After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s unprecedented and explosive allegation that the Indian government had a hand in the June killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canada found itself at the centre of a geopolitical rift that has affected other international players with ties to India.
India has denied Trudeau’s allegations and since branded Canada a “safe haven for terrorists, extremists” and “anti-India activities.” It also accused Nijjar, who actively supported the push for an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region of India called Khalistan, of leading a militant separatist group. His supporters reject this claim.
Meanwhile, Canada’s allies in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, are weighing their next moves as the political fallout from Trudeau’s accusation continues.
The history of tensions surrounding the Khalistan movement in India and abroad goes back decades, but experts say Canada is seen as the country where the movement is the strongest, and as a result, has drawn sharp criticisms from India, especially in the face of Trudeau’s allegations that India was involved in Nijjar’s killing.
What is Khalistan? A look at the movement for an independent Sikh state
Featured VideoSome Sikhs have historically been seeking an independent Sikh homeland in northern India called Khalistan. Experts say the history of the movement is complex, emotional and evolving.
No consensus among Sikhs on independence
India raising concerns about what it calls “Sikh extremism” isn’t new, and neither is Canada’s response.
In 2012, India’s foreign minister raised the issue of “the revival of anti-India rhetoric in Canada” with then Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who was visiting the country. While Harper said Canada was a supporter of a united India, he refused to silence peaceful pro-Khalistan discourse.
“We can’t interfere with the right of political freedom of expression,” Harper said, noting that the movement was marginal within the Indian diaspora in Canada.
Trudeau echoed Harper’s response when he was questioned about the presence of Sikh Khalistani militants in Canada at the G20 in New Delhi last month.
Trudeau walks past Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sept. 9 at the G20 summit in New Delhi, where he was questioned about Sikh Khalistani militants in Canada. He said Canada would ‘prevent violence and push back against hatred,’ but noted the actions of a few don’t represent the entire Sikh community. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
“We are always there to prevent violence and push back against hatred,” the prime minister said. But he also noted that the actions of a few do not represent the entire Sikh community in Canada.
Canada has the largest Sikh population outside of India, with about 770,000 people, or about 2.1 per cent of the country’s population. In other Five Eyes countries, Sikhs constitute less than one per cent of the population.
While Canada may have a comparatively large Sikh population, there’s no consensus within the community on the need for an independent Sikh state, according to Baljit Nagra, an associate professor of criminology specializing in race relations at the University of Ottawa.
“There is only a small portion of the community that supports Khalistan,” she said.
That support began growing in the 1980s following deadly anti-Sikh riots in India. That helped spur closer connections between the Khalistan movement in India and Canada, according to Satwinder Bains, the director of the South Asian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley in B.C.
Bains says Canada’s focus on multiculturalism rather than assimilation has allowed Sikhs who immigrate here to retain their culture and maintain close ties to relatives and political movements back home, even during times of strife and unrest.
Canada’s connection to the Khalistan movement
Featured VideoThe National breaks down Canada’s connection to the movement calling for an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan and how it contributed to tensions between Canada and India even before Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed. Plus, CBC’s Salimah Shivji explains how the Khalistan movement resonates in India.
In the case of Sikh separatism, that has, at times, included sending money back home to support more militant arms of the Khalistan movement, she says.
Canadian Sikhs are also active in Canadian politics and have promoted their causes on the national political stage. That has sometimes helped elevate certain causes that India would prefer to ignore.
For instance, federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who is Sikh, spent much of his early political career as an MP in Ontario lobbying the province to recognize India’s 1984 anti-Sikh riots as an act of genocide.
A motion condemning the riots as a genocide was passed in Ontario in 2017. In 2018, Singh, who had by then become the federal NDP leader, said the same should be done at the federal level. The federal government has so far not done this.
Khalistan supporters stomp on a cardboard cutout of Modi during a protest at the Consulate General of India in Toronto last month. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
India concerned about violent symbolism
During a recent visit to Washington, D.C., Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said violent acts by Sikh separatists have been “normalized in Canada in the name of freedom of speech.”
