What is Indira Gandhi assassination tableau controversy? Why did Canada display ex-PM’s death in parade

The Congress party and Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were left outraged when a tableau displaying the assassination of Indira Gandhi was displayed in a parade in Canada, putting a strain on the relations between the two countries.

Indian political parties had a massive backlash against the display of the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at a parade in Brampton, which was aimed at observing the anniversary of Operation Blue Star, which was carried out in 1984.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke out against the controversial display, saying that it was not good for the relationship between the two countries, while the Brampton authorities launched an investigation against the alleged hate crime.

Reason behind Indira Gandhi tableau controversy

A tableau displaying the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was on display during a parade in Brampton city on June 4 to mark the anniversary of Operation Blue Star, which was carried out between June 1 and 10 in 1984.

Former PM Indira Gandhi was assassinated as part of revenge against Operation Blue Star by two members of the Sikh community, which further gave a wave to the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots across India.

Pointing at the pro-Khalistani movement in parts of Canada, EAM Jaishankar had said, “Frankly, we are at a loss to understand other than the requirements of vote bank politics why anybody would do this...I think there is a larger underlying issue about the space which is given to separatists, to extremists, to people who advocate violence.”

Senior Congress leaders like Jairam Ramesh and Milind Deora were also left “appalled” by the display in Brampton, urging the authorities to take action against the incident. The mayor of Brampton, however, said that the authorities did not feel that this was a hate crime.

Milind Deora posted on Twitter, “It's not about taking sides, it's about respect for a nation's history & the pain caused by its Prime Minister’s assassination. This extremism deserves universal condemnation & a united response.”

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