In a parliament statement, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau accused India of complicity in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and an identified Khalistani terrorist. This has triggered the worst diplomatic crisis between the two countries. Nijjar was wanted in India for several violent crimes, was on the Interpol list, and his capture carried a reward in India. Trudeau said there were “credible allegations”.
Canada expelled a senior Indian diplomat, and named him as the head of the R&AW unit of the Indian High Commission, pointing a direct finger at India’s foreign intelligence agency. Trudeau’s so-called “credible allegations” were not backed by any evidence, and he is now busy making statements and drip-feeding the media that there is a “potential link” based on signal and human intelligence. He also claimed that though evidence was provided to India, it denied receiving any specific information. This seems to be an arrogant assertion of a predominantly white Western country—it is sufficient that we have told you, and you must accept and atone for your sins.
India summarily rejected Trudeau’s allegations, calling them absurd, motivated and groundless. It retaliated by expelling the Canadian diplomat who was the R&AW head’s counterpart in the Canadian High Commission. Both countries issued travel advisories warning their respective citizens in each other’s countries to stay safe. India’s advisory was strongly worded, mentioning the official patronage of terrorists in Canada. India upped the ante by suspending the issuance of visas in Canada and enforcing parity in the number of diplomats posted in each other’s countries. The parity principle will force Canada to reduce its diplomats in India.
Before the G20 summit, Trudeau had desperately tried to get the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing partners, such as Australia, the UK and the US, to join hands with Canada in going public on this issue to embarrass India. He tried the same within the G7 but was rebuffed. Trudeau claimed that he raised the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a ten-minute pull-aside meeting. PM Modi rejected his allegations and gave him a dressing down over his government’s patronage of terrorists and non-action towards India’s concerns.
The fracturing of bilateral ties began when trade negotiations were halted before the G20 summit. Trudeau has claimed that his intelligence officials shared information with their Indian counterparts before the summit and were clearly rebuffed. Trudeau is now pleading with Canada’s Anglosphere allies—Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA—to come to Canada’s defence. They have expressed concern and asked India to cooperate in the investigations. The US has gone further than the other countries by claiming it had provided information to Canada. This may well be tactical support to a neighbour and an ally. It is also a calculated move to apply pressure on India after the G20 summit. The US remains unhappy with India’s stand on the Ukraine war and refusal to condemn Russia.
The US-based Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Pannun has warned Hindus to leave Canada because they do not support the Khalistan project. Pannun, a dual Canadian-American citizen, is a suspected Central Intelligence Agency agent. India has confiscated his properties in Punjab and is scrutinising the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) status of Khalistani supporters. Cancellation of OCI status will mean Canadian Khalistanis will have to apply for a visa to travel to India.
Canada has been at the forefront of protecting and patronising Khalistani terrorists. Australia, the UK and the USA also are not too far behind. The Indian consulate in San Francisco was attacked by Khalistani goons, as was the Indian High Commission in London. They have attacked Hindu temples in Australia.
Any independent observer would conclude that there is a coordinated approach among Khalistanis in these countries. Canada has been consistently dismissive and callous towards India’s concerns over terrorist activities being carried out from Canadian soil. India’s repeated official requests for deportations of wanted terrorists and gangsters, supported by detailed and well-documented dossiers, have been studiously ignored by Canada, highlighting its callous irresponsibility. The other Anglosphere countries have also been uncooperative. The only conclusion is that they all see this as leverage against India.
Historically, the most heinous of Canada’s crimes against humanity was the bombing of Air India’s Kanishka by Khalistani terrorists in 1985. Canada had earlier rejected India’s request for the extradition of Talwinder Singh Parmar, who was later one of the organisers of the bombing which killed 329 innocent people. Canada had full knowledge about the conspirators and did nothing. In fact, it consciously impeded the investigation to avoid culpability. All conspirators walked free.
Canada has failed to trace the killers ever since Nijjar’s death in June. It needed a diversion to appease its Khalistani supporters. Trudeau has consciously and deliberately torpedoed bilateral ties. Was he naïve or arrogant to think that India would not react? Did he anticipate India’s reaction?
It is hard to believe that Canadian diplomats and intelligence officials did not think this through. The compelling reason appears to be domestic politics which trumped other considerations. Trudeau’s political compulsion to retain the support of the pro-Khalistani New Democratic Party to keep him in power is a reality. His growing unpopularity and plummeting approval ratings have sections of his Liberal Party toying with the option of dumping him as leader before the next election.
Trudeau tried to achieve a dual goal, one of which was to suck up to China, badly frayed by the arrest and later deportation of the Huawei owner’s daughter and heir-apparent. Trudeau’s dalliance with China’s agents is an ongoing controversy and involves financial links. His government even allowed China to operate “police stations” in the garb of cultural or help centres for Chinese nationals. China used these offices to mount surveillance and intimidate Chinese residents in Canada.
The Trudeau government must be celebrating the support of Pakistan, the global epicentre of terrorism. Canadians cannot be proud of this association. Canada will surely harm itself by this gaslighting policy adopted by Trudeau. Canadians will no doubt ponder over such a policy which may help Trudeau domestically but harm Canada internationally. ‘Fools rush in where angels fear to tread’ is an old phrase that may now be associated with Trudeau.
Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty
Former MEA Secretary and ambassador. Founder director of DeepStrat and visiting fellow at Observer Research Foundation, Delhi
(pr.chakravarty@gmail.com)