India-Canada ties have taken a turn for the worse. A series of dramatic incidents came after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blamed India for the death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. In fact, it was his diplomatic failure that made the relationship sour.
He is equating terrorism with democratic protest. He failed to recognize India's legitimate concerns and take any concrete steps to check anti-India activities on Canadian soil. In this context, let's look into the issue in detail.
WHAT MADE THE RELATIONSHIP SOUR?
The primary reason for this growing tension is the rise of the Khalistani sentiment in Canada which has worsened the relationship in recent years. In June, India hit out at Canada for allowing a float in a parade depicting the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi. It is perceived to be a glorification of violence by Sikh separatists and evoked a strong response from India. Trudeau's visit to India for the G20 summit was disastrous. He received a cold welcome and PM Modi conveyed India’s strong concerns about the continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada. But right after PM Modi expressed his strong concerns with Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, A Khalistan referendum event held in Canada by Khalistani separatist groups SFJ.
Following Trudeau’s departure from New Delhi, the two countries announced canceling negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement. Trudeau then made serious allegations against India in the Canadian Parliament. He said India was behind the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force and India's most wanted terrorist. Canada has not yet provided evidence for this. But Trudeau's statement worsened the bilateral ties at a time when India is already unhappy with the Canadian authorities for not cracking down on pro-Khalistani groups carrying out anti-India activities. India responded sharply, dismissing Canada’s charges. It accused Canada of sheltering “Khalistani terrorists and extremists”, who “threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
The bilateral ties reached their lowest on September 19th when Canada expelled India’s top diplomat. In a tit-for-tat move, New Delhi expelled a Canadian senior diplomat. The Ministry of External Affairs said the decision reflects India’s growing concern at the “interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities”.
Meanwhile, Trudeau did another diplomatic disaster. He tried to mobilize Western leaders against India by putting pressure on the UK, the US, France, and its other allies. But failed to secure backing from its “closest allies” as they declined to rebuke New Delhi over the death of the Khalistani terrorist. They could easily sense the folly of spoiling ties with India by supporting extremist movements.
WHY CANADA IS INACTIVE AGAINST PRO-KHALISTANI GROUPS
This is not the first time that India has accused the Trudeau government of not doing enough to tackle the Khalistani issue. While Canada has been seen as providing a ‘safe haven’ to Khalistan supporters for years, this trend has reportedly increased since Justin Trudeau came to power. Trudeau's presence at Khalsa Day celebrations in Toronto in 2017 irked India. Indian diplomats based in Canada have on numerous occasions said that Ottawa's failure to tackle "Sikh extremism", and the constant harassment of Indian diplomats and officials by Khalistanis, is a major foreign policy stress point. But Canada's inaction despite India's growing concern is driven by vote-bank politics. Trudeau’s Liberal Party is heading a minority government in Canada. Last March, he struck a deal with the New Democratic Party to stay in power until 2025. The New Democratic Party is headed by Jagmeet Singh, who is seen as a Khalistani supporter. Hence Trudeau wants to appease the NDP to remain in power and also not to lose the Sikh vote base.
India has legitimate concerns. If the Indian embassy is being attacked, the country has the sovereign right to register its protest, and that's precisely what India has done. However, Canada has failed to recognize this. If we compare it with the pro-Khalistan protest that took place in the UK, the government there dealt with it very sensibly. Canada bears a similar responsibility to ensure that such violence does not occur on its soil.
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