A targeted attack on the home of a Sikh activist who was an associate of late community leader Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey (BC, Canada) has reinforced Sikh org demands to be given “intervener status” in a public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada.

The home of Simranjeet Singh, near the 2800 block of 154 Street, had approximately 20 shots fired at it, hitting his car and his front-door with an automatic weapon shortly after the local activist parked outside and entered around 1am on 1st February. Bullets narrowly missed his young children and wife inside.

Prior to the attack, similarly to Shaheed (martyr) Nijjar’s situation, Simranjeet Singh had been in touch with local police to report he was being followed and likely to be attacked. Police inaction on the situation has once again shone a spotlight on Canadian authorities’ neglect of Sikh safety in the country, an issue which many Sikhs find particularly worrying due to the assassination of Nijjar in June.

Simranjeet Singh is an activist part of the Guru Nanak Gurdwara sangat (Sikh congregation) who has been involved in local organizing and advocacy for Khalistan (free Sikh homeland movement). Following the shooting, spokesperson of BC Gurdwaras Council Moninder Singh spoke to Canadian media, underlining Simranjeet Singh’s Khalistan advocacy, including helping to arrange a recent (26th January) Indian High Commission protest, which has made him a target. Attendees of these protests have previously complained to authorities about being filmed by High Commission staff.

Moninder Singh later answered questions at a press briefing at Surrey Guru Nanak Gurdwara in the Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar hall, where he emphasized “there is no doubt the Indian State has a hand in what transpired last night”. Singh also revealed various activists say they are still being surveilled, and have raised it with Canadian authorities. With this in mind, Moninder Singh pressed ongoing demands to have Indian interference in Canada adequately investigated, including influence in Sikh spaces, academia, media and beyond, and not just within the electoral process as is currently being examined in an inquiry.

You can watch a clip of the briefing here, via Sikh influencer and activist Gurkeerat Singh @KothaGuru.

Following the briefing, a joint press release (see below) between Ontario Gurdwaras Committee, BC Gurdwaras Council and World Sikh Organization of Canada was released, affirming a joint demand for these Sikh leadership representative groups to be included in the ongoing public inquiry into “Foreign Interference in the Federal Electoral process and Democractic Institutions”.

Last year (2023), a series of incidents revealed India’s anti-Sikh transnational repression agenda. Assassinations of activists Shaheed Bhai Paramjit Singh Panjwar in Pakistan and Shaheed Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada were celebrated by Indian nationalists (including prominent social commentators and media), whilst the suspected poisoning of Shaheed Bhai Avtar Singh Khanda in the UK came just months after an Indian military figure promised he would soon be “eliminated”.

An attempt to assassinate Sikhs For Justice General Counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in his home city of New York was foiled by the FBI, leading to an arrest of an Indian national in Czech Republic. An undercover FBI agent reported the man – known trafficker Nikhil Gupta – told him “We have many targets”, when attempting to pay for the murder of Pannun, who has been leading the global Khalistan (free Sikh homeland) movement.

Concerns about Indian nationalist criminals in Canada and beyond have been amplified with finding of gangs using Hindutva (Hindu extremist) slogan “Jai Shri Ram” in threatening letters attempting to extort businesses in BC and Alberta.

Speaking on this issue, Sikh Press Association Senior Press Officer Jasveer Singh said:

“Many of these Indian nationalist Hindutva criminals in foreign countries act with reckless impunity because they feel in the worst case scenario they get deported, and sometimes to a heroes welcome as the case of Vishal Jood of Australia shows, who was celebrated back in India after being deported for running a street gang targeting Sikh critics of India.

“Further to this, the hand of the Indian State in the direct targeting of influential Khalistan activists across the world is clear. Last year this issue was exposed to the world and this year Sikhs are expecting action from governments on it. The USA seem to be leading the way with the effort to extradite and prosecute one Indian State terrorist, and Canada will be expected to do the same. Meanwhile, in the UK Rishi Sunak seems to be doing everything he can to avoid addressing the issue, which is telling and concerning.”

Media inquiries- media@Sikhpa.com.

A Punjabi language message from the FBI encouraging the community to report issues of transnational repression is the latest in a series of acts from North American authorities, aiming to dismantle India’s anti-Sikh transnational repression campaign.

The message (see below), which calls for Punjabis suspicious of Indian State interference in the USA to contact intelligence agency the FBI, was released today and is being shared widely within North American Punjabi circles. It comes after the USA recently come closer to punishing a man for leading an Indian State attempt at assassinating a Sikh activist in New York last year.

Last week a Czech high court ruled that Indian national Nikhil Gupta, detained in a Prague prison on murder-for-hire charges in an alleged assassination attempt facilitated by the Indian State on Gurpatwant Singh Pannun can be extradited to the United States, defeating an appeal by Gupta’s legal team. Pannun is the General Counsel of the global Sikh advocacy group Sikhs For Justice, the group running the global Khalistan (free Sikh homeland) referendum campaign, which begins in the USA this week.

