Several dozen people gathered in front of the Indian Consulate in downtown Vancouver on Sunday to denounce the government of India.
It was India Republic Day, a national holiday commemorating the adoption of the country’s constitution.
Vancouver police closed the street in front of the consulate in the 400-block of Howe Street, as protesters listened to speeches and displayed posters targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Indian politicians.
Most people in the crowd also carried Khalistan flags representing their wish for a separate sovereign Sikh state.
“All of the people here support the separation of Punjab from India. And they are here to do that, and with that we will also be protesting against the constitution of India,” said Ajay Pal Singh, one of the protesters.
“I want specifically to talk about Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He was the one who started all these protests against the Indian Consulate.”
In June of 2023, Nijjar, a leader in the Khalistan separatist movement, was gunned down in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey.
Four men, all Indian nationals, have been arrested in connection with the murder.
Amandeep Singh, Karan Brar, Kamalpreet Singh, and Karanpreet Singh all face charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
In September 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadian national security authorities were looking into “credible allegations” agents of the Indian government were involved in Nijjar’s killing.
India has denied any involvement and diplomatic relations between the two countries have been strained since Trudeau made the allegations public.
