India today condemned the attack by a pro-Khalistani mob at a temple in Canada’s Brampton.
“We have seen violent disruption today orchestrated by anti-India elements outside the consular camp co-organized with the Hindu Sabha Mandir, Brampton, near Toronto,” the Indian consulate said in a statement.
“On account of the prevailing security situation in Canada, the Canadian authorities had been requested well in advance to provide strong security measures for these events, which constitute routine consular work,” it added.
Videos of the incident, which have gone viral on social media, show a group of men armed with sticks attacking devotees outside the temple. The mob was seen carrying flags linked to pro-Khalistani groups. The Hindu Canadian Foundation, a community non-profit, responded on social media, reporting that women and children were among those attacked.
Chandra Arya, a federal lawmaker and member of Trudeau’s Liberal Party, blamed the incident on “Khalistanis,” supporters of the fringe separatist movement for an independent Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab state. Arya stated that a “red line has been crossed” by Khalistani extremists, highlighting the rise of brazen violent extremism in Canada.
String of temple attacks in Canada
The recent attack adds to a string of similar incidents documented in recent years, underscoring a distressing trend of religious intolerance.
In July, Arya had voiced deep concern over the violence directed at Hindu-Canadian communities. In a post on Z, he wrote, “The Hindu temple BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Edmonton is vandalised again. During the last few years, Hindu temples in the Greater Toronto Area, British Columbia, and other places in Canada are being vandalised with hateful graffiti.”
Notably, last year, a Hindu temple in Windsor suffered defacement with anti-India graffiti, sparking widespread condemnation and calls for action from both Canadian and Indian officials. Earlier incidents in Mississauga and Brampton saw temples similarly targeted, drawing strong reactions from the Indian community in Canada.