Canada row: Diplomatic relations between India and Canada have been in choppy waters since last year, when Canada accused Indian government agents of having a hand in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. But when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this week that Royal Royal Canadian Mounted Police had “clear and compelling evidence” that Indian agents were supporting criminal activity on the country’s soil, it kickstarted a chain reaction that has pushed the relations between the two countries almost over the cliff.
Both countries executed tit-for-tat expulsions from the respective diplomatic missions. Canada has reportedly expelled six Indian diplomats and also named Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma as a ‘person of interest’ in its investigation into Nijjar’s killing. A furious India accused Trudeau of vote bank politics and stressed that the Canadian authorities had not shared any evidence of the involvement of Indian diplomats in any unlawful activities in Canada despite repeated requests. India summoned Canada’s Charge d’Affaires, Stewart Wheeler after the charges were aired and expressed strong displeasure. Later, six Canadian diplomats were also expelled and ordered to leave India by Saturday. With this sudden downturn in diplomatic relations, there are already anxious questions about visa procedures and if they will get affected. Canada has a strong Indian diaspora, with a majority of them having links to Punjab.
It may be recalled that 45-year-old Nijjar, a known Khalistan supporter, was shot and killed by two gunmen outside a Sikh temple in a Vancouver suburb on June 18, 2023 in British Columbia, Canada. Nijjar was behind the wheel of his pickup truck when he was shot and the bullets blew in the windows. Nijjar was known to be associated with Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, another Khalistani movement leader who runs the separatist group, Sikhs for Justice. India had designated both Nijjar and Pannun as terrorists. Nijjar was wanted in India for his alleged involvement in several cases, including the bombing of a theatre in Punjab in 2007 that killed six people and the 2009 assassination of Sikh politician Rulda Singh.
It may also be recalled that the US Department of Justice had alleged back in November 2023 that Indian agents were directly involved in a plot to kill Pannun. In June this year, Nikhil Gupta, who is an Indian citizen, was extradited to the US from the Czech Republic in this case. US investigators have alleged that Gupta had got a hired assassin on board to carry out the job. While the Indian government has set up an inquiry and pledged to investigate these allegations, a US district court has also issued summons as late as last month to National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, ex-RAW head Samant Goel and others in the matter.
Canada’s latest round of accusations has gotten greater heft after US authorities said on Tuesday that India was not cooperating with Canadian authorities in the ongoing investigation. Speaking to the media, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller branded Canada’s accusations “extremely serious” and said that “we wanted to see the government of India cooperate with Canada in its investigation. Obviously, they have not. They have chosen an alternate path.” Pannun himself has made a statement that he has been in touch with the office of the Canadian PM to share intel on Nijjar’s killing.
Both these accusations, coming from two countries that themselves share such close social, economic and diplomatic ties, has put India on a sticky wicket on the international front. The accusations are quite serious and it is incumbent upon the Indian government to clear the air and ensure that no stone is left unturned to prove that its diplomats have no involvement in such criminal activities on foreign soil. With such public statements coming from two countries that are fundamentally important to India’s diplomatic chessboard, there is an urgent need to open established back channels of communication to ensure that there are no further comments to put India in any discomfort on the world stage.
After that comes the more delicate matter of actually addressing the accusations. No stomping of diplomatic feet on India’s part will drive away the stink that the allegations have raised. Being accused of involvement in a murder plot on foreign soil is a very serious matter indeed. India now has the unenviable task of balancing between two things – assuring that its response is seen as unequivocally authentic to all players, and that it does not come off as weak and unsure in the way it handles this bad press on the public front. It’s a knife edge, and the Indian government does have its task cut out.