Gurpreet Singh 

The troubles for the newly elected federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh aren’t over yet. His critics have now found a new weapon to beat him with. This time he has come under attack for not denouncing the alleged mastermind in the Air India bombings.  

The late Talwinder Singh Parmar was the leader of the banned Sikh extremist group Babbar Khalsa that is blamed for the June 23, 1985, Air India bombings that left 331 people dead. The incident followed ugly political events in India in 1984.

In June of that year, the Indian government ordered a military invasion of the Golden Temple Complex, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs in Amritsar in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab. "Operation Blue Star" was intended to flush out militants who had stockpiled weapons inside the place of worship.

The Indian army operation resulted in the loss of many innocent lives and damage to many important buildings inside the complex. The entire exercise was avoidable and alienated the Sikh community from the Indian mainstream.

There were angry protests in Vancouver. These developments culminated in the assassination of then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi at her residence in New Delhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Following her murder, her Congress party organized an anti-Sikh pogrom across the country. Thousands of Sikhs were slaughtered and Sikh women were gang raped as police remained mute spectators.  

A year later Air India Flight 182 was blown up above the Irish Sea, killing all 329 people aboard. Around the same time a blast at the Narita Airport in Tokyo left two baggage handlers dead. The investigators later found that the bombs used in the crime had originated from Vancouver International Airport. Police believed that these bombings were planned and executed by Babbar Khalsa to avenge the repression of Sikhs in India.

Babbar Khalsa wanted to create Khalistan—a separate Sikh homeland in Punjab. Parmar was a potential suspect in the conspiracy but was never convicted. A resident of Burnaby, he returned to India to continue his struggle for Khalistan when he died at the hands of Indian police in 1992 under mysterious circumstances.

It's believed that he was captured and tortured before being killed in a staged shootout. Two former suspects in the conspiracy, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, were charged but later acquitted. This came when the judge ruled that several Crown witnesses weren't credible and therefore the accused could not be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The bomb maker, Inderjit Singh Reyat, was the only one convicted and who has served time for Air India Flight 182 tragedy and the Narita episode.

Jagmeet Singh, who is a baptised Sikh MPP from Ontario, has raised the issue of 1984 Sikh genocide in the Ontario legislature. As a social justice activist in the past he has also been raising the issue of Sikh political prisoners. For his outspokenness on these inconvenient matters, the Indian government denied him a visitor's visa. Later during Singh's leadership campaign, those owing allegiance to the pro-India lobby had reportedly tried to discourage people within the South Asian community from donating money to his team or voting for him. 

Now that he has been elected NDP leader with a huge mandate, he is being attacked for something he is not even remotely associated with. It all started with his interview with CBC journalist Terry Milewski, who asked him whether he denounces Parmar, who is often glorified by the supporters of Khalistan as “martyr”.

Singh only said that he denounces violence against ordinary people and that he doesn’t know who is responsible for the bombings. He added, “I think we need to find out who’s responsible, we need to make sure that the investigation results in a conviction of someone who is actually responsible.”

Based on this conversation Milewski tweeted that the NDP leader declines to denounce the displaying of “martyr” posters of Air India bombers. Several pro-India commentators promptly picked up the issue and began accusing Singh of not being honest.

Throughout the leadership campaign, these commentators tried to force Singh to clarify his position on Khalistan. An India-based daily—Hindustan Times—published a misleading headline suggesting that Singh had in fact glorified Parmar, although he never did that. This was despite the fact that the HT story was based on his interview with Milewski.

Like it or not, a Sikh is being targeted mainly because of his race and religious belief.

He is a turbaned Sikh who has made a history after being elected as leader of a federal party of Canada. He was under constant attack from right-wing forces both in India and Canada. India is currently under a right-wing Hindu nationalist government whose supporters have been targeting him on social media. Similarly, white supremacists in Canada too have been targeting him. In one particular case, he was verbally attacked by a white woman.

It is completely unfair to drag him into the Air India story. This is obviously being done to silence him for raising the genuine issue of the 1984 massacres in India. Let’s face it, no justice was delivered to the sufferers of state-sponsored violence against the Sikhs.

