Pro-Khalistan Sikhs protest on second anniversary of Hardeep Singh Nijjar's death

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 10:24 PM EDT | Last Updated: 35 minutes ago

Dozens of pro-Khalistan Sikh activists protested extracurricular the Indian consulate successful Vancouver connected Wednesday to people the 2nd day of the sidesplitting of B.C. gurdwara person Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The Khalistan question refers to a Sikh separatist movement that seeks to make an autarkic Sikh authorities successful parts of bluish India.

Nijjar, a cardinal organizer for an unofficial overseas referendum connected Khalistan, was gunned down successful the parking batch of Surrey, B.C.'s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, wherever helium was president, connected June 18, 2023.

Moninder Singh, spokesperson for the Sikh Federation (Canada), said Nijjar's decease has galvanized the assemblage implicit the past 2 years.

"It was a wake-up telephone that that unit has made its mode to Canada, unfortunately." Singh said astatine the Vancouver protest.

WATCH | Protest held connected day of Nijjar's death: 

Four Indian nationals — Karan Brar, Kamalpreet Singh, Karanpreet Singh and Amandeep Singh  — person been charged with execution and conspiracy to perpetrate murder successful transportation with Nijjar's killing.

Months aft Nijjar's decease successful 2023, then-prime curate Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being linked to Nijjar's killing, starring to strained relations betwixt India and Canada.

On Wednesday, Singh highlighted that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has said India's authorities continues to beryllium a overseas interference concern, according to its annual report released Tuesday.

"Links betwixt the Government of India and the Nijjar execution signals a important escalation successful India's repression efforts against the Khalistan question and a wide intent to people individuals successful North America," said the CSIS report.

Singh said the contented of overseas interference extends beyond the Sikh community.

"That's really violating Canada's sovereignty, undermining its electoral process, its antiauthoritarian institutions," helium said.

"So for america this is truly precise overmuch a Canadian issue, and not conscionable a Sikh issue."

Day aft G7 meeting

The day rally comes a time aft Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the G7 summit successful Alberta and met with his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney.

After the meeting, the 2 countries agreed to reinstate their precocious commissioners and are eyeing renewed visa services to each other's citizens and businesses, successful a motion that Canada-India relations are defrosting.

Singh said it was "frustrating" to spot Modi at the meeting, and added that rebuilding the bilateral relationship without acceptable outcomes is "very, precise premature."

He said without wide objectives, the Canadian authorities won't beryllium capable to stock however it has mitigated the menace of India's overseas influence.

At the G7, Carney did not straight reply a journalist's question astir his treatment with Modi astir Nijjar's murder.

"We person had a discussion, the premier curate and I, astir the value of having the instrumentality enforcement-to-law enforcement dialogue, not conscionable dialogue, but co-operation," Carney said during a G7 quality league Tuesday.

"Obviously determination is simply a judicial process underway, and I request to beryllium cautious astir further commentary."

Modi's authorities has denied ordering killings successful Canada.