Surrey Sikh community in spotlight from Bhangra curricula to security demands
Surrey, British Columbia's large Sikh and South Asian diaspora found itself at the center of multiple national news stories this week, spanning human rights advocacy, cultural education, political controversy, and film. UN special rapporteurs pressed Ottawa to do more to protect a Surrey-area Sikh activist from transnational threats, while a community organization celebrated success in bringing Bhangra instruction into British Columbia high schools. Meanwhile, community screenings of a film banned in India drew audiences across Surrey, and a former mayor made explosive allegations of Indian election interference in the city.
UN rapporteurs call on Canada to shield BC Sikh activist from foreign threats
Five United Nations special rapporteurs have written to the Canadian government demanding that it take stronger action to protect Moninder Singh, a British Columbia-based Sikh activist who has received four separate duty-to-warn letters from police indicating that his life may be in danger. The UN experts expressed serious concern about what they described as an imminent threat to Singh and his family, linking the danger to what they called a broader pattern of transnational repression by Indian authorities against Sikh activists in different countries, including Canada. Singh has been targeted, the rapporteurs wrote, at least in part because of his cooperation with UN human rights bodies.
The UN letter was sent in early June 2026, yet as of the first week of August, the Canadian government had not publicly responded. The case fits into a wider pattern of concern in the Sikh Canadian diaspora about threats from abroad to activists and community leaders. The Surrey and Lower Mainland area is home to one of the largest Sikh communities outside of South Asia, and transnational security threats have become a defining issue for residents. The murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey in 2023 — which Canadian authorities attributed to Indian state agents — heightened that anxiety and set the context in which the Moninder Singh case now sits. Community members and civil liberties advocates are watching closely to see whether Ottawa's response to the UN matches its stated commitment to protecting diaspora communities on Canadian soil. [1]
🎓 Surrey organization wins place for Bhangra in BC high school curriculum
A Surrey-based organization has successfully introduced Bhangra — the high-energy Punjabi folk dance rooted in South Asian cultural tradition — into the British Columbia high school curriculum, marking a significant milestone for the province's large South Asian community. The initiative, reported by the Surrey Now-Leader in August 2026, represents years of advocacy and educational outreach aimed at giving Punjabi-Canadian students a chance to see their heritage recognized and taught within public schools.
Bhangra originated in the Punjab region of South Asia and has evolved into a globally celebrated art form with thriving competitive scenes in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. By entering the formal school curriculum in BC, the dance form gains recognition as a legitimate subject of academic study alongside other performing arts, rather than remaining solely a community and extracurricular activity. Advocates who pushed for the inclusion say the move will benefit not just Punjabi students but all BC students, who will gain exposure to South Asian cultural traditions as part of a well-rounded arts education.
Surrey's demographic profile makes it a natural home for this kind of curricular expansion. The city has the highest concentration of South Asian residents of any municipality in Canada, and the community has long supported Bhangra through cultural events, dance academies, and competitive teams. Having it taught formally in high schools sends a signal to young South Asian students that their culture has a place inside the institutions of their adopted country, not just outside them. [2]
India-banned Satluj film finds audience at Surrey community screenings
A film chronicling the life of Sikh human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra has been blocked from release in India and removed from a streaming platform just two days after going live, but the suppression has generated the opposite effect in Canada: growing public interest and packed community screenings. The film, titled Satluj, stars Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh as Khalra, who in the 1990s documented and raised international alarm about the extrajudicial killings of thousands of Sikhs by Punjab police during a period of intense counter-insurgency operations. Surrey was among the Canadian cities hosting screenings of the film in mid-July 2026.
CBC News reported that community interest in Satluj is running high across Canada, with South Asian Canadians treating the screenings as both a cultural event and an act of solidarity with the activist's legacy. For the Surrey Sikh diaspora in particular, the story of Khalra resonates with particular force. Khalra was abducted and killed in 1995 after he traveled to the United Nations to present evidence of the killings he had documented, and his work helped lay the foundation for international scrutiny of human rights conditions in Punjab during that era.
Community members who attended the Surrey screenings said the film's subject matter remains urgently relevant to ongoing conversations about Sikh human rights and the protection of diaspora activists today. The banning of the film in India, community leaders noted, only underscores that the history Satluj depicts has not been fully reckoned with, and that those who speak out about it still face consequences. [5]
🗳️ McCallum alleges Indian government election interference in Surrey, demands probe
Former Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum has alleged that the Indian government interfered in Surrey's recent civic elections and is calling for a formal investigation. McCallum made the claims in late July 2026, as reported by the Surrey Now-Leader, alleging that India's consular network in Canada worked to influence voting in Surrey's large South Asian community by promoting specific candidates. The allegations come amid a broader national reckoning in Canada over foreign interference in democratic processes, a concern the federal government has publicly acknowledged after investigations surfaced evidence of Chinese government activity and, more recently, allegations tied to India.
The claims touch a sensitive nerve in Surrey, where South Asian voters — particularly from Punjabi-speaking and Sikh communities — represent a substantial share of the municipal electorate. If substantiated, interference in their political participation would represent a serious violation of the community's democratic rights and a troubling extension of India-Canada diplomatic tensions into the local government arena.
McCallum's call for an investigation echoes demands being made at the federal level, where a public inquiry into foreign interference has already surfaced evidence of attempts by foreign governments to cultivate relationships with Canadian politicians and manipulate diaspora communities. The Indian government has consistently denied allegations of interference or state-directed violence on Canadian soil. Surrey residents and civic leaders are watching the accusations closely, mindful that the city's Sikh community has already been directly affected by what Canadian security officials have described as transnational repression. [6]
Sources: [1] CBC · [2] Surrey Now-Leader · [5] CBC · [6] Surrey Now-Leader