Montreal Canada – Sikh leaders in North America have welcomed recent arrests over the murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, but allegations that the Indian government was involved continue to fuel questions and concern.
Canadian police announced late last week that three Indian nationals were arrested in Canada for their involvement in the June murder of Nijjar, a prominent Sikh community leader in the westernmost province of British Columbia.
Police added that their investigation into Nijjar's shooting death would continue, including whether “there is any link to the Indian government.”
Moninder Singh, spokesperson for the BC Gurdwaras Council, a coalition of Sikh temples in the province, told Al Jazeera there was “some relief” that arrests had been made in the case.
But Singh, who knew Nijjar personally, said the question of Indian state involvement “looms” over the Sikh community, which numbers about 770,000 people across Canada, the largest Sikh diaspora outside India.
“Foreign interference is real. The assassination plot is real,” Singh said, adding that it is imperative to get to the bottom of India's role.
“All of that has to be exposed,” he continued. “There [are] “There are numerous reasons why it is very, very important for public safety in Canada, in addition to deterring India from carrying out this type of operation ever again.”
Tensions between Canada and India
Tensions between Canada and India soared in September after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that authorities were investigating “credible allegations of a potential link” between Indian government agents and Nijjar's murder.
Nijjar was shot and killed on June 18, 2023, in front of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, a temple in Surrey, British Columbia, where he served as president.
India vehemently denied allegations that it was involved, calling them “absurd.” He also accused Nijjar of being involved in “terrorism,” an accusation rejected by his supporters.
Nijjar had been a prominent advocate of what is known as the Khalistan movement, a Sikh campaign for a sovereign state in India's Punjab region.
Although largely dormant within India itself, Sikh separatism is largely seen as a threat by the Indian government, which has urged Western nations to crack down on leaders of the Khalistan movement in the diaspora.
Canada has provided shelter to “Khalistani terrorists and extremists” who “continue to threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India,” India's foreign ministry said in rejecting Trudeau's allegations in September.
But Sikh leaders in Canada said they have faced threats for years and accused the Indian government of trying to silence them.
Nijjar's murder amplified these long-standing tensions, and new reports have emerged about the involvement of Indian officials in other alleged plots to harm prominent Sikh leaders in Canada and the United States.
Threat reports
For example, in late November, the US Department of Justice announced charges against a 52-year-old Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, for a foiled attempt to assassinate American Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
The plot to kill Pannun, another Sikh separatist leader, was organized in coordination with an Indian government employee and other people, according to the Justice Department.
Last week, The Washington Post reported that U.S. intelligence agencies determined that the operation targeting Pannun was approved by the then-head of India's foreign intelligence agency, known as the Research and Analysis Wing, or RAW.
The Indian government rejected those accusations as “unjustified” and “baseless,” according to media reports.
But human rights groups have said India “needs to do much more than deny” in such cases.
“India's alleged involvement in assassination plots in the United States and Canada suggests a notable new jump in extrajudicial killings,” Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in December.
Pritpal Singh, activist and founder of the American Sikh Caucus Committee, was one of several prominent Sikh leaders who were reported of threats against them over the past year.
Agents from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) visited Pritpal, based in the state of California, in June to warn him.
In a statement to Al Jazeera this week, Pritpal said he praised “the unwavering commitment of Canadian and American law enforcement agencies” in their investigations into Nijjar's murder and the surveillance of Sikhs.
“The Indian government's alleged involvement in these atrocious acts is a flagrant violation of international standards and human rights. “It is totally unacceptable for any government to engage in extrajudicial executions and repress dissenting voices abroad,” he stated.
Pritpal also demanded accountability for threats against Sikh activists. “We must insist that the United States bring justice against those involved in India's alleged murder-for-hire plot against Americans on American soil,” he said.
“It is imperative that these cases be prosecuted on American soil by the United States Department of Justice to prevent these perpetrators from prosecuting themselves.”
