Sikhs for Justice asks Hindus of Indian ancestry to leave Canada in the aftermath of the Nijjar tragedy.
Gurpatwant Pannun, SFJ’s legal counsel, issued the warning in a video during a diplomatic spat between India and Canada.
Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a pro-Khalistan organization banned in India in 2019, has threatened Hindus of Indian descent and ordered them to leave Canada for “promoting violence” by celebrating the assassination of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Indo-Hindus leave Canada and travel to India. “You not only support India, but you also support the suppression of pro-Khalistan Sikh speech and expression,” stated SFJ’s legal counsel Gurpatwant Pannun in a viral video. In India, Pannun has been labeled as a terrorist.
The footage came as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged on Monday that there was a “potential link” between Indian government agents and the June killing of Nijjar, prompting the expulsion of senior diplomats. After India dismissed his accusation as “absurd and motivated” on Tuesday, Trudeau stressed that Canada was not looking to “provoke or escalate.”
Pannun’s threat concerned Vijay Jain, a representative for Canadian Hindus for Harmony. “We’re now seeing full-fledged Hinduphobia all over the place.”
Vandals purportedly linked to Canada’s so-called Khalistan referendum have been responsible for at least a dozen acts of temple vandalism with graffiti or anti-India placards. A petition has been filed in the Canadian House of Commons to include the term “Hinduphobia” in the Human Rights Code vocabulary to characterize anti-Hindu prejudice and discrimination. The petition has approximately 9000 signatures so far.
According to Jain, Trudeau’s remarks about India’s alleged role in Nijjar’s murder may inflame the situation. “We are concerned that this will result in the loss of Canadian Hindu lives, as it did in 1985.”
Jain was referring to the Khalistani bombing of an Air India flight from Montreal to London to Delhi to Bombay in June 1985, which killed 307 passengers and 22 crew members. It was Canada’s worst terrorist strike in history. On June 23, Canada commemorates the National Day of Remembrance for Terrorist Victims in memory of those killed in the bombing.
Commentator Rupa Subramanya questioned Pannun’s threat in a post on social networking platform X. “Imagine the outrage if a white supremacist vowed to expel all persons of color from Canada. “However, when a Khalistani threatens Hindus in Canada at a Canadian event, no one bats an eyelid and looks the other way.”
SFJ has stated that the Trudeau government’s recent steps of disengaging from India have “emboldened” it.
In an opinion piece published in the Canadian national newspaper The Globe and Mail, Andrew Coyne emphasized the need of maintaining domestic harmony in the aftermath of Nijjar’s death. “Many Sikh Canadians will be shaken by Mr Nijjar’s death; some will be enraged, and some may be tempted to engage in some form of retaliation.” Coyne warned that racial and sectarian warfare in Canada is a serious possibility.
Anita Anand, a Hindu Canadian politician, asked for calm. Anand wrote on X that South Asians and families who come from India, regardless of faith, will agree that Trudeau’s comments on Monday was difficult to hear. “Now is the time to let the legal process run its course.” Let us all remain calm, united, and kind.”
