Sikh Leader's Murder in Canada Raises Fears of Sectarian Violence

In Canada's British Columbia (BC), a senior Sikh leader was savagely assassinated last month in front of a temple. His death angered his supporters and heightened tensions between the Indian government and Sikh separatists on a global scale.

Two masked gunmen shot and killed Hardeep Singh Nijjar in his truck on a sweltering June evening in the popular parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, as reported by BBC News.

An Unsolved Murder Still

The unsolved murder is still making waves one month later, both within Canada and beyond. Just last weekend, hundreds of Sikh separatists demonstrated against the Indian government, which they hold accountable for his death, in Toronto and a small number of other places like London, Melbourne, and San Francisco.

(Photo: by SEBASTIEN ST-JEAN/AFP via Getty Images) Jagmeet Singh (Leader of the New Democratic Party) and his wife Gurkiran Kaur arrive for the French debate for the 2019 federal election, the "Face-a-Face 2019" presented in the TVA studios, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on October 2, 2019.

Several groups have long demanded a separate homeland for Sikhs, a religious minority that makes up around 2 percent of India's population. The uproar that followed the 45-year-old's murder has brought this issue to attention.

In Punjab, where the movement peaked in the 1980s, there were numerous violent assaults and fatalities. After the military conducted special operations against it, the movement lost momentum, but its sympathizers in the expatriate community kept up their more persistent appeals for an independent state.

India has vehemently resisted the demand for Khalistan. In Punjab, all major political parties have condemned violence and secession.

Nijjar was a well-known Sikh figure in British Columbia and a fervent supporter of a separate Khalistani state. His backers claim that due to his advocacy, he has previously been the object of threats.

India said he was a terrorist and the leader of a militant separatist organization, claims his supporters say "unfounded".

However, they have labeled the killing as a "targeted incident" despite the fact that Canadian officials have not yet determined a reason for his death or named any suspects.

The greatest Sikh diaspora outside of Punjab is found in Canada. Hundreds demonstrated in Toronto on July 8 in opposition to Mr. Nijjar's passing in front of the High Consulate of India. A modest counter-demonstration in favor of the Indian government was held in response to them.

Hours were spent shouting at each other over barricades, and one pro-Khalistan protester was apprehended after attempting to scale the fence.

Indian Diplomats in Canada

Indian diplomats in Canada were called "killers" and the phrase "Kill India" appeared on several event posters in Toronto, infuriating the Indian government, which summoned the Canadian embassy.

The World Sikh Organization of Canada's Balpreet Singh remarked that although the Khalistan movement has experienced a resurrection recently, especially among young people who did not experience the 1980s' violence, it has been mostly peaceful and rather inactive in recent decades.