PM Modi Condemns Attack On Hindu Temple In Canada: Here's Why It Is An Unprecedented Statement

Prime Minister Modi posted a tweet on X on 4 November, condemning the anti-Hindu violence at a Hindu temple in Brampton, Canada.

"I strongly condemn the deliberate attack on a Hindu temple in Canada. Equally appalling are the cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats. Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve. We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law", he said.

This is the first time that Prime Minister Modi himself is calling out the state of affairs in Canada, directly and in public.

Over and above that, this statement is important for the following reason: Modi has tied the Brampton attack to the larger ecosystem in Canada that supports and nurtures the Khalistan ideology. This system includes the Canadian government as well.

'Equally appalling are the cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats'. This sentence from Modi's statement is crucial given that it comes barely two weeks after India recalled its High Commissioner from Canada. This happened after Canada informed India that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats were ‘persons of interest’ in the investigation on Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing on Canadian soil.

In previous cases, Khalistan activists in Canada put up posters which called for violence against Indian diplomats. Some posters even called for killing the senior Indian diplomats in Canada.

PM Modi's ambiguity in not specifying which attempt to intimidate Indian diplomats he was referring to, seems intentional. It brings both the Canadian government and Khalistan activists in the proverbial line of fire. The Canadian government sought to harass Indian diplomats by seeking to charge them with Nijjar's killing. The Khalistan activists sought to do so by threatening them with physical and mortal harm.

By only mentioning 'cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats' and leaving out the specifics, the Indian prime minister has implied that in India's view, the Canadian government's acts and Khalistan activists' shenanigans are one and the same problem.

Once that is implied, the Brampton temple attack is also linked to the Canadian government, since it was carried out by a group nurtured and protected by the Canadian government and one which has infiltrated all levels of it.