In a strong rebuttal to a video by separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in which he asked the Canadian Member of Parliament Chandra Arya to return to India along with his Hindu-Canadian friends, the parliamentarian asserted that Canada was their home and lauded their contributions towards the country’s multi-cultural fabric. While asserting that Hindus from all parts of the world have contributed immensely towards the socio-economic development of Canada, Arya said, “Canada is our home.”.
In a tweet on X, Arya posted, “In response to my condemnation of the vandalism of the Hindu temple BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Edmonton and other acts of hate and violence by Khalistan supporters in Canada, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of Sikhs for Justice has released a video demanding me and my Hindu-Canadian friends to go back to India.”
He further went on to say that Hindu-Canadians have enriched Canada with their long history of Hindu culture and heritage. He condemned the Khalistani extremists for “polluting” Canada. “We Hindus have come to our wonderful country Canada, from every part of the world. From every country in South Asia, many countries in Africa and the Caribbean, and many other parts of the world, we have come here and Canada is our land,” Arya wrote. “We have made and continue to make an immense positive and productive contribution to the socio-economic development of Canada. With our long history of Hindu culture and heritage, we have enriched the multicultural fabric of Canada. Our land is being polluted by Khalistani extremists abusing our freedoms guaranteed by our Canadian Charter of Rights,” he further added.
Only this week, another identical attack on Hindu places of worship reprised in Edmonton’s BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir. Chandra Arya, MP for Nepean, said he is concerned about rising incidents of ‘hate-fuelled violence’ against Hindu-Canadian communities. “The Hindu temple BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Edmonton is vandalized again. The several past years have witnessed repeated incidents of vandalizing Hindu temples in Canada’s Greater Toronto Area, British Columbia, and other places with hateful graffiti,” Arya said in a post on X on Tuesday, sharing a picture of the vandalism.
It joins a worrying trend of religious intolerance, with similar incidents documented in recent years. A year ago, there was another case of a Hindu temple in Windsor that was defaced with anti-India graffiti. There were widespread condemnations, and Canadian and Indian officials called for action. Other incidents targeting temples in Mississauga and Brampton occurred earlier in Mississauga and Brampton, drawing heavy reactions from the Indian community in Canada.
Multicultural issues have been at the forefront of Arya’s advocacy, bringing to light the impunity enjoyed by the Khalistani extremists in Canada and how their rhetoric has incited hate and violence. It has strongly called for Canadian law enforcement agencies to take proactive measures in addressing the threats and ensure the safety and security of religious communities in Canada. The debate has started all over again on ways to increase vigilance in and around Hindu temples and campaigning against extremist propaganda.
