As world leaders gathered in the Alberta Rockies for the 2025 G7 Summit, a different kind of message echoed through the streets of downtown Calgary: a call for the creation of Khalistan, a separate Sikh homeland.

On the final day of the summit, a group of pro-Khalistan demonstrators assembled at Calgary City Hall, waving Khalistan flags, holding signs denouncing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and chanting slogans. With the G7 Summit happening just an hour and a half away in Kananaskis, activists saw an opportunity to send a message to India and other leaders.

Who are the Khalistanis? The Khalistan movement is a controversial separatist campaign that dates back to the 1980s in India's Punjab region. Supporters of Khalistan say they’re standing up for Sikh rights and justice following decades of perceived oppression and violence in India. Critics, however, argue that some group members have embraced extremist and violent rhetoric.

Protesters held up, beat, and dragged around effigies of Modi and held banners accusing him of human rights abuses, including his alleged involvement in the 2023 assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh activist killed outside of a temple in Surrey, B.C..

In this report, we speak to the protestors in Calgary and address some of these points.

To see all of our coverage at the G7, visit G7Reports.com.