 "Explained: The latest India-Canada diplomatic row and the deteriorating ties since 2018")
India has slammed Canada for claiming in a diplomatic communication that its High Commissioner and other officials were “persons of interest” in the investigation of the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
New Delhi called the suggestion a “preposterous imputations” and added that it is part of the political agenda of the Justin Trudeau government.
“High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma is India’s senior-most serving diplomat with a distinguished career spanning 36 years. He has been an Ambassador in Japan and Sudan, while also serving in Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China. The aspersions cast on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt,” the foreign ministry said as per NDTV.
India has also summoned the Canada’s charge d’ affairs in New Delhi Stewart Wheeler.
“India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian Government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats,” the foreign ministry said as per NDTV.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement said that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023. However, the Canadian government has not shared a single piece of evidence with the Indian government despite many requests from them.
The MEA said, “We have received a diplomatic communication from Canada yesterday suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are ‘persons of interest’ in a matter related to an investigation in that country. The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centered around vote bank politics.”
“Since Prime Minister Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023, the Canadian Government has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests from our side. This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains,” it said.
This is just the latest example of the India-Canada relationship deteriorating since 2018.
Let’s take a closer look at the timeline of the relationship between New Delhi and Ottawa.
February 2018
It began with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s trip to India.
The eight-day visit, which came at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was widely dubbed as a disaster by the press.
However, that trip was overshadowed by news that a convicted former member of a Sikh separatist group was invited to a formal event hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner.
The invitation was only rescinded after CBC News asked the Prime Minister’s Office about it.
Trudeau also received much flak for his and his family wearing traditional Indian garb.
Trudeau at the annual Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner in Ottawa jokingly described it as the “trip to end all trips”.
December 2020
Trudeau expresses concerns about India’s farmers protests – becoming the first world leader to voice his views on the issue.
Trudeau, addressing the Indian community in Canada during an online event to mark the 551st birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, said he would be remiss if he didn’t recognise the “news coming out of india about the protest by farmers.”
“The situation is concerning and we are all very worried about family and friends and I know that is a reality for many of you,” Trudeau said in the video posted on his Twitter account.
“Let me remind you, Canada will always be there to defend the right of peaceful protest. We believe in importance of dialogue and that is why we have reached out through multiple means directly to Indian authorities to highlight our concerns,” he said.
India responds by summoning Canadian High Commissioner to India Nadir Patel.
September 2022
The Indian High Commission in Ottawa took to Twitter to condemn the “defacing of BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir Toronto with anti-India graffiti.”
“Have requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action on perpetrators,” it wrote.
Days later, the foreign ministry issued an advisory warning Indian nationals and students about a ‘sharp increase’ in hate crimes, sectarian violence and anti-India activities in Canada.
“The Ministry of External Affairs and our high commission/consulates general in Canada have taken up these incidents with the Canadian authorities and requested them to investigate the said crimes and take appropriate action,” the statement read.
“The perpetrators of these crimes have not been brought to justice so far in Canada.”
March 2023
In March, hundreds of people gathered in a protest outside the Indian Consulate in Vancouver.
This came amid a manhunt for fugitive Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, responding to a query from from Indian-Canadian lawmaker Iqwinder Gaheer, said the government is “aware of the evolving situation in Punjab.”
“We are following it very closely. We look forward to a return to a more stable situation,” Joly added.
India later that month summoned Canada’s high commissioner.
New Delhi in the meet “conveyed strong concern” about the actions of “separatist and extremist elements against our diplomatic mission and consulates in Canada.”
“The government of India sought an explanation on how such elements were allowed, in the presence of police, to breach the security of our diplomatic mission and consulates,” an Indian Foreign Ministry statement read.
June 2023
Trudeau’s national security adviser Jody Thomas accused India of being one of the ‘top sources’ of foreign interference in Canada.
India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar slammed Canada for allowing a float in a parade that showed the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
The tableau was displayed in a pro-Khalistani parade in Brampton.
Canada’s High Commissioner to India Cameron MacKay wrote on X: “I am appalled by reports of an event in Canada that celebrated the assassination of late Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. There is no place in Canada for hate or for the glorification of violence. I categorically condemn these activities.”
Then, on 18 June, Hardeep Singh Nijjar is shot dead outside a gurudwara in Vancouver.
The Indian government had repeatedly designated Nijjar a terrorist.
Nijjar’s death led to hundreds of people congregating outside the Indian consulate in Vancouver.
The banned Sikhs for Justice had called on the public to ‘besiege’ India’s consulates. It also announced a reward for the addresses of Indian diplomats.
September 2023
Canada halts talks on a proposed trade treaty with India.
Modi, on the sidelines of the G20 in New Delhi, conveys to Trudeau ‘strong concerns’ about Sikh separatist protests in Canada.
He (Modi) conveyed our strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada. They are promoting secessionism and inciting violence against Indian diplomats, damaging diplomatic premises, and threatening the Indian community in Canada and their places of worship,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said.
“The nexus of such forces with organized crime, drug syndicates and human trafficking should be a concern for Canada as well. It is essential for the two countries to cooperate in dealing with such threats.”
