Milkman’s son, assassin’s target: Family of Sikh activist killed in Canada speaks

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Bhar Singh Pura, Punjab: There are two kinds of people in Bhar Singh Pura. Those who are too scared to talk about the alleged terrorist who grew up in this village in northern India and died at the hands of an assassin in Canada, and those who are determined to defend a man who they believe has done nothing wrong.

At the centre of it all is Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a milkman’s son who became the leader of a fringe Sikh independence movement before he was shot dead outside a temple in his adopted home country in June.

Sikh man Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in Canada.Credit: Sikh man Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in Canada.

The 45-year-old’s killing has thrust his family and his village into a diplomatic dispute that has consumed India and Canada, fuelled accusations of terrorism and espionage and driven relations between two of Australia’s most important partners to historic lows.

In Bhar Singh Pura, the fear of reprisals from a growing Hindu nationalist movement has made many residents scared to speak publicly about the man they knew as a boy.

Nijjar’s uncle, Himmat Singh, says he never showed any signs of extremism.

Sikhs gather for a wrestling match in Bhar Singh Pura. Credit: Saurabh Yadav

“Hardeep used to help his dad in his milk business, went to school and worked after that, he was a good kid,” Himmat says.

Himmat sows garlic and then walks home in bare feet. Like many Sikh farmers in this region, the 79-year-old remains poor despite Punjab being known as the bread basket of the country.

The state, along with neighbouring Haryana, supplies up to 70 per cent of the wheat procured by the Indian government to feed 1.4 billion people. Few in Bhar Singh Pura are seeing the benefits of that haul.

“Pyaara Singh [Nijjar’s father] used to collect milk from others in the village and sell it outside, the milk business helped them survive when they were here,” says Dharamvir, 62, who runs a small grocery store and asked to be referred to by his first name only.

Despite being a relatively prosperous region, decades of inequality have fuelled religious division in this region, festering the discontent that has influenced the Sikh independence movement.

Himmat sits on a plastic stool outside his small farmhouse. He uses the Punjabi word “kooto”. It translates to using a mortar and pestle to pound.

“The government works by pounding the minority to loot the votes from the majority,” he says.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s uncle Himmat Singh at home on the farm.Credit: Saurabh Yadav

Differences over religion have always driven tensions between Sikhs and Hindus – particularly the Hindu caste system and the belief in more than one god – but those historical divisions have been exacerbated by rising extremism and nationalism.

Sikh extremist attacks on flights and the 1984 assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi triggered widespread reprisals against Sikhs in the 1980s.

Retired farmer Bhajna Ram claims local police kidnapped and killed Sikhs during the height of tensions, forcing some to flee to other countries. Many of the families from this village, including the Nijjars, went to Canada.

Retired farmer Bhajna Ram in Bhar Singh Pura.Credit: Saurabh Yadav

India’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi last week labelled Canada a “safe haven for terrorists” after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being involved in Nijjar’s murder.

The explosive allegation triggered a series of diplomatic expulsions, and the shutdown of Indian visa services for Canadians while throwing the spotlight on the relatively obscure protest movement that wants to establish Khalistan, an independent state for Sikhs.

Farm labourer Jagir Lal.Credit: Saurabh Yadav

Jagir Lal, 72, still collects grass for fodder from Nijjar’s family land to survive. He has fond memories of the family, which used to feed him roti and curd when he could not feed himself. Lal does not remember Nijjar being involved with any extremist movements while he was in India.

“Nijjar’s father never believed in caste. Our guru has said everyone is equal,” Lal says.

“I don’t know what happened after he left, but he was a very good man when he was here. There was no case against any one of them, nothing that the whole family ever did to harm anyone.”

The Indian government and millions of its supporters have a vastly different view.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks past Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi in September. Credit: AP

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has branded the Sikh separatists terrorists. India has claimed Nijjar was suspected of masterminding a bombing in Punjab and training extremists in Vancouver – allegations Nijjar denied and Canada has not been able to substantiate. The Indian government has denied any role in his murder and has said it would be open to looking at any specific allegations made by Canada.

After three decades of living in British Columbia in Canada, Nijjar’s temple or gurdwara appeared to develop the same caring reputation that his family did in Bhar Singh Pura.

“The gurdwara in Surrey is well known for feeding people. Students and many others eat there every day,” says Balwinder Singh who was in Canada in June when Nijjar was shot.

Dharamvir and his wife Kanwaljit in Bhar Singh Pura. Credit: Saurabh Yadav

“It is the only gurdwara I know that allows people to take away naan home for later.”

But despite the family’s generosity and Nijjar’s campaigns, few in the village or in Canada are convinced Nijjar was killed for a cause – an independent Sikh state – which remains a fringe issue except for a couple of dozen supporters protesting outside Indian consulates around the world.

“No one in our village supports a Khalistan,” says Dharamvir. “I don’t know anyone who supports it.”

Most just want to survive another day.

“The government always tries to silence those who speak for the poor,” says Dharamvir. “People are dying of hunger. Only when our kids went abroad to earn did we have food on our plates. They work 12 hours in foreign countries and send whatever they save here.”

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