Protests in Brampton amid foreign interference have roots in India’s longstanding political tensions

The dozens of videos circulating online of out-of-control protestors in and around the Hindu Sabha Temple in Brampton Monday have drawn mainstream attention to a simmering issue that has gripped Canada’s diverse, complex South Asian communities over the last 18 months.

Confrontations erupted between Hindu protesters and Peel Police at a separate location in Mississauga’s Malton neighbourhood. Police had to issue a public safety alert and declared the protest an "unlawful assembly," citing the potential threat to public safety.

The day before, a clash between Sikh independence advocates and congregants at the Hindu Sabha Temple unfolded over the same issue which has boiled over in the past week, exacerbated by a Liberal MP and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Hindu-Nationalist BJP government has, according to American Justice Department and RCMP evidence, already assassinated one Canadian Sikh activist in B.C. and plotted to kill others in Canada and the U.S. 

The demonstration Monday evening quickly turned into a confrontation between pro-Indian government protesters associated with the Hindu temple and others in the area including police officers.

“The Public Order Unit is advising the crowds to disperse,” Peel Police warned on its social media accounts. “All parties must leave the area now or face arrest.”

Off-duty officer, Sergeant Harinder Sohi, was suspended for taking part in the pro-Sikh protest outside the temple on Sunday. 

Following the suspension, the 18-year veteran of the force reportedly received death threats on social media, and the Peel Regional Police Association has intervened to offer assistance and protection to him.

In a press release issued by Peel Police Monday, the force detailed the deployment of officers at three places of worship in Brampton and Mississauga.

Three protesters were identified and arrested: Dilpreet Singh Bouns, 43, from Mississauga, for causing a disturbance and assaulting a police officer; Vikas (Peel Police told The Pointer that is the only name they have), 23, of Brampton, for assault with a weapon; and Amritpal Singh, 31, from Mississauga, for mischief over $5,000.

A police officer sustained minor injuries and was treated at a hospital; no other injuries were reported, according to the release.

Protestors came outside the Hindu Sabha Temple, blocked traffic and chanted slogans against the Trudeau government and Peel Police.

(Muhammad Hamza/The Pointer)

Similar confrontations have occurred in Surrey, B.C. over the past few days. Brampton (where almost 200,000 residents identify as Sikh) and Surrey have the largest Sikh populations outside India.

The Pointer spoke with Inderjeet Singh Gosal, a Brampton resident and local leader of a global referendum movement that has been surveying Sikhs in countries around the world to record support for an independent state that advocates want carved out of the Punjab area of India, where Sikhs make up the majority of the population. He said community members associated with the group Sikhs for Justice, which has organized the referendum, had prior information that Indian diplomats linked to the Indian Consulate in Toronto were present inside the Hindu Sabha Temple on Sunday which motivated the group to stage the protest.

“Well, first off, there's a lot of videos out by Sikhs for Justice organization. We peacefully, anywhere we go, we peacefully protest against the government of India. We were at the temple because the government of India, officials, and [officials] from the Indian consulate had an event held at the Hindu temple.”

He explained the goal was to show the Indian government that Canada’s Sikh community will advocate for the rule of law and will not tolerate the BJP’s alleged campaign of terror against Canadian Sikhs, who have long advocated for religious protection and cultural autonomy in the face of dangerous Hindu-Nationalist government policies that marginalize ethno-religious minorities across India. Hindus make up about 80 percent of India’s population, Sikhs account for about two percent (Muslims make up almost 15 percent of the country and have also been repeatedly attacked by Modi and his Hindu-Nationalist BJP government).

“The Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), persisted with policies that discriminate and stigmatize religious and other minorities. This led to increasing incidents of communal violence in many parts of the country,” Human Rights Watch highlighted in its 2024 annual global report. 

“Critics and human rights defenders faced arrests and raids based on spurious terrorism allegations.” The report details hundreds of government-sponsored attacks against religious minorities. 

It also detailed Modi’s suppression of the legal system and the media industry.

“In October 2023, police raided the office of the news website NewsClick, which has been critical of the Modi government, and the homes of several of its journalists and writers…”.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of Modi's brutal leadership, he criticized the Canadian government (as he has for more than a year) in a social media post Monday and called for the "rule of law" in Canada following what he described as "an attack on a Hindu temple" in Brampton.

Gosal said his group informed Peel Police prior to the “peaceful protest” Sunday that they were going to demonstrate against Indian government officials present in the temple, but would remain outside the property, on the public side. He also said a religious officiant at the temple was informed that the group was not there to disrespect the place of worship.

"We spoke to the police. We set up on the public side of the property. We did not engage with anyone. We did not stop anyone from entering," Gosal said. "We spoke to the priest at the temple, and we told them…we are not here to disrespect your place of worship. We are here because there's Indian government officials that are having an event here, and we're protesting against them because, as you know, the Indian government, there's credible evidence against the Indian government that they had a hand and they organized the assassination of my colleague, Hardeep Singh Nijjar."

