NEW DELHI: Instances of vandalism of Hindu temples and graffiti depicting anti-India and pro-Khalistani slogans have left people worried.
"Our temple was vandalised in the middle of the night with the possible intent of creating a rift amongst communities. It is not a good idea to use a religious place for such sloganeering," Pandit Dhirendra Tripathi, the head priest of Gauri Shankar Temple in Brampton, a suburb of Toronto, told TNIE.
The temple was vandalised on January 30th. Though the police are on the lookout for the culprits, Pandit Tripathi says that this is the first such instance reported since the temple was made in 2009.
"Nearly 25 per cent of the devotees who visit this temple are Sikhs and they haven’t stopped coming. We are doing our best to ensure that people aren’t instigated further and keep their tempers down. It is alright to protest but hate crimes are not acceptable," the Pandit added.
People familiar with the case point out that there is a fringe element that wants to keep the Khalistan agenda alive, though most of the Sikh community in Canada does not support it.
"Young men with little education who make it to Canada are the ones who are brainwashed and lured into indulging in such activities. We would like the Canadian government to follow stringent immigration laws to ensure that only those who are qualified are allowed in the country,’’ said an Indian immigrant living in Toronto.
A robbery was reported from the same temple last year and the two boys were apprehended later.
"We don’t prefer to have much of policing around the temple – even after this act of vandalism – as that would deter devotees from visiting the temple. We have the officials and a major part of the diaspora on our side and hope this is the last episode of vandalism and better sense prevails,’’ Pandit Tripathi added.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Foreign Minister condemned the vandalism.
"We reaffirm the Canadian Foreign Ministers' condemnation of the incident and we are critical of such incidents," noted the Ministry of External Affairs.