Blind to history, blind to danger: Canada’s Khalistan gamble is a losing bet

In October 2024, following new allegations by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, India-Canada relations came under strain. The Indian High Commissioner posted in Canada was targeted by Khalistanis, who circulated posters with his face. He was recalled by India just a few hours before Canada expelled him. Canada, in recent years, has been growing snakes in its backyard; they have now taken control of its foreign policy, and it may not be long before they start biting Canada back.

The Khalistan movement has been inactive in India since the mid-1980s. According to a 2021 Pew Research Survey, 95 per cent of Indian Sikhs were ‘overwhelmingly proud of their Indian identity’. Additionally, 70 per cent stated that anyone who disrespects the country cannot be a true Sikh. These hard facts agitate Khalistani separatists based abroad, driving them to go the extra mile to keep the issue alive.

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In June 2024, MPs from all Canadian political parties observed a minute of silence on the death anniversary of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani separatist. Nijjar, who had been on Canada’s No Fly List since 2016 and had his personal bank account frozen due to his involvement in terror training camps, was honoured by the Canadian Parliament! The maple-flagged country is truly maintaining the colonial legacy of its British and French ancestors by rewarding and idolising criminals.

Canada —along with the USA and the West— needs to understand a simple fact: India’s security concerns are just as valid as your concerns were when hunting Osama Bin Laden. The bombing of Air India Flight 182 by Khalistanis in 1985 killed 329 passengers, 268 of whom were Canadian citizens. Indian RAW officials had warned the Canadian government beforehand, and Canadian intelligence was also aware of the threat. Twenty-five years later, a 2010 report, Air India Flight 182: A Canadian Tragedy by the Canadian Commission of Inquiry, acknowledged a ‘cascading series of errors’ by Canadian ministries, CSIS, and the RCMP. How ruthless and careless can a country be to allow 268 of its own citizens to die?

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The Air India bombing could have been prevented if Canada had listened and acted with compassion. Yet, even after 40 years, it seems the country still lacks these qualities. On October 21, 2024, Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who holds the privilege of being a Canadian-American citizen, warned passengers not to fly Air India flights from November 1 to 19, claiming that there is a possibility of an attack during those days. If his threats are serious, he must be prosecuted and investigated.

In the US—which virtue-signals itself as the leader of the rules-based world order—such acts could result in ‘maximum penalties of $5,000 or five years’ imprisonment or both’. Yet, no actions will be taken against Pannun because he is a first-world citizen targeting a so-called third-world country. Such are the privileges afforded to some.

The West must break its old habit of nurturing poisonous snakes. In the 1980s, these snakes were raised in India’s neighbourhood, and they crossed the Atlantic to bite their snake charmer. Now, the West is raising them at home. It won’t be long before they start biting back.

The writer is an independent columnist who writes on international relations, and socio-political affairs. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.