There are roughly 770,000 Sikhs in Canada, about 2 per cent of the population - the largest Sikh community outside India Ottawa's accusations this week detailing a deadly Indian campaign against its Canada-based critics may have further derailed bilateral relations - but to Sikh activists,

When India and Canada expelled each other’s diplomats in the past few days, the exchange escalated a tussle over a rash of attacks on Sikhs living in Canada in recent years and spurred headlines around the globe.

A furious diplomatic row between India and Canada has pushed an otherwise fringe separatist campaign for an independent Sikh homeland in Punjab into the international spotlight.