New Delhi: Members of 25 South Asian communities in Canada have written an open letter to the country’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, urging the government to list the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates in Canada as hate groups/far right extremist entities.
The development comes amid an unprecedented escalation of tensions between India and Canada over Ottawa’s allegations that Indian government agents were involved in killing pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in 2023.
A statement from the members of the South Asian communities cited a 2023 report published by the National Council of Canadian Muslims that has linked anti-Sikh violence in Canada to the RSS and the Sangh Parivar.
“The presence of Sangh Parivar and RSS-related groups sadly but predictably overlaps with various incidents of Hindu supremacist rhetoric and actions in Canada,” states the 2023 report.
The statement adds that the BJP is the political arm of RSS – which is a paramilitary organisation which promotes “Hindutva” or Hindu nationalism, inspired by European Fascism.
“Founders of RSS explicitly espoused Fascist ideology In the ten years of BJP rule in India we have seen blatant examples of this, as the government takes India toward their goal of making the country a Hindu ethno-nationalist state in which the 200 million Muslim population and other minority populations such as Sikh, Dalit, Adivasi (indigenous peoples), and Christians are made second class citizens,” adds the statement.
The various signatories of the letters include Hindus for Human Rights, Canadian Council of Indian Muslims (CCIM), Canadian Council of Muslim Women, Montreal, Canadian Forum for Human Rights and Democracy in India, Canadians Against Oppression and Persecution (CAOP), Canadians for Indian Democracy (CID) and Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU).
“Under this Hindu nationalist government, atrocities against minorities in India have been carried out with impunity and often with complicity. The evidence in recent reports confirm a network of these extremist groups are targeting Sikhs and other diasporic Indian minority communities and activists in Canada and the US. The extensive network of Hindu nationalists and their affiliates in Canada and worldwide is well documented, and now we know this network in Canada is involved in a disturbing pattern of coercion, organized crime and deadly violence,” adds the statement.
The open letter urges the Canadian government to extend protection to South Asians and other minority communities, investigate the human rights violations and influence of the RSS and its affiliates and list the RSS and its affiliates in Canada as hate groups/far right extremist groups.
