Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a Canadian Sikh separatist activist (or a terrorist) who was shot dead in Vancouver.

Sikhs are a minority religion in India, less than 2% of the population. By contrast, 80% of India are Hindu. Most Sikhs are in Punjab, India. Outside of Punjab, Canada has the most Sikhs. Hindu nationalists have controlled the government of India for some time and never played well with others. Sikhs have been wanting to separate from the rest of India and form a country called Khalistan because of it.

In the 1970s and 1980s there was a crackdown on Sikh separatism and the Prime Minister of India ordered the raid of a sacred Sikh temple that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people. A pair of the Prime Minister's Sikh bodyguards then assassinated him in retaliation. This sparked a religious war that saw the deaths of thousands. Hindus would raid the homes of known Sikhs, drag them out into the streets, and beat them to death.

Being a Sikh separatist in India is deadly, but Sikhs in Canada feel safe enough to voice their opinion. Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a Canadian Sikh who was very vocal in his opinion and rallied other Canadian Sikhs behind him. India's current government is Hindu nationalist and wants Canada to put these Sikhs in their place. They claim they are a terrorist group that Canada is harboring. Canada has always refused stating that there is no evidence of Sikh terrorism. However, the deadliest plane bombing before 9/11 was carried out by Sikh terrorists in Canada.

The India government claims Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a terrorist leader who got what was coming to him. The Canadian government claims the Indian government carried out a political assassination on Canadian soil.