New Delhi: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not anticipate the adverse impact the diplomatic row he triggered with India will have in his country and abroad. After Trudeau alleged earlier this week that India had a hand in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in June this year and expelled a senior Indian diplomat, New Delhi hit back hard dismissing the allegation as “absurd and motivated” and also expelling a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat response.
India then issued a travel advisory to Indians travelling to or living in Canada. “In view of growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes and criminal violence in Canada, all Indian nationals there and those contemplating travel are urged to exercise utmost caution,” the advisory stated. “Recently, threats have particularly targeted Indian diplomats and sections of the Indian community, who oppose the anti-India agenda. Indian nationals are therefore advised to avoid travelling to regions and potential venues in Canada that have seen such incidents.”
These kinds of advisories are usually issued for Indians travelling to or living in war-torn countries in West Asia or Africa. The issuance of such an advisory for Canada, a member of the G7 developed nations’ bloc, shows how seriously New Delhi is taking the activities of Khalistani extremists in Canada. New Delhi did not stop at that. It also suspended the issuance of visas to all Canadians.
“India has pushed back hard and has sent the message that it will not compromise on matters concerning its sovereignty,” Harsh V Pant, Vice-President for Studies and Foreign Policy at the Observer Research Foundation think tank, told ETV Bharat. “New Delhi has been telling Trudeau over the last few months that he cannot keep on condoning the acts of Khalistani terrorists in Canada on the plea of freedom of expression,” Pant said.
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"Over the last year, there has been a spurt in Khalistani activities in Canada and some other parts of the world. In June this year, a parade organised by pro-Khalistani groups in Ontario’s Greater Toronto area had a tableau that depicted former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination, along with a sign saying that it was “Revenge for Attack on Shri Darbar Sahib”. In September last year, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised in Ontario and the word “Khalistan” was inscribed on it. Then again the Sikh separatist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which is banned in India, has been holding referendums for Khalistan in Canada.
“Trudeau’s comments have vitiated the domestic atmosphere in his own country. The Hindus there are concerned (of attacks by Sikh radicals),” Pant said. In fact, the Hindu Forum Canada has written a letter to Canada’s Minister for Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc expressing concern over a “hateful” video statement against Hindus released by Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu of the SFJ.
“We implore the authorities to treat this matter with the utmost seriousness as it directly impacts the safety and security of Canadian citizens,” Forum stated. “Our alarm has been exacerbated by the dissemination of a hateful video on social media.” The suspension of visa services is also a matter of concern for Canadian citizens. With nearly 1.6 million Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and an additional 7,00,000 NRIs, Canada hosts one of the largest Indian diaspora in the world, which accounts for more than three per cent of its total population.
“Many Canadians have links with India and keep coming here to meet their families or for business,” Pant said. What is also adversely impacting Canada is the suspension of the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) talks, a first step towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India. India has said that the talks have been “paused”. These talks were suspended earlier this month even before Trudeau levelled that allegation against India after visiting New Delhi for the G20 Summit. Reports suggest that India decided to pause the trade talks because Canada is allowing its land to be used by subversive elements. Since India’s imports from Canada can be substituted from any other friendlier country, New Delhi, does not have to rely solely on Ottawa for key commodities.
Major items of India’s exports to Canada include gems, jewellery and precious stones, pharmaceutical products, readymade garments, mechanical appliances, organic chemicals, light engineering goods and iron and steel items. India’s imports from Canada include pulses, newsprint, wood pulp, asbestos, potash, iron scrap, copper, minerals and industrial chemicals. According to industry estimates, the CEPA could have boosted India-Canada bilateral trade by as much as $6.5 billion, yielding a GDP gain of $3.8 billion to $5.9 billion for Canada by 2035.
“Trudeau did not anticipate the adverse impact his stance on Khalistani separatists would have on his country. The trade talks were very important for Canada’s economic policy,” Pant said. He also pointed out that Trudeau’s triggering of a diplomatic row has also left Canada’s new Indo-Pacific policy in tatters. India welcomed the announcement of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy in November last year given the shared vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. “India was an important partner of Canada in its Indo-Pacific Strategy,” Pant explained.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly had termed India as a critical partner in the Indo-Pacific, a region that stretches from the eastern coast of Japan to the eastern coast of Africa. In return, she said that Canada can be a reliable supplier of critical minerals, a strong partner in the green transition and a major investor. “Western countries see India as an alternative to China in the economic and strategic architecture of the Indo-Pacific,” Pant said.
India is part of the Quad, also comprising the US, Japan and Australia, that is working for a free and open Indo-Pacific in the face of China’s hegemony in the region. According to Pant, Canada’s allies in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance are now telling Trudeau that he should not have escalated matters with India to this level. The Five Eyes alliance, comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US, works on joint cooperation in signals intelligence.
“That is why Trudeau has been toning down his rhetoric in the last couple of days,” Pant said. On Thursday, addressing a press conference at Canada’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, Trudeau said that India is a country of growing importance and he was not looking to provoke New Delhi or cause problems.
