Sikh community carefully watching Canada-India dispute

The Sikh community, living in the Region of Waterloo, are keeping a close eye on the ongoing diplomatic dispute between Canada and India.

Ottawa recently expelled six Indian diplomats after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said they had credible evidence that Indian agents were involved in extortion, coercion and murder on Canadian soil.

In response, Indian expelled six Canadian diplomats.

This is the latest in a series of escalating incidents between the two countries. Back in 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canadian intelligence agencies were looking into information that could link India’s government with the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh activist in Surrey, B.C.

For some organizations in southern Ontario, the issue has weighed heavy on their minds for a long time.

“I think the first thing that the Sikh community kind of wants to address is that these tensions, they’re not anything new for the community,” said Parminder Singh, president of the Sikh Student Association at the University of Waterloo.

“A lot of this stuff is linked with the activism of a sovereign state. So those who are actually, really concerned are internationals students who have come from the homeland of Punjab. They are worried that if they say anything in the name of Khalistan, that they would have trouble, not only for themselves, but for their families back home,” he explained.

Although Singh feels safe at the university, and Waterloo, Ont. in general, the same cannot be said for everyone.

“Something I’ve noticed in other post-secondary institutions is that they are actually hindering the ability [of] people to freely express what they support. So that needs to be changed in those institutions. Thankfully, at the University of Waterloo, we even got a special email saying that we have the right to our freedom of expression.”

The Indian Canadian Association of Waterloo Region said there has been little impact in the community after the latest escalation because there’s been no announcement that visas could be suspended.

“It is always with sadness for our members to see their adopted country and their country of origin having differences as it impacts all of the diaspora of India, including many Sikhs, who have relatives in India,” the association said via an emailed statement to CTV News.

“We shall continue to seek our community to come together as one in support of each other at this time, with all remaining calm and ensuring no one engages in breaking laws of Canada, as has happened in the past, and is now happening sadly to the Jewish community,” the statement continued.

As tensions continue to rise, Singh said his conviction, and those of other Sikhs, will not be diminished.

“The Sikh way of handling this issue is through resilience. That’s how Sikhs will continue to deal with this issue. The Indian government, they want Sikhs to back down. But we will continue fighting for our rights.”