, the Sikh uprising in the 1980s was a violent encounter between the Indian armed police and militant Sikhs led by Jarnail Singh Bhindarwala, many of the Sikhs still harboured a yearning for the separate nation called Khalistan. Many lives were lost in violent encounters between Sikh militants and security forces. Then Operation Bluestar happened, Bhindrawala was killed in the encounter with armed forces on the premises of the Golden Temple. Indian PM Indira Gandhi was killed by Sikh members of her own bodyguard. In recent years many firebrand Sikh activists in India have started re-asserting the idea of Khalistan, which the Modi government wants to nip in the bud before it gets too large and extreme.
What is the connection between Canada and the Khalistan movement?
After the Sikh uprising was crushed in India in the early 1990s, many Sikh activists fled to Canada, where they were welcomed by a large Sikh community-many of whom were sympathetic to the idea of Khalistan. A sizeable Sikh community has having presence in several parts of Canada like British Columbia and Ontario. Sikhs prefers to migrate to Canada not only because of economic reasons but also for the freedom to develop their own ideas of the Sikh community. Though support for Khalistan is illegal in India, in Canada Sikh activists are able to speak freely and organize for the cause. Though Khalistan would be in India, the Canadian movement in favor of it helps to cement the diaspora Sikh identity and give the Canadian activists a sense of connection to the Indian homeland.
Is the Canadian government sympathetic to the Khalistan movement?
The Sikh community constitutes 2.1% of Canada’s population- a higher percentage of the total population than in India. They make up a significant voting block in the country and carry political clout, and no political party in Canada wants to displease the Sikh community. In fact, there are more Sikhs in Canada’s cabinet than in India’s cabinet. Although Canadian PM Trudeau has assured the Indian government that any acts of violence will be punished, he also reassured Canadians that he respects free speech and the rights of Sikhs to speak and organize freely as long as they do not violate Canadian laws.
How are the relations between India and Canada being affected because of the Khalistan movement?
The political party BJP, of PM Modi tends to support Hindu nationalism. Recently, the Modi government used Bharat rather than India when hosting the G20 summit, attended by the heads of state of many countries including USA, UK, France, Canada and others. Bharat is the preference of Hindu nationalists, as they feel we are reverting back to the original name of our country. The opposition parties are claiming that this leads to fear and distrust among minorities, including Sikhs and Muslims, and the Canadian government is also in support of this notion.
Considering the high percentage of Sikhs in Canada’s population, Canadian PM Trudeau understandably wants to assert the rights of Sikhs and show disapproval of the drift toward Hindu nationalism in India. This is not the first time Modi and Trudeau have clashed over this issue. In 2018, Trudeau was condemned in India for his friendship with Jaspal Singh Atwal, a Khalistani supporter in Canada who was convicted of attempting to assassinate the CM of Punjab.
In my opinion, the Canadian government has no right to support a separatist movement that has been against the democratically elected government of India, whether it is led by BJP or Congress, as both these parties are against this Khalistan movement. Now imagine the situation, if the Canadian citizens who are of Indian origin become unhappy with the Canadian government and start uprising against the Canadian government. If at this stage Indian government starts giving these unhappy people of Indian origin their support then how the Canadian government will feel? India had earlier learned a bitter lesson when Tamil people of Indian roots started uprising against the Sri Lankan government in their fight for separate Talim Eelam in Sri Lanka when southern states like Tamil Nadu were supporting the Tamilian cause in Sri Lanka and the Central government led by Rajiv Gandhi sent an Indian Peace keeping force in Sri Lanka.
In the end, it will be always better for any government to stay away from any movement of their citizens/group of people, if that movement is against any other country.
Waiting for your views on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
21st September 2023