Hindu Temple defaced in California; Extortion threats in Canada; and Pannun calls for shutdown of Ayodhya Airport ahead of Ram Temple consecration
Our Bureau
New York, NY
In yet another shocking incident, the Sherawali temple in California’s Hayward has been defaced with pro-Khalistan graffiti. The incident came to light weeks after the Swaminarayan temple in California’s Newark was also defaced with anti-India graffiti.
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) in a post on X shared a photo of the defacement. “Another Bay Area Hindu temple attacked with pro-Khalistan graffiti. The Vijay’s Sherawali Temple in Hayward, CA sustained a copycat defacement just two weeks after the Swaminarayan Mandir attack and one week after a theft at the Shiv Durga temple in the same area. HAF is in touch with temple leaders and in contact with the police,” HAF said in the post.
The HAF highlighted the importance of installing security cameras and alarm systems, considering the rising threat to the temples. “We condemn the vandalism of Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu Temple in California. We welcome efforts by the Newark Police Department to ensure that those responsible are held accountable,” the official handle of the US State Department for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs wrote on X.
“One of the devotees, who lives close to the shrine, discovered anti-Hindu and anti-India graffiti in black ink on an exterior wall of the building, and the local administration was immediately informed,” said Bhargav Raval, the spokesperson for the temple administration.
“As you know, we are concerned about this. Extremists and separatist forces outside India should not get space. Our consulate has lodged a complaint with the (US) government and the police there over whatever happened, and I believe the matter is being inquired,” Jaishankar said in response to a query about the incident.
Meanwhile, Newark police termed the incident a ‘targeted act’ and assured a thorough investigation.
Meanwhile, in Canada, leaders of the Hindu community in Surrey will hold a public forum over the “current law and order situation” in the Lower Mainland, as reported by Global News. The event is organized by the Vedic Hindu Cultural Society of British Columbia, after warnings by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of an extortion racket threatening local business owners.
On December 27, the house of the society’s president’s son was targeted. Although Satish Kumar’s son was not injured in the incident, bullet holes hit his property in the Newton area. Kumar, a business owner and president of the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir temple, said, “The community is very scared right now.”
“A lot of people got phone calls and letters…I heard some people gave them the money too,” he was cited as saying according to a Global News report.
The Metro Vancouver business owner said the incident had rattled him and he is calling for attendance at the forum in Surrey. He said, “My children are afraid, my mom and dad are very afraid, you know, they don’t want me leaving the house.” He said the recent arrests announced by Surrey RCMP did not offer much comfort.
The police is dealing with similar investigations of extortion schemes targeting business owners in South Asian communities in at least three provinces. According to tactic investigators, these schemes are commonly used by organized crime groups in the Punjab region.
In early December 2023, police in British Columbia’s Abbotsford revealed that extortion letters had been circulating among businesses in the city and that its major crime unit was looking into the matter.
Other police agencies are now involved in a multi-jurisdictional investigation in British Columbia. According to the police, similar extortion schemes were being investigated in Ontario and Alberta.
The unsettling turn of events prompted India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, to express grave concern about the safety of the Indian community in Canada.
Back in the US, Ahead of the Consecration of the Ram Temple In Ayodhya, Khalistan leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun called for shut down of airports from Amritsar to Ayodhya during the Ram Temple Pran Pratishtha ceremony. The Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) group chief also exhorted Muslims in the country to ‘oppose the ceremony and urged them to carve out ‘Urduistan’ from India.’
“From Amritsar to Ayodhya, shut down airports. Now is the time, Muslims, you carve out a country Urduistan from India,” Pannun said in a fresh video message released on Monday.
Threatening that the ceremony is going to have a “global consequence”, Pannun said, “Every Muslim must protest”. Pannun’s threats come as preparations for the Ram Mandir’s Pran Pratishtha’ in Ayodhya are in full swing with over one lakh devotees expected to be in the city for the event, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The newly-inaugurated Maharishi Valmiki International Airport in Ayodhya has already received more than 40 requests for landing chartered flights for the mega-religious event.
Pannun was declared a designated terrorist in 2020 by India under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He is wanted in nearly two dozen cases, including some of terrorism and sedition in India.
