Motion to declare 1984 anti-Sikh violence as genocide dismissed in Canadian Parliament

The MP warned user that the Khalistani lobby will yet again try to push for Parliament to label the 1984 riots as genocide.

A motion to declare the 1984 anti-Sikh violence as genocide was rejected by the Canadian Parliament after it faced stiff objection from lawmakers like Chandra Arya who alleged that a "politically driven Khalistani lobby" was behind this attempt.

The motion was introduced by Sukh Dhaliwal who took to social media after the dismissal of his motion to say: "Today, I introduced a unanimous consent motion in Parliament to recognize the crimes committed against Sikhs in India during and after 1984 as genocide. Sadly, some Conservative MPs and one Liberal MP opposed it."

Today, the Member of Parliament from Surrey-Newton attempted to have the Parliament declare the 1984 riots in India against Sikhs as a genocide," Arya wrote in a post on X where he shared that he was the only member in the House to say no to the motion, and since a unanimous consent was sought from all Members in the House of Commons, the motion did not pass.

The MP claimed that immediately after his veto, he was threatened inside the Parliament.

"There have been several attempts, both within the parliament and outside, to stop me from freely and publicly voicing the concerns of Hindu-Canadians," he wrote.

The MP warned that the Khalistani lobby will yet again try to push for Parliament to label the 1984 riots as genocide. Warning all Hindu-Canadians that he might not be in the House the next time such a motion is heard, Arya urged them to reach out to their local MPs and secure their commitment to oppose this motion whenever it arises.

"The 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India, which followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, were undeniably barbaric. Thousands of innocent Sikhs lost their lives in those horrific events, and we all condemn this brutality without reservation. However, labeling these tragic and dreadful riots as a genocide is misleading and unjustified," he wrote, adding that such an assertion will fuel the agenda of anti-Hindu forces and risks driving a wedge between the Hindu and Sikh communities in Canada.

"The only way to prevent Canada’s Parliament from declaring the 1984 riots as genocide is by ensuring that every MP—or at least a significant number of MPs—stand up and say NO when unanimous consent is sought," he said.

Meanwhile, the New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh, who has for long sought for the Sikh riots to be termed as a genocide, revealed his dismay at the motion being shunned in the Parliament in a post on X.

"Today, in the Foreign Affairs Committee the Liberals and Conservatives teamed up to block a motion to recognize the Sikh Genocide. They’ve known about this for months. They could have spent the time to listen to the concerns of the community. Instead, they turned their backs on justice" he wrote on X.

Sukh Dhaliwal, who introduced the motion in the first place, also took to social media to say, "Today, I introduced a unanimous consent motion in Parliament to recognize the crimes committed against Sikhs in India during and after 1984 as genocide. Sadly, some Conservative MPs and one Liberal MP opposed it."