 "How Trudeau choosing selfish gains over India-Canada ties is a gross misconduct")
For the first time in its diplomatic history, Indo-Canadian diplomatic ties have reached the nadir of hostility only known to Pakistan. While this author has covered Canada’s deteriorating ties with India over the last few years amidst the dystopian state of Canadian administration itself, it is fair to say that India-Canada diplomatic ties are now completely broken and unlikely to be revived under the Justin Trudeau government. As of this moment, India has recalled its High Commissioner from Canada as well as summoned and expelled six Canadian diplomats, including the High Commissioner.
Unlike the past, the Ministry of External Affairs has its gloves off without the diplomatic armour of data and context-setting that has been usual with this administration. Instead, it has clearly called out Justin Trudeau’s administration as being supportive of terrorism and his coalition partner as a separatist regarding India for the first time. The territorial integrity of India has for some time been a matter of casual contemplation rather than hard geopolitical reality for certain parts of the Canadian and American governments. They have not merely pandered to but actively encouraged narco-terrorist syndicates funding secessionism in India. This has gone on for years without the Indian government demarcating its red lines. It is finally doing so.
The recall of the Indian High Commissioner comes directly after the Canadian government named him and other diplomats as “persons of interest” in an investigation. The government has put its full weight behind supporting its senior diplomats and has cited threats to their lives and wellbeing as the reason for their return to India. This is the second time in less than a week that MEA statements have reflected upon the poverty of engagement between the countries; while the Canadian Prime Minister claimed engagement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Laos Summit, the Indian side dismissed it as “unsubstantive”.
What is interesting is that India is now certain that any evidence regarding Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder is not forthcoming from the Trudeau administration despite Five Eyes involvement last year, despite Charge d’Affaires Stewart Wheeler’s statement. At the same time, the US State Department has suddenly deleted its page about an Indian investigative committee that was due to go to Washington, DC, with regards to an ongoing investigation into a purported assassination attempt on Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. An Indian citizen, Nikhil Gupta, stands accused. To also be remembered is that National Security Adviser Ajit Doval skipped visiting the US last month for the Quad Summit after Pannun filed suit against him in American Court. Officially, no reasons were provided by the government.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWhat the events in Canada signal to its big brother with regards to the permissibility of attacks on Indian sovereignty, including attacks on Indian consulates in Canada and the US in contravention of the Vienna Convention, remains to be seen.
Accomplished diplomat and former Indian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Bhaswati Mukherjee publicly echoed the sentiments of the MEA that Trudeau’s attempts to cling to power domestically have pushed him to destroy the Indo-Canadian relationship. This is ongoing even as Canada’s dependence on China continues to grow. Former Indian Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal, cites it as “gross diplomatic misbehaviour”. At this time, Trudeau suffers significant political instability within his own party as 20 Liberal MPs have signed a pact for a change in leadership. This makes him a dangerous political animal, even more dependent on pro-terrorist Khalistani supporter Jagmeet Singh, who is vocally anti-India. It is not unlikely that the latest turn of events was merely meant as a domestic signal to ensure the continued support of Singh’s New Democratic Party (NDP) but functioned as the final straw for India’s government that has withstood the attacks on its Consulate as well as its citizens under the Trudeau regime.
While India’s official language has been surprisingly harsh considering precedent, the Canadian misreporting of events remains unsurprisingly inaccurate. The Canadian government is in overdrive to try and deny India’s move to withdraw its personnel. Instead, it seems to have rapidly interfaced with reporters from prominent publications within Canada and abroad to term this withdrawal as an ouster by Canada itself. This was also quickly crafted for the Washington Post by rabid Indophobe Gerry Shih, who conflates the issue of Khalistan with the Sikh religion, a convenient method of gaslighting that has been used by Western powers to harangue India on international platforms.
Interestingly, such framings are almost in serendipitous harmony with what Indian Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has recently stated on foreign shores, prompting Indian Sikhs to come out in force and counter his claims of being unsafe in India. These escalations are no longer incremental but rather drastic, causing increasing speculation that the US is deeply involved and is likely to wade into the fray soon on behalf of Canada.
India has so far maintained perfect diplomatic composure while maintaining status quo and respecting international borders. Despite ongoing demands for a free Quebec, no Indian diplomat would think to breed terrorism against the Canadian people in favour of political convenience. On the other hand, it has been a Canadian habit to engage with Khalistani extremists who are designated criminals in India on visits to the country as well as within Canadian borders. The implied racism in also allowing the perpetrators of the biggest terror attack on Canadian territory to roam free and the lack of media interest in the coverage of the Kanishka bombing since the victims were largely non-white Canadian citizens is not missed. The situation is rapidly evolving, and Trudeau’s government has also been addressed by the MEA as a regime, similar to language used for nations militarily hostile to India. His mismanagement of necessary ties spells disaster for Indo-Canadian relations in the near future.
The author is a columnist at several Indian publications such as NDTV, FirstPost and CNN-News18, and hosts a podcast on geopolitics and culture. She writes about international relations, public policy and history, and posts on X on her handle @sagorika_s. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
