A group of eminent Hindu-Americans has condemned the hateful comments and a hostile environment against Hindus in Canada and asked Ottawa not to mix freedom of expression with freedom from terror and endorse hate crimes by being silent on the issue.

This came after a Khalistani terror group threatened Hindus in Canada to leave the country.

“It is concerning to see Khalistani terrorists repeatedly threaten Hindu Canadians by desecrating and scarring Hindu sacred spaces on Canadian soil. Silence in the face of such brazen Hinduphobia – or worse, the justification that this is an acceptable form of political expression – is tantamount to the endorsement of hate crimes,” said Professor Indu Vishwanathan, co-founder and co-director of the Understanding Hinduphobia at the Hindu University of America.

“The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should not mix freedom of expression with freedom for terror. He should instead stop radicalisation, and drug gangs and diplomatically handle international situations,” Khanderao Kand, from the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), said in statement.