Canada then halts a trade mission to India planned for October.
A Canadian official tells Reuters this is due to concerns surrounding Nijjar’s killing.
Trudeau in Canadian Parliament claims there are ‘credible allegations’ of a potential link of India’s hand in Nijjar’s killing.
“Over the past number of weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” Trudeau said.
New Delhi called the allegations ‘absurd’ and asks Ottawa to do something about anti-India groups operating from its turf.
The MEA termed the accusations “absurd and motivated”.
It added that the “unsubstantiated allegations” sought to change attention from “Khalistani terrorists and extremists who have been provided shelter in Canada.”
Trudeau the next day repeats the allegations.
He says the allegations if true have “far-reaching consequences in international law and otherwise.”
Joly then reiterates Trudeau’s allegations and says that Canada has expelled top Indian diplomat Pavan Kumar Varma.
India then retaliates by expelling diplomat Olivier Sylvestre.
New Delhi also restricts visas for Canadians.
It tells its citizens in Canada to ‘exercise caution.’
“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 statement reads.
New Delhi orders Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in India.
October 2023
New Delhi cancels diplomatic immunity and security protection for 41 Canadian diplomats and their relatives.
India informs Canada it must repatriate the diplomats – two thirds of Ottawa’s diplomatic core in the country – by October 10.
Trudeau then says Ottawa is not looking to “escalate the situation” with New Delhi.
November 2023
A New York court unseals an indictment claiming a foiled murder-for-hire plot led by an Indian diplomat against a Sikh extremist.
January 2024
Canada’s independent inquiry into foreign interference affairs asks Ottawa to share information about possible meddling by India in elections.
New Delhi again rejects the allegations.
It asks Canada once again to tamp down on anti-India activities by Sikh separatists.
March 2024
Bloomberg reports that the Indian government told the US that rogue Indian operatives were involved in the murder scheme in the US.
Footage from CBC’s The Fifth Estate reveals the highly coordinated attack on Nijjar.
April 2024
Canada accuses India and Pakistan of meddling in its elections.
New Delhi unequivocally rejects the charges.
May 2024
CBC News reported that Canadian police have arrested members of a hit squad allegedly charged by the Government of India with killing Nijjar.
ndian officials, including Canada-based proxies, engage in a range of activities that seek to influence Canadian communities and politicians to “align” Ottawa’s position with New Delhi’s interests on key issues, particularly concerns over Khalistani separatists in Canada, an official probe has found.
The findings in the interim report by Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue, who is leading the independent public inquiry, found evidence of foreign interference in Canada’s last two federal elections in 2019 and 2021 but the results of the votes were not affected and the electoral system was robust.
India has previously rejected as “baseless” the allegations of its interference in Canadian elections and asserted that the core issue has been Ottawa’s meddling in New Delhi’s internal affairs.
June 2024
India in June slammed Canada’s Parliament observing “one minute silence” in the memory of Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“We naturally oppose any moves giving political space to extremism and advocacy of violence,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
‘Hostility to India long been in evidence’
MEA noted that Trudeau’s hostility has long been in evidence and added that his cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India. It noted that the Canadian PM’s “naked interference” in Indian internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was ready to go in this regard.
Recalling Trudeau’s past actions, MEA stated, “Prime Minister Trudeau’s hostility to India has long been in evidence. In 2018, his visit to India, which was aimed at currying favour with a vote bank, rebounded to his discomfort. His Cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India. His naked interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was willing to go in this regard.”
“That his Government was dependent on a political party, whose leader openly espouses a separatist ideology vis-a-vis India, only aggravated matters. Under criticism for turning a blind eye to foreign interference in Canadian politics, his Government has deliberately brought in India in an attempt to mitigate the damage. This latest development targeting Indian diplomats is now the next step in that direction. It is no coincidence that it takes place as Prime Minister Trudeau is to depose before a Commission on foreign interference. It also serves the anti-India separatist agenda that the Trudeau Government has constantly pandered to for narrow political gains,” it said.
The Ministry of External Affairs accused the Trudeau-led government of providing space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada, which included death threats to them and Indian leaders. The MEA asserted that all these activities have been justified in the name of freedom of speech.
“To that end, the Trudeau Government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada. This has included death threats to them and to Indian leaders. All these activities have been justified in the name of freedom of speech. Some individuals who have entered Canada illegally have been fast-tracked for citizenship. Multiple extradition requests from the Government of India in respect of terrorists and organized crime leaders living in Canada have been disregarded,” MEA said.
Speaking about Indian High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma’s diplomatic career which has spanned 36 years, the MEA stated, “High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma is India’s senior most serving diplomat with a distinguished career spanning 36 years. He has been Ambassador in Japan and Sudan, while also serving in Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China. The aspersions cast on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt.”
The MEA said that the Indian government has taken cognizance of the activities of the Canadian High Commission in India that serve the political agenda of the current government.
It further said, “This led to the implementation of the principle of reciprocity in regard to diplomatic representation. India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian Government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats.”
With inputs from agencies
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