Why the Sikh community no longer feels safe in Canada
Canada's accusation that India played a role in the murder of a Sikh leader has sparked a diplomatic row. DW's Washington Bureau chief Ines Pohl met with members of Toronto's Sikh community to know about their views.
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00:00 The protests over the killing of a Sikh activist on Canadian soil show no signs of stopping.
00:06 Quite the opposite.
00:08 Ever since Canada's Prime Minister Trudeau said that the Indian government is behind
00:13 the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the protesters feel emboldened.
00:17 We meet two of them the next day at their home.
00:22 Kuljeet Singh and Sanmit Kaur live in Brampton, a neighbourhood of Toronto.
00:28 So the goal yesterday was to basically provide information to the general public, not only
00:35 in Toronto, but Canada and abroad.
00:38 If the Indian government can play a role in killing a Canadian on Canadian soil because
00:45 they're advocating for their homeland, you can only imagine what the Punjabis that are
00:52 living in India, under the oppressive regime of India, what they are facing on a day-to-day
00:57 basis.
00:58 It doesn't matter what religion or race you are.
01:00 If you can't be in Canada and exercise your fundamental right, your freedom of speech,
01:07 and you are not protected, then that is a huge concern.
01:12 We understand that our fight for liberating the state of Punjab from Indian occupation
01:18 has always had sacrifices.
01:21 And for our community, it's just another sacrifice which we'll take if it helps move us closer
01:28 towards our main goal in helping liberate Punjab.
01:33 Canada is home to about 700,000 Sikhs.
01:36 It is the highest population of Sikhs outside India.
01:40 For Raktish Songh Sandhu, the temple is his home.
01:44 Whenever he's finished with his shifts as a cab driver, he comes here to pray, meet
01:49 friends and get free food, which is offered around the clock in the building.
01:54 Raktish Songh Sandhu shows us where the food is prepared and introduces us to other members
01:59 of the community.
02:01 The sentiment here is mixed.
02:03 We feel safe in this country.
02:05 Our families are safe.
02:07 So that's why all of us living in the world, they prefer this country too, because it's
02:13 safe for our Sikh community.
02:15 Both the countries can survive without each other, like not even India, not even Canada.
02:21 So I guess everything's going to be good.
02:23 So right now, what Indian government did to the Hardeep Singh Nijar is really like threatening
02:28 for us.
02:29 The Sikh leaders and the community, they are like scared right now.
02:34 Indian government might hire someone to kill you, right?
02:38 We of course attempted the Indian government to get their take on the accusations, but
02:43 the Indian embassy here in Canada never returned our emails and phone calls.
02:49 This is, however, the official statement on the website of the embassy.
02:54 In view of growing anti-India activities, all Indian nationals there are urged to exercise
03:01 utmost caution.
03:04 As a reaction to Prime Minister Trudeau's accusations, the Indian government put restrictions
03:09 on visa for all Indo-Canadians visiting India.
03:13 We meet Gaurav Sharma, the spokesperson of the Canadian Hindu Forum, representing the
03:19 more than 800,000 believers in the country.
03:22 We were not expecting that the situation will flare up so badly.
03:27 And right now, the Indo-Canadian community is really feeling very, I would say, very
03:35 low at the moment.
03:36 We don't want that the situation should escalate to a point where the work conditions
03:44 or the normal life gets impacted for the community.
03:49 For more than half a decade, the Sikh community felt Canada to be a safe place to live in
03:54 and worship.
03:55 But for many these days, that is a feeling that is changing.
03:59 [MUSIC PLAYING]