Khalistani extremists in Canada use children to desecrate Indian flag and vilify Indian Prime Minister as 'Hindu terrorist'; open death threats issued amid rising anti-Hindu hate abroad
Canada 
15 June, 2025
Case Summary
In the lead-up to the G7 summit in Canada, where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an invited guest, Khalistani extremists used a group of six children in an orchestrated protest to desecrate the Indian national flag and insult the Indian Prime Minister. He was referred to as a Hindu terrorist. In the video circulating on social media, children are seen kicking the Indian tricolour and stomping on portraits of Prime Minister Modi, actions that appear to be directed by adults positioned outside the camera’s frame. Compounding the gravity of the situation, another video surfaced on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), featuring a Khalistani extremist named Manjinder Singh. In the video, Singh openly issues a death threat against Prime Minister Modi, further highlighting the extremist and violent rhetoric increasingly associated with the Khalistani campaign abroad. He referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a Hindu terrorist. Recent developments also indicate that Khalistani figures remain active in wider international conflicts. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a leading Khalistani figure, issued a statement supporting Pakistan shortly after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, in which 26 Hindus were killed by operatives of Lashkar-e-Taiba’s offshoot, The Resistance Force. This endorsement further cements the ideological and operational overlap between Khalistani separatism and jihadist extremism, exposing a common interest in fomenting anti-Hindu and anti-India sentiment on foreign soil.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category - Hate Speech against Hindus. The sub-category selected is - Mocking/denigrating Hindu leaders. Hate speech is defined as any speech, gesture, conduct, writing, or display that is prejudicial against a specific individual and/or group of people, which is leading to or may lead to violence, prejudicial action or hate against that individual and/or group. Religious leaders are often seen as representatives of the community, especially, the community’s religious faith and beliefs. Mocking or denigrating a religious leader specifically owing to his religious identity and/or the religious rituals he observes can be considered hate speech because the motivating factor of the speech is animosity and/or dislike for what he represents – the religious beliefs and faith of the community. It is important to note that mere insulting words against an individual do not constitute hate speech. It is entirely possible that insulting words are used for an individual, however, the specific speech is not the result of religious hate and/or animosity towards the professed faith of the religious leader, but the individual himself. For the speech to be considered hate speech, the speech itself or the motivating factor behind the speech has to be religious in nature. Such speech which denigrates Hindu religious leaders specifically owing to animosity towards the faith they profess and the community faith they represent will be treated as hate speech under this category. The other sub-category selected is - Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. In this case, Khalistani extremists used children to desecrate the Indian national flag and insult portraits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while standing off-frame and directing them. Though the surface-level attack appeared political, targeting India and its elected leader, the ideological foundation of Khalistani separatism reveals a deeper religious animosity. Khalistanis have long viewed India as a Hindu collectivity, and their rejection of Indian national identity stems from their antagonism toward Hindu beliefs and institutions. This sentiment was made explicit when Modi was labelled a “Hindu terrorist” — a slur that not only vilifies the Prime Minister but also seeks to demonise the Hindu faith he is perceived to represent. Such rhetoric, combined with the desecration of national and religious symbols, transforms political protest into targeted hate speech. These actions reflect a pattern of religiously motivated hostility and therefore constitute a hate crime against Hindus under the guise of anti-state agitation. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the incident took place. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Sikh Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
