Who was Hardeep Nijjar - man at the centre of India-Canada diplomatic storm

India-Canada relations hit a new low on Monday as India recalled top diplomats following Canada's allegations linking them to Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar's murder

Bilateral ties between India and Canada plummeted to a new low on Monday after India recalled its top diplomats, including Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma, hours after Canada linked Verma and other Indian officials to the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In a press conference, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Mike Duheme alleged that Indian government agents are engaging in violent criminal activities in Canada and labelled Indian diplomats as ‘persons of interest’ in the investigation into Nijjar’s murder.

India’s response to Canada’s charges

In response, India refuted the allegations as concocted, linking them to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s political agenda. It also recalled its envoys and expelled top six Canadian diplomats, including Canada’s Charge d’Affaires, Stewart Wheeler. Subsequently, Canada also expelled Indian diplomats from its territory, alleging that they were involved in a “campaign of violence” by the Indian government

The latest tensions are an extension of the ongoing standoff over Nijjar’s murder, which took place in June, 2023. In September last year, Trudeau had first publicly alleged India’s role in the incident, which New Delhi had vehemently rejected.

Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar?

Nijjar, a supporter of the Khalistani movement, was shot and killed on June 18, 2023, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. He was linked to Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the leader of the banned separatist group Sikhs for Justice. Canada’s allegations, labelled by India as ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’, resulted in deterioration in diplomatic relations. Both Nijjar and Pannun have been labelled as terrorists by India.

Based in Canada, Nijjar was the chief of ‘Khalistan Tiger Force’ (KTF) - described by India as a militant outfit aimed at reviving terrorism in Punjab. Before joining the KTF, he was a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operative. He was also accused of running an arms training camp in British Columbia and was accused in multiple killings in India.

Nijjar's Khalistan advocacy in Canada

Born in Punjab’s Jalandhar, Nijjar moved to Canada in 1997, where he first started working as a plumber. He settled in British Columbia and became a vocal advocate of the Khalistan movement, which seeks homeland for Sikhs to be carved out of Punjab.

Nijjar became a Canadian citizen in 2007. This was the same year when a cinema bombing explosion in Punjab had killed six people and injured dozens, an incident which the Centre blamed on Nijjar.

While India has communicated its concerns to Canada over Nijjar, he was never charged with any crime. In June 2024, a year after Nijjar was gunned down, Canada’s House of Commons had observed a ‘moment of silence’ for him.