Silence Not an Option”: Sikh activist defies India-linked threats

WEB DESK: Moninder Singh, a prominent Canadian Sikh activist, has vowed to remain defiant despite receiving fresh warnings from authorities regarding an “imminent” assassination threat against himself and his family.

According to AFP, Speaking from the United Nations’ European headquarters in Geneva, the chairman of the Sikh Federation of Canada told AFP that he refuses to be silenced by what he describes as a campaign of transnational repression.

Singh is currently appealing for international intervention against India’s alleged targeting of Sikh activists abroad claims that New Delhi has consistently and move to strenuously deny.

The activist’s resolve comes in the shadow of the 2023 killing of his close friend, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down outside a temple in British Columbia, an event that sparked a major diplomatic fracture between Ottawa and New Delhi.

‘Deeply Disturbing’ diplomacy with India

Despite the gravity of the threats, Singh expressed profound disappointment with the current Canadian administration’s pivot toward New Delhi.

Relations between the two nations, which soured significantly under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau following allegations of Indian involvement in Nijjar’s death, have thawed since Prime Minister Mark Carney took office last year.

Singh described the recent restoration of ties and trade deals as “deeply disturbing,” accusing the government of normalising relations while “Canadian blood” remains a point of contention.

The activist revealed that he has received multiple “duties to warn” from Canadian police, the most recent occurring just last month.

According to Singh, an informant within a criminal syndicate alerted police to a credible threat targeting him, his wife, and their two children.

While Indian authorities maintain they have no involvement in such plots, UN rights experts in Geneva have expressed ongoing “alarm,” with Special Rapporteur Ben Saul noting that oppression against Sikhs in exile appears to be worsening rather than diminishing.