Hindu temple in Canada defaced with anti-India graffiti

The BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Edmonton has once again fallen victim to an attack on Hindu places of worship across Canada. Chandra Arya, member of parliament for Nepean, expressed concern over the rising incidents of hate-fueled violence aimed at Hindu-Canadian communities.
“The Hindu temple BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Edmonton is vandalised again.During the last few years, Hindu temples in the Greater Toronto Area, British Columbia, and other places in Canada are being vandalised with hateful graffiti,” Arya said in a post on X on Tuesday.

This latest incident is part of a series of similar attacks recorded in recent years, highlighting an alarming trend of religious intolerance.
In the previous year, a Hindu temple in Windsor was defaced with anti-India graffiti, eliciting widespread condemnation and demands for action from both Canadian and Indian officials. Prior incidents in Mississauga and Brampton also witnessed temples being targeted, provoking strong reactions from the Indian community in Canada.
Arya, a liberal member of parliament recognised for his advocacy on multicultural issues, highlighted the impunity enjoyed by Khalistani extremists in Canada, referencing instances where their rhetoric has openly encouraged hatred and violence.
“As I have always been saying, Khalistani extremists seem to get away with ease with their public rhetoric of hate and violence. Again, let me put it on record. Hindu Canadians are legitimately concerned. Like a broken record, I again call on Canadian law enforcement agencies to take this issue seriously before these rhetorics get translated into physical action against Hindu Canadians,” Arya reiterated.
“Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of Sikhs for Justice last year publicly called for Hindus to go back to India. Khalistan supporters publicly celebrated in Brampton and Vancouver the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and brandishing images of deadly weapons,” Arya further said.
Another Canadian political leader also raised the incident on social media, describing it as a display of “hateful rhetoric”.
“Earlier today, the Edmonton BAPS Mandir was vandalised with paint, displaying hateful rhetoric on the walls of what should be a place of refuge. Hate has no part in Canada – much less in places of worship & prayer. This incident is wrong & goes against the values of our city,” Randy Boissonnault, member of the House of Commons of Canada, said in a post on X.
Law enforcement agencies across Canada have been called upon to implement preventive strategies to tackle the looming dangers and guarantee the protection of all faith-based groups within the country. These recent events have reignited conversations about strengthening security protocols surrounding Hindu places of worship and intensifying initiatives to counter extremist ideologies.
Concurrently, numerous international assessments have underscored the escalating apprehensions regarding Khalistani supporters active in Canada, with occurrences frequently connected to demands for a sovereign Khalistan nation in the Punjab state of India.