Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose murder in June near Vancouver caused a diplomatic crisis between India and Canada, had long campaigned for the creation of an independent state governed according to the precepts of his faith.
Wanted by authorities in India, this preacher was shot dead by two masked men in the parking lot of the Sikh temple he led in Surrey, near Vancouver, British Columbia. He died of his injuries on the spot.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged acts of terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder, charges he disputed to Canadian media.
Little is known about his early life. He was born in 1977 in the Indian state of Punjab, the spiritual heart of Sikhism, where nearly 60% of the population are followers of this religion.
He was still a child in the 1980s, when Punjab was the scene of a violent insurrection launched by Sikh separatists advocating the creation of “Khalistan”, an independent homeland of India.
Mr. Nijjar arrived in Canada in 1997, after the insurgency had been brought under control by Indian security forces.
“Terrorist”, according to India
According to Global News, he allegedly used a fake passport to enter Canada, which is home to the largest Sikh community outside of India.
He later founded a plumbing company before running a gurdwara, a Sikh temple, in Surrey where he lived.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was allegedly involved in organizing referendums for Sikh immigrants to Canada to demonstrate their support for “Khalistan”.
India has long argued that such activists undermine national security, while Canada insists its citizens enjoy freedom of expression if they do not incite violence.
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) labeled him a “terrorist” and last year offered a reward of one million rupees (a little over CA$4,500) for information leading to his arrest.
Mr. Nijjar was wanted in particular for an explosion which left six dead and 42 injured in the town of Ludhiana in Punjab in 2007, according to information from the newspaper India Today.
Accusations that he denied, according to the World Sikh Organization of Canada, a non-profit organization which claims to defend the interests of Canadian Sikhs.
“Targeted assassination”
India has often complained to foreign governments, including Canada, about the activities of Sikh extremists within the Indian diaspora who it says are trying to reignite the Punjab insurgency of the 1980s.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had visited Punjab in 2018, where the state’s chief minister demanded action against Nijjar and eight other Sikh separatist leaders.
After his murder, the World Sikh Organization of Canada denounced a “targeted assassination” and claimed that Canadian secret services had already warned Hardeep Singh Nijjar of threats against him.
Justin Trudeau told Parliament in Ottawa on Monday that there was “credible evidence” to suggest that India could be responsible for his assassination.
New Delhi on Tuesday morning described these accusations as “absurd”, denying “any act of violence in Canada”.
Since then, Canada and India have been plunged into a serious diplomatic crisis, marked by reciprocal expulsions of diplomats.
With The Canadian Press