“Pyaara Singh[Nijjar’s father] used to collect milk from others in the village and sell it outside,the milk business helped them survive when they were here,” says Dharamvir,62,who runs a small grocery store and asked to be referred to by his first name only.

Despite being a relatively prosperous region,decades of inequality have fuelled religious division in this region,festering the discontent that has influenced the Sikh independence movement.

Himmat sits on a plastic stool outside his small farmhouse. He uses the Punjabi word “kooto”. It translates to using a mortar and pestle to pound.

“The government works by pounding the minority to loot the votes from the majority,” he says.

Differences over religion have always driven tensions between Sikhs and Hindus – particularly the Hindu caste system and the belief in more than one god – but those historical divisions have been exacerbated by rising extremism and nationalism.

Sikh extremist attacks on flights and the 1984 assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi triggered widespread reprisals against Sikhs in the 1980s.

Retired farmer Bhajna Ram claims local police kidnapped and killed Sikhs during the height of tensions,forcing some to flee to other countries. Many of the families from this village,including the Nijjars,went to Canada.

India’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi last week labelled Canada a “safe haven for terrorists” afterCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being involved in Nijjar’s murder.

The explosive allegation triggered a series of diplomatic expulsions,and the shutdown of Indian visa services for Canadians while throwing the spotlight on the relatively obscure protest movement that wants to establish Khalistan,an independent state for Sikhs.

Jagir Lal,72,still collects grass for fodder from Nijjar’s family land to survive. He has fond memories of the family,which used to feed him roti and curd when he could not feed himself. Lal does not remember Nijjar being involved with any extremist movements while he was in India.

“Nijjar’s father never believed in caste. Our guru has said everyone is equal,” Lal says.

“I don’t know what happened after he left,but he was a very good man when he was here. There was no case against any one of them,nothing that the whole family ever did to harm anyone.”

The Indian government and millions of its supporters have a vastly different view.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has branded the Sikh separatists terrorists. India has claimed Nijjar was suspected of masterminding a bombing in Punjab and training extremists in Vancouver – allegations Nijjar denied and Canada has not been able to substantiate. The Indian government has denied any role in his murder and has said it would be open to looking at any specific allegations made by Canada.

After three decades of living in British Columbia in Canada,Nijjar’s temple or gurdwara appeared to develop the same caring reputation that his family did in Bhar Singh Pura.

“The gurdwara in Surrey is well known for feeding people. Students and many others eat there every day,” says Balwinder Singh who was in Canada in June when Nijjar was shot.

“It is the only gurdwara I know that allows people to take away naan home for later.”

But despite the family’s generosity and Nijjar’s campaigns,few in the village are convinced of the cause Nijjar was killed for – an independent Sikh state – which remains a fringe issue except for a couple of dozen supporters protesting outside Indian consulates around the world.

“No one in our village supports a Khalistan,” says Dharamvir. “I don’t know anyone who supports it.”

Most just want to survive another day.

“The government always tries to silence those who speak for the poor,” says Dharamvir. “People are dying of hunger. Only when our kids went abroad to earn did we have food on our plates. They work 12 hours in foreign countries and send whatever they save here.”

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