On March 16, Saturday, pro-Khalistani elements in the city of Calgary in Alberta, Canada tore the Indian flag using their daggers and swords. They also clashed with pro-Indian groups gathered at the spot and created a ruckus on the streets, while raising pro-Khalistan slogans. The incident, a video of which went viral on social media, happened outside the venue where a community event welcomed the Indian High Commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma.
The protest was organised by the banned Khalisani outfit Sikhs For Justice.
Sikhs For Justice was banned by the Indian Government on July 10, 2019, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for anti-India activities. Its founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannu had been designated a terrorist by the Indian government. The organization has announced Referendum 2020, demanding a separate state of Punjab from India. Since its inception, the organization has been trying to lure the youth of Punjab with monetary rewards for instigating war against the Indian government.
As per reports, more than two dozen pro-Khalistani elements gathered at the venue, some of whom carried sharp weapons like daggers and swords. The group was heard raising pro-Khalistan slogans. The pro-Indian group retaliated by raising ‘Hindustan Zindabad’ slogans. The face-off turned violent as the Khalistani elements used their daggers and swords to desecrate the Indian flag, that too in front of the local Canadian police.
This was not the first protest; on March 1 and 11, pro-Khalistani groups held similar protests at venues hosting Verma in Surrey and Edmonton.
Canada has gradually turned into a sanctuary for pro-separatist elements who frequently indulge in anti-India and Hinduphobic activities including vandalisation of the Indian high commission, desecration of temples and threatening Hindus living in the western country.
The bilateral ties between Canada and India, which were already dismal due to the Canadian government harbouring Khalistani terrorists and giving them political and financial backing on its soil, touched an all-time low last year following the death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attributed the murder of the pro-Khalistan radical to the Indian government on the basis of “credible allegations” without providing any evidence. India responded firmly and refuted the unfounded accusations which heightened the existing acute tensions between the two countries.
After Canada dismissed India’s diplomat the Canadian High Commissioner to India Cameron MacKay was summoned and a senior Canadian diplomat was informed to leave the country in addition to suspending visas to the country’s nationals in retaliation. New Delhi last month told Ottawa to withdraw 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country by 10 October and warned that diplomats who stayed beyond the deadline would lose diplomatic immunity. The Maple Country began the process to do so, however, negotiations about the same are presently underway between the two nations.
The fallout between India and Canada over Nijjar’s murder, allowed the secessionist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which has a habit of issuing threats to the Indian Prime Minister, Union Ministers, and diplomats, to increase its anti-Indian activities on Canadian soil.
On 16th January 2024, terrorist organisation Sikhs For Justice’s chief and designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun issued a threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Republic Day. In a video released by SFJ, graffiti in Delhi’s Chander Vihar was shown with a “Khalistan voter registration” message.
Last year, hoarding labelling Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of External Affairs Dr S. Jaishankar and India’s high commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma as ‘Wanted’ was installed outside Gurdwara Nanak Dev in Surrey where terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was assassinated in June 2023. This had come less than a month after similar hoardings were removed from the Gurudwara and then put up again just two days later, which had called for the assassination of three Indian diplomats in Canada, one high commissioner and two consul generals.
After the collapse of diplomatic relations between India and Canada after PM Justin Trudeau accused India of being involved in the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, there were lots of outrage against the hoardings outside the Gurudwara. As a result, they were taken down, apparently on the orders of local administration.
At that time reports emerged that extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun’s separatist organisation Sikhs For Justice was behind the incident and police were reportedly aware of the same, however, no action had been taken to apprehend the offenders at that time too.
