Canada: Outrage over pro-Khalistani elements engaging in ‘Hinduphobic’ behaviour

Toronto: The Hindu community in Canada has expressed outrage over pro-Khalistan elements engaging in ”Hinduphobic” behaviour during recent protests targeting India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa’s events in western provinces of the country.

Pro-Khalistani groups protesting outside the Indian consulate in Toronto, Canada last year. (Supplied photo)

They were particularly concerned over posters related to the 1984 anti-Sikhs riots in India, which followed the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. A poster in this context, displayed in public during a pro-Khalistan demonstration in Calgary on Saturday stated that Sikh infants were “burnt alive by Hindu mobs” during the pogroms, while those riots were never considered communal in nature.

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“Khalistani protest posters shockingly depicting Hindus as hateful and extremist mob committing the heinous act of killing a baby are deeply disturbing. Such disinformation, allowed to proliferate under the guise of protest in Canada, paves the way for more Hinduphobia,” Rishabh Sarswat, president of the Canadian chapter of the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), said.

This followed a series of posts on X from CoHNA Canada in which it said, “If Khalistani supporters can resort of violence against police, diplomats and press with impunity, imagine the risk they pose to ordinary citizens.”

It argued it was time for Hinduphobia to “receive the attention it deserves”.

Protests by pro-Khalistan groups in Canda have become rampant especially after the secessionist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) called for High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma’s events in the country to be targeted.

However, Hindu community groups are worried over the trend of pro-Khalistan elements attacking it. In September last year, SFJ released a video, with its legal counsel Gurpatwant Pannun stating, “Indo-Hindus leave Canada, go to India.”

That threat led to a petition before the House of Commons gathering 25,794 signatures as against the 500 needed to elicit a formal government response. However, that response, tabled in December by the government left the community disappointed as it did not meet the requests made in the petition to recognise Hinduphobia as a term in the glossary of terms in the Human Rights Code to describe anti-Hindu prejudice and discrimination, to define Hinduphobia as denial, negation, prejudice or vilification against Hindus, Hinduism, or Hinduness and to raise awareness and address systemic and institutional Hinduphobia.

The community remains upset over the lack of any statement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the spurt in Hinduphobia in the country though he has otherwise been prompt in condemning hate speech targeting other minorities.

The number of vandalisation of temples in the previous two years has already shaken the community and has been largely ignored by mainstream Canadian media. As CoHNA posted, “The continued lack of media attention to these events suggests a disregard for the rise of extremism on Canadian soi since the targets are primarily Hindus.”