| Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara | |
|---|---|
 Guru Nanak Gurdwara Delta-Surrey (2010) | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Sikhism |
| Location | |
| Location | Surrey, British Columbia |
The Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara is a Sikh place of worship in Surrey, British Columbia. It gained notoriety in the aftermath of the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the temple's president since 2019 and a Canadian Sikh who advocated for the Khalistan movement.
According to The Globe and Mail , the early 2000s witnessed the declining influence of pro Khalistan Sikhs within Surrey's milieu, and the issue became a taboo. Nijjar, upon being elected head of the temple, set out to lift this taboo and introduced various Khalistan symbols and portraits of Sikh militants within the building. Accordingly, he aligned the temple's stance with hardline Khalistan sentiments and gave speeches censuring the Indian government. These changes provoked shock, fear and discomfort among some of the temple's attendants. [1]
Portraits of Talwinder Singh Parmar, a Sikh militant and mastermind of the Air India bombing which killed 329 people, can be seen within the temple's dining hall. A billboard portraying Parmar has been erected outside the building, facing a major city thoroughfare. In the fall of 2023, the temple's congregants were seen yelling chants in favour of both Parmar as well as the Khalistan Tiger Force, a militant outfit the Indian government alleged Nijjar was directing. [1] Ajaib Singh Bagri, a man acquitted in the Air India bombing trial, who gained notoriety for declaring "Until we kill 50,000 Hindus, we will not rest" at the founding convention of the World Sikh Organization, [2] has reportedly "been staging a comeback" at the temple. [1] [3]
The Khalistan movement is a separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing an ethno‐religious sovereign state called Khalistan in the Punjab region. The proposed boundaries of Khalistan vary between different groups; some suggest the entirety of the Sikh-majority Indian state of Punjab, while larger claims include Pakistani Punjab and other parts of North India such as Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Shimla and Lahore have been proposed as the capital of Khalistan.
Operation Blue Star was a military operation by the Indian Armed Forces conducted between 1 and 10 June 1984 to remove Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh militants from the Golden Temple, a holy site of Sikhism, and its adjacent buildings.
Air India Flight 182 was a passenger flight operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi–Mumbai route, that on 23 June 1985, disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean as a result of an explosion from a bomb planted by Canadian Sikh terrorists. It was operated using a Boeing 747-237B registered VT-EFO. The incident happened en route from Montreal to London at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 m). The remnants of the aircraft fell into the sea approximately 190 kilometres off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 people on board, including 268 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens, and 22 Indian citizens. The bombing of Air India Flight 182 is the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history, the deadliest aviation incident in the history of Air India and was the world's deadliest act of aviation terrorism until the September 11 attacks in 2001. The mastermind behind the bombing was believed to be Inderjit Singh Reyat, a dual British-Canadian national, who pleaded guilty in 2003 and Talwinder Singh Parmar, a Canadian Sikh separatist leader, who was one of the key individuals associated with the militant group Babbar Khalsa.
Babbar Khalsa also known as Babbar Khalsa International, is a Sikh militant organisation that aims to create an independent nation-state of Khalistan in the Punjab region of South Asia. It has used armed attacks, assassinations and bombings in aid of that goal, and is deemed to be a terrorist entity by various governments. Besides India, it operates in North America and Europe.
Talwinder Singh Parmar was an Indian militant, Sikh separatist, and the mastermind of the 1985 Air India Flight 182 bombing, which killed 329 people. It was the worst single incident of aviation terrorism in history until the September 11 attacks in the United States. In addition, another bomb was meant to explode aboard Air India Flight 301 in Japan the same day, but it exploded while the plane was still grounded, killing two people. Parmar was also the founder, leader, and Jathedar of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), better known as Babbar Khalsa, a Sikh militant group involved in the Khalistan movement.
The Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) is a Sikh Khalistani militant organisation operating in the state of Punjab, India with prominent members based in Canada, United Kingdom and Pakistan. Its objective is the creation of a Sikh independent state of Khalistan through armed struggle. KCF is also responsible for many assassinations in India, including the 1995 assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. It is designated as a Terrorist Organisation by the Government of India.
