India issues demarche to Canada against upcoming Khalistan Referendum II

On 15 September this year, a month after a Mahatma Gandhi statue was vandalised in New York, videos emerged of a Hindu Temple getting defaced in Canada. The gates of BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Toronto, one of the largest temples in Canada, were spray-painted with the words “Khalistan zindabad” (long live Khalistan) and “Hindustan murdabad” (death to India).

This has become a cause for concern as the Narendra Modi government has served the Canada High Commission a demarche to be conveyed to the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, expressing discontent and urging the Canadian government to stop the Khalistan referendum scheduled to be organised in Ontario on 6 November, Hindustan Times reported.

A demarche is a formal diplomatic representation of the official position, views or wishes on a subject from one government to another government or intergovernmental organization. It often denotes a note of protest or petition presented through diplomatic channels between governments.

The Indian government has expressed that the Khalistan referendum followed by the attack on the Hindu Temple in Canada defies territorial integrity and sovereignty of India.

The report further stated that demarche served by a senior Ministry of External Affairs official to the Canadian High Commission will be also conveyed by the Indian Embassy in Ottawa to Global Affairs, Canada next week.

It is to be noted that no step has been taken by the Trudeau government to rein in the anti-India forces in Canada. The inaction towards the Anti-India activity in their own nation comes creates a dichotomy when Trudeau take to Twitter to be vocal about his protest against the alleged referendum organized by Russia in occupied eastern parts of Ukraine.

See the tweet here

The incongruity further deepens wherein, the Canadian government has established that every Canadian resident has the liberty and the right to assemble and express their views so long as they do so peacefully and without breaking the law. This being said, they have also established that the Canadian authorities do not recognise the Khalistan referendum.

The Hindustan Times report stated that the referendum is being held in a private convention center in a suburb of Ontario. The first referendum was held in Brampton, Ontario on 18 September 2022.

Delhi has flagged the concern that by allowing the Sikh for Justice (SFJ) organization to flourish, the Indian diaspora would be divided in a foreign land, wherein students would be allowed to vote for the SFJ.

The Indian security agencies have informed their Canadian counterpart of the dangers of allowing Sikh extremist G. S. Pannu to radicalise the Sikh youth and the community in the name of Khalistan.

Earlier on 19 September, over 100,000 Canadian Sikhs took part in voting for the Khalistan Referendum in Brampton, Ontario which was organised by pro-Khalistani group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). Visuals on social media showed a huge number of men, women queueing up to vote in for Khalistan Referendum.

The report has stated that ‘Indian senior officials bluntly told their Canadian counterparts that the radicalized may end up forming Khalistan in Canada if the Trudeau government did not stop the extremists from brainwashing the youth and taking over Gurudwaras.’

Meanwhile, the Canadian police is still investigating the incidence of defacing the Hindu temple in Ontario. They have assured strong action against the culprit.

The Indian government had on 23 September has issued an advisory for Indians Nationals and students in Canada amid a sharp increase in incidents of hate crimes, sectarian violence and anti-India activities.