Letter to Trudeau calls for action on ‘anti-India’ activities after temple defaced in Brampton

Priests at a temple in Brampton that has been defaced multiple times are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take action against what they call “anti-India” and “anti-Hindu” activities.

Photos have been posted online in recent weeks of signs reading “war zone” set up outside Brampton’s Bharat Mata Mandir temple. The signs appear to target high-profile members of India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa, including High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma.

The incident is just the most recent case of the temple being defaced as similar signs have been placed at the temple recently, and priests are calling on Ottawa to take action in a letter to the Prime Minister.

“We are troubled by the alarming increase in hatred and the apparent lack of action by Canadian authorities to address this issue at its roots before it spirals out of control,” the letter reads according to reports. Insauga.com has reached out to the temple for comment but no response was immediately received.

The signs seem to implicate the diplomats in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in B.C., who was reportedly an organizer of the Khalistan referendum – a nonbinding vote asking Sikhs across the globe whether or not they believe Punjab should become its own independent country and separate from India.

A referendum vote in September saw hundreds, if not thousands of Sikhsh come to Brampton to take part in the controversial vote. There have been multiple incidents of Khalistan supporters clashing with those who oppose the movement in Brampton, and protesters clashed again in Toronto last weekend at a demonstration in Nijjar’s memory.

And while police have acknowledged that there is fear and speculation stemming from the attack, investigators say they have not linked the shooting to foreign interference and there are no reasons to believe the Sikh community in Canada is at risk.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said earlier this month that she is concerned about the safety of India’s diplomats following the distribution of what she called “unacceptable” posters related to the protests which read “kill India.”

A parade float in Brampton recreating the assassination of Indira Gandhi last month was also called out by India for the “glorification of violence” and condemned by Mayor Patrick Brown.

New Delhi has long accused Canada of harbouring extremists who want to carve out a state within India they call Khalistan.

Ottawa has said that freedom of speech means groups can voice political opinions if they don’t use violence.

Similar concerns raised ahead of Trudeau’s state visit to India in 2018 contributed to the trip’s difficulties. Trudeau may travel to India again later this year, as the G20 leaders’ summit is scheduled to take place in New Delhi in September.

With files from The Canadian Press