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Article content The incident in question, captured on video and spread widely online, underscored what appeared to be mounting tensions within the Indo-Canadian community stemming from unrest in India. A group of mostly Hindu supporters of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a car rally through the Toronto-area city of Brampton on Feb. 28. It was met by Sikh-Canadian counter-demonstrators and came to a halt when Dhaliwal “parked his car on the roadway and got out of his vehicle and began antagonizing the rally participants,” Crown prosecutor Nazampal Jaswal told court Wednesday. “Mr. Dhaliwal approached Mr. Shinde’s vehicle, yelling and cursing before taking his rally flags from the windows,” she said. “At this time, Mr. Shinde exited his vehicle and confronted Mr. Dhaliwal.… This led to a heated verbal argument, which escalated to the point where Mr. Dhaliwal aggressively walked toward the victim and pushed him to the ground.” ....
But a spokesman for a major Sikh group blamed tensions on the pro-Modi media and demonstrations themselves. He called the rallies an attempt to divert attention from an oppressive government, while creating the false narrative of religious strife in Canada. “It’s not a Hindu-vs-Sikh issue, it really isn’t,” said Jaskaran Sandhu of the World Sikh Organization. “This is an attempt to kind of provoke the (Sikh) community. It’s a very nefarious attempt to change the issue and make it a communal issue.” Motives aside, the opposing factions clashed just over a week ago on the streets of Brampton, Ont., west of Toronto, when Sikh counter-protesters met a pro-India car rally. ....