The spectre of Khalistan has once again reared its head in Canada. Separatist outfit ‘Sikhs For Justice’ have called for a 12-hour “siege” on the Indian consulate in Vancouver on Thursday, September 18. The US-based SFJ, which was banned in India in 2019, urged Indian-Canadians to thus defer their visit to the consulate for their own safety.
The date, September 18, holds special significance in the minds of Khalistan sympathisers.
Back in 2023, former Canadian PM Justin Trudeau had audaciously accused the Indian government under PM Modi of being involved in the assasination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Nijjar was an Indian born-Canadian citizen who was the face of the Khalistan movement in British Columbia. However, India had labelled him a terrorist after accusing him of being the “mastermind” behind the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), a banned militant group. More importantly, India vehemently denied any involvement in his killing and called the allegations by Trudeau “absurd and motivated”.
Two years on from Trudeau’s explosive accusations, SFJ allege that Indian Consulates continue to run “spy networks and surveillance targetting Khalistan Referendum campaigners”.
This “siege” comes at a crucial time in Indo-Canadian diplomacy. After nearly two years of strained ties, new Canadian PM Mark Carney vowed to reset diplomatic relations in March of this year.
Following their bilateral meeting at the G7 Summit in Canada in June, PMs Modi and Carney agreed to take “calibrated and constructive steps to restore stability in the relationship”. The first step being the return of High Commissioners to each other’s capitals.
Consequently, in August, India appointed Dinesh K. Patnaik to Canada with Christopher Cooter becoming High Commissioner for Canada in India.
As a result, Patnaik is now in SFJ’s crosshairs, literally. The aforementioned SFJ statement also contained a poster showing Patnaik with a target on his face and a caption that labels him the “NEW FACE OF INDIA’S HINDUTVA TERROR IN CANADA”.
Notably, the latest threat comes a couple of weeks after a Canadian government report formally acknowledged the presence of Khalistani extremist groups. The Department of Finance report titled ‘2025 Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks in Canada’ further indicated their role in terror financing from Canadian soil. As per the report, these groups allegedly finance their activities through charitable donations, drug trafficking, vehicle thefts, and contributions from expatriate communities.
As of this report, Indian and Canadian authorities are yet to respond to the threat by SFJ.