“We don’t think freedom of speech extends to incitement of violence, that’s a misuse of freedom; it’s not a defence of freedom,” he said.
Neilesh Bose, an associate professor of history at the University of Victoria, says India takes issue with the violent symbolism sometimes displayed by those in the separatist movement. For example, India’s foreign minister criticized Canada over a float in a June parade in Brampton, Ont., that portrayed the 1984 assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards.
There have also been multiple protests outside Indian consulates in Canada this year that saw demonstrators burn Indian flags and stomp on cardboard cutouts of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Neilesh Bose, a South Asian history professor at the University of Victoria, says if Canada could address the extremism India sees as a threat, it could help calm India’s fears. (Submitted by Neilesh Bose)
”I think the threat posed to India is often exaggerated,” Bose said, “but India holds reasons to view the movement the way it does, especially given the longer history of the Khalistani movement and events such as the Air India bombing of 1985.”
Attempts within the Sikh diaspora to push for independence have been made through more legitimate channels such as referendums.
The pro-Khalistan organization Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which India has designated a terrorist group, has organized multiple unofficial referendums in Canada and other countries asking if an independent Sikh homeland should be created in northern India.
The group says it intends to bring results to the United Nations to garner support for Sikh self-determination.
Though some experts say the referendums won’t ultimately result in any meaningful change, Rupinder K. Liddar, a PhD candidate in political science at McGill University in Montreal, says they’re a way to express political opinion and keep those in the Sikh separatist movement engaged.
Having an outlet for such opinions, even if it’s outside India, is seen as particularly important because, as many experts have noted, since Modi became prime minister in 2014, his government has tried to silence political dissent in general.
“There’s finally a place in which they feel safe to express their political opinions, which is not necessarily the case in Punjab,” Liddar said.
Reluctance to upset India
Though Canada’s Five Eyes allies say they’ve urged India to co-operate in the investigation into Nijjar’s death, the allegations come at a sensitive time in the world, when many countries don’t want to risk alienating India.
To that end, all of the other Five Eyes countries have been quicker than Canada to make public statements about keeping anti-Indian sentiments in check.
In July, an attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco, including an arson attempt, prompted the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans to denounce it as a criminal offence.
Modi welcomes British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to the G20 summit on Sept. 9. According to Sunak, his government is working very closely with India’s to tackle what he calls ‘pro-Khalistani extremism’ in the U.K. (Getty Images)
During his visit to the G20 summit in India last month, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was working closely with the Indian government to tackle “pro-Khalistani extremism.”
To Liddar, such responses demonstrate that Western democracies are wary of damaging their valuable economic and geopolitical relationships with India.
“Part of speaking for or not speaking for this issue is being framed as supporting and not supporting the Indian government,” she said.
The University of Victoria’s Bose says that if Canada can continue its investigation into Nijjar’s killing while also opposing any elements of extremism India sees as a threat, “it would go a long way” to calm India’s fears.
“I think India might change their attitude,” he said.
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
NEW YORK (AP) — When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that’s often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room.
It can get to be too much. Often, she’ll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company.
While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts.
Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don’t want to hear the rhetoric,” she said.
The 54-year-old Democrat said she’s most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn’t really happen.
“I feel like I’m being gaslit. That’s the way to put it,” she said.
Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’
Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.
Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment.
“It’s good to know what’s going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it’s a conversation piece everywhere, and it’s hard to escape it.”
Media fatigue isn’t a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news.
But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs.
It’s easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation.
“There’s a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.”
Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media
In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found.
White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found.
Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to National Public Radio in the morning at home in Logan, Utah. Too much politics, particularly when he’s on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, can trigger anxiety and depression.
“If it pops up on my page when I’m on social media,” he said, “I’ll just scroll past it.”
___
Sanders reported from Washington. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
The AP poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29-August 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
