CoHNA Condemns Latest Desecration of Surrey Mandir and Vancouver Gurdwara

Importantly, the Ross Street gurdwara—one of North America’s oldest Sikh houses of worship—had recently taken the brave, rare step of banning Khalistani extremists from its Baisakhi parade. This decision came at a time when Khalistani extremists across Canada have been trying to seize control of gurudwara administrations and sow discord within the Sikh community, fracture its civilizational ties with the Hindu community, and embroil the diaspora in unnecessary geopolitical controversies.

“These attacks are an affront to Canada’s core values of religious freedom and multicultural harmony,” said Rishabh Saraswat, President of CoHNA Canada. “We commend the Khalsa Diwan Society’s leadership for their courage and commitment to peace, and we stand in solidarity with our Sikh and Hindu brothers and sisters whose places of worship have been violated.  It is imperative that law enforcement and political leaders act decisively to protect every community’s right to worship without fear.”

Significantly, these incidents occurred on the weekend of early voting, while Canadian politicians were actively campaigning within Sikh and Hindu communities (see here, here, and here). Their silence in the face of such blatant hate undermines voter confidence and highlights the urgent need for elected officials to be held accountable.

The expanding nature of these attacks reinforce what CoHNA has been highlighting–ignoring violence against one minority only emboldens the miscreants further. When extremist mobs are protected by Canadian institutions under the guise of “free speech” we see a decline in the ability of Canadians of ALL faiths to dissent, worship safely, speak safely, or express a point of view contrary to what the powerful Khalistani lobby deems acceptable.