Pro-Khalistan Rally in Toronto Turns Out to Be Damp Squib Amid Pro-India Gathering
23:05 09.07.2023 (Updated: 11:53 10.07.2023)
© AP Photo / Robert Bumsted
Subscribe
Canada has witnessed a noticeable growth in pro-Khalistan activities in recent years, with New Delhi accusing Ottawa of going soft on Sikh radicals there.
A pro-Khalistan rally in Canada's Toronto flopped on Saturday as a large contingent of Indian supporters arrived at the venue carrying the Indian tricolor in their hands.
The planned July 8 gathering called by Khalistan secessionists in front of the Indian consulate building in Toronto generated quite a lot of controversy in the days leading up to the actual event.
The planned July 8 gathering called by Khalistan secessionists in front of the Indian consulate building in Toronto generated quite a lot of controversy in the days leading up to the actual event.
#WATCH | Members of the Indian diaspora held a counter protest against pro-Khalistan supporters in front of the Indian consulate in Canada's Toronto on July 8 pic.twitter.com/lZvRiSdVs1
— ANI (@ANI) July 9, 2023
However, only a handful of Khalistan activists eventually turned up at the protest site with pro-India supporters tackling their anti-India slogans with chants of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai (Victory to Mother India)", and "Long Live India".
On the other hand, Khalistan supporters carried posters of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the former head of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), an extremist organization banned in India.
Nijjar reportedly lost his life in an inter-gang fight in Vancouver on June 19.
Khalistani groups have accused New Delhi of carrying out the killing of Nijjar who was wanted for crimes in India, including an attempt to murder a Hindu priest.
Earlier this week, a poster titled "Kill India" shared by pro-Khalistan activists in Canada sparked outrage in Delhi with the Indian government summoning Ottawa's envoy to issue a demarche over the issue.
Subsequently, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly was forced to assure the Indian authorities that Ottawa would do everything to protect the South Asian country's diplomats in the North American nation.
Nijjar reportedly lost his life in an inter-gang fight in Vancouver on June 19.
Khalistani groups have accused New Delhi of carrying out the killing of Nijjar who was wanted for crimes in India, including an attempt to murder a Hindu priest.
Earlier this week, a poster titled "Kill India" shared by pro-Khalistan activists in Canada sparked outrage in Delhi with the Indian government summoning Ottawa's envoy to issue a demarche over the issue.
Subsequently, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly was forced to assure the Indian authorities that Ottawa would do everything to protect the South Asian country's diplomats in the North American nation.
