Wellington, 6 June 2025 —
Tensions flared outside the Indian Consulate in Wellington as members of the Sikh community gathered to mark the 41st anniversary of the 1984 Amritsar massacre — a military assault by the Indian Army on Sri Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple), the holiest site in Sikhism, in which over 10,000 innocent pilgrims were reportedly killed.

The protest, organized by the Sikh community of New Zealand, began at 9:00 AM with the intent of holding a peaceful remembrance vigil. However, events took a disturbing turn when around 30 individuals waving Indian flags were already stationed outside the embassy prior to the protest. Many observers believe this was a pre-planned counter-demonstration coordinated by the Indian embassy itself.

Throughout the day, individuals bearing Indian flags were repeatedly seen going in and out of the embassy building — raising serious concerns that instructions or directives were being issued from within. Their coordinated actions and timing suggested a well-organized effort to disrupt the peaceful Sikh protest.

The situation grew increasingly hostile as these individuals began chanting slogans that appeared to glorify the 1984 military attack and mocked Sikh martyrs, including Shaheed Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale — a revered figure in the global Sikh community. Eyewitnesses reported several instances of hate speech and aggressive posturing directed at Sikh protesters.

Some slogans reportedly included threats such as “we will tie a tyre around your neck and burn you” — a chilling reference to the method used by mobs to kill Sikhs during the 1984 genocide. Protesters also reported threats like “if the police weren’t here, we would sort you out,” reinforcing concerns of incitement to violence. These slogans, echoing the brutality of past atrocities, have left the Sikh community deeply shaken.

Among the protesters was Rajinder Singh, a survivor of the 1984 genocide whose three close friends were burned alive by Hindu mobs in the days following the massacre. He said he came to the consulate to honour their memory and protest the killing of innocent Sikhs. However, witnessing individuals chanting violent slogans and celebrating the very atrocities he fled from brought back painful memories.

> “I moved to New Zealand to escape the violence, to find peace,” he said, his voice trembling. “But seeing that same hatred being chanted here, in front of an embassy on foreign soil, makes me feel like they have followed us even here.”
Singh’s experience is a powerful reminder of the lingering trauma that survivors carry — and the urgent need for authorities to ensure such hatred is never allowed to take root in Aotearoa.

It was also noted by attendees that most of those associated with the pro-India group appeared to be from Haryana, a northern Indian state increasingly linked to transnational criminal activity. The Canadian government has previously accused the Indian government of deploying criminal gangs from Haryana to carry out violent and illegal operations on foreign soil, including in Canada.

Sikh protesters now fear that similar tactics are being replicated in New Zealand, with the Indian embassy allegedly enabling or directing harassment and threats through individuals possibly connected to criminal networks.

Community leaders are calling on the New Zealand Government, law enforcement, and international human rights bodies to investigate the Indian embassy’s involvement in today's incident and ensure that foreign diplomatic missions are not used as platforms to intimidate peaceful activists in New Zealand.