Surrey's Sikh and South Asian community — October 2026
Surrey's Sikh community faces a dual reality this week: the FBI's decision to add Satinderjeet Singh, known as Goldy Brar, to its most-wanted list brings renewed attention to the threats facing Sikh activists in British Columbia, while the city's 5th Annual International Sikh event reflects the community's determination to celebrate its culture and maintain civic engagement.
FBI Adds Goldy Brar to Most-Wanted List
Radio-Canada reported that the FBI has added Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, to its most-wanted list. Goldy Brar is a member of the Bishnoi gang, a transnational criminal organization that has been accused of ordering the killing of Sikh activists in British Columbia. Brar is alleged to have directed violent crimes targeting Sikh community members in Canada and elsewhere. The FBI's listing includes a significant reward for information leading to his capture. The addition of Brar to the FBI's most-wanted list follows years of advocacy by Sikh community organizations in British Columbia, who have documented threats to community members and called for stronger responses from law enforcement on both sides of the Canada-US border. Multiple Canadian media outlets, including CBC, Global News, and CityNews Vancouver, have covered the Bishnoi gang's activities and the threats faced by Sikh activists in the Surrey-Vancouver corridor. Surrey is home to one of the largest Sikh populations in Canada outside Punjab itself, and the community has been at the center of a broader conversation about the safety of diaspora activists who speak out against organized crime and other threats originating in India. The FBI listing is a significant development because it signals that American law enforcement is treating the threat seriously as a transnational matter, not solely a Canadian domestic issue. [2]
Surrey's 5th Annual International Sikh Event
The City of Surrey announced the 5th Annual International Sikh event, a celebration that brings together the Sikh community in one of Canada's most significant centers of Sikh life. Surrey's Sikh community has built an extraordinary range of institutions: gurdwaras that serve thousands of worshippers, educational programs for young people, langar (community kitchen) operations that feed people regardless of faith or background, and cultural organizations that document and transmit Punjabi and Sikh heritage. The annual event reflects the community's pride in its identity and its determination to celebrate that identity in the public sphere. For five consecutive years, the event has brought together Sikh families, community leaders, and civic representatives in a gathering that marks both the richness of Sikh culture and the community's centrality to Surrey's civic life. The timing of the event, in a year when threats to Sikh activists have been documented by law enforcement on both sides of the Canada-US border, gives it additional significance: a demonstration that the community is not intimidated and that it will continue to gather, celebrate, and maintain its public presence. The City of Surrey's official co-sponsorship of the event reflects the municipality's recognition of the Sikh community's importance to the city's character and its commitment to supporting institutions that serve a large and engaged segment of the population. [1]
Sources: [2] Radio-Canada · [1] City of Surrey