Decoding Jaishankar’s US trip: Despite tension over Canada, bilateral ties remain robust and insulated from infection

When Subrahmanyam Jaishankar landed in the United States on 22 September, he had more than one crisis to handle. The diplomatic tension between India and Canada had boiled over to reach a point of no return. It is now clear that no matter which turn the purported investigation into the death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar takes, Canada-India relationship is unlikely to recover as long as Justin Trudeau stays in power. From India’s point of view, however, a far more consequential development is the second-order repercussion — the fallout of the crisis on India-US ties. The controversy has introduced a degree of consternation just when it seemed that India-US ties are about to take off. The unstated worry both in Washington and New Delhi is that the momentum will take a hit. Relentless sniping in western media and testy responses from India, where the issue has galvanized a polarised polity, have added to the complications. In India, there has been a sense of bewilderment, even grievance, at some of the comments emerging from the Joe Biden administration over what at this stage are purely allegations (based on purported ‘intelligence’) of an extrajudicial killing on Canadian soil. Intelligence is not evidence. Trudeau has so far failed to back up his claims with any evidence or specific information regarding India’s involvement. Not a single arrest has yet been made for a crime that occurred in June. Reports indicate that the investigation, which is still under way, has been botched up by the Canadian police. Under these circumstances, the sense of injury has intensified in India over reports that Canada received American intelligence in formulating the allegations, even as subsequent reports in American media have claimed that the crucial bit of intelligence that led to the charge was Canada’s. Be that as it may, India-sceptics in the US, and US-sceptics in India have found a new lease of life. This mutual scepticism, expressed through indignation from one side and allegations of conspiracy from another, is feeding on crucial gaps in conception and information. If India and the US are to “work together”, not just “deal with each other,” as the external affairs minister said in Washington on Friday, it is imperative that these gaps are addressed. There is unfortunately not enough understanding in India of the nature of US-Canada relationship. Canada is not only America’s closest treaty ally, it’s family. History, geography, trade, commerce and shared interests form the basis of a relationship underwritten by strong a personal bond — resulting in ironclad ties whose dimensions are way deeper and more meaningful than FVYE and G7 membership. It would therefore be impossible for the Biden administration, run by the Democrats, to ignore the nature of the allegation levelled by Trudeau without appearing to be on Canada’s side. It is evident that Washington is caught between a rock and a hard place. Regardless of its own record in extrajudicial killings, the US cannot be seen condoning the act (that it lacks the moral right to lecture on this topic is an argument I have made in my previous column , and obviously didn’t relish being put on the spot by Trudeau based on half-cooked intelligence. It has therefore attempted to distance itself from the controversy by clarifying through media that “Canada provided the smoking gun”. Equally, while US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have made suitably stern remarks without appearing to balance India’s concerns — triggering charges of unfairness in India — Washington’s reaction has been markedly different than what it was during the Jamal Khashoggi murder. So far, Washington has trodden a careful path in calling for Canada to complete the investigation while urging India to cooperate. The soundbites of indignation uttered by Sullivan or Blinken should be seen in association with statements that “India is not Russia” (Sullivan) or their steadfast refrain from going into “private diplomatic conversations” despite media pressure. In an unintended way, Trudeau’s allegations against India have become a public test of allegiance for the US. If Washington fails to back its G7, FVYE and closest ally at least to a certain extent, it sends terrible signals about American commitment to relationships, and it would also carry lessons for India, its nascent strategic partner. The second thing that has even less understanding in India is the peculiar dynamic of US-Canada relationship — that sprang as an aside during Jaishankar’s interaction with American columnist Walter Russell Mead at an event at Hudson Institute on Friday. The Canadians consider themselves hierarchically stationed even above their neighbours in moral superiority. Within the unstated framework of Western exceptionalism, Canada’s claim to preeminence is not a military power but a normative one. This notion is problematic, as such notions inevitably are, but it is a manifestation of Western exceptionalism. This background is essential to understand the Western argument — that may appear gratingly self-serving and hypocritical to Indian ears — that Canada couldn’t have harboured a terrorist on its soil, and India’s actions (if proven) are a violation of the “rules-based order”. For many Americans, the perception of Canada is totally different from an Indian assessment, and value judgments are accordingly calibrated. It wasn’t a surprise to see Jaishankar making a painstaking point to the American audience to bridge this perception gap. At the Hudson Institute, a Washington DC-based think tank, the external affairs minister said, “For Americans, Canada perhaps looks very different. It depends on the interests, and where the shoe pinches. But for India, Canada is a country where organised crime from India, mixed with trafficking in people, mixed with secessionism, violence, terrorism — it’s a very toxic combination of issues and people who have found operating space there…” A bit of the indignation on display from American lawmakers are undoubtedly a result of electoral calculations, but the larger problem is that driven partly by their opinion towards Canada, and insufficient understanding of India’s serious concerns over secessionist movements and terrorism — scourges that have plagued the Indian state and left an indelible mark — American media, lawmakers and shapers of discourse have been woefully blindsided. Jaishankar picked up the topic later in the day on Friday, this time at a much greater length at a presser in Washington. Flagging Canada’s “very permissive attitude towards terrorists, extremist people who openly advocate violence,” the minister said “In India, it will not come as a surprise to anybody if you tell them that there are people in Canada who are advocating violence, separatism, there is a history out there. All Indians notice, I suspect very few Americans know this. I think a lot of what I said in today’s meeting was new to Americans.” Jaishankar was referring to his meetings with Sullivan and Blinken, where he said the issue of Canada came up and while they shared US views and assessments, he “explained to them” India’s views and concerns “and hopefully we came out better informed”.

