Thank you.

Good afternoon. My name is Balpreet Singh. I'm legal counsel for the World Sikh Organization of Canada.

Today, as we approach the 40th anniversary of the 1984 Sikh genocide in India, we're here to discuss India's continued targeting of Sikhs in Canada, but it's absolutely essential to understand the context of this ongoing interference.

For decades, the Government of India has targeted Sikhs and other minorities without any consequences. Tens of thousands of Sikhs were killed by the Indian state with no accountability or reckoning. For 40 years, Sikhs in Canada have known that India engages in foreign interference and targets our community. This has been a truth that's been an open secret.

Open Secrets is also the title of a book by a former Indian diplomat and intelligence officer, M.K. Dhar, who was stationed in Ottawa from 1983 to 1987. In his memoir, he admits that his mission was to “penetrate select Gurdwaras”, establish assets within the Sikh community and make “a few friends amongst Canadian members of Parliament”. Several other books and articles have documented India's espionage and interference aimed at Canada's Sikhs. Canada has long been aware of this interference but has often looked the other way or treated India with kid gloves.

This interference continues to take several forms. The first is visa manipulation. The primary tool India uses is the Indian visa. Individuals are denied visas for expressing views that India deems objectionable, while others are coerced into actions or statements in exchange for visas. Some individuals have been forced to sign predrafted letters supporting India, which are then used to extort them. Even Canadian politicians have been subject to these tactics. Other forms include intimidation of relatives in India, surveillance of individuals and events, and media manipulation and disinformation, creating narratives that favour the Indian government's position.

The impact on the Sikh community has been profound. Sikhs are coerced into avoiding discussions about Khalistan, a sovereign Sikh state. For India, any dialogue about Khalistan is labelled as extremism or terrorism, and this is a nuance that's often misunderstood in the West. India has worked very hard to make “Khalistan” a scary term. Supporters of Khalistan have faced torture and disappearance in India. India seeks to make that repressive approach normal and export it to Canada; however, here we have freedom of expression, and that's protected, of course, by the charter.

The current tensions that we're seeing can be traced back to 2015, when a notable number of Sikhs were elected as MPs and also included in cabinet. This was seen as a threat by India, which quickly framed the Canadian government as being influenced by Khalistani extremists. Our report in September 2023 in The Bureau, by Sam Cooper, indicated that, in 2017, CSIS was aware of increased Indian diplomatic activities targeting the Sikh community, including monitoring, vote manipulation and visa coercion.

Ottawa allegedly halted actions due to political sensitivity and the impending 2018 Canadian delegation to India. That delegation, as we know, was subsequently targeted by India, which used the false narrative of Sikh extremism to taint the visit. Canada attempted to appease India by signing the framework for cooperation on countering terrorism and violent extremism, which was then portrayed by India as a crackdown on Khalistan supporters.

Sikhs in Canada have repeatedly reported Indian interference to law enforcement and CSIS, but it's not clear that it had any effect. In June 2022, I personally informed CSIS that India might attempt to target Sikh activists under the guise of gang wars, based on Indian media narratives. After Ripudaman Singh Malik's murder in July 2022, I warned CSIS of risks to the lives of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and other activists. Duties to warn were issued, but no real protection was provided, leaving many feeling resigned to their fate.

The Prime Minister's announcement in Parliament last year and the RCMP's recent statement were a welcome breath of fresh air and feel like vindication for our community. However, India's interference now extends to our democratic institutions and elected officials. Indian influence is seen in nomination races and elections, and there are allegations of MPs receiving funds from India to raise specific issues in Parliament. Make no mistake, India's actions reflect a hostile and rogue nation acting with impunity.

Canada and its allies must re-evaluate their relationship with India. Turning a blind eye or handling it with kid gloves is no longer an option. We must continue to expose and counter Indian interference as we've begun to do over the past year. This is a moment that's absolutely critical for our community but also for our country. Canada must commit to shutting down India's foreign interference, which has continued unabated for the past 40 years.

Thank you.