Democratic societies should be aware freedoms may be misused: Jaishankar takes a dig at Canada

Jaishankar apparently sought to send a message to Canada, where secession referendums are being conducted by Sikhs for Justice

Freedoms in democratic societies can be misused, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Auckland after a meeting with New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta.

“Democratic societies need to be cognisant of the possibilities that the very freedoms that define them can be misused. They need to be sensitive to that, they need to be aware, particularly when it impacts other relationships,” Jaishankar said while responding to a question in a joint news conference with Mahuta. The External Affairs Minister apparently sought to send out a message to Canada, where referendums being conducted by the “Sikhs for Justice” organisation to drum up support for secession of Khalistan from India of late turned an irritant in the relations between New Delhi and Ottawa.

Jaishankar is currently on a visit to New Zealand. He joined New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Auckland to felicitate the Indians living in the South Western Pacific Island country for their exceptional achievements and contributions. They released “India@75” postage stamps to commemorate and showcase India’s ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ in New Zealand.

Also read | India seeks action on 'so-called Khalistan referendum' in Canada

The External Affairs Minister also released a book showcasing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special bond with the Sikhs – titled ‘Heartfelt – The Legacy of Faith’.

Ardern’s administration in Wellington had not stopped nearly 1,500 Indian-origin citizens of New Zealand from staging a demonstration at Aotea Square in Auckland in December 2020 in support of the farmers, who had been protesting in the outskirts of the National Capital Region of India against the three new agricultural laws enacted by the Modi Government. New Delhi had not been amused.

“New Zealand is a diverse society with low tolerance for fringe elements who seek to disenfranchise communities based on their ethnicity or religion,” Mahuta said in the joint news conference with Jaishankar on Thursday.

The Modi government has also been drawing flak from the United States and other western nations for India’s alleged backsliding on democratic values.

New Delhi had asked Ottawa to stop the SFJ from holding the referendum on Khalistan in Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, however, declined to do so, pointing out that any organization had the right to peacefully and democratically express its opinion in a democracy. The SFJ, known for its stand on secession of Khalistan from India, went ahead and held the referendum in Brampton on September 18.

The SFJ is now planning to hold the second phase of referendums on the issue of ‘Khalistan’ in Toronto on November 6.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government issued an advisory on September 23 last for the students and other citizens of the India currently in Canada as well the ones planning to visit the North American country. It advised the students to exercise “due caution and remain vigilant” in view of the “sharp increase” in the incidents of hate-crimes and anti-India activities in Canada.

The Modi Government’s move came after the recent vandalization of the Swaminarayan Temple and the Vishnu Temple at Toronto in Canada. The slogans like “Khalistan Zindabad” and “Hindustan Murdabad” were spray-painted on the walls of the shrines.

Ottawa already retaliated to New Delhi’s September 23 advisory. It updated its own advisory for the citizens of Canada, asking them to avoid travelling to territories within 10 kms of India’s border with neighbouring Pakistan, citing the “presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance” in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab. Canada also asked its citizens staying in India or travelling to India to “exercise a high degree of caution” due to the “threat of terrorist attacks throughout the country”.

Jaishankar’s remark cautioning democratic societies about misuse of freedoms might also be directed towards the United Kingdom, where the ‘Sikhs for Justice’ had held a memorandum on October 31, 2021. Earlier, on December 6, 2020, a large number of protesters – mostly British Sikhs – from across the UK had assembled on the road in front of the High Commission of India in London to express solidarity with farmers, who had then been agitating against the farm laws of the Modi Government.