Nijjar was assassinated last year outside a Surrey Gurdwara, and according to the American Justice Department evidence in its unsealed indictment, an Indian government agent orchestrated the Sikh independence activist’s murder.

"We got there around 11 o'clock (Sunday morning). We were in constant dialogue with Peel police. They were also on site. They had given us a spot on public property to peacefully protest. We started our protest," Gosal said.

"Individuals from the Hindu Mandir (Temple), raising Indian flags, started their counter protest, which they have every right to do. Right. We had no issues, as long as they were on that property. Police said, You guys stay on the private property, and we stay on the public property, and we can both protest. You can counter protest, no problem, as long as it stays peaceful, because that's what we want.”

Gosal said the pro-Indian government protestors then confronted his group on Sunday.

"And what happened was they, the Indian protesters started coming towards us, and they came onto the public side of the property where we were protesting, and they got really aggressive,” he said.

"They said, ‘We know who you are. We know you're Pannun's guy (the leader of Sikhs for Justice who was the New York target of the alleged Indian government assassination plot) and we're going to kill you’. So when that was said, I went to tell them that, ‘Hey, we're not; we have nothing against you. This is not a protest against you. Read our signs. Our signs are against the Indian government, not Hindus."

He said this should not be seen as a fight between Hindus and Sikhs.

"This is not a religious fight. This is not a religious battle. This is not Sikhs versus Hindus. This is not that at all. This is Sikhs, Sikh activist against the Indian government," Gosal stated. "They assassinated a Canadian on Canadian soil, the Canadian citizen on Canadian soil. This is foreign interference, and this is a continuation of India's transnational repression."

In August, Gosal was informed under the RCMP’s "duty to warn" mandate, that he might be in danger according to evidence of the Indian government’s efforts to intimidate  Canadian-Sikh activists. He told The Pointer that a house he was working on in Brampton had been shot by bullets.

He said pro-Indian government protesters Sunday pushed him and punched him in the stomach, then threw bricks at his group.

"I felt something on my stomach, so I don't know; my first reaction is, ‘Oh my God. Like you know, did I get stabbed? And their scuffle broke out, and they got violent… They picked up bricks…throwing bricks at us. They were throwing water bottles at us, rocks at us, and sticks at us, while Peel police was there. The police saw everything."

Representatives of the Hindu Temple said no one was available to provide a comment but a press conference would be held to address questions.

After a couple delays, it is now scheduled for Wednesday November 6, at 11 a.m.

With evidence of India’s interference in Canadian politics presented at the ongoing Parliamentary hearings, detailing how Indian government officials and surrogates, often working through consulates, have tried to destabilize Canada’s Sikh community and undermine our government, domestic tension has been rising.

Liberal MP Chandra Arya has aligned with the Indian government’s narrative. Arya, who has publicly referred to Sikh advocates in Canada as “extremists”, falsely claimed on social media that the RCMP announced recently it is investigating “violent extremism” in Canada’s Sikh community.

The RCMP highlighted the following in its October 14 release, which addressed violence in Canada linked to “agents of the Government of India”: “Earlier this week, the Deputy Commissioner of Federal Policing, Mark Flynn, made attempts to meet with his Indian law enforcement counterparts to discuss violent extremism occurring in Canada and India, and present evidence pertaining to agents of the Government of India's involvement in serious criminal activity in Canada.”

Arya’s claims of Sikh extremism run counter to intelligence reports from western nations including Canada, the UK and the U.S. that show there are no Sikh extremist activities, which has been the position of our federal government for years. 

Modi and his BJP government have been heavily criticized for making false claims about groups tied to peaceful political movements, instead describing them as extremist or terrorist organizations because they have agitated against his authoritarian policies and draconian crackdowns.      

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, a Sikh, criticized Arya on Monday. “This is someone who constantly repeats the lines of the Indian government.”

Singh said it is problematic that an elected Canadian official is parroting the lines of a foreign government that is currently a focus of the ongoing foreign interference hearings and an assassination plot to kill Sikh Canadians.

The presence of a man named Ron Banerjee at the Hindu Temple Monday evening heightened concerns about the Modi government’s interference in Canada. 

Ron Banerjee outside a Brampton Hindu Temple Monday. The notorious hate-monger incited violence against Sikhs. 

(Supplied)

He is notorious for spreading hate against Muslims and Sikhs in the GTA, in line with the Modi-BJP government’s attacks on religious minorities, and had to apologize for hateful remarks against a Muslim-Canadian businessman after losing a defamation lawsuit. Banerjee was at the Hindu Temple Monday night with a bullhorn amid throngs of cheering protesters who applauded and whistled when he made alarming declarations. 

“Come to Canada and storm the f*****g Sikh Temples.” He called for the “Indian army” to come to Canada and storm Sikh Temples.

He has previously said: “I would like to have Modi ruling this country as well as India… I support the killing of the Muslims and the Sikhs in the republic of India because they deserve to die.”

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