On the contrary, those involved have enjoyed ministerial positions in India for several years. As against the 1984 tragedy, the alleged Air India mastermind was killed in a cold-blooded murder by the police. There has never been an instant justice for the victims of 1984. Hopefully, this stops the media commentators from equating the two different tragedies without going into the complexities of the Indian state and its justice system.

Besides, what many are not trying to understand is that Singh is a lawyer by profession and activist because of his strong belief in social justice. How can you expect a person like him to brand Parmar as somebody responsible for the Air India when he died without conviction and long before the Air India trial started?

Going by Singh's conversation with Milewski, it is very clear that he never glorified anyone. Rather, he denounced the Air India tragedy. Just because he did not answer a close-ended question of Milewski with a yes or no, does not make him guilty.

Also, there is a section of Sikh activists that strongly believes that the Air India bombings were part of a much larger conspiracy involving Indian intelligence agencies that wanted to discredit the Khalistan movement in Canada. Until now, the investigation remains inconclusive and there are no complete answers.

The killing of Parmar by the Indian police despite knowing about his alleged hand in the Air India bombings is seen as a cover-up by many. So it is understandable that Singh may not like to accept the version of the Air India story that is frequently offered by the governments of India and Canada. 

What we need to recognize is that there is a pattern behind tarnishing exceptional political figures like Singh, who stand up for human rights. Also we need to question the media industry in Canada and its commentators.

How many times are white politicians asked to clarify their position on white supremacy that continues to grow after the emergence of Donald Trump in U.S.? Why are only men like Singh are expected to prove all the time that they are good Canadians and could be better politicians than others?  

Yes, the glorification of Parmar or anyone involved in acts of violence against innocent people is wrong, but then what about the continued glorification of Nathuram Godse—a Hindu extremist who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi in India? What about the mainstream Canadian and American politicians who remain silent to the acts of terrorism committed by white nationalists?

The whole situation reveals that the entire Sikh community remains under the microscope for an unholy act committed by a few people. Several years ago, a Sikh former MP, Gurmant Grewal, was also unfairly targeted by the mainstream media for handing over a personal package to a passenger boarding a flight at the airport. The Air India story and flight safety was dragged into the story merely because of his heritage.

The practice of trying to paint the whole community with one brush is offensive and racist and must stop. Politics over the Air India tragedy is completely unacceptable. If anyone owes answers for the tragedy, it's the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service for botched investigations or the Indian establishment that created the circumstances leading up to the incident. And, of course, those who were actually involved rather than Singh or Grewal. 

Let Singh focus on things that matter. There will be time when he will be held accountable if he fails to deliver on issues such as homelessness, economic inequality, climate change, electoral reform, health care and of course human rights and racism. After all, he is not going to represent only the Sikhs and other South Asian communities but the whole country. Instead of dragging him into unwanted controversies, he should be given a chance to fulfill his promises.

Gurpreet Singh 

The nongovernmental organization Khalsa Aid is again in the news for organizing relief camps on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border to help Rohingya Muslim refugees. 

A U.K.-based international humanitarian relief organization, Khalsa Aid has been active since 1999. That's when the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Khalsa was celebrated across the world.

The Khalsa was an army of dedicated Sikhs raised by the tenth master of the Sikh faith, Guru Gobind Singh, to fight for social justice in what was then Moghul-ruled northern India. The Khalsa not only opposed repression by Islamic ruler on non Muslims, but also combatted caste-based discrimination within the Hindu community. 

Khalsa Aid is known for providing relief to the victims of wars and natural calamities anywhere in the world. 

The idea of helping anyone irrespective of one's race or religion is enshrined in the Sikh philosophy. The daily prayer of a devout Sikh ends with a call for the well-being of entire humankind.

Sikh scriptures include the hymns of saints belonging to different communities and castes from all over India. The foundation stone of the Golden Temple Complex—the holiest shrine of Sikhs in Amritsar—was laid by a Muslim saint, while the four gates of the temple symbolize that people from all four castes in Hindu society can come to pay obeisance.

