Of the approximately 250 gurdwaras in Canada, eight are controlled by Khalistani groups, a source from an Indian intelligence agency told News18 amid the India-Canada diplomatic crisis.
The groups are active in Surrey, British Columbia, Brampton and Abbotsford and in some areas in Toronto. “Going by their strength, there must be approximately 10,000 Sikhs supporting Khalistani ideology. Of these, 5,000 are hardcore. The rest are only sympathetic and support them under peer pressure," the source told News18.
Canada has two types of gurdwaras — private and non-profit. Private gurdwaras are owned by people, whereas non-profit are the large ones where elections are held to take control of the administration.
Since the 1980s, there has been a fight between two groups over the usage of chairs and mats during langar in gurdwaras. While the moderate group demands chairs in the langar hall, extremists demand mats. Whoever wins the election, makes the arrangement as per their preference.
The bilateral ties between India and Canada hit a new low since the G20 Summit when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited India. During Trudeau’s visit, PM Modi conveyed India’s strong concerns about the continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada. Trudeau, meanwhile, has accused India of being involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar earlier this year.
The Ministry of External Affairs, while responding to the allegations, said the claims made by Trudeau are “motivated and absurd".
GURDWARAS IN CANADA
Sikh Youth Federation, Sikhs For Justice, Khalistani Zindabad Force, Khalistani Liberation Force, Khalistani Commondo Force, Khalistani Tiger Force, Babbar Khalsa International are various Khalistani organisations with operatives spread across western countries, including Canada.
THE OUTREACH
Khalsa Deewan Society: It is a moderate pro-India society of Sikhs and gurdwaras owned by them have been visited by Indian Leaders namely Jawahar Lal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi and Narendra Modi. Their largest gurdwara is in Vancouver and they control a few in Surrey and one in Abbotsford. Founded in 1906, it is the oldest Sikh Society in Greater Vancover. The Khalsa Deewan Society supported India’s Indian Independence fight.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, he extended an olive branch to angry Sikhs in Canada. Many were also removed from the ‘black list’ and were allowed to travel to India. Their causes were heard and India tried taking them on board. Due to this effort, a few organisations stopped their activities as they supported Modi.
However, organisations such as Sikhs For Justice, which is backed by the intelligence agency of many countries, are deliberately derailing India’s outreach to the Sikh community, said sources.
India also suspects that Canadian intel derailed India’s efforts of reconciling with some anti-India forces.
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