NEW DELHI: Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose June 2023 murder near his home in Vancouver sparked a diplomatic firestorm between India and Canada, was long an advocate for a separate homeland for people of his faith.
Nijjar was shot dead at age 45 by masked gunmen outside the temple he presided over after being sought by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism offenses and conspiracy to commit murder, charges he denied.
India has called accusations of involvement in his murder “absurd.”
Born in 1977 in the Indian state of Punjab, Nijjar grew up during a violent insurgency that ended in the late 1990s with extremists seeking to forge a Sikh nation known as Khalistan.
Punjab is the spiritual heartland of the Sikhs, where almost 60% of the population follows this religion.
Established in Canada
In 1997, when he was around 20 years old, Nijjar arrived in Canada, home to around 770,000 Sikhs, about 2% of the country's population and the largest Sikh community outside India.
He became a Canadian citizen in 2015, ran a plumbing business and was president of a Sikh temple near his home in Surrey, British Columbia.
But he also became involved with groups campaigning for a Sikh homeland.
Nijjar was reportedly involved in organizing referendums for Sikhs in Canada, to demonstrate his support for Khalistan.
New Delhi accused him of sponsoring attacks and assassinations in India.
Media India today He said Nijjar had been accused of involvement in a 2007 bomb attack that killed six people and injured 42 others in the city of Ludhiana in Punjab.
India called him a “terrorist” and offered a reward of 1 million rupees ($12,000) for information leading to his arrest.
New Delhi has often complained to foreign governments, including Canada, about the activities of Sikh hardliners in the diaspora. He claims they are trying to revive the insurgency in Punjab.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Punjab in 2018, where the state's chief minister demanded action against Nijjar and eight other Sikh separatist leaders.
Canada's World Sikh Organization said Ottawa's spy agency had warned it about threats against it.
Members of Canada's Sikh community accused India of carrying out the murder.
In September 2023, Trudeau told parliament that his government had “credible allegations” linking Indian agents to Nijjar's murder.
Both countries have traded barbs since then, culminating in the expulsions on Monday of each other's ambassadors and five other top diplomats in both countries.