Similarly, Canadian authorities remain working against Indian interference in the country after finally admitting the issue last year after the assassination of Shaheed (martyr) Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey (BC). The country’s Foreign Interference Commission confirmed they will now also be specifically looking at India and its alleged meddling in the last two general elections in Canada, alongside China and Russia, as part of a report on the topic to be released in May 2024.

Media inquiries- media@sikhpa.com.

A cross-party group of MPs have requested an urgent meeting with UK Security Minister Tom Tugendhat following reports of “threat to life warnings” being given to British Sikhs.

Reports of the “Osman warnings” hit UK news this week, as some targeted spoke with The Times about the situation. Despite hollow suggestions the warnings from West Midlands Police were to do with internal fractures within Sikh communities, panthic (Sikh path/community focused) groups and UK politicians have connected the threats to an Indian State “hit list”.

The now well-known anti-Sikh transnational repression agenda of India has led to the MPs issuing an open letter to Tugendhat requesting a meeting to address concerns of Sikh constituents, who have reached out to their political reps regarding the issue.

Indian media have released various “hit lists” of Sikhs they are targeting, lists which often place gangster types alongside activists, getting allegations of terrorism conflated with Khalistani advocacy (which is largely illegal in India) to justify the targeting of human rights activists. Such lists have previously included the likes of Shaheed (martyr) Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar (assassinated in Canada) and Shaheed Bhai Avtar Singh Khanda (died of suspected poisoning in the UK), both who passed away in 2023. Both were openly threatened by Indian nationalists, with Khanda even being named by an Indian Army figure as someone who would be “eliminated” just months before he suddenly passed.

One such list featuring Khanda was shown to Jagtar Singh Johal, the political prisoner who has been arbitrarily detained since 2017 by the Indian State, to interrogate the Scotsman on which activists he is connected with, and thus who India can target next. This occurred months before a series of raids on activists were carried out by UK counterterror units, which Indian media had intimate detail of (including the leaked names of those raided), whilst quoting a government source saying the raids where the result of “diplomatic pressure”.

Slough’s Labour Party MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi spoke in parliament today (18.01.24) stating he was “seeking reassurance from the government that it is taking appropriate steps to support and protect the British Sikh community”, with concerns based on “an intelligence ‘hit list’ appeared on Indian broadcast news naming 20 Sikhs in the diaspora as ‘enemies of the state’, including the now deceased Hardeep Singh Nijjar as well as six British Sikhs.”

The issue of UK Sikhs being threatened by the Indian State (and fanatical supporters) due to advocating for the Khalistan (free Sikh homeland) movement has become more widely recognised since Canadian and US authorities exposed India’s anti-Sikh transnational repression program last year. Yet, many within the community feel Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Government have not adequately addressed the issue to this day.

One Sikh man given a recent Osman warning, who is in his thirties, said to The Times he had tried to find out from West Midlands police who was behind the threat against him and his family, but was told that they could not give any more information. “They’ve just told me to take security steps to protect myself,” he said. “The police haven’t done anything else.”

Speaking on the situation, Sikh Press Association Senior Press Officer Jasveer Singh said:

“The first thing to know about this situation, is that suggestions the warnings relate to internal Sikh community disputes in the UK are baseless and irresponsible. Whilst there are tensions and the possibility of petty conflicts turning into something physical is there, this is far away from the very real threat posed towards Sikh activists from the Indian State.

“With three deaths of Sikh activists attributed to the Indian State last year, Sikhs across the world will be heartened to see UK MPs – led by Tan Dhesi – recognise the source of these threats. Efforts to have this addressed by the UK Security Minister are being applauded, and now Sikhs across the world are waiting on tangible action from the UK government.”

A national panthic (Sikh community/path focused) conference took place this past weekend where representatives of over 250 UK Gurdwaras were told not to give stage-time to politicians unless they condemn ongoing anti-Sikh “transnational repression”.

The directive came amid community discussion around the UK government’s lack of vocalness on Canada and the USA exposing India’s anti-Sikh transnational repression program, which was a major geopolitical story of 2023. Sikh groups have long said the same issue exists in the UK, a take which the Conservative Government seem reluctant to explore.

The discussion came at a conference held on 14th January at Guru Nanak Gurdwara, Smethwick (Birmingham, UK), led by the Federation of Sikh Orgs (FSO), and attended by various Sikh org reps and led by The Sikh Federation UK (SFUK), a leading member of FSO. The SFUK previously held an open conference for public engagement and insight into their work in September 2023, where it was agreed “Our vote will not be allowed to be taken for granted“.

The discussion led to “a number of resolutions” passed regarding “transnational repression”, whilst “Rishi Sunak came in for considerable criticism” for “not backing the Canadian Government and US Admin” by condemning India.

