India detaining, ejecting Canadian man is the latest example of revived 'blacklist' for Sikhs: experts

A Mississauga, Ont., man says he was detained at the Amritsar, India, airport on New Year's Eve without food or medical assistance for 36 hours before Indian officials ejected him from the country.

Gurcharan Singh Banwait, 77, a Canadian citizen for nearly 50 years, says he frequently travels to India for his healthcare charity International Punjabi Foundation, and he's never had an issue until his most recent trip.

"It was painful," Banwait told CBC Toronto. "They put me in a room there, they locked it and put two security guards with guns."  

Banwait, who underwent heart surgery recently and has a spinal disc herniation, said he was not given a place to lie down and the cold weather made his back pain worse. He also alleges he was not allowed to go to the washroom unassisted, and that an Indian officer called him a "Khalistani," a term used for supporters of Khalistan, a Sikh separatist movement.  

"I was feeling embarrassed, insulted," he said.  

Those closely following the disintegration of Canada-India relations over the last few years say this is an example of an increasing trend of India harassing and blacklisting Sikhs and journalists, sparking concerns the country is using visas as a tool for foreign interference.

The Mississauga man says he's speaking out because he worries that other Sikh Canadians may be similarly detained or blacklisted but not know until after they've bought an expensive ticket, travelled for more than 14 hours around the globe and been potentially held in custody. 

"Nobody listens to you. They'll put you in jail and you're gone," Banwait said. 

CBC Toronto sent multiple requests to the Indian consulate and High Commission in Canada, as well as India's Ministry of External Affairs. The Indian High Commission refused to comment over a phone call, while officials in New Delhi did not respond. 

Global Affairs Canada is aware of the situation but cannot intervene in immigration matters on behalf of Canadians, a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. 

"Every country or territory decides who can enter or exit through its borders," the statement says. 

For decades, India has used its central adverse list — more commonly known as a blacklist — to mark a person as inadmissible to the country. 

The number of Canadians on the blacklist has been growing since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of playing a role in the killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023, according to Balpreet Singh, legal counsel and spokesperson for World Sikh Organization Canada.

A December investigation by Global News revealed agents of Indian proxies asked Sikh Canadians to sign affidavits professing their "deep respect" for India in order to get a visa.