Hinduphobic crimes by pro-Khalistani elements have significantly increased not only in India but all across the world in the name of the Khalistan Referendum. Hindus, their religious places and their religious festivals in countries like Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom have constantly been targeted.
Notably, the violent campaign of the Khalistan movement, a separatist agenda to create an independent homeland for Sikhs by establishing a sovereign state, reached its pinnacle in the 1980s and 1990s, featuring bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, and massacres of innocent Hindus and Sikhs. The violence took on an international dimension in 1985 when Khalistani separatists based in Canada exploded a bomb on an Air India flight en route from Toronto to New Delhi, killing all 329 people on board, including 82 children under the age of 13. That incident remains the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history.
Since then, the incidents of hate crimes by Khalistani extremists have increased manifolds with the financial and logistical support from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Agency of Pakistan and pro-Khalistan separatists based in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. If one were to look at only the last 6 months’ data, there would be numerous references to occurrences where Hindus and the sites of their worship were violently attacked by Khalistani terrorists. What follows is an indicative list of attacks on Hindu temples by Khalistani elements in the last 6 months in Canada, Australia and the UK.
Attacks on Hindu temples in Australia by Khalistani elements
In the last two months, Australia has seen four separate anti-Hindu attacks on Temples initiated by pro-Khalistani elements living in the country.
- Shree Laxmi Narayan Temple in Brisbane: On Saturday, March 4, Shree Laxmi Narayan Temple in Brisbane’s Burbank suburb was vandalised with anti-Hindu and anti-India graffiti defacing its walls. According to local media reports, the vandalism was carried out by pro-Khalistani supporters. The miscreants wrote anti-Hindu, anti-India and pro-Khalistani slogans on the walls near the temple during the vandalization.
- Melbourne: On February 16, 2023, a Kali Mata temple received a warning against holding a Bhajan program. A woman priest of a Kali Mata temple in the northern suburbs of Melbourne in Australia received threats from Khalistani terrorists for organizing a Bhajan program of Indian singer Kanhiya Mittal.
- Hare Krishna Temple: On January 23 a similar attack by Khalistani elements took place at the Hare Krishna Temple located at Albert Park in Melbourne city of Australia. The temple served as the centre of the Bhakti Yoga movement in Melbourne and is run by the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). As per reports, temple walls were defaced with anti-India slogans of ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ and ‘Hindustan Murdabad.’ The miscreants had also hailed slain Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale as a martyr.
- Shiva Vishnu Temple in Melbourne: On January 17, Khalistani supporters vandalised the historic Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Carrum Downs in Melbourne. During the vandalisation, the miscreants wrote anti-Hindu and anti-India slogans on the walls near the temple. ‘Target Modi’, ‘Modi Hitler’, and ‘Hindustan Murdabad’, read the slogans that were painted on the walls of the temples during vandalization.
- BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Melbourne: On January 12 (local time), the Hindu community living in Melbourne woke up to a shock as the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, located in the northern suburb of Mill Park, Melbourne, was vandalised by Khalistani attackers. The walls of the temple were defaced by spray painting anti-India and anti-Narendra Modi slogans.
Temple attacks by Khalistani elements in Canada
- On February 17, 2023, a Ram temple in Mississauga was defaced with anti-India graffiti by unknown miscreants.
- On January 31, 2023, the Gauri Shankar Mandir was desecrated by Khalistani extremists in Brampton city in Ontario province of Canada. The walls of the temple were defaced with anti-India graffiti by Khalistanis associated allegedly with the banned outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). The vicious slogan of ‘Khalistan Zindabad, Hindustan Murdabad’ was found spray-painted on the outer wall of Gauri Shankar Mandir.
- In September last year, some Khalistani terrorists defaced BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Toronto with anti-India slogans. Several videos circulating on social media showed slogans of ‘Khalistan Zindabad, Hindustan Murdabad’ painted on the walls of the temple.
In February 2022, six Hindu temples were attacked in Toronto.
Hindu temple attacked in the UK
- Smethwick town, England: On September 20 (local time), a 200-strong mob of masked Islamists circled Durga Bhawan Hindu Centre located on Spon Lane in Smethwick town in West Midlands, England, after a call for “peaceful protests” was made on social media. The so-called protest, which was more of an intimidating tactic of the Islamists, was organized against the already-postponed event of Sadhvi Ritambhara. In a video shared by ISKCON’s Radharamn Das, Islamists were seen hurling abuses toward the Hindus inside the Hindu temple premises. They were chanting Allah-Hu-Akbar, and some of them climbed the fence wall as well. There were Police present at the scene, but in the video, it was evident that the number of Police Personnel was far less and not adequately equipped to handle a 200-strong mob of Islamists. The majority of the Islamists were masked in the video. Towards the end of the video, Police were seen making announcements asking the mob to move back. Some Police officials equipped with batons were seen approaching the temple to control the mob.
- Leicester, United Kingdom: A temple was attacked and a saffron flag atop was taken down and burnt. This came after a spate of targeted attacks on Hindus followed the Asia Cup India-Pakistan cricket match on August 28, when armed Islamists attacked Hindus and their residences in the vicinity.