Most importantly, the community kitchen at Sikh temples is open to everyone. 

One of the towering figures in Sikh history, Bhai Kanhayya, also inspires members of Khalsa Aid to be ready to help everyone in a catastrophic situation.

Bhai Kanhayya was a water bearer in Guru Gobind Singh's army. But during wars, he provided water to all the wounded and exhausted soldiers without discriminating between the members of his own army and those of the rival camp.

When this was brought to the knowledge of the Guru, he was so impressed that he asked Kanhayya to start applying balm to the wounded soldiers of both sides in future. 

It's unfortunate that Hindu extremists have started attacking the Khalsa Aid on social media. Rather than appreciating them for coming to the rescue of Rohangiya Muslims languishing in refugee camps, these Hindu extremists have begun slinging mud at its volunteers. 

The problem is that India's ruling Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and its supporters have already announced that India is not going to open its doors for the Rohangiya Muslims, who have been forced to flee from Myanmar because of persecution from Buddhist extremists and the army.

Certain BJP supporters have said that they are okay with Hindu refugees from Myanmar, but Muslims will have to leave.

Notably, Myanmar shares a very long border with India, which has provided refuge to many other communities, including Tibetan Buddhists, Pakistani Hindus, and Sri Lankan Tamils in the past.

But the BJP government is trying to create fear about Rohangiya Muslims by citing security reasons and characterizing helpless refugees as potential terrorists and illegal immigrants.

The BJP has always been known for its strong anti-Muslim bias and has been scapegoating this community to attract Hindu majority votes. 

Thus the trolling of Khalsa Aid on social media by the BJP supporters isn't surprising. In fact, the trend of trolling political critics and anybody who does not agree with the BJP has picked up in India ever since the party came to power with a brute majority in 2014.

Attacks on Muslims have also grown in the entire county since then. What is noteworthy is that these elements that claim to be the defenders of Hinduism and aspire to transform India into a Hindu nation are actually going against the values of Hindu religion that says that the whole world is one family.

By attacking Khalsa Aid and Rohangiya Muslims, they have shown that they not only lack humanity but are in fact the enemies of Hinduism. 

Khalsa Aid which has set a great example by displaying compassion and need our appreciation and not mudslinging. The world needs to learn from them on how to offer shelter and kindness to the victims of violence rather than abandoning them to their fate. 

Gurpreet Singh 

The election of Jagmeet Singh as federal NDP leader is not just his personal victory against heavy odds, but it also represents the defeat of right-wing forces both in Canada and India.

He took more than 50 percent of the votes in the first ballot, defeating Ontario MP and heavyweight rival Charlie Angus, who collected 12,705 votes. Manitoba MP Niki Ashton won 11,374 votes, whereas Quebec MP Guy Caron bagged only 6,164 votes.Singh became the first turbaned Sikh leader of any major political party in Canada on Sunday (October 1) by grabbing 35,266 votes out of total 65,782 cast by NDP members across the country.

Singh, an Ontario MPP, is now a candidate for the post of prime minister. He made a history in a country where Sikhs and other South Asian communities were disfranchised in 1907.

Many political pundits were doubtful about the chances of Singh getting elected because of his religious background. Since the NDP relies heavily on labour unions, many were skeptical over him getting enough union support to win the leadership.

They speculated that Angus would take away most union members' votes. Others thought that Singh had no chance in Quebec where secularists won't vote for anyone with a strong religious identity.  Then there were those even within the NDP who thought that Canada is not ready yet to accept someone with a turban and facial hair as their future leader. In the end, Singh proved all the apprehensions wrong.

He has been working aggressively by criss-crossing Canada taking along not only his Sikh compatriots but also many others. After all, he had more endorsements than others in the race.

The growing momentum in favour of Singh has caused great anxiety among right-wing groups. There was a verbal attack on him at a public event by a white woman who is reportedly associated with an alt-right movement. He has been under attack from white nationalists on social media, too.

