The murder last June of a Canadian citizen is at the heart of a diplomatic crisis between Canada and India. In front of Parliament on Monday September 18, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed that New Delhi was behind this assassination. Accusation denied by India. Since then, diplomatic relations have deteriorated between the two countries.
The death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a figure of the Sikh independence movement who was shot and killed, is a reminder of the importance of this diaspora in Canada, but also of the buried disputes with India.
Sunday, June 18, in Surrey, around 8:30 p.m. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police received calls reporting shots fired in this suburb of the city of Vancouver. Arriving at the corner of 120th and 70th avenues, officers discovered Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, shot in his car in the parking lot of the Sikh temple he presides over. Despite the first aid provided, the 45-year-old man died on the spot from his injuries.
A figure in the Sikh diaspora, Hardeep Singh Nijjar has campaigned for many years for the creation of an independent state, Khalistan, which would include Punjab in particular. In the 1980s and early 1990s, this Sikh-majority region of India was rocked by a struggle for independence, which left thousands dead.
Arriving in Canada in 1997 and naturalized in 2015, Hardeep Singh Nijjar said he was in the sights of the Indian services, who accused him of terrorist activity. According to Radio Canada, in 2016 he sent a letter to Justin Trudeau to proclaim his innocence: “I never believed in violence, I never supported it, and I have never been involved in violent acts », he wrote.
By pointing the finger at India’s responsibility for his assassination, Justin Trudeau reassured the Sikh community. “It was only a matter of time before the truth came out,” said Balraj Singh Nijjar, the victim’s son, in his first public address. “I hope you can go further and get your hands on specific individuals,” he added to the Canadian authorities.
“Justin Trudeau’s announcement may have surprised many Canadians, but not the Sikh community,” added Mukhbir Singh of the World Sikh Organization of Canada. “For decades, India has targeted Sikhs in Canada through espionage, disinformation and now murder,” he denounced during a press conference at the Canadian Parliament.
For its part, the government of Narendra Modi considered these accusations “absurd” and denied “any act of violence in Canada”. The two countries subsequently each expelled a diplomat. Tension had been brewing for some time between the two countries. Ottawa had recently suspended negotiations for a free trade agreement with India, while the Minister of Commerce last week canceled a planned trip to the country in October.
This affair recalls a previous serious diplomatic incident between the two nations. In 1985, an Air India flight departing from Montreal airport exploded in mid-air, killing 329 people. It was the deadliest terrorist act to hit Canada. The investigation showed the presence of a bomb in the hold of the plane bound for India. The country quickly accused Sikh extremists, although the perpetrators were not clearly identified.
Canada is home to the world’s largest Sikh community outside of India. As of the 2021 census, 770,000 Canadians identified as Sikhism, or 2% of the country’s population.
