Justin Trudeau
Credit: Reuters File Photo
India and Canada are facing an unprecedented diplomatic standoff over the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The Canadian government accused India of orchestrating the assassination of Sikh separatist leader Nijjar on June 18, 2023, in British Columbia. Despite Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma’s appeal to Canada to provide “specific and relevant” evidence, the Canadian government has yet to provide credible proof. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s hostility towards India has been apparent. He alleges that Indian diplomats were gathering information on Canadians and passing it on to organised crime networks. New Delhi has dismissed these claims as absurd, preposterous, and baseless. Moreover, targeting a senior diplomat like Sanjay Verma is unacceptable.
Canadian authorities have been harbouring Sikh extremists and separatists for many decades. Concerns about this count were raised with Trudeau when he visited India for the G-20 Summit in September 2023. Even during Trudeau’s visit, a so-called Khalistani referendum was held in Surrey, British Columbia. On Khalsa Day, anti-India slogans were raised in Toronto in Trudeau’s presence. Additionally, hate speeches targeting Hindu-Canadians have circulated, especially in Ontario and British Columbia. To fuel further discord, some extremists advocate carving out the state of Khalistan and raising the Khalistani flag in Surrey, British Columbia, or even Ontario.
The Trudeau government seems to have ventured into a smear campaign for political gain, with national elections looming in 2025. It appears that Trudeau’s domestic troubles are driving a wedge between India and Canada. In this process, Khalistani extremists and terrorists are being harboured by the Canadian authorities. Way back in 1982, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi locked horns with Justin Trudeau’s father, Pierra Trudeau, on the Khalistan issue. Issues reached a boil when Surjan Singh Gill established a Khalistan office in exile in Vancouver. Pierre Trudeau even shielded Talwinder Singh Parmar, a member of Babbar Khalsa who advocated attacks on Indian missions abroad.
Both sides have engaged in tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats and suspensions of consular services repeatedly. Understandably, the current diplomatic standoff has caused shock and uncertainty among the Indo-Canadian community. Moreover, its impact on the geopolitics between Canada, the United States, and India is being closely watched. These developments create a sense of insecurity and the potential for backlash, with new tensions and obstacles likely to arise.
The Trudeau government is hoping to draw political mileage by promoting the idea of an independent Khalistan. Canada must resist and desist from providing space to extremists and terrorists. All Sikhs in Canada or India are not necessarily Khalistanis and do not fall prey to these misguided elements. The demand for a separate Khalistan in India has been laid to rest decades ago. India’s concerns about Khalistan are holding India-Canada relations hostage. Perhaps India’s diplomatic posturing also has to do with the relatively low stakes India attaches to the relationship, unlike India-US ties. It has also to do with the diplomatic shortsightedness and boorishness on the part of the Trudeau government.
Whether these developments will have a direct bearing on New Delhi’s strategic relations with Washington, only time will tell. This could also have a bearing on India’s great power ambitions, as well as Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy that prioritises India. The downward turn in India-Canada relations may not have a bearing on the defence and military cooperation between the two countries.
Paul Krugman of the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington contends that part of India’s strong reaction has to do with how publicly Trudeau has made the allegations, which is suggestive of Trudeau’s diplomatic immaturity. New Delhi and Ottawa face a political and diplomatic crisis. Both sides have an obligation to restore the relationship to where it rightfully belongs, rather than to hold on to high moral grounds. Given the declining approval ratings of Trudeau, he is making India-Canada relations a sacrificial lamb to win back popular support. Propping up Khalistani extremists and terrorists will only backfire.
India-Canada relations will take a long time to reset and recover, unless there is political will on the Canadian side. To make this happen, the Canadian government has to act against anti-India elements masquerading on Canadian soil. The bitter truth is that anti-India activities in Canada will not be in the interest of India-Canada relations. Both countries need to engage in dialogue as a way out to address each other’s sovereignty concerns. Giving a free reign to Khalistani extremists and terrorists is absurd. The ball is now in Trudeau’s court.
(The writer is a professor in the Department of International Relations,
Political Science & History, Christ deemed to be university, Bengaluru)