India cries foul over Bhagavad Gita Park vandalisation in Canada, city officials dismiss allegations

The police and the civic authorities in Brampton, Canada, dismissed allegations of vandalisation of ‘Shrimad Bhagavad Gita Park’, after the High Commission of India in Ottawa called the incident a ‘hate crime’ and condemned it.

New Delhi’s diplomatic mission in Ottawa tweeted to condemn the incident and call for an investigation into it, even as India’s relations with Canada of late were under stress due to a series of hate crimes. The recent spate of aggressions, targeting icons and shrines related to Hinduism as well as referendums being conducted by “Sikhs for Justice” (SFJ) in the north American country to mobilize support for “Khalistan”.

The latest brouhaha started after a blank sign was seen at the recently unveiled “Shri Bhagavad Gita Park” in Brampton.

“We condemn the hate crime at the Shri Bhagavad Gita Park in Brampton. We urge Canadian authorities & @PeelPolice (Peel Regional Police) investigate and take prompt action on the perpetrators @MEAIndia @cgivancouver @IndiainToronto,” the High Commission of India in Ottawa posted on Twitter.

Vijay Chauthaiwale, who heads the Bharatiya Janata Party’s foreign affairs cell, also tweeted calling the incident as “one more attack on Hindu symbols in Canada”.

The City of Brampton administration, however, later clarified that the “reported blank sign” had been “installed by the builder as a placeholder” until the installation of the permanent Sri Bhagavad Gita Park sign. “We are pleased to learn of this outcome. We thank the community for bringing this to our attention and ensuring Brampton is a safe and inclusive place to call home.”

“Permanent sign is still waiting for the lettering to be applied. There was no evidence of vandalism to the permanent sign or any park structure,” Peel Regional Police tweeted.

The Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown, also tweeted about alleged vandalisation of the “Shri Bhagavad Gita Park”. He tweeted that the city administration had “zero tolerance” to such acts of vandalisation and that it flagged the incident to local police “for further investigation”.

He, however, deleted his tweet later and instead posted the clarification of the city administration about the incident.

Chauthaiwale termed Brown’s post as an “empty tweet”.

India tacitly hit out at Canada for its failure to bring to justice the perpetrators of the recent hate-crimes, sectarian violence and anti-India activities in the north American country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government issued an advisory on September 23 for the students and other citizens of India currently in Canada as well the ones planning to visit the north American country. It advised the students to exercise “due caution and remain vigilant” in view of the “sharp increase” in the incidents of hate-crimes and anti-India activities in Canada.

The Modi government’s move came after the recent vandalization of the Swaminarayan Temple and the Vishnu Temple in Toronto. The slogans like “Khalistan Zindabad” and “Hindustan Murdabad” were spray-painted on the walls of the shrines.

Ottawa already retaliated to New Delhi’s September 23 advisory. It updated its own advisory for the citizens of Canada, asking them to avoid travelling to territories within 10 km of India’s border with Pakistan, citing the “presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance” in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab. Canada also asked its citizens staying in India or travelling to India to “exercise a high degree of caution” due to the “threat of terrorist attacks throughout the country”.

New Delhi had also asked Ottawa to stop the SFJ from holding the referendum on Khalistan in Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, however, declined to do so, pointing out that any organization had the right to peacefully and democratically express its opinion in a democracy. The SFJ, known for its stand on secession of Khalistan from India, went ahead and held the referendum in Brampton on September 18.

The SFJ is now planning to hold the second round of referendums on the issue of ‘Khalistan’ in Toronto on October 6.

New Delhi, however, conveyed to the Trudeau government that if it allowed the SFJ or similar organisations to continue to hold such anti-India activities in Canada, it might cast a shadow over the bilateral relations between the two nations, sources told DH.

The Sikhs and the Hindus constitute for 1.4 and 1.7 per cent, respectively, of the total population of Canada and most of them have family roots in India. Brampton, however, has Catholics, Sikhs and Hindus accounting for about 35, 11 and 6 per cent, respectively, of the local demographic.