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.
“The recent RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) announcement has revealed the “involvement of agents of the Government of India in serious criminal activity in Canada” and that the RCMP and other law enforcement agencies in Canada have investigated and charged a “significant number of individuals for their direct involvement in homicides, extortions and other criminal acts of violence.” The assassination of a Canadian Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year, and its alleged hand by India’s Hindu nationalist government appears to be the tip of the iceberg,” says the statement from the members of the South Asian communities.
“The Guardian reports that the “allegations of an India campaign of transnational violence and harassment have emerged not only in Canada but in the US, UK and Pakistan, where prominent Sikh activists say they have received threats to their lives,” the statement adds.
The statement 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.
‘Minority populations made second class citizens’
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 signatories to the statement are – Academics for Palestine – Concordia, Association des Femmes Musulmanes de Québec, 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), Canadians for Peace and Justice in Kashmir (CPJK), Centre sur l’asie du sud (CERAS), Critical Diasporic South Asian Feminisms, External Affairs – Students’ Society of McGill University, Femmes de diverses origines/Women of Diverse Origins, Hindus for Human Rights, International Council of Indian Muslims (ICIM), Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste, Justice For All Canada, Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU), Quebec Public Interest Research Group – Concordia (QPIRG), Rang Collective: Arts for Solidarity, Solidarity Across Borders, South Asian Dalit Adivasi Network-Canada (SADAN), South Asian Diaspora Action Collective (SADAC), South Asian Women’s Community Centre (SAWCC) Tadamon! and Teesri Duniya Theatre.
‘Investigate influence of RSS and its affiliates’
“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 statement 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.
“HSS-Canada, VHP-Canada, Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA)-Canada
and Canadian Organization for Hindu Heritage Education (COHHE), SEWA International.
These groups often deflect criticism by invoking “hinduphobia”, which has been profusely
debunked,” says the statement.
