Journalist V @OnTheNewsBeat • 15h Maybe it's just me but these 'protestors' should not be doing enactments of assassinations and terror attacks outside places of worship Picture of two Cardboard Indira Gandhi Sikh bodyguards with weapons, assassinating a Cardboard Indira Ghandi During a Vaisakhi parade #Terrorism
MENTION OF 'SIKH EXTREMISM' IN TERROR THREAT REPORT In December 2018, the Canadian government released its annual 'Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada'. This was the first time the Canadian government had made an outright mention of 'Sikh extremism' and Khalistan in its annual terror threat report. The report said Canada continued to face threats from "individuals inspired to commit violence based on other forms of extremism, including from...Sikh (Khalistani) extremists". The report further mentioned that attacks by Khalistanis in Canada were extremely limited, but "some Canadians continue to support these extremist groups, including through financing". Following the release of the report, Trudeau's government faced backlash from Sikh groups, who campaigned for deleting references to Sikh extremism and Khalistan. Notorious Khalistan supporter and chief of banned outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, accused Trudeau of labelling Sikhs as "terrorists" and seeing them only as a "cash cow" to help fund elections. The report posed a dilemma for Trudeau's Liberal Party before the election as the Sikh diaspora formed a notable part of its vote bank. Organisers of the annual Khalsa parade in Surrey had threatened to bar any member of the Liberal Party from speaking from the platform during the Vaisakhi event.
The report posed a dilemma for Trudeau's Liberal Party before the election as the Sikh diaspora formed a notable part of its vote bank. Organisers of the annual Khalsa parade in Surrey had threatened to bar any member of the Liberal Party from speaking from the platform during the Baisakhi event. Moreover, at that time, there were at least 16 Sikh MPs in the Trudeau government, including four in his cabinet. The then Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan was a Sikh as well. GIVING IN TO KHALISTANI PRESSURE In the eye of a storm, Trudeau's government gave in to the pressure and published a revised report in April 2019. In the new report, the mention of Sikh extremism and Khalistan was gone. The updated report mentioned that: "Government will carefully select terminology that focuses on the intent or ideology. As a first step, the government has updated terminology used in the 2018 report to eliminate terminology that unintentionally impugns an entire religion." The update came hours before Trudeau and his then defence minister Harjit Sajjan were to participate in the Baisakhi event organised by Khalsa Diwan Society's Ross Street Gurdwara in Vancouver.
Justin Trudeau takes part in Vaisakhi celebrations in Vancouver in April 2019. (Photo: Associated Press) Following the update, Trudeau and Sajjan were welcomed by the Sikh community at the Vaisakhi parade. THEN PUNJAB CM OBJECTED TO THE REVISION Former Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh, who was the chief minister of Punjab in 2019, had criticised Trudeau for the move and had called it "politically motivated" "The Trudeau government has taken this decision under political pressure and is targeted to woo Sikhs in the election year. Trudeau is playing with fire as the decision will hit Indo-Canadian ties. Removal of Sikh extremism will also pose a threat to India's national security," Captain Amarinder Singh said.
I knew we had more Sikhs than Hindus from India, I never knew how much, or that Sikhs were only 1.7% of India's 1.4 billion
But 45% of Canada's immigrants from India were Sikh
I suspect I'm not the only one who didn't know
I despise Modi, but can see why India sees Canada as a threat #Khalistanis
