Sikh men question India’s reasons for denying them visas at consulate protest

VANCOUVER DESI

Two Sikh men have started a protest outside the Indian Consulate in Vancouver, B.C. Submitted photo

At least two Sikhs have started a protest outside the Indian Consulate in Vancouver to draw attention towards the alleged harassment of activists supporting Khalistan — an imaginary separate Sikh homeland — at the hands of the authorities at the Indian embassies.

Seen in the photo at right are Manmohan Singh and Avtar Singh Sandhu, who claim that Indian authorities continue to deny them visas to visit their home country.

Singh is a former spokesman of the now banned terrorist group the International Sikh Youth Federation that supported Khalistan. Singh claims that he had deserted the group long before it was banned in Canada and has visited India twice, in 2009 and 2011.

He alleges that the Indian government has denied him a visa this year without assigning any reason.

The Indian government maintains an alleged blacklist of the Sikh separatists active in Canada.

Tags: Indian Consulate, Khalistan, Sikh homeland