20th April 2025 – In a short span of few hours on Easter weekend, the walls of Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey and Khalsa Diwan Society (KDS) in Vancouver were found vandalized with pro-Khalistan and anti-India graffiti.
In a letter issued by the KDS, a.k.a. Ross Street Gurudwara, it condemned the attack and wrote, “A small group of separatists, advocating for Khalistan, defaced our sacred walls with divisive slogans like Khalistan Zindabad.” The letter further called upon Canadians to “unite against division and extremism, for the future we all share.”
Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey has been a target of hate and vandalism a few times already in the past few months. However, the perpetrators of the crimes are still at large and no investigation has been concluded till date.
The incident has drawn sharp reaction from the Hindu community.
The Canadian Hindu Chamber of Commerce condemned the act and said that “this act of Hinduphobia has no place in Canada”. Former Nepean MP Chandra Arya, who has been vocal against Khalistani extremism, wrote on X, “The attacks on Hindu temples that began several years ago continue unabated today — this latest graffiti on the Hindu temple is yet another chilling reminder of the growing influence of Khalistani extremism.”
He called for peace and harmony among Hindus and Sikhs and wrote, “It is time for the Hindu-Canadians jointly with vast majority of our Sikh-Canadian brothers and sisters to rise with urgency and demand immediate, decisive action from authorities at all levels of government. Silence is no longer an option.”
CoHNA Canada also condemned the incident and said, “this time, not just a Hindu temple, but also a Gurdwara that had courageously stood up to Khalistani extremism” came under attack by extremists. It called upon the Canadian politicians to take a stand against such acts and questioned the Vancouver Police and Surrey RCMP if the perpetrators of these crimes be brought to justice.
Click here to read the whole statement.
