India Calls For Action After Ram Mandir Defaced With Anti-India Graffiti In Canada, 2nd Incident This Year
A Hindu temple in Mississauga in Canada was vandalised with anti-India graffiti allegedly by a pro-Khalistan group. The miscreants wrote slogans like ‘Declare Modi Terrorist (BBC)’, ‘Sant Bhindrawala is martyr’ and ‘Hindustan Murdabad’. The Consulate General of India in Toronto on Tuesday condemned the incident and tweeted that it has requested the Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action against the perpetrators.
“We strongly condemn the defacing of Ram Mandir in Mississauga with anti-India graffiti. We have requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action on perpetrators,” tweeted the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown also condemned the vandalism adding that the Canadian authorities are investigating the incident.
“I am saddened to hear of the hate motivated vandalism at the Ram Mandir Temple in Mississauga. Unknown suspects spray painted the walls on the back of the temple. This type of hate has no place in Peel Region,” Brown tweeted.
This is not the first time that a Hindu Temple in Canada was defaced with anti-India graffiti. Starting 2023, a string of attacks has been unleashed upon Hindu temples across Canada with close to half-a-dozen incidents of vandalism, spiteful graffiti, break-ins and burglaries.
Last week, an unsuccessful burglary attempt also took place at the same temple, according to media reports. The thieves reportedly fled after a security alarm went off. A day after, the Bharat Mata Mandir in Brampton was burgled with the thieves escaping with the donation box collections, according to media reports.
Last month, the Gauri Shankar Mandir was vandalised with “anti-India” graffiti in Brampton, with leaders in Canada and India asking the Ottawa government to take the matter ‘seriously’. “I call on govt at levels in Canada to start taking this seriously,” Indo-Canadian MP Chandra Arya had tweeted.
An unsuccessful break-in was also attempted at the Shri Hanuman Mandir in Brampton on January 15.
The National Statistical Office of Canada showed a 72 per cent rise in hate crimes in Canada between 2019 and 2021 targeting a person’s race, religion or sexual orientation.
