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Bhar Singh Pura, Punjab<\/b>: 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.<\/p>\n
At the centre of it all is Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a milkman\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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Sikh man Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in Canada.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Sikh man Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in Canada.<\/cite><\/p>\n The 45-year-old\u2019s 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\u2019s most important partners to historic lows.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Nijjar\u2019s uncle, Himmat Singh, says he never showed any signs of extremism.<\/p>\n Sikhs gather for a wrestling match in Bhar Singh Pura. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Saurabh Yadav<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cHardeep used to help his dad in his milk business, went to school and worked after that, he was a good kid,\u201d Himmat says.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cPyaara Singh [Nijjar\u2019s father] used to collect milk from others in the village and sell it outside, the milk business helped them survive when they were here,\u201d says Dharamvir, 62, who runs a small grocery store and asked to be referred to by his first name only.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Himmat sits on a plastic stool outside his small farmhouse. He uses the Punjabi word \u201ckooto\u201d. It translates to using a mortar and pestle to pound.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government works by pounding the minority to loot the votes from the majority,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Hardeep Singh Nijjar\u2019s uncle Himmat Singh at home on the farm.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Saurabh Yadav<\/cite><\/p>\n Differences over religion have always driven tensions between Sikhs and Hindus \u2013 particularly the Hindu caste system and the belief in more than one god \u2013 but those historical divisions have been exacerbated by rising extremism and nationalism.<\/p>\n Sikh extremist attacks on flights and the 1984 assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi triggered widespread reprisals against Sikhs in the 1980s.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Retired farmer Bhajna Ram in Bhar Singh Pura.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Saurabh Yadav<\/cite><\/p>\n India\u2019s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi last week labelled Canada a \u201csafe haven for terrorists\u201d after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being involved in Nijjar\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Farm labourer Jagir Lal.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Saurabh Yadav<\/cite><\/p>\n Jagir Lal, 72, still collects grass for fodder from Nijjar\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cNijjar\u2019s father never believed in caste. Our guru has said everyone is equal,\u201d Lal says.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The Indian government and millions of its supporters have a vastly different view.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks past Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi in September. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n 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 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n After three decades of living in British Columbia in Canada, Nijjar\u2019s temple or gurdwara appeared to develop the same caring reputation that his family did in Bhar Singh Pura.<\/p>\n \u201cThe gurdwara in Surrey is well known for feeding people. Students and many others eat there every day,\u201d says Balwinder Singh who was in Canada in June when Nijjar was shot.<\/p>\n Dharamvir and his wife Kanwaljit in Bhar Singh Pura. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Saurabh Yadav<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cIt is the only gurdwara I know that allows people to take away naan home for later.\u201d <\/p>\n But despite the family\u2019s generosity and Nijjar\u2019s campaigns, few in the village or in Canada are convinced Nijjar was killed for a cause \u2013 an independent Sikh state \u2013 which remains a fringe issue except for a couple of dozen supporters protesting outside Indian consulates around the world.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one in our village supports a Khalistan,\u201d says Dharamvir. \u201cI don\u2019t know anyone who supports it.\u201d<\/p>\n Most just want to survive another day.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government always tries to silence those who speak for the poor,\u201d says Dharamvir. \u201cPeople 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Get a note directly from our foreign <\/i><\/b>correspondents <\/i><\/b>on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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