We don’t have time to change, when will we talk about Khalistan? It’s not just my condition, all the circles around me are the same shit.
These are the words of Gurjeet Singh, a 30-year-old taxi driver from Brampton who has been living here for four years.
Gurjit Singh is one of the people I spoke to in Brampton to find out what the basic situation is of the so-called pro-Khalistan movement that is being discussed in Canada following the diplomatic row between India and Canada.
Referring to the involvement of ordinary people in the alleged pro-Khalistan movement, Gurjit Singh says, “We live in a society called ‘weekend society’. Our birthdays and other events are also organised only on weekends.”
Last June, Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was assassinated in Surrey, after which Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian agents were behind the murder.
Since then, India-Canada relations have been at an all-time low. Both countries have also asked their diplomatic staff to leave the country on several occasions.
In the third week of October, when tensions between the two countries were at their peak, I spoke to dozens of people in Ontario, but surprisingly, most of them were not prepared to speak on camera.
None of the people I spoke to were regularly involved in activities as Khalistani activists.
Yes, everyone goes to Gurudwaras, participates in Nagar Kirtans and celebrations and listens to speeches by separatist leaders taking place here.
Personally, I have never seen anything like the way the Canadian Khalistani movement is portrayed in India.
Apart from the Khalistan flags hanging in front of many Gurudwaras and photographs of militants from the Punjab armed movement of the 1980s, there was nothing to be seen in the langar halls.
I have also seen and heard such images and slogans regularly in Punjab.
During the programmes organised in Gurdwaras in Canada, issues such as the lack of punishment for the perpetrators of the Sikh massacre in 1984, the action of the Indian Army at Akal Takht Sahib in June 1984 and the release of long-held Sikh prisoners were raised loudly.
The impact of these issues can be clearly seen in Nagar Kirtan, Guru Parva and other Gurudwara festivals.
Pro-Khalistan leaders make heated speeches and raise slogans, but they receive the same support seen in Punjab.
One aspect is that just as the Khalistan movement does not enjoy much support, there is no opposition to it either.
Only Khalistan supporters are seen at important events in Gurdwaras and the same people are also present at political meetings, which is why they remain in the headlines.
The pro-Khalistan organisation Sikhs for Justice, designated as a terrorist organisation in India, is involved to some extent in its private referendums due to its campaigning through Gurudwaras.
The organisation’s leaders and the US accused India of plotting to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, following which the US Justice Department also filed a case against Indian national Vikas Yadav.
