Advocacy group flags ‘pattern of provocation’ by Khalistani extremists at Hindu temples in Canada

Ottawa, April 8 A leading global advocacy organisation, Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), strongly condemned the targeted protests by Canada-based Khalistani Extremists (CBKE) outside Hindu temples in the Canadian cities of Brampton and Surrey, citing incidents of severe harassment.

According to CoHNA, the protests took place on April 5 during Hanuman Jayanti celebrations, when large numbers of Hindu devotees had gathered at temples across Canada.

It noted that coinciding with Easter weekend and the Jewish festival Passover, the disruption went beyond the Hindu community, “unsettling neighbourhoods” where families of multiple faiths were marking their religious observances.

Despite the Canadian police-imposed buffer zones, CoHNA said that devotees visiting the temple were harassed with past graphic displays depicting the killing of a woman, while children were subjected to “loud, abusive slogans”.

Although authorities considered Sunday’s events as “orderly” due to the police management, CoHNA warned against “equating crowd control with genuine public safety”.

“While Khalistani provocateurs engage in the worst kind of sloganeering, the burden falls on the worshippers to keep the peace -- they are advised to avoid contact, adjust their movements, and navigate around a conflict they did not invite,” said CoHNA Canada President Rishabh Sarswat.

“Public safety cannot be reduced to crowd management. CoHNA is not calling for bans on symbols or speech, but we ask authorities to account for context and intent and balance the right to access a place of worship without intimidation,” he added.

While CBKE claims the protests target India’s activities at temples rather than Hindus themselves. CoHNA rejected the narrative entirely.

“Hindu temples are autonomous institutions with the same rights as any other Canadian religious body to invite guests and host activities of their choosing -- including consular services for elderly Canadians of Indian origin seeking pensions and life certificates. Who a temple chooses to host is not a decision that belongs to the CBKE,” it added.

Beyond the CBKE’s “broader pattern of provocation and intimidation” at Hindu temples, CoHNA said that the targeting of Brampton’s Triveni Mandir starkly illustrates how the Khalistani extremists treat any expression of Hindu identity as a “legitimate site for political confrontation”.

“This temple, like several others in the Greater Toronto Area, was founded and continues to be administered by the Caribbean Hindu community -- a fact that underscores the hollowness of the CBKE’s attempts to frame such institutions as extensions of the Indian state,” CoHNA stressed.

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