Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, claims that the government of India has played an important role in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani separatist in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on the 19th of June. India, on the other hand, responded with a clear rejection of the claims, calling them “absurd and motivated”.
However, Canada has been rigid in its claim, so much so, that the Canadians have expelled an Indian diplomat. Here, India took the retaliation by doing the same, expelling a top Canadian diplomat on September 19.
With the incident, the tensions between India and Canada escalated, for instance, on the sidelines of the G20 summit, a terse was exchanged by the Canadian prime Minister with PM Narendra Modi at the time of their meeting.
Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the death of whom sparked tensions between the two countries? The story seems complicated; let’s pick every aspect one by one, starting with who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar?
Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Image Source: Hindustan Times
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a Canadian national and the head of the separatist organization named Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF). He hailed from Bhar Singh Pura, a village in the Phillaur subdivision of the Jalandhar district of Punjab but got shifted to Canada in the year 1997. Initially, the man worked in Canada as a plumber. He got married in Canada. The marriage gave him two sons. Since the year 2020, Hardeep Singh Nijjar has been the president of the Surrey Gurudawara body.
The man resided in the city of Surrey, approximately 30km to the southeast of Vancouver.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s parents visited the village of Bhar Singh Pura prior to the first Covid-19 wave.
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Nijjar’s ties with the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF)
The Indian government says that as KTF’s leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar was actively invested in the operations and networking of the organization. He was also actively involved in the financing and training of the KTF members.
This year, in the month of February, the Ministry of Home Affairs of India notified many organizations, including the Khalistan Tiger Force as a terrorist organization as per the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). On speaking about the KTF, the Ministry of Home Affairs said, “It is a militant outfit and it aims to revive terrorism in Punjab and challenges the territorial integrity, unity, national security and sovereignty of India and promotes various acts of terrorism, including targeted killings in Punjab.”
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Allegations against Nijjar
There have been many allegations against Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
First things first, it was alleged that in 2013-14, Nijjar went to Pakistan to meet Jagtar Singh Tara. The latter is at present serving a life sentence in India due to his involvement in the killing of Beant Singh, former Punjab Chief Minister, in the year 1995. In the year 2004, Tara managed to escape from jail. However, he was rearrested in the year 2015 in Thailand and was brought back to India.
The second allegation against Nijjar says that he also had friendly relations with Gajinder Singh, leader of Dal Khalsa, who was one of the hijackers of an Indian Airlines flight in the year 1981. Currently, Gajinder Singh is in Pakistan. Following the murder of Nijjar, Gajinder Singh expressed his feelings in by saying that, “Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a dedicated Khalistani until the end. He was like a son to me. He met me a few years ago and solidified the bond of love and thoughts. He was a true Khalistani at heart,”
Last year in July, the National Investigation Agency of India announced Rs. 10 lacks as a cash reward for information leading to the arrest of Nijjar. This was in relation to an attack in Jalandhar in the year 2021 on a Hindu priest.
At the time of the investigation, it was found out that Nijjar had made statements that were provocative in nature, along with posting objectionable content and sharing videos and photos on social media platforms intending to “spread insurrectionary imputations” via hate speeches.
A document by NIA stated that the incriminating evidence indicated that Nijjar was involved in sedition and insurrectionary imputations. The document said that he has also been involved in creating disharmony among varying communities in India.
The name of Hardeep Singh Nijjar was also present on the wanted list handed over to Prime Minister Trudeau by former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on the latter’s visit to India in the year 2018.
In December 2020, he was named in an FIR registered by the NIA. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, along with Paramjit Singh Pamma, and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun were accused of creating an atmosphere of lawlessness and fear, along with abetting the people to rise a rebellion against the Indian Government.
Additionally, Nijjar was also linked with a separatist organization named Sikhs for Justice. The organization is banned in India. Nijjar was spotted in Australia at the time of the voting for the Khalistan Referendum.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar shot dead- the incident
On June 18, 2023, two unidentified gunmen shot Hardeep Singh Nijjar, chief of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), dead. The incident took place outside a gurudwara in Surrey.
Claims of the Canadian Prime Minister
On September 18, 2023, Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada stated to the Parliament of Canada that he had raised the murder of Nijjar with the Prime Minister of India. According to the Canadian Prime Minister, the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar had the backing of the Indian government. In a statement, he said, “Over the past number of weeks Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar,”
“Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” he further added.
The Canadian Prime Minister further asserted that Canada had expressed its concerns to the government of India on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. “I continue to ask with a great deal of firmness that the government of India cooperate with Canada to shed light on this situation,” he asserted.
The response of the Government of India
As a response to the suspicion of Canada, the Ministry of External Affairs expressed through a statement that, “Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The inaction of the Canadian Government on this matter has been a long-standing and continuing concern.”
The MEA further added, “We urge the Government of Canada to take prompt and effective legal action against all anti-India elements operating from their soil.”
What is the US “advising” India to do?
Amidst Canada’s probe into the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India gets advice from the United States. The US is “deeply concerned” regarding the serious allegations against India by Canada, which allege that India’s agents potentially indulged in the murder of Khalista terrorist and KTF chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar, as expressed by John Kirby, US National security spokesperson.
Kirby further expressed that the White House encourages India to actually cooperate with Canada in any investigation. “We are deeply concerned. We encourage India to fully cooperate,” expressed Kirby.
Kirby also clarified the air by saying that the news reports that the United States rejected allegations by Canada are untrue. “There’s been some press speculation out there … that the United States rebuffed Canada in terms of talking about their investigation, and I just want to stress that those reports are just flatly false, untrue,” he expressed.
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Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: tiengtrunghaato.edu.vn