Anirudh Bhattacharyya

Anirudh Bhattacharya is a Toronto-based commentator on North American issues, and an author. He has also worked as a journalist in New Delhi and New York spanning print, television and digital media. He tweets as @anirudhb.

Articles by Anirudh Bhattacharyya

‘Fear is real’, says Canada Liberal Party MP on SFJ video threatening Hindus

Hinduphobic activity has surged in Canada since last summer with at least a dozen temples desecrated with graffiti or anti-India posters by those pushing the so-called Khalistan Referendum. Law enforcement has yet to report a single arrest in this connection

Liberal Party MP Chandra Arya (ANI Photo)
Published on Sep 24, 2023 10:19 AM IST

India-Canada row: Visa suspension will not affect OCI services, says official

India has suspended visa services for Canadian citizens citing security threats to its staff in its consulates in Canada

High Commission of Canada in New Delhi, India (Representative Photo)
Published on Sep 24, 2023 10:03 AM IST

Trudeau says Canada shared evidence of ‘credible allegations’ with India weeks ago

Trudeau’s charges have led to a series of fallouts, including both countries expelling diplomats. The senior Indian diplomat, who was based in Ottawa, has already left Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the House of Commons in Ottawa (AP Photo)
Updated on Sep 23, 2023 03:06 PM IST

Evidence of ‘credible allegations’ on Nijjar’s killing were shared with India ‘many weeks ago,’ says Trudeau

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asserted that the “credible allegations” related to the potential link between Indian agents and the killing of Khalistani figure Hardeep Nijjar were communicated to New Delhi “weeks ago.”

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during an event with the Ukrainian-Canadian community in Toronto, Canada, on September 22, 2023. (AFP)
Updated on Sep 23, 2023 09:47 AM IST

Winnipeg police confirm Punjab gangster Sukha Duneke’s death

A release from the Winnipeg Police Service said its Homicide Unit had identified Sukhdool Singh Gill alias Sukha Duneke, originally from Moga in Punjab and associated with another major gang figure Arsh Dalla, and “notifications to family members have been made.”

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Published on Sep 22, 2023 02:24 PM IST

Canadian ministers condemn SFJ video asking Hindus of Indian origin to leave nation

Members of Hindu communities have written to Canada’s Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc seeking security for the country’s Hindu community amid threats from Khalistani elements

Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc (R) speaks to media persons. (AP Photo)
Updated on Sep 22, 2023 10:31 AM IST

Nijjar killing: Surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada led to allegations

India-Canada ties news: Some of the intelligence was shared by another nation in the ‘Five Eyes’ alliance.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said he had raised the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when they met for a pull aside on the margins of G20 Summit in New Delhi this month.
Updated on Sep 22, 2023 06:16 AM IST

Allegations not made lightly, says Canada’s Trudeau amid strain in ties

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated his call for India to take allegations of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of Khalistani secessionist Hardeep Singh Nijjar seriously. India has dismissed the allegations as "absurd" and accused Canada of becoming a "safe haven" for terrorists. The growing diplomatic row has led to India temporarily suspending visa services for Canadians. Trudeau stated that there is no question over India's growing importance and that Canada is unequivocal about the importance of protecting Canadians and standing up for values. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is leading the investigation into Nijjar's killing.

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at the Canadian Permanent Mission, in New York, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) (AP)
Updated on Sep 22, 2023 12:55 AM IST

Concern, division among diaspora come to the fore

A public video by the Khalistani secessionist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has caused fear among "Hindu Canadians", leading to growing security concerns among the Indian diaspora in Canada. The video, which has since been taken down, showed a designated terrorist asking "Indo-Hindu" people to leave the country. The escalating diplomatic row between India and Canada, sparked by comments from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has led to the suspension of visa services for Canadian nationals by India. A petition has been filed to recognise "Hinduphobia" in Canada's Human Rights Code.

Chandra Arya (Fi)
Updated on Sep 22, 2023 12:53 AM IST

India bars visa services for Canadians as tensions rise

The suspension of visa services is also expected to affect a significant section of the 1.6 million Canadians of Indian origin, many of whom have relatives in India

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Published on Sep 22, 2023 12:24 AM IST
By, , Toronto/new Delhi

Hitch, glitch, switch: Kiran Rao’s new film has everyone in splits

Laapataa Ladies is about getting lost and finding yourself. Its wowed Toronto and is headed here soon

Laapataa Ladies, written by Sneha Desai, directed by Kiran Rao, and co-produced by Tanaji Dasgupta, premiered at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival.
Updated on Sep 22, 2023 03:42 PM IST

‘Operational reasons’: India suspends visa services in Canada as rift widens

The suspension of visa services comes a day after an advisory urging Indians in Canada to exercise utmost caution in view of “politically-condoned hate crimes”

The High Commission of India is seen in Ottawa on Sept. 20 (AP)
Updated on Sep 21, 2023 03:19 PM IST

India suspends visa services for Canadians amid heightened tensions

Justin Trudeau’s allegation of Indian involvement in Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing heightened tensions, triggered a diplomatic row this week

The Indian Consulate in Toronto. (AFP)
Updated on Sep 21, 2023 11:46 AM IST

Canada cites threats, says adjusting diplomatic staff presence in India

Trudeau’s claim of Indian involvement in Khalistani leade Nijjar’s killing triggered a diplomatic row this week and tit-for-tat expulsions of senior diplomats

A poster asking for an investigation into India's role in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar at a gurdwara in Surrey, Canada. (REUTERS)
Updated on Sep 21, 2023 12:31 PM IST

Nijjar murder: Canada Opp asks Trudeau for India link proof

Canada’s opposition compared the government’s lack of action over allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian elections to the alacrity with which it approached Nijjar’s killing

Khalistan flags are seen outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia (AP)
Published on Sep 20, 2023 10:21 AM IST

Sikhs for Justice asks Hindus of Indian origin to leave Canada

SFJ’s legal counsel Gurpatwant Pannun issued the threat in a video amid a diplomatic row between India and Canada.

