A group of individuals belonging to the Khalistan Sikh separatist movement attacked a Hindu temple in Brampton, Canada, on Sunday, leading to a clash between groups of Indian nationals at the temple.
Khalistan is a Sikh separatist movement whose goal is to carve out an independent ethnoreligious state in northern India. The Indian government considers the Khalistan movement a significant threat to its territorial integrity and national unity.
Videos of Sunday’s brawl circulating on social media and shared by members of the Canadian parliament show individuals holding pro-Khalistani banners clashing with others at the Hindu Sabha Mandir Temple in northeastern Brampton, some of whom struck each other with fists, poles, and other objects.
Several politicians, such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, condemned the brawl at the Hindu temple in Brampton, appealing to the right of every Canadian to practice their faith in peace. The Peel Regional Police announced in the early hours of Monday that three individuals have been arrested and criminally charged for the incident, without giving further specifics.
The incident occurs amidst an ongoing, tense diplomatic feud between India and Canada that has seen diplomatic relations strained over the last year following the death of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023 — whom Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of murdering.
Nijjar, 45 at the time of his death, was shot dead in the city of Vancouver by masked assailants in June 2023. The separatist leader moved to Canada in 1997 and became a citizen in 2015. Trudeau accused the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist, of planning the attack on Nijjar — immediately infuriating India, who denied any involvement in the attack. India lashed out at Canada for not taking its concerns about the Khalistani movement seriously and accused Canada of allowing its territory to be a “safe haven” for anti-Indian terrorist activities.
The Canadian prime minister’s statements prompted a diplomatic impasse that has seen both countries expel their respective diplomats in multiple rounds, with both countries expelling more diplomats last month. In October, roughly one year after accusing India, Trudeau stated that his administration has no “hard evidence” to prove India’s responsibility behind the killing of Nijjar.
Last week, Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison accused Indian Home Minister Amit Shah of masterminding plots to kill Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. Shah is a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Modi.
The Indian External Affairs Ministry responded to Morrison’s latest accusations with a formal protest against Canada, accusing its government of engaging in alleged surveillance of India’s consular staff.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reportedly stated on Saturday that Canada’s “unfounded insinuations” would have serious consequences for the relations between the two countries.
“It was conveyed in a note that the government of India protests in the strongest terms to the absurd and baseless references made to the Union Home Minister of India,” Jaiswal said.
Modi referred to both Sunday’s incident at the Hindu temple in Brampton and the ongoing diplomatic tensions shortly after. Modi condemned the “deliberate attack” on the temple and the “cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats.”
“Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve. We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law,” Modi’s message read.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
