As tensions continue to escalate between Canada and India, a most inflammatory climax of sorts was reached on November 3, as a group of pro-Khalistan supporters attacked a Hindu temple in Brampton, Canada, during the sacred Diwali weekend.
It was not the first pro-Khalistan exhibitions of power and intimidation in Brampton either, with previous shows and parades and even a celebration of Indira Gandhi’s assassination in the recent past.
This was, after all, to be expected after so many months of Canada’s diplomatic showdown with India, a ‘democratic ally’. This has quite predictably led to a Canadian government enabling free passes to pro-Khalistan groups to carry out their violent, tyrannical, and oppressive actions against Hindus in Canada.
All this over the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist, officially categorised as a terrorist by the Indian Government, in Canada. Canada, in a shocking international diplomatic incident, has had the insolence and audacity to suggest that the Indian High Commissioner in Canada and other high-level diplomats are “persons of interest” regarding a crime committed in the country. That too, without a single shred of evidence, apart from vague insinuations of ‘intel’.
India has clapped back, rightfully alleging that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s actions seem motivated by vote bank politics. Since his term of office began in 2015, electoral vote banks have encouraged Canadian political parties to follow a policy of appeasement towards the Sikh community due to their significant financial political donations.
Under Trudeau, pro-Khalistan emotions and actions have been leveraged for political gain. Post the 2015 general elections in Canada, when the Liberal Party achieved a majority of 184 seats in the Parliament, there were 18 Sikhs amongst them, 4 of whom were appointed to the Cabinet. The growing representation of Sikhs in Parliament and their considerable financial muscle has now led to a particularly biased engagement of this community by Trudeau and his government.
India has since a long time been asking Western governments to crack down on the Khalistan separatist movement, but their pleas have mostly been ignored since the movement does not directly target them. However, the West does not realise that the Khalistan movement in the 1980s in India was one of the deadliest in independent India and claimed over 25,000 lives.
Canada, of course, has a long history of harbouring extremists, terrorists, and propagators of organised crime.
In 1982, they refused to extradite Talwinder Singh Parmar, the founder of the Babbar Khalsa International Terrorist group responsible for the bombing of Air India Flight 182. The extradition request incidentally was denied by Justin Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau.
In 1987, Canada and India concluded a bilateral extradition agreement that allowed the requested state to refuse extradition if it was a political offence or not made in good faith. This included offences such as hostage-taking and terrorism. There were repeated pleas made to the Canadian government regarding the extradition of Sikh extremist Nijjar, which were never fulfilled.
The absolute refusal to extradite a terrorist raises several questions regarding double standards and realpolitik.
However, leaving politics and personal ambition aside, does Trudeau understand the full repercussions of his actions? Does he realise that he is putting Canadian citizens at risk? Indo-Canadians in Canada, as well as Canadians across the world, in such a highly charged political environment?
In Canada, local Hindus are now terrified of going out in pro-Khalistan hotbeds such as Brampton and Surrey. Not an unfounded fear at all, going by all the recent violence.
The fear amongst Indo-Canadians is palpable, which is an obvious outcome if the prime minister of the country is publicly saying things to the effect of, “India is bad, India is dangerous, they are sending criminal gangs….”
Also, it has now become necessary to acknowledge the double standards of Trudeau here. The Globe & Mail recently revealed that two of Trudeau’s top aides, Nathalie Drouin and David Morrison, both Federal officials, leaked “classified intelligence” on India to the Washington Post.
What exactly this “intelligence” said or proved is anyone’s guess, apart from shadowy aspersions and allegations.
The same Trudeau denounced leaks on China, terming them “illegal”. It is now widely recognised that Beijing has “clandestinely and deceptively” been interfering with the Canadian elections in 2019 as well as 2021.
The interference was allegedly favouring candidates that aligned with Beijing’s strategic interests, discouraging support for the Conservative Party, which is widely regarded as anti-China.
The CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) revealed these findings in their 2023 report. A Trudeau minority government, which was China’s desired outcome in Canada, was, of course, achieved.
This is also the same Trudeau who dialled up Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein to condemn Hamas’ attacks against Israel while also reaffirming Canada’s support for Israel and their “right to defend themselves against acts of terror”. Words about India were also sneaked in, regarding the diplomatic ties between the two countries and the importance of the ‘rule of law’ and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
He also called up UAE President Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahain yet again to condemn Hamas’ actions and provide an update about Canada’s ongoing diplomatic tussle with India.
It is almost laughable—the hypocrisy here. Calling up leaders in the Middle East and showing concern about a war at their doorstep, but also inserting a childlike complaint along the lines of, “Hey, do you know what India’s doing to us?”
So what is Trudeau playing at? It is a question that demands to be asked, even in the name of patriotism and good governance. His extreme and, at times, irrational hostility towards India has long been in evidence. His cabinet has long included individuals who have openly extremist and harmful intent towards India.
His stark and unqualified interference in Indian internal politics, especially in December 2020, was ludicrously outrageous and displayed his real intentions quite clearly.
His expulsion of top Indian diplomats and allegations against the Indian High Commission will also no doubt lead to a breakdown of visa processes for citizens, travellers, and Overseas Citizen of India card holders, as communications have halted between the two High Commissions.
Tensions right now are at an all-time high between India and Canada, and New Delhi has made it clear that its patience with Canada is on very thin ice. One thing has to be made crystal clear to Trudeau and whomever it may concern: It is not the Sikh community in Canada that India has a problem with; it is the Khalistani terrorists, who are a threat to India’s national security.
The author is a freelance journalist and features writer based out of Delhi. Her main areas of focus are politics, social issues, climate change and lifestyle-related topics. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.