The Fort St. John Sikh community gathered at Guru Nanak Sikh Temple Saturday night to honour the death of prolific activist Deep Sidhu, a vocal supporter of India’s farmers protests over the last two years.
Sidhu, a lawyer and actor, died last week after his car crashed into the rear end of a trailer truck, according to international media reports.
Though police have ruled out foul play, temple volunteers Rajinder Singh Gill and Harpreet Singh say they feel his death is suspicious, and want the public to know that political unrest and persecution is a dark reality of India.
“We just want to tell everybody what his beliefs were, what he was saying," said Singh Gill. "He said you need to independent, and you need to raise your voice. He was like everyone's brother."
New laws to deregulate the sale, pricing, and storage of crops in India led to massive civil unrest in 2020. Hundreds of thousands of farmers protested and camped out in the national capital of New Delhi for more than a year before Prime Minister Narendra Modi repealed the controversial laws last November.
Many of the protesting farmers were members of the Sikh religious minority from the states of Punjab and Haryana, and feared they would lose their livelihoods or be exploited by big corporations under the laws.
Sidhu, from the Punjab region, was well-known for supporting the farmers movement and speaking out against the government. According to international media, he was arrested and accused of inciting violence during one tractor rally against the farm laws, and many of his supporters in India have called for an investigation into his death, alleging it could have been planned.
Singh said the farm laws would have severe impacts on farmer livelihoods. He said many farmers are also interested in turning back to sustainable organic farming.
“The farmers suicide rates are high in India, and maybe highest in the world because they use Punjab as a colony,” said Singh.
The Sikh faith has long rejected India's caste system and called for an independent state. Singh said it’s not the first time in history that Sikhs have been targeted by the state, referencing similar movements in 1984 led by revolutionary Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
"We have everything, and there's 100 million people living here, we could support ourselves," said Singh. "But as long as we're run as a colony by Modi, they're gonna squeeze every drop."
Tom Summer, Alaska Highway News, Local Journalism Initiative. Email Tom at [email protected]
