India 'expresses concern' over Sikh protest in Canada

Hundreds of Sikh protesters gathered outside the Indian consulate in Vancouver on Saturday to demand the creation of an independent Sikh state, Canadian media reported, an issue that has simmered for decades and is now erupting again.

An An Concern About Sikh Protests In Canada Image 1 — Leader Amritpal Singh (center) is being hunted by Indian authorities. Photo: Reuters

Canada has the largest Sikh population outside their home state of Punjab in India. “We expect the Government of Canada to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of our diplomats and the security of our diplomatic facilities so that they can carry out their normal diplomatic functions,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

The statement came after Indian police on March 21 launched a manhunt for Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who has revived calls for an independent Sikh state of Khalistan, raising fears of a return to the violent conflicts that killed tens of thousands of people in the 1980s and 1990s.

Police have charged Singh and his supporters with attempted murder and obstructing the administration of justice and said he had been on the run since last week, when officers tried to stop the convoy to arrest him.

Indian police also launched an investigation last week into a protest at their High Commission in London, where protesters holding banners reading “Khalistan” brought down the Indian flag from the first-floor balcony of the High Commission. India summoned Britain’s top diplomat in New Delhi last Sunday to seek an explanation.

Mai Anh (according to Reuters)

Source