Sikh activist receives police ‘duty to warn’ letter, questioning Canada-India rapprochement
Sikh campaigner Inderjeet Singh Gosal was served a police duty-to-warn notice of a death threat, casting doubt on Ottawa’s claim that Indian intimidation has ended.
Inderjeet Singh Gosal, a Sikh activist leading a Khalistan independence referendum in Canada, received a duty-to-warn letter from two RCMP officers on Aug. 14, indicating a credible threat to his life but withholding specifics. The police reiterated a prior offer of enrolment in a witness-protection program, which Gosal refused, insisting he would accept “India’s bullet” rather than halt campaigning. This is his sixth official police warning since the Carney government started a diplomatic thaw with the Narendra Modi administration, a process that followed the 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C. While Ottawa says India has pledged to stop foreign interference, the persistence of such warnings and a recent UN rapporteur inquiry into threats against Sikh Canadians suggest the risk remains.
Gosal plans to continue organizing the Oct. 18 referendum in Edmonton, arguing that India’s alleged transnational repression will not deter the movement. The episode underscores tension between Canada’s commercial outreach to India and ongoing security concerns for diaspora activists.
Why it matters
It reveals that security threats to Sikh activists persist despite official claims of improved Canada-India relations.
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