Are Sikhs terrorists? After Prime Minster Trudeau’s visit to India recently, it may have left the public thinking just that with all the media circus surrounding Jaspal Atwal.
Atwal was convicted of trying to assassinate a visiting Indian politician in 1986 on Vancouver Island. He was invited to attend at some functions in India and appeared in some pictures with Trudeau’s family and government officials, which drew an uproar.
First of all, I agree that this was an unfortunate mistake and Atwal being invited should have been screened better and handled differently. He has since apologized and taken responsibility for this episode. Atwal has been marked and labeled as a terrorist by some sources and was also a former member of the International Sikh Youth Federation.
Canadian Sikhs number roughly 468,670 people and account for roughly 1.4 per cent of Canada’s population. Canadian Sikhs are often credited for paving the path to Canada for all South Asian immigrants. Many Sikh families reside in the Fraser Valley and are active members in our communities.
To put it for the record and bluntly, Sikhs are not terrorists as some of the headlines have read in connection with the Atwal fiasco.
The mid-1980s was an extremely difficult time in India with the invasion of the Golden Temple in 1984, which later resulted in the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi later that year, by her own Sikh bodyguards.
After the assassination of Gandhi, thousands of Sikh families were murdered and tortured by Hindus in retaliation in New Delhi. The following year witnessed the bombing of Air India, killing all 329 people on board, including 268 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens and 24 Indian citizens.
The incident was the largest mass murder in Canadian history, and the deadliest incident in the history of Air India.
Also, former BC Premier Ujjal Dosanjh was beaten by Sikh separatists in 1985 in Vancouver. He was a vocal opponent against the region of Punjab separating from India calling it Khalistan. I recall growing as a young boy and hearing about all the trouble and trying to come to some understanding of what was occurring in my parents’ home country.
The past 30 years or so I believe Sikhs and Hindus globally don’t want to go back to this troubling time, which cost thousands and thousands of innocent lives. You can fairly say at that time India was embroiled in a civil war and much has been learned and this is largely behind us now.
Recycling events from 30 years ago in the media that really play no part in today’s dialogue can only marginalize a certain group of people.
Today, Sikhs barely speak about separatism and largely want to discuss the human rights violations that occurred in the Punjab after the assassination of Gandhi in 1984.
Some may be involved in the separatist movement, but often we are the first ones to step to fight for the oppressed and defend them.
For example, Sikh temples feed thousands and thousands around the globe. The Golden Temple in India feeds from 50 to 100 thousand a day.
n On May 25, the Cycling4Diversity event will be finishing its annual ride at the Mission Sikh Temple and everyone is invited to attend for tours and food. The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m.
kenherar@gmail.com