Hindu temple defaced with anti-India grafitti in Canada

A Hindu temple in Alberta’s capital Edmonton was vandalised with “hateful graffiti” on Tuesday, 23 July. This incident adds to the series of attacks that have happened recently on Hindu establishments in Canada.

Canadian MP Chandra Arya took to X to express his concern over BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir that was defaced.

He wrote: “During the last few years, Hindu temples in Greater Toronto Area, British Columbia and other places in Canada are being vandalised with hateful graffiti.”

Drawing attention to the extremist elements instigating such incidents, the Liberal MP, known for his advocacy on multicultural issues, highlighted that “Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of Sikhs for Justice in 2023 publicly called for Hindus to go back to India. Khalistan supporters publicly celebrated in Brampton and Vancouver the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, brandishing images of deadly weapons.”

“As I have always been saying, Khalistani extremists seem to get away with ease with their public rhetoric of hate and violence,” he asserted, adding: “Again, let me put on record. Hindu-Canadians are legitimately concerned.”

With a picture of the defaced temple wall, he concluded his post by urging: “Like a broken record, I again call on Canadian law enforcement agencies to take this issue seriously before these rhetorics get translated into physical action against Hindu-Canadians.”

In November 2023, Canada-India Foundation, an advocacy body, had asked politicians in the country to break their silence and rein in radicals before it got too late. However, Canadian politicians and media ignored the threat.

In response to the situation, they had expressed in an open letter: “We are even more disappointed that our political leaders have maintained a total silence on this grave issue. This selective approach to dealing with terrorism and threats will not make this world a safe place.”

In recent times, vandalised Hindu temples include Ram Mandir in Mississauga, Vishnu Mandir in Richmond Hill, BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Toronto, Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey.

These attacks are viewed as attacks on the freedom of religion and are perceived as a dangerous trend. The advocacy body also highlighted that the extremists have started to even target ordinary Hindus, telling them to leave Canada.