The temple of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) was vandalized by the Khalistanis in Toronto of Canada on September 13, 2022. In a video that has surfaced on social media, the temple walls can be seen defaced with Khalistani and anti-India graffiti. The High Commission of India in Canada opposing this incident wrote on Twitter:
We strongly condemn defacing of BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir Toronto with anti-India graffiti. Have requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action on perpetrators.
In 2022 till February, six Hindu temples have been attacked in the Greater Toronto area. Canadian Hindu MP of Indian origin, Chandra Arya, in a tweet said that this was not an isolated hate crime incident when a Hindu temple was targeted in Canada. He said:
Vandalism of Toronto BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir by Canadian Khalistani extremists should be condemned by all This is not just an isolated event. Canadian Hindu temples have been targeted in the recent past by these kinds of hate crime Hindu Canadians are legitimately concerned.
On September 18, 2022, the Khalistan referendum seeking to separate Punjab from India and make it a separate Sikh nation Khalistan is scheduled to be organized by the US-based Khalistani organization Sikh for Justice (SFJ), in Toronto’s Brampton. On Sunday, a five-kilometer-long car rally was held in Toronto in support of the referendum, in which over 2,000 vehicles reportedly participated. SFJ has been banned in India.
