Explainer: One year since Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s assassination

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The president of Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was shot and killed in the place of worship’s parking lot on June 18, 2023. The gurdwara is just six blocks from Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Surrey campus.

Nijjar was a prominent Sikh activist who advocated for a separate Sikh state in the Punjab region, which includes parts of India.

In July 2022, Indian authorities announced a cash reward for information leading to Nijjar’s arrest for his alleged involvement in the attack on a Hindu priest in India. The Indian government often lists Sikh activists who advocate for a separate state as extremists and terrorists, as was the case for Nijjar. 

During this time, Nijjar was notified by Canadian intelligence services that there was likely an assassination plot against him. 

On Sept. 18, 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linked the Indian government to his assassination in a statement to the House of Commons.

Trudeau said Canadian security agencies had been actively pursuing “credible allegations” and had reason to believe “agents of the government of India” carried out Nijjar’s assassination. 

Intelligence from the Five Eyes network, an intelligence-sharing pact between the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, also led to Canada’s accusations against India. 

India has repeatedly denied all accusations of involvement in Nijjar’s assassination, calling them “absurd.”

Since then, India-Canada relations have been tense — trade discussions have been paused, Canadian and Indian diplomats and officials have been expelled from both countries, and India suspended all visa services to Canadians, before resuming electronic visas for Canadian nationals two months later.

Four men have been arrested and charged for Nijjar’s murder. All four are Indian nationals who arrived in Canada on temporary visas, including some on student visas.

Twenty-two-year-old Karan Brar, 22-year-old Kamalpreet Singh, and 28-year-old Karanpreet Singh were arrested by police in Edmonton on May 3. 

Amandeep Singh, 22, was arrested in Ontario for unrelated weapons charges, and was then arrested for Nijjar’s murder on May 10.

All four men are facing charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. They have also been given no-contact orders, meaning the accused cannot contact the victim’s family or other identified people.

Three of the accused men made their first court appearance virtually on May 7 in Surrey provincial court. 

On May 21, community members protested outside the courthouse, holding signs of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian intelligence and diplomatic officials. The protesters alleged Modi and other officials were involved in Nijjar’s killing and called for charges against them.

Protestors also read a statement from the Sikh-separatist organization, Sikhs for Justice. The organization is planning to hold a mock trial for Modi outside of the Indian consulate in Vancouver today, exactly one year since Nijjar’s assassination.

“The assassination of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil carried out at the behest of consular officials is a challenge to Canadian sovereignty,” said the statement.

The next court date is set for June 25 at Surrey provincial court.

The Sikh community in the Lower Mainland continues to remember Nijjar through service and protest. Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara has held prayer and service events for the past two months. 

Despite one year since Nijjar’s assassination and more awareness about Indian interference in Sikh communities across Canada, Sikhs continue to be attacked. 

In February, the home of Sikh activist Simranjeet Singh was shot. A Sikh Press Association news release links the attack to Singh’s “advocacy and community role for Khalistan (free Sikh homeland movement) and India’s ongoing targeting of Canadian Sikhs.”