The bilateral ties between India and Canada have been strained. Until and unless both the countries do not resolve the ongoing diplomatic row, the relationship between these two old friends will only deteriorate further. India will have to try its best to improve the relationship with Canada but given the severity of the issue, things look bleak.
The Khalistani movement has burgeoned in Canada and the Canadian government is quietly backing it. This is problematic for our country, but India has not done anything concrete to counter it. The murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada on June 18 this year has opened a whole new can of worms after the Canadian government accused India for Nijjar’s murder. Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kicked up the row by saying that two diplomats from the Indian Embassy are involved in Nijjar’s murder and the statements were made without confiding in the Indian government.
Canada has said that this is a violation of the country’s sovereignty and if the allegations are proven true, it will impact the relations between the two countries. Naturally, India has refuted the allegations. India has historically never initiated such an action against any country and Nijjar’s death is no exception either because the country is well-aware of the ramifications. Canada’s stance is that since Nijjar was a Canadian citizen, they assume safety of their citizens as their crucial responsibility. While they are absolutely right on the citizens’ safety part, it’s applicable only for the common public and not criminals. It’s every country’s responsibility to see that the criminals in their countries are penalised.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a Khalistani separatist and was affiliated with the militant Khalistan Tiger Force. This makes him a criminal in India’s eyes. The Khalistan movement is in fact an attack on India’s sovereignty and anyone who works for this separatist agenda is a criminal. Many such criminals have taken a permanent shelter in Canada and have renounced their Indian citizenship. What is the reason behind Canada providing them safety? What would Canada gain if Punjab separates from India to become an independent Khalistan state? There is nothing to gain for anyone from this. In fact, the Khalistani supporters are only spreading terror in Canada in India’s name.
Canada should be unsettled by such actions as it will severely damage its international relations with India. However, the Canadian government seems to be not bothered by the consequences given their unhinged allegations. This is where India has fallen short with its diplomatic policy with Canada. It is clear that India has failed to pressurise Canada into uprooting the Khalistan movement flourishing in Canada. Till now the bilateral ties between the two countries seemed warm. Similar energy was reflected during the meeting of both countries’ prime ministers when Trudeau visited India for the G20 New Delhi summit. However, it was unclear what went down during the meeting. It’s only after Trudeau returned to his home country did he launch the barrage of comments alleging India’s link with Nijjar’s murder. This proves that Trudeau had something else in his mind when he visited India because Nijjar’s murder had taken place way back in June. What took him so long to express his views on the matter? If he had made the respective comments before G20 meetings, then Canada would have found itself alone. The stance taken by some of the G20 countries proves just that. It’s a question of what’s next for both the countries. Canada has expelled an Indian diplomat from the Indian Embassy, while India has suspended its visa services in a tit-for-tat move. However, this is not sufficient to battle Khalistan movement. India needs to hold bilateral talks to resolve the matter. India’s policy for Canada could be called a success only when it succeeds in uprooting the Khalistan movement which has spread far and wide in Canada.
