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allthecanadianpolitics · 7 months

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Alternate headline: India admits to assassinating Hardeep Singh Nijjar and not feeling bad about it (?)

Either way, kinda sus.

#submission #hardeep singh nijjar #Canada-India relations #international relations

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aelloposchrysopterus · 7 months

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HEY DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE ASSASSINATION OF A PROMINENT SIKH LEADER IN CANADA AND WHY THIS MATTERS?

I generally don't like to write current events-y stuff here, but since I'm not seeing any people talking about this in my corner of this hellsite, I figured I might as well.

DISCLAIMER: For the record, I'm part Punjabi, raised culturally Sikh in the United States, I don't actively practice Sikhism, and I'm writing this assuming a non-Sikh, non-Desi audience that knows little to nothing about Indian politics. I am trying to be as factually accurate as possible but if certain information is incorrect, I will correct this post because a) this is an ongoing issue so the information I have right now may not turn out to be correct and b) my memory is fallible and while I did try to fact-check the background information I remembered, many of these historical events have accounts that differ drastically from each other, so it is difficult to establish a definite truth. This post was written and last updated 25 September 2023.

So, the basic facts of what happened:

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed on 18 June 2023. He was a proponent of the Khalistan movement. In the past week or so, Canadian government officials have accused India of orchestrating his assassination.

Khalistan? What's That and Why Does It Matter?

Like quite a few things in Desi politics, the idea of Khalistan can be traced back to the Partition. At the heart of the Partition, the idea was that Pakistan is for the Muslims and India is for the Hindus.

However, India is not exclusively populated by Hindus, no matter how hard Modi and the BJP* try to make it a Hindu-only nation through their Hindu nationalist policies. Among other religious minority groups, many Sikhs had to made the new India their home, because of the religious persecution they would face in Pakistan. The Radcliffe Line (the line of partition) runs right through Punjab, the ancestral homeland of, among others, most Sikhs. In Punjab, during the Partition, Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims carried out sectarian violence against each other.

What this means is that a lot of Sikhs were displace from their homeland and subjected to discrimination and violence based on their religion in both Pakistan and India. As a result, some members of the Sikh community started calling for a new nation to be carved out of the Punjab regions in Pakistan and India. This new nation was to be a Sikh nation, much like Pakistan for the Muslims and India for the Hindus, and it was to be called Khalistan.

(Little bit of anecdotal trivia: apparently identifying as Punjabi first and Indian second when describing ethnic background is more common among Punjabi Sikhs, due to Sikh efforts to show their connection to Punjabi in an attempt to make Khalistan a Sikh nation in the Punjabi region.)

Needless to say, the Indian government did not and does not like the idea of a Sikh nation and sees the idea of it as a terrorist threat.

*Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindu nationalist party currently ruling over most of India.

Operation Blue Star and Indira Gandhi

As part of this rising call for a Sikh nation, Sikh militant groups sprung up. Indira Gandhi's government wanted to arrest one of the most prominent leaders of a Sikh militant movement. However, he and his supporters were holed up in the holiest site in Sikhism, the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

On one of the holiest days in Sikhism, the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev, the Indian military began their attack on the Golden Temple, known as Operation Blue Star. Long story short, Sikh pilgrims were killed during both the fighting and in extrajudicial killings by the military afterwards.

In anger at how Gandhi's government had carried out Operation Blue Star, two of her Sikh bodyguards assassinated her. Anti-Sikh pogroms then occurred, with independent estimates of the number of Sikhs killed ranging from 8,000 to 17,000.

This only made tensions between the Sikh community and the Indian government worse; I see this as a defining moment in how the government of India responds to the Khalistan movement and both Sikh extremist violence and peaceful support.

Oh and did I mention yet that the Indian government has outlawed the Khalistan movement?

The law that does this dates back to 1967, by the way.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar

And so now we come to the story of the recently-assassinated Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Due to Khalistani activism being outlawed in India, many Khalistani activists have settled abroad. This includes Nijjar, who became a Canadian citizen in 2007 and had first come to Canada to apply for asylum after having been arrested by the Indian police in connection with his pro-Khalistan stance. He continued his Sikh and Khalistani activism in Canada until he was killed in the parking lot of the gurdwara he belonged to by two masked gunmen.

The Canadian government recently alleged that the Indian government war involved in the killing of Nijjar, but has not yet provided firm evidence.

Why Does This Matter?

Obviously, as a culturally Sikh person, it matters to me because this assassination is part of a legacy of violence targeting my community due to perceived associations with terrorism. (Yes, there are some Sikh extremists and terrorists, but the overwhelming majority of Sikhs are neither extremists nor terrorists.)

But this has ramifications that everyone should care about.

Canada and India have recently done tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions due to the Canadian government's allegations

The US may also get dragged into this because Canada alleged that American intelligence gave them some information necessary to prove the involvement of the India government

The UK may also get dragged into this because they, too, have a sizeable Punjabi Sikh community that includes multiple MPs and the government has historically had strong relationships with both Canada and India

Despite the BJP's involvement in anti-Muslim violence, Modi and his government still enjoy a cozy relationship with many Western nations; this may start to change, although change is unlikely as Western governments see being allied with India as key to countering Chinese influence

If India is proven to be behind the assassination, this could be bad for other Khalistani activists in the Sikh diaspora because it means the Indian government could potentially target and kill them, too

This is important. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and this isn't an isolated incident. I know I probably didn't do a great job explaining this, but it's hard to summarize about 550 years of oppression and violence and politics and culture and how that has manifested over the past 80 years, leading to the murder of a prominent leader in the Sikh diaspora.

