Bishnoi terror designation insufficient to curb India's ongoing threat to the Sikh community

(Ottawa, ON: 14 Assu, Nanakshahi 557 | September 29, 2025 CE) – In the backdrop of the Canadian government's ongoing efforts to normalize relations with India, today's announcement to designate the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity is an insufficient step to curb India's ongoing threats to the Sikh community.

Sikhs across Canada are deeply concerned and frustrated following confirmation that Dinesh Patnaik has assumed duties in Ottawa as India’s High Commissioner to Canada, while Minister Anand prepares for an official visit to India. In the absence of public accountability for the Indian government's documented acts of violence in Canada, restoring full diplomatic restoration without any consequences for the Indian officials responsible for violence undermines trust and public safety.

According to government officials, the Bishnoi gang was not acting independently; it was being directed by senior members of the Government of India. The proscription of this one criminal organization does not address India's violent targeting of Sikhs in Canada, nor does it stop Indian officials from hiring an alternative gang in the future.

Canadian authorities have publicly alleged that operatives in Indian consulates clandestinely gathered intelligence on Sikh Canadians, which was then passed up to India’s Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah and circulated to the Bishnoi gang for intimidation, extortion, and violence. Threat warnings to Sikh community members remain ongoing.

Treating this breach of diplomatic norms as an historical footnote without transparency, accountability, or safeguards raises serious questions about the Government of Canada’s priorities. The Canadian government's actions are an invitation to impunity, and the proscription of the Bishnoi gang is an insufficient symbolic gesture that does not meaningfully exact consequences on the government officials who orchestrated violence.

The promotion of Parag Jain to lead the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) earlier this year further signals continuity and escalation of India's policy of transnational repression as it rewards officials believed to be directly involved in these activities. Public reporting based on Canadian intelligence documents, including a 2019 NSICOP briefing, has indicated that Jain was one of two Indian officials operating under diplomatic cover in Canada when CSIS detected “an increase in the volume” of Indian intelligence activity targeting Sikh diaspora communities and Canadian institutions between 2016-2018.

National Spokesperson for the Sikh Federation (Canada), Moninder Singh, stated:

“The Government must outline what steps it has taken to ensure that Indian officials are held responsible for their crimes and do not take part in any future violent attacks, other forms of transnational repression and intimidation, or foreign interference in Canadian policy-making or political processes. The designation of the Bishnoi gang will have little impact on its own and remain a meaningless gesture until the Indian government officials responsible for orchestrating widespread violence in Canada are held to account.”

For media inquiries, please contact: info@sikhfederation.ca.

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