Canadian Khalistanis are upset over India denying them visas

A Canadian media report has said that India is interfering in Canadian affairs by denying visas to Khalistani Canadians who want to visit India. Based on interviews of Sikh Canadians, the report says India is "weaponizing travel visas to silence critics" .

The report in Global News alleges that Indian consular officials in Vancouver want Canadian Khalistanis to write letters renouncing Khalistan when they apply for visas. "Such incidents are now common, according to leaders of Canada’s Sikh community, victims, officials and police, who described how visas have become a key tool of India’s foreign interference campaign," the report in Global News says. It says the practice is "a rejection of the Khalistan movement that India has been working to undermine in Canada, allegedly through foreign interference, election meddling and violence."

Interestingly, the Khalistanis who complain that India is denying them visas also demand shutdown of Indian High Commission in Canada and breaking all diplomatic ties with India. Recently, they have staged violent protests at venues where Indian consular officials hold camps to provide services to Canadians of Indian origin, including Sikhs.


The report quotes the experience of Bikramjit Singh Sandhar, a prominent Khalistani leader who is a former president of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurudwara in Surrey, the gurdwara where Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani leader designated as a terrorist in India, was the president when he was murdered last year. The Justin Trudeau government had accused India of murdering Nijjar but admitted it has no proof of India's involvement.

"Bikramjit Singh Sandhar submitted a visa application to the government of India in 2016," the report narrates Sandhar's experience. "The visa was denied. Indian consular officials in Vancouver told him he was flagged because of statements they claimed he made when he was president of the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Surrey, B.C. Specifically, they accused him of talking about the Khalistan movement that advocates for independence for India’s Sikh-majority Punjab state, Sandhar said in an interview. It was an eye-opener for Sandhar to see that Indian officials were monitoring what was said inside a Canadian place of worship, and punishing him for it by refusing to let him return to the country of his birth. But that wasn’t the end of it. Through intermediaries, Sandhar then received a form letter renouncing Khalistan and professing his “deep respect” for India. He was told to sign it if he wanted a visa, he said."

“They are basically trying to control what you are allowed to do, and not allowed to do,” Sandhar told Global News. “They’re trying to influence all that, just because they have something that you need to do, because your roots, everything else, your land and everything is in India, and you gotta go there. And they just hold that over you.”

The report also quoted Balpreet Singh, legal counsel for the World Sigh Organization (WSO), who said “visa manipulation” is the “primary tool India uses". “Individuals are denied visas for expressing views India deems objectionable, while others are coerced into actions or statements in exchange for visas,” he said. The WSO is a Khalistani organisation which has infiltrated the Canadian government at several levels. Trudeau's close aide and minister Harjit Sajjan has deep ties with the WSO.

Indian diplomats in Khalistani cross hairs
Last year, India had suspended visa services in Canada. The action was taken due to security threats faced by Indian high commission and consulates in Canada from Khalistanis. The visa service was later resumed. American-Canadian Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of Sikhs for Justice, a designated terrorist, had also put a reward of $1,00,000 for “citizen’s arrest" of Indian High Commissioner in Canada.

Recently, the Consulate General of India in Toronto announced the cancellation of several scheduled consular camps across Canada after Canadian police refused to guarantee the required safety measures for these community events.

This came days after an incident of violent disruption at a consular camp held at the Hindu Sabha Temple near Toronto. "Sharing the footage of the incident, Hindu Canadian Foundation had alleged that pro-Khalistani groups had targeted women and children outside the temple. The video sparked widespread outrage and fueled calls for better protections for the Indian diaspora. A Sikh Canadian police official in civil dress was also found to be part of the Khalistani attack on the temple.

Khalistani disruption of consular camps affected a large number of Sikhs in Canada. Commenting on the incident, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We have a large diaspora in Canada. Many of these people, especially around the month of November, December, they need several documentation for continuation of their pensions and several other activities here in India. So this consulate camp that we do is helpful to the community, to both people of Indian nationality and people who are of Indian origin but Canadian nationals today."

When Canada denies visas to Indian officials
Several years ago, in an incident that hit the headlines, Canada denied entry to a retired CRPF officer. The officer was turned away for allegedly having worked with a force which “committed widespread and systemic human rights abuses”.

After he landed at the Vancouver airport, Tejinder Singh Dhillon, a retired IGP with CRPF, was told by Canadian immigration authorities that he could not enter the country as he had been part of a force which indulged in terrorism and genocide.

According to reports, Dhillon, who had retired six years ago, was declared inadmissible under a subsection of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. “I’ve been travelling to Canada for 30 years but this is the first time I faced such insult and humiliation,” Dhillon had told a news channel. The Indian government reprimanded the Canadian government and forced it to express regret for the inconvenience caused to the officer.

Canada had denied visas to many serving and former officials of armed forces earlier too. In 2010, the home ministry had threatened Canada with retaliatory measures.

(With inputs from TOI)