2023-09-25 15:35:35
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Sikhs in Punjab, India, are now facing many worries due to the escalating conflict between Ottawa and New Delhi. Photo/Reuters
NEW DELHI – The bitter standoff between India and Canada over the killing of a Sikh separatist is being felt in Punjab, where some Sikhs fear a harsh reaction from India’s Hindu nationalist government and a threat to their prospects of moving forward for a better life in North America.
Insidern started because Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a plumber who left the northern Indian state a quarter of a century ago and became a Canadian citizen, was shot dead in June outside a temple in suburban Vancouver where he was a separatist leader among many Sikhs living there.
Canadian Prime Minister (PM) Justin Trudeau said last week that Ottawa had “credible allegations” that Indian government agents may have been connected to the killing.
India, which called Nijjar a “terrorist” in 2020, angrily rejected the accusations as “absurd”, expelled Canada’s intelligence chief in India, issued a travel warning, stopped issuing visas to Canadians, and reduced Canada’s diplomatic presence in India.
Here are 5 reasons why Sikhs are worried about their security due to the conflict between India and Canada.
1. Sikhs Make Up the Majority in Punjab
Photo/Reuters
Launch Reuters, Sikhs make up only 2% of India’s 1.4 billion people, but they constitute the majority in Punjab, a state of 30 million people, where their religion was born 500 years ago. Outside Punjab, the largest number of Sikhs live in Canada, where there have been many protests that have upset India.
2. The Spirit of Independence Still Burning
Photo/Reuters
An insurgency seeking a Sikh homeland in Khalistan, which killed tens of thousands of people in the 1980s and 90s, was crushed by India, but the embers of the spirit of independence still burn.
In the village of Bharsinghpura, there are few memories of Nijjar, but his uncle, Himmat Singh Nijjar, 79, said local residents “think Trudeau is very brave” to accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of potential involvement in the murder.
“For the sake of one ordinary person, he doesn’t need to take big risks for his government,” the uncle told Reuters, sitting on a wooden bench near a tractor at his farmhouse, surrounded by lush rice fields and banana trees.
Still, the elder Nijjar said he was concerned about deteriorating diplomatic relations with Canada and declining economic prospects in Punjab.
3. Punjab is India’s food basket
Photo/Reuters
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