News ankush October 22, 2024 0 Comments

Nijjar ran from Punjab illegally; changed India-Canada relations forever

A Sikh separatist -Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was killed on Canadian soil last year, and as the controversy around this event has grown, both India and Canada have dismissed each other’s top envoys as well as other diplomats.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada indicated that his government responded when police investigating substantiated claims that Indian agents had a direct hand in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s death.

Indian agents have been charged by Canadian authorities of engaging in “homicides, extortion and violent acts” and specifically targeting followers of the pro-Khalistan movement, which aims to provide Sikhs in India their own homeland.

India has dismissed the accusations as “preposterous” and charged the Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau with using the sizeable Sikh minority in Canada as a political weapon.

“The evidence brought to light by the RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada’s national police service] cannot be ignored,” the prime minister Trudeau said.

“It leads to one conclusion; it is necessary to disrupt the criminal activities that continue to pose a threat to public safety in Canada. That is why we acted.”

India has fiercely denied all of the accusations and insisted that Canada has not offered any proof to back up its assertions.

Delhi and Ottawa have not been on good terms since Trudeau said that Canada had solid proof connecting Indian agents to the killing of Nijjar.

As a result of the dispute, relations worsened, with India demanding that Canada withdraw dozens of its diplomats and halt visa operations.

India’s foreign ministry released a furious statement on Monday, claiming that Sikh separatist activists were the source of Canada’s accusations.

Subsequently, it was declared that six Canadian diplomats, among them Stewart Ross Wheeler, the acting High Commissioner, had received orders to leave India by October 19.

Who was Nijjar?

breaking news Punjab: Hardeep Singh Nijjar (11 October 1977 – 18 June 2023) was a Canadian Sikh who supported the Khalistan movement, which advocates for an independent Sikh state.

Born in India, Nijjar moved to Canada in the mid-1990s. Nijjar was viewed as a human rights advocate by Sikh organizations, while the Indian government accused him of being a criminal and terrorist linked to the militant Khalistan Tiger Force and wanted his arrest. Nijjar and his supporters denied the claims, claiming that he campaigned for Khalistan’s development through peaceful methods. Nijjar was placed on Canada’s No Fly List in 2016 and his personal bank accounts were blocked in response to claims of involvement in “terror training camps”.

Nijjar sprang to recognition in 2019 when he took over as leader of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurudwara in Surrey, British Columbia, and began advocating for Sikh separation. Nijjar was also involved with Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which led the Khalistan Referendum 2020 campaign.

On June 18, 2023, Nijjar was shot and died in the parking lot of a Gurdwara in British Columbia. On September 18, 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canadian security agencies were “pursuing credible allegations of a potential link” between Indian government agents and Nijjar’s assassination. Following the assassination, Canada expelled an Indian diplomat from the country. India’s foreign ministry denied participation in the killing and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in return.

Nijjar migrated to Canada illegally

Nijjar landed in Canada on February 10, 1997, using a false passport identifying him as “Ravi Sharma” and filed a refugee claim. In a written affidavit, he stated that his brother, father, and uncle had all been arrested, and that he had been tortured by police. His claim was denied because officials believed his documentation was partially fabricated; investigators assumed that a letter allegedly issued by an Indian physician confirming to his torture was fake. The panel wrote that it did “not believe that the applicant was arrested by the police and that he was tortured by the police.”

Eleven days after his claim was refused, Nijjar married the woman who sponsored his immigration. He was eventually allowed entry into Canada. Nijjar became a Canadian citizen on May 25, 2007. This was the same year when a cinema bombing explosion in Punjab had killed six people and injured dozens, an incident which the Centre blamed on Nijjar.

Nijjar in 2013-2014 travelled to Pakistan, where he met with Jagtar Singh Tara of Babbar Khalsa International, who was accused of assassinating former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. According to The Tribune, Pakistan’s ISI allegedly recruited Nijjar and assisted him in organizing training camps for extremist groups affiliated with the Khalistan movement.

Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau using “Sikh Politics”

Canada is home to roughly 770,000 Sikhs, the country’s fourth-largest ethnic group, and some members of the community support the Khalistan movement. According to sources, Trudeau is targeting a critical electoral demographic by backing their cause as his popularity declines.

Punjab update news: Observers point out that Trudeau has a history of using Sikh politics for political purposes. During a 2018 trip to India, Trudeau attracted criticism for inviting a convicted Sikh extremist to a state dinner.

Despite repeated requests from the Indian government to address pro-Khalistani activities in Canada, including protests outside the consulate when people burned the Indian flag, Trudeau’s government was hesitant to take action against the separatist leaders.