Sikhs in North America are watching warily as tensions unfold between Canada and India after the country’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, accused the Indian government of assassination on its soil.
Last week, Trudeau told lawmakers that his government had credible evidence that the Indian government was involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh-Canadian activist who was shot dead last June. India has denied those charges. For many Sikhs, Nijjar was a human rights activist, advocating for an independent homeland for a community long persecuted by the Indian government. The Indian government said Nijjar was a militant and a terrorist ― a claim denied by Nijjar himself before his assassination.
The accusations set off a diplomatic crisis for Canada, India, and even the U.S. as Biden now finds himself caught between the two allies. Last week, India has warned its citizens against visiting parts of Canada.
Canada responded by saying its country was safe.
But for Sikhs in the U.S. and Canada, many are concerned about their safety, questioning if precautions will be taken by the government and if their activism will continue to be a threat to their lives.
“There are human rights violations that happen in India, but we never thought that we would see something like this happening in Canada,” said Sandeep Singh, an immigration consultant based in Ontario.
“Refugees and other people leave their countries because they trust Canada and that Canada will defend their rights,” he added. “When something like that happens, that leaves an impact on the community.”
Canada hosts the largest Sikh population outside of India, accounting for over 2% of the population. The first wave of Sikhs migrated to Canada in the 1900s, mostly as laborers. Throughout the years, those numbers steadily increased after the 1947 partition of India. The numbers spiked during the 1970s and 1980s insurgency where the Indian government cracked down on Sikhs and supporters of the
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