Reflections | Like kidnap of Sun Yat-sen in 1890s London, murder of a Sikh separatist and attempt to kill another in North America elevates their cause

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was murdered in Canada, while an attempt to kill another Sikh separatist activist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, on US soil has been foiled

The attacks’ unintended effect has been to draw attention to the activists’ cause, just as his 1896 kidnap raised Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen’s profile

Reading Time:3 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Members of Pakistan’s Sikh community shout slogans as they hold banners during a protest to condemn the killing of a Sikh separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada. Ottawa concluded that Indian agents played a role in the June killing near Vancouver of a Sikh separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Photo: AFP

Wee Kek Koon

Published: 7:45am, 1 Dec 2023

The Financial Times reported last week that the United States had foiled an attempt to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil. On November 29 the Justice Department said an Indian national had been charged with plotting to assassinate Pannun, and alleged an Indian government official was also involved in the planning. The US government has raised concerns with New Delhi.

This came several months after the Canadian government claimed that there was “credible” intelligence that links Indian agents to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

Pannun is a prominent Sikh activist who campaigns for a Sikh nation independent from India, as was Nijjar, who was found dead with gunshot wounds in Surrey, British Columbia in June this year. The Indian government denies any involvement in the attempt on Pannun’s life and Nijjar’s murder.

Indian officials expressed “surprise and concern” at the accusations, saying that extraterritorial assassinations were “not their policy”.

Hindus protest in India after Canada blamed Delhi for the killing of Sikh separatist activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver. The man in the centre holds a photograph of another Sikh separatist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The US later foiled an attempt to kill him, and also linked the crime to Delhi. Photo: AFP

The masterminds behind the two incidents may eventually come to light. Or they may not, like the infamous kidnapping of Sun Yat-sen in London 127 years ago.