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Montreal Police revise manual to distinguish Swastika
The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) Canada collaborated with SPVM's Hate Crimes and Incident Unit over several months to bring about the change.
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Staff Reporter
- Mon, 12, May 2025
- 13:29 EDT
- 135
Hakenkreuz and Swastika / Pexels
The Montreal police in Canada have revised their hate crime manual to distinguish between the Nazi symbol and the sacred Swastika.
The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) replaced the phrase “drawing a Swastika” with “graffitiing Nazi symbols” in its internal materials.
Also Read: Virginia Governor seeks to amend Swastika bil
This change aims to distinguish between the sacred Swastika, revered in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and the Nazi emblem known as the Hakenkreuz or "hooked cross."
A Victory for Education & Accuracy in Montreal!
— CoHNA Canada (@CoHNACanada) May 2, 2025
CoHNA thanks @SPVM for updating their hate crime manuals to remove ‘drawing a Swastika’ as a hate crime and replacing it with the more accurate ‘graffitiing Nazi symbols.’
This small but critical correction reflects a more… pic.twitter.com/LW3aYbqyTA
The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) Canada, which collaborated with SPVM's Hate Crimes and Incident Unit over several months, announced the update on social media.
“A victory for education and accuracy in Montreal!” CoHNA Canada lauded the move in a social media post. “CoHNA thanks SPVM for updating their hate crime manuals to remove ‘drawing a Swastika’ as a hate crime and replacing it with the more accurate ‘graffitiing Nazi symbols.”
The organization emphasized that this distinction is crucial to prevent the mischaracterization of the Swastika, a symbol of peace and prosperity in Dharmic traditions, as a hate symbol.
This update follows a similar correction by Peel Regional Police in Ontario, which amended its hate crime training materials to reflect the accurate terminology after appeals from CoHNA and other Hindu organizations. These efforts are part of a broader initiative to educate law enforcement and the public about the differences between the Swastika and the Nazi Hakenkreuz.
The Swastika, a symbol of peace and auspiciousness for over 5,000 years in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, has long been misrepresented in the West due to its visual similarity to the Nazi Hakenkreuz, adopted in the 20th century. CoHNA and other groups have advocated for a clearer separation between the two in legislation, public policy, and media reporting.
CoHNA has led efforts in California, New York, and Ontario to prevent what it calls the “mislabeling” of the Swastika in hate crime laws and public education materials.
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