“We protested that the event was being held on the important dates of June 5 and 6,” said protest organizer Prabhsharanbir Singh. “These days are set aside as memorial to when the Indian army attacked one of our biggest shrines and committed major human rights abuses and violence against Sikhs.”

In 1984 Indira Gandhi, then the prime minister of India, ordered the military invasion of one of the Sikh religion’s most holy sites, the Harmandir Sahib complex. Also known as the Golden Temple, it sits in the city of Amritsar in Punjab, the only Indian state with a majority Sikh population.

The operation targeted Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, an influential leader fighting for Sikh rights who had taken shelter in the complex. It also extended to the countryside, where the military detained, tortured and killed suspected militants. An army estimate puts the number of civilian deaths at nearly 500; independent estimates have placed the number much higher. Today Sikhs remember not only the massacre, but what they consider the desecration of sacred ground.

“From my research it has been clear that many Sikhs continue to be traumatized by painful memories of persecution and attempts at cultural and religious destruction by the Indian state,” said Indira Prahst, a professor of sociology specializing in racism and ethnic relations at Langara College, who was part of the community mobilization. “What is disturbing is witnessing firsthand how spaces for Sikhs to express their identity are becoming narrower in the corporate world.”

The bhangra festival is run by the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration. When told about the issue presented by the date of the event, the event organizers responded that the venue had been booked a year in advance, according to Singh. He said that in 2014 the event was held on the same dates, and VIBC organizers were told by concerned community members such as himself to make changes for the next day, leaving enough time for the organization to plan around the dates of a yearly vigil commemorating the genocide.

VIBC did not return emails requesting comment on the issue. It posted a note of apology on its website saying the festival was not planned with malicious intent, the 1984 genocide would be commemorated throughout the event and the festival would be scheduled for a different weekend in future years.

The note was not a sincere apology, said Singh, and instead justified the decision to go ahead with the festival as planned. The event organizers had previously “said that every date marked some atrocity. Even though they are from the same culture as us, they chose to have the party on the same day as the vigil.”

Protesters have described the festival as an attempt to suppress memories of genocide and other atrocities, pointing out that the Indian consulate supported the event.

“I share the view that the Indian government wants people to forget what happened,” said Singh. “The Turkish government also does this during Armenian Genocide Week. The tactic is to deflect attention.”

Another day drew parallel controversy soon after the bhangra festival. A mass yoga class was planned for June 21, International Yoga Day, and would have shut down Vancouver’s Burrard Bridge. The awkwardly named Om the Bridge was announced by B.C. Premier Christy Clark, in partnership with Lululemon and Altagas. The day in question was also National Aboriginal Day, a fact that led many groups to question the appropriateness of the yoga-thon and its sponsorship at a time of conflict over resource extraction on Indigenous land.

“Om yoga is a prime example of the massive entitlement and abuse of privilege, at taxpayers’ expense no less,” said Tami Starlight, director of the Anti-Oppression Network. “The Christy Clark provincial Liberal government’s reckless disregard for Indigenous peoples’ rights in the colony of Canada needs to stop.”

Indigenous people and allies voiced opposition to the event, which was cancelled as partners withdrew support, though not without Clark tweeting her indignation at being held to task.

In contrast, Downtown Bhangra went ahead amid protests, noted Prahst.

“While it was commendable that the commemoration for Aboriginal Day was honoured, it has raised the question for several Sikhs as to why their request was ignored and how the tentacles of the Indian state are active and operative here in Canada to domesticate Sikhs and to erase this history,” she said.