Taran Dugal
The night before the political activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was murdered, in the spring of 2023, he made an urgent call from his home in Vancouver to a friend in New York. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a lawyer and fellow-activist, picked up around midnight. Nijjar had phoned to deliver a warning: there was “chattering going on” among acquaintances of his who frequented night clubs in downtown Vancouver. A group of men had recently begun to show up at the clubs, looking for “a high and some weapons”—and inquiring about Nijjar and Pannun. “He said that I needed to be careful, that I was in danger,” Pannun recalled.
The next day, June 18th, Nijjar made his way to the outskirts of Vancouver to visit the gurdwara where he worshipped. A plumber by trade, he’d been the temple’s president for four years, and had spent much of that time advocating for the creation of a homeland for Sikhs, called Khalistan, in an area of northern India that includes the state of Punjab. The separatist movement, which has inspired generations of activists, has long infuriated the country’s leadership. When Nijjar left the temple that evening, he was in a good mood. It was Father’s Day, and his son Balraj had given him a pair of jeans. They’d planned a special meal: pizza and seviyan, a sweet pudding that was Nijjar’s favorite dessert. From the parking lot, Nijjar called his family. “Get dinner ready,” he said. “I’m coming home.” As he drove his truck toward the exit, however, a white sedan pulled up, blocking his way. Two hooded men approached on foot, drew handguns, and fired some fifty rounds into the driver’s-side door—shattering the glass, puncturing the metal, and piercing Nijjar’s arm, chest, and head. He died instantly.
