On 6th November, Takht Sri Damdama Sahib Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh claimed that the Hindu Sabha Temple was ‘not attacked’ by pro-Khalistani Sikhs in Brampton, Canada. He further stated that a “small” altercation occurred outside the temple and accused social media of “wrongly projecting the incident,” suggesting it was a “conspiracy” against the Sikh community. He also maintained that Sikhs could never attack a place of worship of any faith.
Amritsar, Punjab: Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh reacts to the mob attacks on the Hindu temple in Brampton and its devotees, says, "…From a very long time there is a conspiracy to defame Sikhs…Sikhs can never do such a thing, and Sikhs never attack other religions…" pic.twitter.com/txLNoJmvkc
— IANS (@ians_india) November 6, 2024
His remarks came in the context of claims of violence between Sikhs and Hindus at a Gurdwara in Malton, which was a fallout of an earlier attack by pro-Khalistani elements on Hindu devotees at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton.
Giani Harpreet Singh criticised the violence in Canada and said, “Whatever happened in Canada is highly condemnable. Yet, Sikhs could never think of attacking the temples of any faith. It has never happened. Even during the November 1984 anti-Sikh riots, when the Golden Temple, Akal Takht, and 35 other gurdwaras were attacked, not a single incident of an attack on any Hindu temple surfaced. The violence in Canada is a pre-planned conspiracy, and a mere altercation outside the Brampton Hindu temple is being manipulated by miscreants to defame the Sikhs.” He added, “In fact, reports of vehicles being damaged outside Malton Gurdwara had emerged, which was equally condemnable.”
He claimed that the “small altercation outside the Hindu temple” was wrongly “projected on social media as an attack by a group of miscreants, which was part of a conspiracy.” He further alleged it was part of a long anti-Sikh campaign that is being conducted.
Dal Khalsa leaders make similar claims, blaming media for ‘misleading’
Dal Khalsa, a pro-Khalistani organisation that regularly calls for the formation of Khalistan, also reacted to the situation in Canada, stating it was “planned to create a wedge between Sikhs and Hindus.” Party working president Paramjeet Singh Mand said, “The fact is that a handful of Khalistani sympathisers and pro-Indian activists clashed with each other on the streets outside the temple where the Indian consulate was holding a camp.”
He claimed that the attack on the Hindu temple, “spread by mainstream media and endorsed by Indian leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was completely untrue.”
Another leader of Dal Khalsa, Kanwar Pal Singh, appealed to “Hindu brothers not to fall for misleading and twisted information being spread by Indian leaders and the media” and said it was a ploy to pit Hindus against Sikhs, particularly in Canada and India, to further polarise society.
He cautioned both sides, saying, “We have witnessed in the 1980s and 1990s the same dirty tactics applied by governments to create bad blood between the communities. Both communities in Punjab fell into the state’s trap, resulting in bloodshed. Let’s learn lessons from the bitter past and keep the government and its agencies at bay.”
Interestingly, none of these leaders have condemned the actual Khalistanis who attacked the Hindu Sabha temple and instigated the violence.
While Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh and Dal Khalsa leaders claimed that no Hindu temple was attacked, there are clear videos available on social media where pro-Khalistani elements are seen entering the temple premises and attacking Hindu devotees with sticks. As the video shared below shows, the pro-Khalistani elements barged into the temple premises and attacked Hindus near where the cars were parked. Some of them further pursued the Hindu devotees who tried to run away. They only left the premises when a large number of Hindu devotees started to march towards them.
A red line has been crossed by Canadian Khalistani extremists today.
— Chandra Arya (@AryaCanada) November 3, 2024
The attack by Khalistanis on the Hindu-Canadian devotees inside the premises of the Hindu Sabha temple in Brampton shows how deep and brazen has Khalistani violent extremism has become in Canada.
I begin to feel… pic.twitter.com/vPDdk9oble
Giani Harpreet Singh claimed that Hindu temples were never attacked in Punjab. However, he seems to have forgotten that in April 2022, a Khalistani mob vandalised shops inside Khali Maa Temple in Patiala and attacked Hindus with swords. Videos of the incident had gone viral on social media. In a video, it is seen that the armed Nihang Sikhs, part of the pro-Khalistani mob that attacked the Kali temple, also stormed into the shops to assault innocent Hindu shopkeepers. The Sikh mob was seen entering the temple premises to attack shops in the presence of the police officials.
