Though no one has yet claimed responsibility for the recent vandalism and defacement at the BAPS Hindu Temple in Chino Hills, California, the act bore the hallmarks of Khalistani groups active in the USA. The incident was strikingly similar to several acts of defacement that have occurred across North America—the USA and Canada—in recent years, some of which featured pro-Khalistani graffiti.

Last November, the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton, Canada, was stormed by a pro-Khalistani mob protesting against the mysterious killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Tellingly, the defacement of the BAPS Hindu Temple came just days ahead of the “Khalistani referendum" in Los Angeles.

The present act might not qualify as defilement and desecration in the same manner as the incident on 28 April 1982, when two severed bovine heads were placed at two Hindu places of worship in Amritsar, Punjab. Handwritten posters, apparently from Dal Khalsa, were recovered from the sites, and in a statement to the press, the group justified the act and asserted that such actions would be repeated. This was conveyed by the then Minister of State for Home, P. Venkatasubbiah, in the Rajya Sabha a day after the incident.

Yet, in spirit, they are not very different—except that back then, it was Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who was vilified as the leader of Hindu society, whereas today, it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham temples have become prime targets now, primarily due to their Gujarati origin.

Those who vandalise or deface temples are hoodlums—the very elements in whose hands the Khalistan movement has always been. No wonder the movement has been characterised by slander, vilification campaigns, and terrorism rather than any positive or rational content. Its proponents have not even been able to present a map of Khalistan, let alone outline the form of government or define the relationship between the state and the church, namely the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. The issue of restructuring its........

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