AMRITSAR/BATHINDA: US-based Sikh secessionist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has branded Canadian Hindus disloyal and told them to go back to India, and as escalated bilateral tension forced the foreign ministry to caution the Indian nationals and students in Canada, their families back home got worried.
India basher Pannun, general counsel of outlawed (in India) body Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), alleged that Canadian Hindus had campaigned against their Western Bloc country after it had suspended trade with India over interference in its internal affairs. He said: “This repudiates their allegiance to Canada, so they must go back to the country whose interests they protect while reaping the economic benefits of living in Canada.”
Accusing the Canadian Hindus of celebrating the assassination of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead in the parking lot of a gurdwara in Surrey, Pannun said: “Canada has no place for those siding with India in suppressing the freedom of expression and promoting violence against pro-Khalistan Sikhs.” Pannun, whom the Indian home ministry had designated as a terrorist in 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967, said the SFJ will hold is second “Khalistan Referendum” on October 29 at Surrey in the Canadian province of British Columbia and even organise “Shaheed Nijjar Kill India Referendum” on the question: “Is Indian high commissioner (Sanjay Kumar) Verma responsible for Nijjar’s assassination?” The SFJ’s last unofficial “referendum” at Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara on September 10 had a poor turnout of Sikhs.
This kind of a direct threat is alien to the Indians on Canadian study visa and work permit, and even their families back home who survived the worst of Punjab’s militancy phase. The families had sent their children abroad, hoping that multicultural societies and developed counties will be free of communal frenzy, but now those with children living in Surrey, where Nijjer was killed and hardliners stay, are most scared.
Punjabi Sikhs started the trend of migration to Canada, but for the last 6 years, Hindu families and students have also joined the beeline at the IELTS centres and immigration offices. “Middle-class Hindus with easy loans and ready documents get there faster than Sikh families,” claimed an immigration agent from Bathinda.
Amit Mittal, whose son is a student in Surrey, said: “Already we were tense since the diplomatic fallout, and now they have asked the Hindus to leave Canada for not condemning Nijjer’s killing. The Canadian government shouldn’t allow religious hatred, for the sake of its own image.” Barnala’s Satish Bansal, whose daughter also studies in Surrey, said: “We have a big study loan to pay off and a security dilemma to deal with.” Bathinda’s Ramesh Chand, who sent his son to Brampton, said: “Scared after this threat, we just hope that the Canadian government intervenes.”
Watch India-Canada Latest: Gurpatwant Pannun, designated terrorist, threatens Indians living in Canada
India basher Pannun, general counsel of outlawed (in India) body Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), alleged that Canadian Hindus had campaigned against their Western Bloc country after it had suspended trade with India over interference in its internal affairs. He said: “This repudiates their allegiance to Canada, so they must go back to the country whose interests they protect while reaping the economic benefits of living in Canada.”
Accusing the Canadian Hindus of celebrating the assassination of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead in the parking lot of a gurdwara in Surrey, Pannun said: “Canada has no place for those siding with India in suppressing the freedom of expression and promoting violence against pro-Khalistan Sikhs.” Pannun, whom the Indian home ministry had designated as a terrorist in 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967, said the SFJ will hold is second “Khalistan Referendum” on October 29 at Surrey in the Canadian province of British Columbia and even organise “Shaheed Nijjar Kill India Referendum” on the question: “Is Indian high commissioner (Sanjay Kumar) Verma responsible for Nijjar’s assassination?” The SFJ’s last unofficial “referendum” at Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara on September 10 had a poor turnout of Sikhs.
This kind of a direct threat is alien to the Indians on Canadian study visa and work permit, and even their families back home who survived the worst of Punjab’s militancy phase. The families had sent their children abroad, hoping that multicultural societies and developed counties will be free of communal frenzy, but now those with children living in Surrey, where Nijjer was killed and hardliners stay, are most scared.
Punjabi Sikhs started the trend of migration to Canada, but for the last 6 years, Hindu families and students have also joined the beeline at the IELTS centres and immigration offices. “Middle-class Hindus with easy loans and ready documents get there faster than Sikh families,” claimed an immigration agent from Bathinda.
Amit Mittal, whose son is a student in Surrey, said: “Already we were tense since the diplomatic fallout, and now they have asked the Hindus to leave Canada for not condemning Nijjer’s killing. The Canadian government shouldn’t allow religious hatred, for the sake of its own image.” Barnala’s Satish Bansal, whose daughter also studies in Surrey, said: “We have a big study loan to pay off and a security dilemma to deal with.” Bathinda’s Ramesh Chand, who sent his son to Brampton, said: “Scared after this threat, we just hope that the Canadian government intervenes.”
Watch India-Canada Latest: Gurpatwant Pannun, designated terrorist, threatens Indians living in Canada