India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday expressed grave concern over an attack on a Hindu temple in Brampton, Canada, terming the incident as “deeply concerning.” Speaking in Canberra during the official visit, Jaishankar condemned the violence and called for accountability.
“What happened yesterday at the Hindu temple in Canada was deeply concerning,” Jaishankar said, according to news agency Reuters. He also criticized how Canada handled allegations against India, saying there is a pattern of accusations lacking concrete evidence. “Canada has developed a pattern of making allegations without providing specifics,” he said.
The minister hinted that some diplomatic tension between India and Canada was due to some aspects of Canada’s tolerance toward extremist activities. “The political space today is being given to extremist forces in Canada,” Jaishankar added.
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs had condemned this violence by extremists and separatists, mentioning that those who indulge in such violence would be brought to justice as well. Canadian leaders are said to have heavily criticized the attack, labeling the act as “unacceptable.” No group was named at that time. In recent days, Canadian MP Chandra Arya, reacting to the violence, also attacked it, saying Khalistanis had crossed the line in their actions.
The attack took place on November 3 in the Hindu Sabha temple of Brampton when devotees were there. After this incident, the Hindu Canadian Foundation-an organization representing the Hindu community in Canada-shared a video that showed the violence where it said women and children had been targeted as well.
We condemn the act of violence outside the Hindu Sabha Mandir. In our community, violence and intimidation do not have space, OSGC released a statement.
This attack is part of a disturbing trend of religious intolerance in Canada, but it is not the first incident of this kind seen in recent times. For example, in July, a Hindu BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir was vandalized with hateful graffiti targeted at India and Hindus, which further pointed to the challenges that religious communities face in the country.
