“Our emotions are mixed. We are happy and at the same time worried. »
Manveer Singh has no other words to describe the feeling of Montreal Sikhs after Justin Trudeau’s spectacular outing on Monday in the House of Commons.
“Glad,” he says, because a high-level politician has openly denounced the possible involvement of the Indian government in the assassination of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. But “worried” because this assassination does not bode well for the future of certain Canadian Sikhs.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MANVEER SINGH
Manveer Singh, journalist, bureau chief for TV84
“When a third country comes to kill Canadian citizens in Canada, there is reason to worry,” observes the journalist, bureau chief of TV84, a Punjabi media outlet with an antenna in Quebec.
hot topic
These feelings are shared by a large part of the Sikh community in Montreal. At Jasvir Sandhu Show, a telephone forum presented on Radio Humsafar, the affair caused a lot of reaction. “It’s been the hot topic for two days. We only talk about that,” summarizes host Jasvir Sandhu, who also owns the station located in LaSalle.
According to Mr. Sandhu, the comments are “varied”, for the simple reason that not all of his listeners belong to the Sikh community. But most of them, he said, clearly support Mr. Trudeau’s intervention.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Jasvir Sandhu, host of Jasvir Sandhu Show
The main point is that Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a Canadian citizen. And as such, his assassination is not acceptable, whether he is guilty or innocent.
Jasvir Sandhu, radio host
“They say India has no business interfering in Canada’s internal affairs. That it is up to the judicial system to take care of it and that if India has a problem, it should contact the Canadian government. »
Nijjar, 45, was killed on June 18 outside his gurdwara (Sikh temple) in Surrey, a city on the outskirts of Vancouver with a large Sikh community. He was known for his positions in favor of Khalistan, an independent state claimed by Sikh nationalists since the partition of India, and as such designated as “terrorist” by the Indian authorities.
For several years, India has accused Canada of being a refuge for radical Sikh separatists. The assassination of Nijjar is another chapter in this persistent unease between the two countries, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely accused of wanting to establish Hindu supremacy, the majority, at the expense of other minorities.
The spokesperson in Quebec for the World Sikh Organization, Harginder Kaur, expressed on Tuesday on Radio-Canada the fears which now agitate the Canadian Sikh community in the face of the determination of the Indian government.
“Dangerous to return to the country”
These fears were also in the conversations on Wednesday, during the passage of The Press at the Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar. In the cafeteria, between a Khalistan flag and huge photos of martyrs of the Sikh cause, men were chatting over chai and a vegetarian thali.
“India labels us as terrorists because we fight for our rights. It’s annoying and it’s scary. For us, it’s even dangerous to return to the country,” laments Arvinda Singh.
Sitting cross-legged a little further away, Yashin Rupani regrets that the Indian government has succeeded in “sowing fear” in the community. “Wherever you are in the world, they’re coming for you,” he said.
However, he wonders why Canada did not know how to better protect one of its citizens.
Justin Trudeau loses his temper after the fact. But where was he when Nijjar asked for protection? The government knew he was being targeted. They did nothing.
Yashin Rupani, Sikh Canadian
For Mr. Rupani, Hardeep Singh Nijjar must now be considered a shahid (martyr) and in this capacity join the heroes of the Sikh cause whose portraits adorn the walls of the temple.
Manveer Singh says he is not very reassured for the future. Hardeep Singh Nijjar would be the fourth pro-Khalistani leader abroad to be suspiciously eliminated since the start of the year, and five other Sikh activists in British Columbia would have received death threats.
“India sees itself as a great power now. She thinks she can do whatever she wants… We think this is just the beginning. When Canadian security agencies dig a little deeper, they’re going to find a lot more than they think. »