A Hindu temple in Canada's Mississauga city was vandalized with anti-India graffiti, drawing strong condemnation from the Indian community and the government.
Canada has seen a surge of anti-India hate attacks in recent years, even as New Delhi points out that the North American nation has become a safe haven for separatist Khalistani activists and pro-Pakistan groups that run overt anti-India campaigns.
Recurring Attacks
In January, a Hindu temple in Australia's Victoria, the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, was attacked by Khalistan supporters and was vandalized with anti-India graffiti. Earlier, the walls of the of a Gauri Shankar Temple in Brampton were was defaced with offensive graffiti.
Serial vandalizing of places of worship has left the Indian community in Canada in a state of shock, the leaders say.
"We strongly condemn the defacing of Ram Mandir in Mississauga with anti-India graffiti. We have requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action on perpetrators," the Consulate General of India in Toronto said following the attack.
Condemnation
Meanwhile, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said unknown suspects were behind the attack. "I am saddened to hear of the hate motivated vandalism at the Ram Mandir Temple in Mississauga. Unknown suspects spray painted the walls on the back of the temple. This type of hate has no place in Peel Region," he said, according to IANS news agency.
In the attack that happened in January, the temple walls were painted with anti-India slogans. The graffiti painted on the wall also praised late Sikh separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who India terms a terrorist. Bhindranwale and his armed supporters, who were wanted for crimes related to terrorism, were taken down in a military operation in 1984 at the Golden Temple in Amrtisar, where they were hauled up. Separatist Sikhs mainly operating from Canada, Australia and the UK hold Bhindranwale as a martyr.
"The attack on Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton is the latest in attacks on Hindu temples in Canada by anti-Hindu and anti-India groups. From hatred on social media, now physical attacks on Hindu temples, what next?" asked Indo-Canadian parliamentarian Chandra Arya.