India attacks Canada
Still, India has continued to deny any involvement in the alleged plots, while criticizing Canada for its approach to the Nijjar murder in particular.
The Indian High Commission in Ottawa, the Canadian capital, did not respond to Al Jazeera's requests for comment on the case.
After news broke on Friday that Canadian authorities had made arrests, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the Canadian government had a “political compulsion” to blame India.
Speaking to Indian news outlet The Economic Times this week, Jaishankar also accused Canada of “providing a haven for organized crime.”
“We have been repeatedly telling Canadians that if those forces are actually allowed to establish themselves and create networks, it will harm their own society. But so far I don't think that advice has been heeded.” the minister said.
Canadian authorities have rejected the idea that they have allowed illegal activities to proliferate. Experts also maintain that many of the people India considers “terrorists” are not violating any Canadian laws.
“Canada is a rule of law country with a strong and independent justice system, as well as a fundamental commitment to protecting all its citizens,” Trudeau said during a Sikh community event in Toronto on Saturday.
“I know that many Canadians, particularly members of the Sikh community, are feeling uncomfortable and perhaps even scared right now. Well, every Canadian has the fundamental right to live safely and free from discrimination and threats of violence in Canada,” Trudeau added.
An interesting conversation in @Economic Times' office.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@DrSJaishankar) May 6, 2024
Use of 'proxies'
Last week, the head of a Canadian public inquiry into foreign interference also released an interim report that accused Indian officials, as well as their representatives in Canada, of engaging in “a range of activities seeking to influence communities and Canadian politicians.
This includes efforts to “align Canada's position with India's interests on key issues, particularly with respect to how the Indian government views supporters of an independent Sikh homeland in Canada,” said Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue.
The report notes that India “does not distinguish between legal, pro-Khalistani political advocacy and the relatively small Khalistani violent extremism based in Canada.”
Therefore, it “considers anyone aligned with Khalistani separatism as a seditious threat to India.”
Hogue also found that Indian officials are increasingly relying on Canadian and Canadian-based representatives and their contacts to conduct foreign interference.
“This obscures any explicit link between India and foreign interference activities. The representatives liaise and work with Indian intelligence officials in India and Canada, receiving both explicit and implicit instructions from them,” the report said.
'Galvanizing' Sikh communities
Ultimately, Sikh leaders have called for a full investigation into all those who may be involved in threats against members of their communities, including Indian state officials.
“I cannot speak to the motivation of the Indian state if it is proven to be behind these heinous attacks,” said Kavneet Singh, president of the board of directors of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), a US organization. civil rights group based in
“But they have a long history of suppressing free speech and attacking those who express dissent.”
Kavneet told Al Jazeera that the American Sikh community is advocating at the federal and state level “to improve legislation to better help law enforcement understand, identify and prosecute” cases of transnational repression.
He added that, despite the threats, the history of the Sikh community “has not been a history of living in fear.”
Rather, “it is about understanding that there are potential threats, and it is [one of] be alert,” Kavneet said. “In fact, I think this is actually galvanizing the community and our allies in the diaspora.
“While there may be political differences between communities, we ultimately stand together when community members and/or our institutions are threatened by domestic or foreign actors.”
Singh, at the British Columbia Council of Gurdwaras, echoed that sentiment and emphasized that the Indian government is trying to “silence” Sikh voices in the diaspora advocating for a sovereign state.
Singh was one of five Sikh leaders, including Nijjar, who were warned by the national security division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 2022 about threats to their lives.
He told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that Canadian authorities told him over the past two months that the threat against him “remains real” and that he should avoid large public gatherings.
“If we talk about this topic [Khalistan] and we are going to lead the community on this issue in the diaspora, I think those threats will always be there. There is no way we can go back,” he said.
“When Hardeep's murder happened, it really became clear to some of us that this is real. “This is the new real for us and the new reality, that this can happen at any time.”
