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India calls out 'hate crime' as Bhagavad Gita Park sign 'vandalised', Canada says false alarm

Amrutha PagadOctober 3, 2022 | 09:53 IST

India condemned an alleged vandalisation of a park sign in Canada and called it a 'hate crime'. The Indian High Commission in Canada called out the alleged incident in a tweet, saying that a Bhagavad Gita park sign in Canada was vandalised.

The park, which was previously called Troyers Park, was renamed Shri Bhagavad Gita Park and unveiled on September 28. 

What happened? On October 2, 2022, news broke of a "Bhagavat Gita" park sign in Brampton, Canada, allegedly being vandalised. Patrick Brown, the Mayor of Brampton confirmed the incident in a now-deleted tweet, saying, "We have zero tolerance for hate and vandalism like this."

We have zero tolerance for hate and vandalism like this.
- Patrick Brown
  • An investigation was launched to look into the incident. 

What did the investigation find out? It turned out to be a false alarm. The Peel Regional Police updated that there was no evidence of vandalism, and that the sign was a temporary one that was moved. A permanent sign is still waiting to be lettered, according to the police. 

  • Brown also shared an updated statement which read: "We learned that the reported blank sign was installed by the builder as a placeholder until the permanent Shri Bhagavad Gita Park sign can be replaced tomorrow (October 3)."
We learned that the reported blank sign was installed by the builder as a placeholder until the permanent Shri Bhagavad Gita Park sign can be replaced tomorrow (October 3).
- Brampton Parks Department
  • Apparently, the sign in question was damaged during the installation and it was moved by a staff member for an "unplanned maintenance". 
  • The Indian High Commission in Ottawa is yet to update its response on the incident. 

Context: The Indian embassy's reaction and the misunderstanding came at a time when a rising number of racist attacks targetted at Indians are being reported in Canada as well as in the neighbouring US. 

  • In fact, India recently issued a travel advisory warning of rising hate crimes against Indians in Canada and asked immigrants to remain vigilant. 

  • What's more bizarre is that just days after India issued the advisory, Canada also warned its citizens against travelling to Indian states bordering Pakistan, like Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat. It claimed that there is a threat of landmines and terrorist attacks in the regions 10 km from the border. 
  • It seems to signal that diplomatic tensions are rising between India and Canada. 
  • It needs to be noted that India's travel advisory came days after reports said that a "Khalistan referendum" was being held in Canada. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said they object to such "politically motivated exercises by extremist elements" being allowed to take place in a friendly country. 
  • The Khalistan referendum aims to establish a consensus among Sikh communities across the world to fuel separatist activities in Punjab to make it a separate country. A referendum was held in Canada on September 19. 

Rising hate crimes: Over the past few months, several incidents of racially-fuelled attacks on Indians have been reported in Canada. While some attacks have been fuelled against Indians at large, there are others cropping up which seemed to be targetted mostly at "Hindu" Indian immigrants. 

  • September 15: A Swaminarayan Temple in Toronto was vandalised and pro-Khalistan graffiti was sprayed.
  • August 12: An Indian-origin Punjabi woman and radio host was attacked in Brampton with axes. 
  • July 14: Mahatma Gandhi's statue was defaced at a Hindu temple in Canada.
  • April 13: A 21-year-old Indian student was shot multiple times outside a subway station in Toronto. 

Similar incidents have also been reported in the US.

Last updated: October 03, 2022 | 10:46
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