On April 19, 2025, over 550,000 people took to the streets of Newton for the annual Khalsa Day Vaisakhi Parade in Surrey, Canada. It is one of the world’s largest Sikh religious gatherings. Vaisakhi also marks the Punjabi New Year and harvest season. However, the number of participants reported by local media, claiming over 550,000 people, seems highly questionable.
While the event was a celebration of Sikh unity and diversity, the display of Khalistan flags and anti-India visuals, including “Wanted” posters featuring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, drew sharp criticism.
The procession was began from Gurdwara Dashmesh Darbar and went through the city. Despite its spiritual theme honouring the establishment of the Khalsa in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh, it was marked by visible expressions of khalistani separatist sentiments.
The attendees were seen waving Khalistan flags. There were visuals criticising the Government of India, including posters labelling PM Modi, Home Minister Shah and EMA Jaishankar as wanted. The parade also included a large truck with a mock-up of a jail. Inside the ‘jail’, effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar were seen in orange jail uniforms. Posters calling for their arrest were also displayed, calling them ‘enemies of Sikhs’ and accusing them of killing Khalistani terrorist Nijjar.
In videos doing rounds on social media posters of Amrik Singh, Shabeg Singh, Hardeep Singh Nijjar and other khalistani sympathisers were also seen in the parade.
Another poster on the truck said ‘Balkanize India’, a call to break up India into several smaller territories. It also announced a ‘Khalistan Referendum’ at Vancouver on November 1, 2025. The Indian flag was desecrated during the parade as it was seen hanging behind the floats, touching the ground.
Mocha Bezirgan, a Canadian journalist covering Anti-corruption and anti-terrorism on x wrote that, “Chants of “Kill Modi Politics” echo throughout the parade route, accompanied by Sikh hymns and martial arts demonstrations”.
Happening now: World’s largest Khalsa Day Parade in Surrey, B.C.
Chants of “Kill Modi Politics” echo throughout the parade route, accompanied by Sikh hymns and martial arts demonstrations.
The event has attracted Liberal, NDP, and Conservative candidates promoting themselves.… pic.twitter.com/uE6T367uwY
— Mocha Bezirgan 🇨🇦 (@BezirganMocha) April 19, 2025
“The next Khalistan “referendum” is scheduled to take place in Vancouver, B.C., on November 1, 2025, following the one in Washington, D.C. Chants glorifying Air India bombing “mastermind” Talwinder Singh Parmar were also heard, along with calls to boycott Air India and products made in India”, she further wrote.
Hours before the parade a Khalsa Diwan Society Gurdwara on Ross Street in Vancouver was vandalised with pro-Khalistan graffiti.
Images of the vandalism, which went viral on social media, showed the word “Khalistan Zindabad” spray-painted multiple times on the wall surrounding the parking lot of the Gurdwara. Graffiti with anti-India slogans and death threats to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—such as “Kill Modi” and “Khalistan Zindabad” were also found on the walls.
Later, in a statement, the Khalsa Diwan Society Gurdwara management said:, “A small group of Sikh separatists advocating for Khalistan defaced our sacred walls with divisive slogans like ‘Khalistan Zindabad’.”
“This act is part of an ongoing campaign by extremist forces that seek to instil 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 management added.
“These extremists are undermining the dreams and sacrifices of our elders, who worked tirelessly to create a strong, thriving community in a country that celebrates diversity and freedom. Their actions seek to divide us contrary to the unity and peace we hold dear as canadians. We cannot and will not let these forces of division succeed,” the statement reads.
The Ross Street gurdwara was not the only place of worship that targeted on April 19. The Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey, also in British Columbia, was also defaced with similar graffiti after the episode in Vancouver.
Temple spokesperson Parshotam Goel said their “assessment” was that these incidents were linked as along with the Ross Street gurdwara, the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir was at the forefront of an effort to forge unity between the Sikh and Hindu community in Canada.
“This is not a coincidence, this was done in a planned way. Somebody is trying to intimidate us,” he said. He said local law enforcement had been informed about the desecration of the temple.
Notably, Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre attended the parade. Several local MLAs, MPs and municipal representatives were also present.
Interestingly, Khalistani terrorist Santokh Singh Khela was also present at the parade and called for separating Punjab from India to form Khalistan during his speech at the stage. Terrorists including Hardeep Singh Nijjar and Kanishka bombing mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar were celebrated at the parade.
The Khalsa Day Parade has been happening in Surrey since 1998. Notably, in 2023 also a Vaisakhi Parade was organised in Surrey, British Columbia on April 22, in which Khalistan flags and posters of Khalistani sympathiser Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale were seen.
In videos doing rounds on social media posters on Bhindrawale and other khalistani sympathisers like Amrik Singh, Surinder Singh and Gurjit Singh were also seen in the parade. On a post by Sikhbeard on Instagram in which people are seen with khalistani flags, one Instagram user with username bashikaur6390 writes, “these people are running their political agenda in the name of ‘Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan’ these people have not even respected ‘Guru’ and have place the flags of Khalistan instead of ‘Nishan Sahib’. They are also destroying the country in which they are living”.
Replying to Bashi Kaur, an Instagram user Pushpakdeep Singh writes, “Totally under the influence of right wing RSS terrorist. I think you being trapped by their agenda”.
A Punjabi actor and model named Oshin Brar was also seen in the Vaisakhi parade in which hundreds of people were raising khalistani flags. She also posted the video of the same on her Snapchat account. The recurring glorification of Khalistani terrorists, desecration of the Indian flag, and targeted vandalism of religious sites raise pressing concerns about Canada’s approach to dealing with extremist elements operating on its soil.
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