India warned about growing Khalistani pockets in Canada

VANCOUVER - Former Canadian health minister Ujjal Dosanjh has warned India to wake up to the danger posed by Khalistani elements in Canada after he was threatened not to attend the upcoming annual Baisakhi parade in the city of Surrey near here Saturday.

“India needs to worry about how these pockets (of Khalistanis) are growing in Canada. Canadian politicians also need to worry about the consequences of these activities,” Dosanjh told IANS.

He added: “India should wake up because Khalistani elements are poisoning the minds of second and third generation Indians here who don’t know much about India and its rich multicultural heritage.”

The organisers of the parade have warned that if he comes for the celebrations, he will be responsible for his own security.

They also announced to carry pro-Khalistan floats and hoist Khalistani flags and photos of ‘Sikh martyrs’ during the celebrations.

Making this announcement on a Punjabi radio show here, Inderjit Singh Bains, one of the organisers of the parade, said Dosanjh and local legislator Dave Hayer were not invited for the parade.

He said if these leaders show up, they should be responsible for their own safety.

Both Dosanjh and Hayer, whose journalist father Tara Singh was gunned down by Khalistani elements to stop him from deposing in the Air India Kanishka bombing case, have been known for their opposition to Sikh radicals in Canada.

Dosanjh, who was severely beaten with iron rods here for his opposition to Khalistani elements in the 1980s, said though he is not attending the Baisakhi parade, he has informed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about the threat to him.

Distraught at such things happening in Canada in this age, he told IANS: “These guys need to understand that they cannot silence voices that oppose them. Glorification of violence anywhere can never be justified.”

He said: “These guys would never dare treat a non-Indian politician this way because they think I am India and I am brown and I should fear them. I have lived a free life and I will never succumb to any threats.”

Dosanjh, who created history in 2000 by becoming the first non-white premier in Canada, said, “These elements represent hate and you cannot have any truck with hate mongers.”