Canadian city bans protests outside places of worship after Hindu temple attack

Weeks after pro-Khalistan protestors targeted a consular event outside the Hindu Sabha temple in Canada, Brampton city council passed a bylaw, placing a ban on protests outside places of worship.

The motion moved by Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown was unanimously passed by the city council. Earlier, Brown had raised concerns regarding the surge in sectarian violence in the city.

The newly approved bylaw establishes a 100-meter safety zone around all places of worship, aiming to address recent clashes in the community.

Violations of the safety zone will result in hefty municipal fines.

On November 4, a pro-Khalistani group protesting near the Hindu temple to observe the 40th anniversary of the 1984 Sikh riots attacked several Hindu devotees as tensions escalated into violence. India strongly responded to the incident, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticising the “deliberate attack” and “cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats.” The incident also attracted widespread international criticism directed at Canada and a series of protests in the area.

The Canadian Police have arrested four people in connection with the incident, including Inderjeet Gosal, a top operative of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), an outfit banned in India.

Gosal is SFJ’s coordinator for the North American country and was an aide of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The attack on the Hindu Sabha temple added a new stress point to the already strained relations between India and Canada as Ottawa repeatedly rejected New Delhi’s calls for strict action against Khalistani extremists in Canada. Instead, it accused India of attacking Khalistani individuals within its borders, leading to a massive diplomatic standoff.