If this were not enough, right-wing forces in India and their apologists in Canada also tried to discredit Singh. He previously brought a motion in the Ontario legislature describing the anti-Sikh pogrom in India during 1984 as “genocide”.  Thousands of Sikhs were murdered following the assassination of the then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. The political goons belonging to the slain leader’s Congress party organized violence against innocent Sikhs in different parts of India.

On another occasion, Singh raised the issue of political prisoners in India and also criticized the Indian government for growing violence against minorities and so-called untouchables under right-wing Hindu nationalist prime minister Narendra Modi. For these reasons, Singh was denied visa by the Indian government.

During his campaign those owing allegiance to the Indian establishment frequently tried to brand him as Sikh separatist and discouraged people within the South Asian community from donating money to his campaign or voting for him.

In spite of these challenges, Singh remained calm and focused on his election. His message that he believes in fair trade and not free trade resonated with people who have had enough of Trump or Modi. 

Singh’s wonderful victory raises hope for those who want the world to be free from bigotry and oppression. 

Gurpreet Singh 

If the attitude of the Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government in India toward Rohingya refugees is any indication, it is repeating the history of the Komagata Maru. 

In 1914 the Japanese vessel carrying more than 300 South Asian passengers from India was forced by the Canadian government to leave from Vancouver's harbour and go back to British-ruled India.

The decision was made under a discriminatory immigration law that was passed to keep Canada as a white man's country. These passengers had come to Canada as British subjects to earn their livelihood and both India and Canada were under the British monarchy.

When the ship arrived, there was a widespread racist backlash from the media and right-wing politicians. Under pressure from the white nationalists, the ship was forcibly returned.

When the Komagata Maru reached India, British colonial police suspected that many of the passengers might have turned into subversives.

Officers tried to arrest them upon reaching near Calcutta, resulting in a scuffle between the police and the passengers, Police started shooting, which left several people dead on September 29, 1914.

Only last year did the Canadian government formally apologize in the House of Commons for this racist episode.

While the Komagata Maru tragedy remains etched in the collective memory of Indo Canadians, the government of India, the country where many of them were born, is taking its society backward.

Following large-scale violence by Buddhist extremists and the Myanmar army targeting the mainly Muslim Rohingyas, thousands of refugees are now seeking shelter in India on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. A minority of these refugee claimants are Hindus.

The refugee crisis was triggered by army repression following an attack by Rohingya militants seeking autonomy and citizenship rights for their people.

But the right wing BJP government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not willing to accept them with open arms.

Some are raising security concerns, citing the Rohingya militancy that they claim might spill over to India if these refugees are admitted.

The more hawkish BJP supporters have gone to the extent of suggesting that only Hindu Rohingya refugees be allowed to stay and Muslims be sent back.

Such hateful statements are no different from messages directed at Komagata Maru passengers and other South Asian immigrants by white supremacists in Canada more than a century ago. Back then, they emphasized that immigration from  India would create problems.

They even threatened Edward Bird, a lawyer who defended the ship's passengers, much as the BJP supporters are attacking people on social media who are defending Rohingyas. 

Social justice activists within the Indo Canadian community cannot overlook this connection.

For those who care about the history of the Komagata Maru struggle it has become even more relevant today in the light of Rohingya refugee crisis.

It's not only the right wing government in India but Canada's Liberal government that also needs to be made accountable for what is happening in that part of the world where a section of the population has become stateless.

After all, Canada has given the leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, honorary citizenship for fighting against military regime in the past.

As she remains complicit in the crimes against Rohingyas, the Canadian government that claims to be a human rights leader in the world should take away her honorary citizenship. 

What binds Kyi with Modi and U.S. president Donald Trump is that they are all indulging in populist politics that survives on majoritarianism.

In the name of security, all three governments are scapegoating Muslims to polarize Buddhists, Hindus, and Christians, respectively.

If Trudeau is really sorry for what happened to the passengers of Komagata Maru 103 years ago, he should now stand up for Rohingyas, as he is the only hope in an international political world that's increasingly dominated by the extreme right. 

Gurpreet Singh is a broadcaster and the cofounder of Radical Desi magazine.