The Leader in our October 1, 2023 Digital Edition
Venkat Raman
Auckland, October 2, 2023
The visit of the Canadian Prime Minister to New Delhi to attend the G20 Summit on September 9 and September 10, 2023 had all the ominous signs. The visiting leader tried his best to display normalcy but failed, while his host – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonstrated the best of the Indian tradition of tolerance and hospitality although he too seemed somewhat uncomfortable.
For some time now, New Delhi has been requesting Ottawa to restrain some of its citizens from getting physical in their protests- attacking Indian diplomats and desecrating Indian properties in Canada (i.e. the Indian High Commission and Consulate Office buildings). The Modi government wanted the Trudeau government to bring to justice those seeking to create their own Sikh State of Khalistan in India.
The killing of Nijjar
While Mr Trudeau has been reluctant to do so, citing the freedom of speech and action guaranteed to all citizens and residents of Canada under its Constitution, Mr Modi called for more affirmative action, The killing of Harpreet Singh Nijjar a Khalistan Leader (declared a terrorist by the Indian government), on June 18, 2023 in the parking area of a Gurdwara in British Columbia has sparked a serious controversy. A week after his return from New Delhi (where he skipped a State Dinner hosted by Indian President Draupadi Murmu), Mr Trudeau accused Indian agents of killing Mr Nijjar and demanded an explanation. He called on Mr Modi and his government to cooperate in the investigations into the death of a Canadian citizen.
Mr Modi and his External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar took offence to the allegations and said that ‘India is not in the business of assassination.’
Mr Trudeau’s remarks in the Canadian Parliament and outside have created an unprecedented diplomatic incident, threatening to damage the relations between the two countries.
Mr Trudeau’s refusal to provide any evidence has worsened the situation.
The spying business is not new to any country. But it is often said and done in politics, it is undertaken as a discreet activity and usually ignored. It is only when things turn nasty such as abduction, seeking and granting asylum and deaths of diplomats or ordinary people that things take an ugly turn. It is however an unwritten norm that leaders of countries have a ‘friendly chat’ with the concerned and seek a quick settlement. It is in the event of intransigence that relations get to sour as it happened in the case of India and Canada.
India is known for its chosen path of non-violence and has neither invaded any country nor undertaken excursions or incursions into the affairs of another country, let alone kill a citizen of another country, even if that person held extremist views.
Mr Trudeau could have provided the evidence that India needs to examine its own espionage apparatus and examine if anyone had gone rogue or made a very wrong judgment, breaching governmental briefs. In the absence of proof, Mr Trudeau cannot expect New Delhi to take action.
Geopolitical consequences
The India-Canada confrontation could have geopolitical consequences with rippling effects on common friends such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Australia, who want stronger ties with India. They see India as a true friend with immense human capital, almost insatiable consumer markets and the emerging powerhouse of the world. The G20 Summit held under the Presidency of India showed the country’s capability and the rising popularity of Mr Modi.
Chintamani Mahapatra, Founder of the Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha said that Mr Trudeau has ignored the sentiments of the larger Indo-Canadian community, which includes the Canadian Sikhs and appears biased in favour of the Khalistanis.
“While the Khalistan issue can affect economic cooperation in the short term, it is unlikely to derail long-term ties between the countries. Expelling a diplomat means you do not want a dialogue. Such issues need to be dealt with through dialogue and diplomacy, not confrontation,” he said.
Mr Trudeau realises that conciliation and not confrontation is the right way to proceed.
“There is no question that India is a country of growing importance and a country that we need to continue to work with – not just in the region but around the world. And we are not looking to provoke or cause problems. But we are unequivocal around the importance of the rule of law, and unequivocal about the importance of protecting Canadians and standing up for our values,” he said, speaking to the media on the the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Meeting in New York on September 21, 2023.
We hope that Ottawa will make the right moves to end this standoff, for the current crisis is in no one’s interest anywhere in the world.
