By Sugeeswara Senadhira Courtesy Ceylon Today

More than three decades have passed since the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by Sikh Khalistan terrorists in October 1984 in New Delhi and her son Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 in Tamil Nadu and President Ranasinghe Premadasa in May 1993 in Colombo by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorists.

Although terrorist groups were banned by Western countries, the Khalistani and LTTE terrorists continue their bloody violent activities in those countries claiming that they are human rights activists.

The latest bloodshed due to the nefarious activities of terrorists in disguise came from Canada on 18 June when the self-styled Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who made use of Canada as a safe haven by taking over the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia after forcefully evicting the Sikh priests and appointing himself as President of the Gurdwara, was shot dead in his truck.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar advocated the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh nation carved out of areas including the Indian State of Punjab. When Nijjar escaped from India, New Delhi had declared him a wanted terrorist. However, in Canada, he posed as a human rights activist and continued to carry out his terrorist activities. India’s wanted list of Khalistan terrorists has 40 other designated terrorists.

His assassination sparked a blame game as some Khalistan activists declared that Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was responsible for the killing. On the other hand, Indian sources pointed a finger at the Pakistani intelligence outfit State Intelligence Service (SIS) for the assassination.

India accuses the Pakistani SIS for helping Khalistanis with training and arms. They also say few Khalistani leaders were assassinated by SIS agents as they want to get young extremist Sikhs to take over the movement.

Sgt. Timothy Pierotti of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, a branch of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police refused to comment if other law enforcement agencies, including Canada’s spy agency, were participating in the investigation.

Nijjar was the chief of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and was also included in the list released by the Indian Government.

The Canadian Police are looking at two potential motives”, according to Vancouver Sun, to ascertain if he was killed because of his Khalistan activism or that it was related to a more local political dispute in Surrey.”

Canadian Police Officers also added that when his body was being moved from the scene by the Canadian Police, a group of Sikhs raised pro-Khalistan and anti-India slogans.

The Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) in July 2022 declared a reward of Rs 10 lakh on Nijjar who was linked to a conspiracy to kill a Hindu priest in Punjab’s Jalandhar in 2021.

In June last year, there was an attack on the Indian High Commission in Canada and the US by the Khalistani elements. Reportedly, there have been multiple cases of attacks and protests by Khalistani elements outside the Indian High Commission in the two countries. FIRs were also registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) by Delhi Police Special Cell regarding the March 2023 attack in Canada, and San Francisco (US).

Nijjar’s death also comes a few days after a close aide of Amritpal Singh, Avtar Singh Khanda died in the UK. Khanda was the chief of the UK-based terrorist group Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF). Khanda played a major role in radicalising Sikh youth towards the separatist movement.

The Khalistan militancy spread to Canada, the US and Europe as many Sikh activists moved to those countries after the assassination of Indira Gandhi by Sikh bodyguards blaming her for the 1983 Blue Star attack on the most sacred Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar to flush out Bhindranwale and other Sikh terrorists who were hiding in the temple. Many radical Sikhs were given political asylum by Western countries. Similarly, they gave political asylum to many Sri Lankan militants after the 1983 riots. Canada’s Ontario Legislature has already passed the Tamil Genocide Education Week Act, a Private Member’s Bill tabled by Conservative MP Vijay Thanigasalam, a well-known LTTE supporter.

These militants have formed many front organisations to continue the work carried out by the two separatist movements, Khalistan and LTTE. These two outfits managed to get the support of several Canadian politicians because there is a substantial vote bloc of Canadian Sikhs and Tamils.

Recently Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the stories of the Tamil-Canadians affected by the conflict serve as an enduring reminder that human rights, peace, and democracy cannot be taken for granted. That’s why Parliament last year unanimously adopted the motion to make 18 May Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day,” he said.

Similar sentiments were made by some Canadian politicians about Khalistanis and their so-called human rights. Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry repeatedly urged Canada and its leaders to refrain from making pronouncements from Canada which promote hatred, misinformation and extremist views and to cease its unhelpful focus on these countries based on distorted facts. This runs contrary to the Canadian Prime Minister’s stated objective of safeguarding human rights across the world”.