For further reading on this, I'd suggest this BBC article, which includes information on some other Khalistani activists recently killed.

Anyhow, I'll keep trying to follow the news on this and update this post as needed, likely through reblogs.

#current events #sikhism #religion #khalistan #canada #india #hardeep singh nijjar #look i really don't like to write politics and current events shit #but it's important to me to just put this out in the hopes that more people hear about this and also understand what it means #i tried to keep this short so there's a lot i left out

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memenewsdotcom · 7 months

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#India #Canada tensions rise

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#asia #canada #diplomacy #government #Hardeep Singh Nijjar #hindu #india #meme #memes #news #religion #Sikh

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a-punchline-on-duct-tape · 3 months

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the fact that khalistan activists are literally being labeled as terrorists when they are being MURDERED just for wanting a separate country makes me feel sick

and the fact NOBODY is speaking about this is so horrible

#khalistan #free khalistan #punjab #hardeep singh nijjar #hardeep singh puri #khalistan referendum #punjabi #india #india partition

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divinum-pacis · 7 months

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A woman is consoled as people mourn Sikh community leader and temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar during Antim Darshan, the first part of day-long funeral services for him, in Surrey, British Columbia, Sunday, June 25, 2023. Nijjar was gunned down in his vehicle while leaving the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib parking lot. The September 2023 accusation by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that India may have been behind the assassination of Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader, has raised several complex questions about the nature of Sikh activism in the North American diaspora. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

#religion #sikhism #sikhi #sikhs #people #hardeep singh nijjar #canada #divinum-pacis

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head-post · 6 months

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Indian envoy believes Canadian investigation into Hardeep Nijjar’s murder is ‘tainted’

Sanjay Kumar Verma demanded that Canada provide evidence in the Hardeep Nijjar murder case and give details of the investigation.

Sanjay Kumar Verma, India’s High Commissioner to Canada, claimed on Saturday that the Canadian investigation into the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a staunch Khalistan supporter, has been “tainted” by public statements made by a senior Canadian official.

Where is the conclusion of the investigation? I would go a step further and say now the investigation has already been tainted. A direction has come from someone at a high level to say India or Indian agents are behind it.

However, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadian intelligence agencies are doing their best over “credible allegations” linking Indian agents to Nijjar’s murder.

Learn more HERE

#world news #world politics #news #canada india #india canada #canada news #canada politics #canada #trudeau news #india politics #india news #sikhcommunity #sikhism #sikh #hardeep singh nijjar

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lejournaldupeintre · 6 months

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The politics behind Canada and India’s diplomatic tiff

Relations between Canada and India are trapped in a downward spiral following an explosive statement by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that alleged “potential” Indian involvement in the June killing near Vancouver of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Sikh leader in British Columbia. Trudeau said Indian involvement was brought to his attention by Canada’s security services. Of course…

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#Canada #Hardeep Singh Nijjar #India #Moody #murder #Sikh #Trudeau

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ainews18 · 7 months

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#justin trudeau #canada #india #ainews18.com #khalistan #hardeep singh nijjar #terrorist

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world-store · 7 months

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Canada Khalistan Leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar Killing Two Men 50 Bullets Fired 34 Hit Him Report

As tensions continue to deepen between India and Canada over the June 18 killing of pro-Khalistan Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, crucial details have started coming out about his murder. Things took a sharp turn when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that India has “potential links” with the murder. Now, a report in the Washington Post, which quotes several witnesses to the…

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#canada #Hardeep Singh Nijjar #India Canada Row #Khalistan Leader Killed #Nijjar killing

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allthecanadianpolitics · 7 months

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India's visa processing centre in Canada suspended services Thursday as a rift widened between the countries after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said India may have been involved in the killing of a pro-Khalistan activist and president of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in British Columbia, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. So what does that mean for Canadians planning trips to India? Here's what we know so far: Who does this affect? Canadian citizens who do not have a visa for India or were in the process of applying for one. What type of Indian visa can I apply for? India's Ministry of External Affairs confirmed the decision to stop all categories of visas, including e-visas, for Canadian Citizens. If you're a Canadian national wondering whether you can apply for an Indian visa from a third country, like the U.S., you will be subjected to the same suspension of services.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

#India #hardeep singh nijjar #narendra modi #Sikh #cdnpoli #canada #canadian politics

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walrusmagazine · 7 months

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Why Would India Assassinate a Sikh Leader on Canadian Soil?

Trudeau’s explosive allegation reveals the widening rift between the two countries

India has recently been courted globally, especially by the Joe Biden administration, which laid the red carpet for Modi during his first official state visit to Washington, DC, in June. Buoyed by its self-image as a global power, New Delhi sees tough Canadian action against Sikh groups as a precondition for healthy bilateral ties. India’s ultimatum has, however, fallen on deaf ears. For Canada, as a democracy that values strong institutions, ties with India are important but not critical enough to dispense with democratic norms about religious minorities—even when Sikh organizations take a separatist line. The Indian security establishment, under Doval, has now drawn accusations of taking matters into its own hands and being involved in the killings of pro-Khalistan leaders outside India.