During the presser, he hammered the point home.

“When Americans look at Canada, they see something, when we in India look at Canada, we see something else and that’s a part of the problem, so it’s very important that we talk it out with the Americans. After all, they are very close to India, they are good friends of ours… so it’s important they have our point of view on the matter as well… “What we have taken is a very reasonable stance… When was the last time that any of our missions was intimidated to a point where it could not continue with its normal functioning? If someone says this could happen in a G7 country, in a Commonwealth country, it gives you a lot to think about.” In a measure of the situation that the Indian diplomatic corps faces in Canada, Jaishankar said, “My diplomats are unsafe going to the embassy, or to the consulate in Canada. They are publicly intimidated. And that has actually compelled me to temporarily suspend even visa operations.” Incidentally, reports emerged on Friday that Khalistani supporters shot at and vandalised the car of  Sikh restaurant owner in London while news came from Scotland’s Glasgow on the very day that Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami was prevented from entering a gurdwara by two Khalistani radicals who accosted the diplomat’s car and filmed the incident to spread it on social media. The UK has assured India of action against the perpetrators, according to a News18 report. While the Canada-India crisis has drawn global attention to the West’s Khalistan problem, it is important to remember that the public statements by Jaishankar on one side, and Blinken and Sullivan on the other, are aimed at addressing and mitigating the very public nature of the diplomatic fallout. A very different dynamic would play out in private, and every signal so far indicates that all three parties are now working hard to contain the escalation. Trudeau has visibly softened his stance and has reiterated that Canada is “serious about ties with India” while both the US and India have made respective calibrations with Jaishankar repeatedly stating at different fora on Friday that “if there is a requirement for us to look at something, we are open to looking at it.” It is impossible to speculate on the endgame of the crisis where the denouement would happen behind firmly closed doors involving terms that we may never fully know, but as far as the bilateral ties between the US and India are concerned, it’s instructive to look at what the leaders are doing, not what they are saying. At the height of the crisis, Jaishankar landed in New York for the Quad foreign minister’s meeting, while the I2U2, the grouping of India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, announced a new joint space venture on the margins of the UNGA. On 26 September, Pentagon’s top official Ely Ratner co-chaired the seventh US-India 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue in DC alongside US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu and India’s additional secretary at MEA Vani Rao in attendance with joint secretary Vishwesh Negi of Union defence ministry. According to a readout , the dialogue “advanced a wide range of ambitious initiatives across the breadth of the U.S.-India partnership, including defense and security, emerging technologies, people-to-people ties, clean energy, and supply chain resilience”. During his more than a week-long stay in the US, Jaishankar has so far met everyone there is to meet from the American side. His talked-about meetings with Sullivan and Blinken apart, Jaishankar met US trade representative Katherine Tai to take “stock of recent developments and positive momentum in the US-India trade relationship following the resolution of seven longstanding disputes at the World Trade Organization”, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, to discuss “progress that has been made under the US-India CEO Forum and US-India Commercial Dialogue as well as US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin at Pentagon, where both leaders “ discussed opportunities to deepen bilateral defense cooperation.” Incidentally, none of these readouts mentioned above carry a reference to Canada, and neither does the US Department of State’s readout following Blinken-Jaishankar meeting though we know that the issue did come up for discussion. Regardless of the public posturing, the effort of both sides seems focused on isolating the Canada issue — it might be put on a slow burner — so that the trajectory of overall bilateral ties remains robust and insulated from infection. There has been considerable investment in the partnership from both sides to fritter it away from expensive moral pretentiousness. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .