Hindu-Sikh unity movement to spread across Canada, US in 2025

The United Sikhs and Hindus Association of North America was formed on December 21 following a meeting at the historic Ross Street gurdwara in Vancouver, run by the Khalsa Diwan Society (KDS). The core committee of the Association met on December 28 at the gurdwara and resolved to expand the initiative beyond the province of British Columbia.

“We have received lots of calls, people want us to open branches Canadawide and in the US,” the Association’s recording secretary Joginder Sunner told the Hindustan Times.

“We have received a lot of encouragement and lots of people want to be involved,” he added.

The core committee, he said, has been broadened from the original 22 members to 25, with two Hindu temples and a gurdwara joining.

He said while there have been attacks upon them condemning the project as “anti-Khalistan”, they will proceed with the ambitious plan in 2025. “We will ignore the threats and work for unity,” Sunner said.

Among the places that are being targeted for expansion are the cities of Edmonton and Calgary in Alberta, the Greater Toronto Area and California in the US.

The Association is currently working on a constitution.

The meeting on Saturday began with the observance of a minute of silence as a mark of respect for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who passed away on December 26.

The initiative came as attempts were made to create a divide between the communities and tension prevailed following the violent attack by pro-Khalistan radicals on the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton on November 3.

Among the resolutions passed at the meeting when the Association was formed was that Hindu-Sikh unity would be maintained and that no protests should be allowed within the vicinity of a gurdwara or temple.

Former KDS president Kashmir Singh Dhaliwal was selected as chair of the core committee that will coordinate efforts in this regard. Dhaliwal told the Hindustan Times, “We want peace. We will condemn terrorism, whether it’s by Khalistanis or even Hindus creating a problem in the future.”

The meeting came after nearly 45 days of planning and discussion between the societies that enlisted. It was precipitated by the protests by pro-Khalistan groups outside places of worship that were hosting consular camps organized by Indian missions to Canada, this November.

KDS Vancouver sought and received an injunction against protests within 50 metre of the gurdwara, before it hosted a camp on November 16. Later in the month, the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Toronto emulated their example and obtained a similar court order as it hosted a camp on November 30.