See an SFUK statement about the conference below.

Global Sikh efforts to pushback against the now documented Indian State transnational repression program continue.

Media inquiries- Har-Rai@SikhPA.com.

UPDATE (04.01.24): Deepa Singh has had his mobile phone returned, with no follow-up expected. The respected activist is still yet to receive an explanation regarding why he was targeted, as stated in a social media post with the update from Sikh Youth UK.

A UK Sikh activist has revealed how this week he was subjected to a humiliating detainment and “interrogation…like a terrorist” under the much criticised Schedule 7 counterterror law at Gatwick airport.

Deepa Singh (Kaldip Singh Lehal) of Sikh Youth UK, who has won an award for community services to Sandwell borough, was flying back into the UK on 25th December when ten counter-terrorism officers from the Southeast division met him on his plane. He then was forced to hand over devices and passwords or face charges, before being questioned into night on various Sikh issues.

News of the incident was shared online by the Sikh Youth UK page, coming only days after Deepa Singh himself outlined the harassment UK Sikh activists faced under the Schedule 7 law on The Sikh Network podcast, in an issue linked to India’s transnational repression agenda against Sikh activists.

Deepa Singh is a lead sevadaar (selfless servant) of Sikh Youth UK, a community group focused on social reform within Sikh communities. The topics Deepa Singh was questioned on included India’s arbitrary imprisonment of Scottish Sikh political prisoner Jagtar Singh Johal, the assassinations of Shaheed (martyr) Bhai Avtar Singh Khanda and Shaheed Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar (this year in June in the UK and Canada respectively) and other issues around UK-India collusion.

Deepa Singh has long been vocal on speaking on issues such as collusion between UK and the Indian State in targeting Sikh activists. Evidence of this collusion includes findings that UK intelligence services facilitated India’s illegal capture and torture of Jagtar Singh Johal, the fact Indian authorities had classified details on a UK police raid against Sikh activists in 2018 and the activities of political figures such as Conservative MP Bob Blackman, who has routinely regurgitated anti-Sikh Indian State propaganda about UK Sikhs, only to be found taking payments from pro- Indian nationalist groups.

In September 2018, Deepa Singh was one of five Sikh men whose homes were raided in a UK counterterror operation which Indian authorities claimed occurred due to “diplomatic pressure“. The men targeted were all Sikh activists helping to mobilise the community in aid of the #FreeJaggiNow campaign regarding Scottish political prisoner Jagtar Singh Johal (detained in India since 2017).

Deepa Singh is the only one of the five to have been officially accused of a crime – to which he has pled not guilty – resulting from those raids, facing a non-terror related charge of breaching Charity Commission rules, even though Sikh Youth UK was not a registered charity. That accusation has been left dangling over his head ever since, with authorities STILL not taking the case forward to trial to this day.

Deepa Singh’s interrogation comes as India’s anti-Sikh transnational repression program – which has included assassination – has been exposed by Canadian and US authorities this year, finally affirming what Sikhs have said for years.

Speaking to Sikh PA about the situation, Deepa Singh said:

“I firmly believe that these ongoing harassment tactics are employed by the UK authorities to target individuals like myself. My effort to mobilise the Sikh community to speak up for ourselves where we are being targeted is a thorn-in-the-side of governments looking to subjugate Sikhs.

“I help organise protests, I have exposed where police have let the Sikh community down regarding issues like grooming, and I rally in support for Khalistan (free Sikh homeland movement). As the UK continues to pander towards India for trade, they are clearly also pandering to India’s agenda to destroy the Khalistan movement.

“I have done nothing that deserves for me to be treated like a terrorist, interrogated through the night and have to worry about my doors being kicked if India requests it. The UK Sikh community need to wake up and realise if this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone, and it will start happening to even more of us. It is already happening to more than you realise. With an election next year, and Canada and the USA already exposing this issue, it is time we demand the UK government come clean about why Sikh activists face this targeting.”

Speaking on the situation, Sikh Press Association Senior Press Officer Jasveer Singh said:

“The targeting of Deepa Singh is just the tip of the iceberg. It is the most high-profile example of an issue various Sikh activists face, and I am sure people of other communities too, due to his work exposing anti-Sikh human rights abuses in India and the UK.”

UK based Sikh legal rights group Sikh Human Rights stated:

“A man first arrested in 2018 for accusations of ‘terrorism’ would not be free in 2023 if he was doing anything wrong. Deepa Singh is not a criminal. He is an activist being harassed by UK authorities to intimidate him from continuing to speak against India’s transnational repression, an issue which Canada and the USA have recently exposed to the public too. As the world watches to see how the UK respond to these revelations, it is telling we are seeing this brazen uptake in the targeting of Sikh activists.”

Media inquiries- media@sikhpa.com.