Quicksplained: Who is Indian High Commissioner New Delhi is withdrawing from Canada and why?

The Indian government has dismissed the Canada government’s claims that its High Commissioner and other officials were “persons of interest” into the investigation of the killing of terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

New Delhi called the claims “preposterous imputations” and said this was all part of the Justin Trudeau government’s political agenda.

“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 centred around vote bank politics,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

In its statement, the MEA also made a mention of what it called Prime Minister Trudeau’s “naked interference” in Indian internal politics in December 2020, apparently recalling the Canadian leader’s comments during the farmers’ agitation.

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On Canada’s latest charges, the MEA said it “leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains”.

It said 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,” the MEA said.

But who is Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma?

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Let’s take a closer look:

• Verma, 59, is India’s senior most serving diplomat.

• His career, which spans over three decades, has seen him serve in Japan, Sudan, Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China.

• He was born on July 28, 1965. He graduated from Patna University and then received a Post-Graduate degree in Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

• Verma entered the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1988. He kicked off his career at the High Commission of India, Hong Kong and at the Embassies of India in the People’s Republic of China, Vietnam and Türkiye.

• He then served as Consul General of India in Italy. And the Indian Ambassador to the Republic of the Sudan.

• Verma then worked as Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi.

• Verma served as the Ambassador of India to Japan and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

• Verma was appointed Indian High Commissioner to Canada in September 2022. He succeeded Anshuman Gaur.

• Verma reads, writes and speaks Hindi, English and Chinese (Mandarin). He is also conversant in Bengali.

• Verma is married to his wife Gunjan. They have a son and daughter.

• He is said to be passionate Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Diplomacy, delivery of people-centric services using interactive technologies, guiding and facilitating small businesses and investors.

• India has now decided to withdraw Verma from Canada.

• “We have no faith in the current Canadian Government’s commitment to ensure their security,” the Indian government told the Canadian Charge d’Affaires.

• “It was underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau Government’s actions endangered their safety. We have no faith in the current Canadian Government’s commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials,” the foreign ministry added.

With inputs from agencies