India Asks Canada to Declare Sikh Secessionists Terrorists

Last week, Canada's Ambassador to India Cameron MacKay extended support to “people of all faiths,” which appeared to include supporters of Khalistan as well. Khalistan elements are banned under Indian law.

New Delhi on Thursday sought strong actions against those individuals and entities carrying out anti-India activities, including declaring them terrorists under their law.

Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for the Indian Foreign Ministry, termed the Khalistan Referendum a “farcical exercise” carried out by Sikh "extremists."

“We call upon them (Canadian authorities) to prevent anti-India activities by individuals and groups based in their country and to designate as terrorists under their law to individuals and entities who have been declared as terrorists under our law,” Bagchi underlined.

New Delhi has found it deeply objectionable that politically motivated referendum exercises by extremist elements such as Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a group banned under Indian law, are allowed to take place in a “friendly country.”

The SFJ advocates creating a separate homeland, Khalistan, to be carved out of India for those who belong to the Sikh faith.

The government of Canada has conveyed to New Delhi that it respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, and that it will not recognize the referendum, which is to take place in two parts of Canada.

The Sikh For Justice movement actively campaigns in the US and UK for a referendum to determine Punjab's independence, hoping to establish a separate country for the community.