Canada adds new dimension to Sikh struggle by honouring India’s designated terrorist Hardip Singh Nijjer in Parliament on his death anniversary

 

Canada adds new dimension to Sikh struggle by honouring Nijjer, India’s designated terrorist, on his death anniversary

Jagtar Singh

Ground Zero

Chandigarh, June 19:

The Sikh religio-political struggle that was triggered with the Sikh-Nirankari clash in Amritsar on the Baisakhi of April 13, 1978, acquired a new meaning and dimension on June 18, 2024 with, on the one hand, Canadian Parliament paying tribute to India’s designated terrorist Hardip Singh Nijjer on the first anniversary of his having been gunned down and, on the other hand,  Akal Takht chief Jathedar Raghbir Singh hailing him as a “martyr” at a gathering organized by Dal Khalsa and the associated organisations.

Nijjer, an activist of the US-based Sikhs for Justice who headed a gurdwara in Surrey in British Columbia, was gunned down outside the gurdwara on June 18 last year and the gunmen, all Indians settled in Canada, have finally been arrested.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justine Trudeau, a few weeks after the killing, came out with “credible allegation” of involvement of Indian agencies in this murder following which the relations between the two countries nose-dived. India denied the allegations. The relations between the two countries continue to be sour.

However, yet another shock surfaced as USA alleged involvement of Indian agents in the conspiracy to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, the face and legal adviser of Sikhs for Justice.

Nikhil Gupta, who was identified as the instrument being used in Pannu conspiracy case, was arrested by Czech Republic and has now been extradited to USA where he faces prosecution. USA came out with details and identified the Indian official involved.

Federal Bureau of Investigation director Christopher Ray has been reported to have said the FBI won’t “tolerate attempts by foreign nationals, or anyone else for that matter, to repress constitutionally-protected freedoms”.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland has been reported to have said, “Nikhil Gupta will now face justice in an Amrican courtroom for his involvement in an alleged plot, directed by an employee of the Indian government, to target and assassinate a U.S. citizen for his support of the Sikh separatist movement in India”.

It may be mentioned that the refrain in India for long has been “Ghus ke marenge”. (We will go and kill).

Canada’s Parliament honoured Nijjer by observing a minute of silence on Tuesday on his death anniversary. This is unprecedented in the context of the Sikh struggle. Nijjer was a protagonist of separate state of Khalistan in India and part of democratic campaign for this objective overseas.

In India, he was on the list of 40 ‘designated terrorists’ released by the government at the centre.

The tribute paid by Canadian Parliemant to Nijjer has to be viewed in this context.

In this context, a person declared by India as a ‘designated terrorist’ is a freedom fighter for Canada in the backdrop of Parliamentary tribute.

In Amritsar, Jathedar Raghbir Singh promised to formally declare Nijjar as “Martyr of the Sikh Qaum”. The formal decision is to be taken by the five high priests at Akal Takht, the supreme Sikh seat symbolizing sovereignty of the Sikh doctrine.

Once a person is formally declared a martyr, his/her portrait becomes part of the gallery in the Central Singh Museum in the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex.

The gathering adopted a resolution moved by Dal Khalsa senior leader  Kanwarpal  Singh appealing to Canada for speedy justice in Nijjer case.

Honouring of the people by the highest Sikh institutions associated with the Sikh struggle is a routine but not tribute in Canada’s Parliament.

The Sikh militant struggle petered out with the last major action being the killing of chief minister Beant Singh in 1995 by a human bomber.

However, at the democratic level, several Sikh organisations like Akali Dal (Amritsar) and Dal Khalsa continue to pursue the objective through Parliamentary methods. Akali Dal (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann has been elected to the Indian Parliament thrice.

Amritpal Singh, detained in Dibrugarh jail under NSA, who has been elected to Lok Sabha from Khadoor Sahib with a massive margin, is also a Sikh state advocate for whom Sikhs are slaves.

Killing of Nijjer and conspiracy to eliminate Pannu are perceived to be part of the same design.

Further details would start emerging when the trial of Nikhil Gupta proceeds in USA.

The tribute in Canada’s Parliament may not have any direct impact on the Sikh struggle per se but it adds a new dimension, all the more so in the context of the Sikh Diaspora. It is the catalyst at time that is more important.

The struggle for a separate Sikh state is one dimension.

There is yet another dimension of the Sikh community.

The Sikhs are settled in large number, perhaps more than Punjab, in other states in India.

Those striving for a Sikh state would have to take their concerns into account too.

They have suffered earlier too.

At present, however, it is the geo-political dimension of the Sikh struggle that is important.