Vandals allegedly associated with the so-called Khalistan referendum in Canada have been blamed for at least a dozen cases of desecration of temples with graffiti or anti-India posters. (AP)
Updated on Sep 20, 2023 11:29 AM IST

Not looking to provoke India, says Canada’s Trudeau after tit-for-tat expulsions

Justin Trudeau’s speech in Canada’s Parliament on Monday was followed by foreign minister Mélanie Joly announcing the expulsion of a “top Indian diplomat”

Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat as it investigates what Trudeau called credible allegations that India’s government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist. (AP)
Updated on Sep 20, 2023 05:22 AM IST

A brief history of the Khalistan movement’s emergence in Canada 45 years ago

Among those who made their base in Canada was Talwinder Singh Parmar, said to be the mastermind of the terrorist bombing of Air India flight 182, the Kanishka

As the Khalistan movement in Punjab gained prominence, many Sikhs sought refugee status in Canada citing political persecution. (Associated Press)
Updated on Sep 19, 2023 04:09 PM IST

Indian films win major accolades at TIFF

With top honours in two prestigious categories and another accolade in one of the festival’s most popular sections, Indian productions had a banner year at the 48th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival or TIFF.

Still from the Marathi film, A Match, which won the NETPAC Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. (Courtesy TIFF)
Published on Sep 18, 2023 12:11 PM IST

Indo-Canadian shot dead in targeted killing in Canada

Canadian police have identified an Indo-Canadian as the victim of what it believes was a targeted killing in the province of British Columbia.

Indo-Canadian Gagandeep Sandhu, who was identified as the victim of a targeted killing by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team in British Columbia (IHIT)
Published on Sep 18, 2023 12:05 PM IST

Action thriller Kill gets high praise at TIFF

The most violent and goriest film ever to be produced in India, KILL has awed audiences at its world premiere screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Lakshya as Amrit in the film KILL, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. (TIFF)
Published on Sep 16, 2023 10:10 AM IST

Canada indefinitely postpones trade mission to India amid tensions

Canadian trade mission to India postponed indefinitely due to trade talks suspension and concerns over pro-Khalistan activities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau.
Updated on Sep 16, 2023 12:04 PM IST

SFJ announces another round of Khalistan referendum

The development comes days after the stand taken on pro-Khalistani activities by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre

SFJ had held another round of the referendum in Surrey on Sunday. (Representative file image)
Published on Sep 14, 2023 11:15 AM IST

Canadian PM Trudeau leaves India after plane’s technical snag resolved

The aircraft currently being used by Justin Trudeau is 36 years old and has caused problems earlier. In October 2016, it returned to Ottawa half an hour after taking off. Trudeau was then travelling to Belgium

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau being seen off by Indian Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar as he leaves after attending the G20 Summit, in New Delhi, on Tuesday. (PTI)
Updated on Sep 13, 2023 12:01 AM IST

‘The World Is Family’: Anand Patwardhan’s documentary premieres at Toronto fest

It harks back to the freedom struggle through the lens of interviews with his family, and its deep connection to the movement, and also builds an intimate portrait of his late parents, Nirmala and Balu

A still from filmmaker Anand Patwardhan’s latest documentary, The World Is Family, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Canada. (Source: TIFF)
Published on Sep 12, 2023 02:43 PM IST

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s plane takes off from Delhi as snag gets cleared

An airport official confirmed that the technical snag of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s flight has got resolved and he has departed from the city at 1pm on Tuesday

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (REUTERS)
Updated on Sep 12, 2023 01:51 PM IST

Khalistan event in Canada hours after PM flags concern

A pro-Khalistani secessionist group in Canada conducted a referendum at a gurdwara in British Columbia, despite concerns from Indian PM Narendra Modi about anti-India elements promoting secessionism. The referendum was organised by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a group led by a designated terrorist, and is the latest in a series of provocative moves by pro-Khalistani groups in Canada. The Indian government did not officially respond to the referendum. Modi expressed India's concerns about continuing anti-India activities in Canada during a bilateral meeting with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.

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Updated on Sep 12, 2023 12:16 AM IST

SFJ holds Khalistan referendum in Canada as PM Modi flags extremism with Trudeau

The voting took place at a Gurdwara in the town of Surrey, the same gurdwara which was headed by SFJ’s Hardeep Singh Nijjar before he was gunned down on June 18

SFJ has also announced another round of the referendum on October 29, also in Surrey. (Representative file image)
Updated on Sep 11, 2023 10:43 AM IST

Two films focused on women’s struggles in rural India premier to rousing reception at Toronto festival

The films set in rural India and featuring gutsy young women struggling through a female-unfriendly system have received great reception at their world premieres

A still from director Kiran Rao’s Lost Ladies, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada.
Updated on Sep 10, 2023 06:48 PM IST

‘India aiming to become global hub for film production’, says NFDC MD

With a significant presence at the 48th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival or TIFF, India is being promoted as a destination for international cinema, with the Government looking at enhancing incentives to attract filmmakers to the country.

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Updated on Sep 09, 2023 09:23 PM IST
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