The struggles in Punjab, the birthplace of the Sikh faith that historically straddled an area now split by the border between Pakistan and India, has been marred by decades of violence, political chaos, and migration which are now entwined with Canada, a nation thousands of miles away.
Canada’s position in the midst of tensions surrounding the Khalistan movement, which advocates for an independent state in Punjab for Sikhs, came to the forefront this week after revelations of Indian involvement in the assassination of a prominent Sikh separatist in British Columbia.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed Parliament on Monday of “credible allegations” of Indian agents’ involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistan movement supporter and Sikh community leader, in June. India denies the charges. These allegations add to the ongoing developments that have intertwined Canada in the dispute.
India expels Canadian diplomat as dispute over alleged assassination escalates
In the 1900s, the first major wave of Sikhs, mostly men, migrated to Canada to work as laborers in logging and manufacturing. The partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 further fueled the emigration of Sikhs from Punjab.
Sikhs have been particularly drawn to Canada due to the “parallel value systems” shared with the country, including an emphasis on humanity and equality, according to Sardar Harjeet Singh Grewal from the University of Calgary.
Canada is now home to the largest Sikh population outside of India, with approximately 770,000 people identifying as Sikh in the 2021 census. While this number is small compared to the 22 million Sikhs in India, it represents a larger proportion of the Canadian population (2.1%) than in India (1.7%).
Neilesh Bose, an associate professor and Canada research chair at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, noted that Sikhs make up a significant portion of the South Asian community in Canada, contributing to their prominence in how Canadians perceive South Asia.
While not all Sikhs support the Khalistan movement, and not all supporters advocate for extremist tactics, the Air India bombing in 1985 brought increased scrutiny and questioning of Sikh individuals and politicians regarding their potential links to terrorism or Khalistan.
However, the Air India bombing did not lead to the same level of bigotry against Sikhs in Canada as the post-9/11 discrimination against Muslims (and some Sikhs) in the United States.
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