Police are investigating after a Sikh temple in South Vancouver was vandalized overnight.
Images shared with CTV News show the word “Khalistan” spray-painted in multiple places on the wall that surrounds the parking lot of the Khalsa Diwan Society gurdwara.
Khalistan is the name used to refer to the part of Punjab in India and Pakistan that separatists would like to establish as an independent Sikh nation.
Other phrases painted onto the wall included “F**k India” and “Kill Modi,” an apparent reference to India’s prime minister Narendra Modi.
In a statement, the Khalsa Diwan Society said its members had “witnessed” the vandalism.
“A small group of Sikh separatists, advocating for Khalistan, defaced our sacred walls with divisive slogans like ‘Khalistan Zindabad,’” the statement reads.
“This act is part of an ongoing campaign by extremist forces that seek to instill fear and division within the Canadian Sikh community. Their actions undermine the values of inclusivity, respect and mutual support that are foundational to both Sikhism and Canadian society.”
The vandalism occurred Saturday morning, the same day that the largest Vaisakhi parade in the world took place in Surrey.
The Khalsa Diwan Society held its Vaisakhi parade in Vancouver last weekend.
Gurdwara spokesperson Jag Sanghera told CTV News the vandalism was “extensive.”
The Vancouver Police Department confirmed in an email that it is investigating the incident, and said it would have “more to share later.”