Sukhminder "Sukh" Singh Dhaliwal is a Canadian businessman and politician, who has served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Surrey—Newton since 2015. He was previously the Member of Parliament for Newton—North Delta from 2006 to 2011.
Jathedar Sukhdev Singh Babbar was a was an Indian militant, Sikh separatist, and co-leader of Babbar Khalsa (BK), a Sikh militant organisation involved in the pursuit of creating a Sikh nation named as "Khalistan" and generally believed responsible for the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182, although Sukhdev was never named as being involved. BK was founded by Talwinder Singh Parmar, himself, and Amarjit Kaur. He commanded BK continuously for 14 years until he was killed in 1992. He was a member of the AKJ.
Hinduism is the third-largest religion in Canada, with approximately 2.3% of the nation's total population identifying as Hindu in the 2021 census. As of 2021, there are over 828,000 Canadians of the Hindu faith.
The 1991 Punjab killings were a series of train massacres that occurred on 15 June 1991 and 27 December 1991 in the Ludhiana district of the Indian State of Punjab. Khalistani militants killed 125 Hindu passengers in these incidents.
Canada and India have had bilateral relations since the 19th century. Both are member nations of the Commonwealth of Nations and are part of G20, a group of world's largest economies. In 2023, bilateral trade between the countries was valued at $9.36 billion with the Indian exports to Canada worth $5.56 billion and Canadian exports to India valued at $3.80 billion.
Lakhbir Singh Rode was an Indian Khalistani separatist and the nephew of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
World Sikh Organization (WSO) is a Sikh religious and non-profit organization whose 1984 founding goal was "to provide an effective, credible voice to represent Sikh interests on the world stage", after Operation Blue Star. Its stated goal is "to promote and protect the interests of the Sikh Diaspora", and "promote and advocate for" human rights. Tejinder Singh Sidhu currently serves as President of the organization.
Jaspal Singh Atwal is an Indo-Canadian businessman convicted of attempted murder for his role in the 1986 attempt to assassinate Punjab minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu. A Khalistani sympathizer and member of the now-banned militant group International Sikh Youth Federation, he was also involved in the 1985 attack of Ujjal Dosanjh, a strong opposer of the Khalistani movement who would later become the 33rd Premier of British Columbia. In 2010, he was accused of being part of an automobile fraud case but was ruled out by the Supreme Court of Canada. In February 2018, Atwal gained national attention when he was invited by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to a reception during a visit to India and would eventually have his invitation revoked the next day. That same year, he was arrested for issuing death threats to a local radio in British Columbia.
Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) is a U.S.-based secessionist group advocating for the creation of Khalistan. Founded in 2009 by lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the organization emerged in response to the lack of legal action to convict those responsible for the killings and massacres of Sikhs following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is a Canadian-American lawyer and a socio-religious activist who is one of the main leaders of the Khalistan movement. He is also the legal advisor and spokesperson for Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which aims to promote the creation of Khalistan as a separate Sikh state.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a Canadian Sikh involved with the Khalistan movement, which calls for an independent Sikh state.
Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) is a militant outfit of the Khalistan movement. In February 2023, it was designated as a terrorist organization by the Government of India.
Avtar Singh Khanda was a Sikh militant and 9th Jathedar of Khalistan Liberation Force. He was raised in Moga, Punjab, India and sought asylum in the United Kingdom. He took part in demonstrations at the Indian High Commission in London in March 2023 where Indian news media allege he tore down the Indian flag. This allegation is contested and he was not arrested by the Metropolitan Police.
The Canada–India diplomatic row is a diplomatic dispute between Canada and India that started in September 2023, with periodic escalation throughout the following year. While the diplomatic row was initially triggered due to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations that the Indian government was involved in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the ongoing tensions between India and Canada have been largely fuelled by disagreements over the Sikh separatist Khalistan movement and its active supporters.
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