Explained: 'Interference in India's internal affairs'; why New Delhi wanted these Canadian diplomats out

India has revoked diplomatic immunity to 41 Canadian diplomats citing their interference in internal affairs. So, what is this interference all about? Writes ETV Bharat’s Aroonim Bhuyan.

New Delhi:Rebutting Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly’s charge that India’s revoking of diplomatic immunity to 41 of her country’s diplomats was “contrary to international law”, New Delhi has said that its action is fully consistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations

“The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement. The Ministry said that India has been engaged with Canada over the last month in order to work out the details and modalities of bringing about this parity.

“Our actions in implementing this parity are fully consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states the following: ‘In the absence of specific agreement as to the size of the mission, the receiving State may require that the size of a mission be kept within limits considered by it to be reasonable and normal, having regard to circumstances and conditions in the receiving State and to the needs of the particular mission’,” the statement read. “We reject any attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms.”

India claimed to have only 21 accredited diplomats in Canada while Canada had 62 in India, spread across its High Commission in New Delhi and consulates in Mumbai, Chandigarh and Bengaluru.

The revocation of diplomatic immunity to these Canadian diplomats comes in the wake of the huge India-Canada diplomatic row sparked by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’ s allegation that India had a hand in the killing of one of its citizens, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a wanted Khalistani separatist, earlier this year. Trudeau made this allegation on the floor of the Canada’s House of Commons on September 18 soon after returning from New Delhi after attending the G20 Summit. Trudeau’s trip to New Delhi itself was a disaster. Of all the world leaders with whom he held bilateral meetings with on the sidelines of the Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reserved his most acerbic comments for the Canadian Prime Minister due to Ottawa’s support to Khalistani extremists.

Along with Trudeau’s allegation, Canadian Foreign Minister Joly announced the expulsion of a senior Indian diplomat posted in Canada and, in violation of diplomatic protocols, also revealed the name of the diplomat. In a tit-for-tat move,the Ministry of External Affairs summoned Canadian High Commissioner to India Cameron Mackay and ordered the expulsion of a senior Canadian diplomat posted in New Delhi. New Delhi had dismissed Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd and motivated”.

“Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the External Affairs Ministry had said. “The inaction of the Canadian government on this matter has been a long-standing and continuing concern. That Canadian political figures have openly expressed sympathy for such elements remains a matter of deep concern.”

Since Trudeau made his allegation, India has also suspended visa services for all Canadian citizens citing safety of its diplomats in the Indian missions in Canada. This apart, India also ordered the expulsion of 41 more Canadian diplomats from India saying that there should be parity in the number of diplomats in both the countries.

Following the revocation of diplomatic immunity to the 41 diplomats, Joly said: “Revoking the diplomatic immunity of 41 diplomats is not only unprecedented but also contrary to international law.” She said this after Canada withdrew 41 of its diplomats and their 42 family members from India. Joly said India planned to “unethically” revoke diplomatic immunity for all but 21 of Canada’s diplomats and their families by Friday. So, what is this interference in internal affairs by the diplomats that India has cited for revocation of their diplomatic immunity?

“Canadian diplomats have been involved in collecting information about India’s internal affairs like the farmers’ agitation,” Robinder Sachdev, president of the New Delhi-based independent think tank ImagIndia and who closely follows India-Canada relations, told ETV Bharat. “They send this information to the Canadian federal government based on which Ottawa takes foreign policy decisions vis-à-vis India.”

In December 2021, a few weeks into the farmers’ agitation, Trudeau had backed the protests and said that Ottawa has conveyed its concerns about the protest by Indian farmers to New Delhi. Trudeau had said that Canada would always be there to defend the rights of peaceful protests and expressed concern over the situation. India was quick to dismiss his remarks as “unwarranted” as they pertained to the country’s internal affairs. Sachdev said that the information the Canadian diplomats gather tend to be biased in nature.

“Secondly, it is also about the Khalistan movement which India says the Canadian government supports,” Sachdev said. Abhinav Pandya, director, founder and CEO of Usanas Foundation think tank and who closely follows the Khalistan issue, said that more and more Khalistani activists are entering mainstream politics in Canada. In this connection, he referred to the New Democratic Party (NDP) that is an ally of the Trudeau government. Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the NDP, is a known sympathiser of the Khalistani cause.

Following the 2021 parliamentary elections in Canada, Trudeau’s Liberal Party won 160 seats, 10 short of the majority figure of 170 required to form a government on its own. Following this, Trudeau’s party took the support of the NDP which won 25 seats and formed the government. Observers say that Trudeau is supporting Khalistan sympathisers residing in his country due to domestic political compulsions. “Interference also means Canadian diplomats interacting with elements in India who are inimical to India’s national interests,” Sachdev said.

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