People & Histories
June 2023 – present

Khalistan, the Diaspora and the Nijjar Killing

The shooting of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, and Canada's allegation that Indian government agents were involved, plunge Canada–India relations into crisis.

  • How did a killing at a Sikh temple lead to Canada and India expelling each other's diplomats? — Associated Press (2024)
  • Canada, India agree to re-establish high commissioners after G7 meeting — CBC News, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (2025)
  • The Sikh Diaspora: The Search for Statehood — Darshan Singh Tatla, UCL Press (1999)
  • The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies — Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech (eds.), Oxford University Press (2014)

Debated by historians politicsmigrationidentity

What is established

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a plumber and president of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, was shot dead in its car park on 18 June 2023. He was a prominent campaigner for Khalistan, organising unofficial “referendums” among diaspora Sikhs, and India had designated him a terrorist and sought his extradition, accusations he denied.

  • How did a killing at a Sikh temple lead to Canada and India expelling each other's diplomats? — Associated Press (2024)
In May 2024 Canadian police charged four Indian nationals with his murder; the case was still before the British Columbia courts in early 2026.
  • How did a killing at a Sikh temple lead to Canada and India expelling each other's diplomats? — Associated Press (2024)

What is alleged

In September 2023, Trudeau said Canadian security agencies were pursuing “credible allegations” of a link between agents of the Indian government and the killing. In October 2024 the police went further, alleging Indian officials were connected to wider criminal activity targeting Sikh separatists in Canada, and the two countries expelled each other’s top diplomats.

  • How did a killing at a Sikh temple lead to Canada and India expelling each other's diplomats? — Associated Press (2024)
India denied any involvement and said Canada had shared no evidence. In the United States, prosecutors separately charged an Indian national in 2023, and later a former Indian government employee, over an alleged plot to murder the New York-based Khalistan campaigner Gurpatwant Singh Pannun; India said the individual was not acting on government policy. None of these allegations has yet been proven in court.
  • How did a killing at a Sikh temple lead to Canada and India expelling each other's diplomats? — Associated Press (2024)
In June 2025 the two governments agreed to begin repairing relations, starting with the return of high commissioners to each other’s capitals.

The wider picture

Support for Khalistan in Punjab itself is small: separatist candidates rarely win elections there, though a jailed preacher, Amritpal Singh, won a parliamentary seat in 2024. The movement is more visible in the diaspora, especially in Canada, the UK and the US, where memories of 1984 are strong and speech is free.

  • The Sikh Diaspora: The Search for Statehood — Darshan Singh Tatla, UCL Press (1999)
  • The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies — Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech (eds.), Oxford University Press (2014)
Many Sikhs feel squeezed: in India, Sikh protesters are sometimes smeared as “Khalistanis”, as happened to Punjabi farmers during the 2020–21 protests; abroad, Sikhs can be pressured from both sides of the debate. The respectful approach is not to assume anyone’s view.

How it's seen
Many diaspora Sikhs

Nijjar was a Canadian citizen and community leader shot dead outside his gurdwara for peacefully advocating Khalistan, which is legal free speech in Canada. If a foreign government was involved, it is an attack on Canadian sovereignty and on Sikhs' right to speak.

  • How did a killing at a Sikh temple lead to Canada and India expelling each other's diplomats? — Associated Press (2024)
  • The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies — Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech (eds.), Oxford University Press (2014)

Indian government view

Nijjar was a designated terrorist wanted in India; Canada's allegations are "absurd" and politically motivated, no evidence was shared, and Canada has long tolerated violent Khalistani extremists who threaten Indian diplomats.

  • How did a killing at a Sikh temple lead to Canada and India expelling each other's diplomats? — Associated Press (2024)

Canadian government view

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Parliament in September 2023 that there were "credible allegations" of a link between Indian government agents and the killing. In October 2024 Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, saying police had identified them as persons of interest.

  • How did a killing at a Sikh temple lead to Canada and India expelling each other's diplomats? — Associated Press (2024)

Why it matters today

Sikhism

The case brought the Khalistan question, dormant in Punjab for decades, back into headlines, and left many diaspora Sikhs, whatever their views on independence, worried about their safety and about being painted as extremists. Inside the community, it is a painful and divisive subject: some support Khalistan, many more want justice for 1984 without a separate state, and most simply want to be left to live their lives.