Nijjar Killing: Busy vilifying India, Western media ignores ugly gang wars and drug syndicates

In February of this year, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s seasoned diplomat turned Foreign Minister, boldly discarded political correctness during a podcast with ANI’s Smita Prakash. He explicitly exposed the hypocrisy of the so-called Western Democracies that persistently allowed the ‘politics of India’ to be manipulated on their own soil. Since then, he has minced no words while calling out countries like Canada and the United Kingdom for harbouring and endorsing wanted murderers, extremists, and terrorists under the garb of human rights and freedom of speech. On 9 September 2023, during a press briefing at the G20 Summit, Jaishankar candidly emphasised that nations like Canada, which have been providing an increasing amount of political space to extremists wanted for murder and organised crime, “must exercise greater responsibility”. Prime Minister Modi echoed these very sentiments in his meeting with his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau. However, Trudeau’s recent theatrics in the Canadian House of Commons, after returning home from the G20 summit in India, have ignited a diplomatic storm that is proving quite challenging to contain. Standing in the parliament on 18 September, he accused India of carrying out the extrajudicial killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a known Khalistani extremist and a wanted man, with a long standing Red Corner Notice filed against him. This was all done on the basis of “alleged evidence” of “potential links”. Quite rightfully, this was received by the world with utmost shock. Trudeau’s vague claims of ‘credible allegations’ seem to have been amplified by western media houses, with almost all accusing India. Three months have passed since the Nijjar shootout in Surrey, and no charges have been framed yet, except for the bomb of speculations that Trudeau dropped in the Parliament. Meanwhile, the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Melanie Joly announced the expulsion of Pavan Kumar Rai, a top Indian diplomat based in Ottawa. India retaliated by summoning the Canadian High Commissioner, Cameron McKay, to the South Block for the third time in 2023, notifying him with the expulsion of one of their top diplomats for meddling in India’s internal affairs. It is to be noted, that with this third summon in 2023, Canada managed to surpass Pakistan as the most summoned country by India this year. The developing story and reportage on the back of this diplomatic row was astonishing. Very few prominent global media houses decided to run critical reporting of Trudeau’s allegations, based on mere conjectures and lacking concrete forensic evidence. Terry Glavin of National Post was one of them who deemed Indo-Canadian relations irreparable, solely based on Trudeau’s decision to “take sides in this gangland melodrama,” relying on solemn insinuations of India’s involvement. As a consequence of Trudeau’s outlandish statement, debates began to surface worldwide, with media outlets openly displaying their predispositions towards the Canadian narrative. However, given that almost three weeks have passed since this claim emerged, neither the Indian government nor the media have been presented with any smoking gun evidence. A Financial Times story dated 3 October reported, “Officials who visited India, including the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, David Vigneault, were only able to present the evidence orally to their Indian counterparts.” The usual diplomatic process in such circumstances would have required Canada to provide dossiers containing credible evidence to India outlining details of the alleged undercover illegal activities, along with forensic evidence. However, this has clearly not been outlined. From an Indian perspective, India has officially continued to highlight the lack of evidence presented to support any claims made, thereby urging the Global Media and the other Five Eye members to reconsider their strategy and position of supporting the absurd statement made by the Canadian Prime Minister. Whether this was a ploy to salvage Trudeau’s plummeting performance ratings, deflect the outrage of the Canadian public and opposition regarding soaring prices and inflation, shift the debate away from the interference of China in Canadian politics, or consolidate Khalistani funding from organised crime and illegal immigration scams for himself, will continue to remain a mystery for the foreseeable future. The shocking repeated failure of the global media in this diplomatic row lies in their inability to highlight the West’s consistent failure to uphold the basic fundamentals of the Vienna Convention. For instance, Article 29 of the Vienna Convention explicitly stipulates, “The receiving State shall treat the Diplomatic Agent with due respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on his person, freedom, or dignity.” Canada, along with the United Kingdom, has disregarded this cornerstone of International Relations by failing to provide appropriate security when Indian Missions were attacked or their diplomats were threatened, be it in Ottawa, Glasgow, or London. The incident in Glasgow, where extremists from the National Sikh Youth Federation attacked and prevented the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Vikram Doraiswamy, from leaving his car, was nothing short of a severe act of criminality. Posters calling for the death of the Indian High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Verma, were shockingly dismissed by Canada as Freedom of Speech. Hypothetically, had similar incidents taken place in India against Eric Garcetti (US Ambassador to India), Alex Ellis (British High Commissioner to India), or Cameron McKay (Canadian High Commissioner to India), the same Western media would have been on an inconsolable rampage. The dysfunctional relationship of the West with India has deep roots. It is becoming imperative for the West to acknowledge that friendship with India, though built on trust and commonalities of democratic principles, should not be taken for granted as India’s spinelessness. The second term of the Modi government has been assertive on Foreign Policy matters like no previous Indian government before. Proactive measures have been taken via diplomatic channels, yielding positive results, while stern measures have been taken to shape bilateral relations even with countries like China. An instance arose when China started issuing visas to Indian visitors depicting Ladakh and Arunachal as part of China. In retaliation, the Indian embassy began issuing visas to Chinese visitors with maps of India depicting the same parts as Indian Territory. Consequently, China swiftly revoked that policy. India’s diplomatic outreach and pressures have yielded some positive results. In the United Kingdom, for instance, stern actions were taken by the television regulatory body OfCom in April 2022 against Khalsa TV, a known propaganda channel advocating violence, resulting in a ban the following day after Liz Truss landed in India for the Foreign Ministers’ meeting. Trudeau’s statement has opened the floodgates to a barrage of misinformation and false narratives. Many social media separatists and pro-separatist organisations are using this opportunity to further their nefarious campaigns. This calls for collective action to dismantle and mitigate these efforts. One way the government of India can help mitigate this situation is by persistently urging Canada to produce credible forensic evidence, the chances of which seem remote now. Jaishankar’s briefing at the Hudson Institute categorically outlined that this approach is not representative of India’s policy whilst pointing towards toxic gang wars in Canada. Additionally, new findings, such as the ISI angle, continue to surface. Tariq Kiyani and Rahat Rao, identified as Nijjar’s handlers by Indian agencies appointed by the ISI to promote the Khalistan agenda in the West, have been noted as probable murder plotters recently. Sources have indicated that these two were dissatisfied with Nijjar’s hedonistic attitude, misusing the proceeds from organised crime, including drug trade and immigration scams. The other critical piece missing in this diplomatic jigsaw is the significant role played by the Indo-Canadian narcotics syndicate, known as the ‘Brothers Keepers’ gang, which actively traffics Colombian cocaine to Mexican cartels. This cartel comprises the Grewal and Dhaliwal clans. The fact that Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) chief Pannu is being funded by them, according to the various dossiers submitted by Indian government agencies, needs to become part of the public discourse which has so far remained insulated from Western media coverage. There is certainly the case of the vast number of gangsters from Punjab, facing charges ranging from murder to UAPA, that have all found refuge in Canada over the years, has not been mentioned in any reporting from media houses claiming to uphold free speech and democracy. Gangsters such as Lakhbir Singh Landa, Goldy Brar, Arshdeep Singh aka Arsh Dalla, all facing severe criminal charges and with established documented links to the ISI. This diplomatic row is far from over. The onus is now on the West to figure out how to deal with the Frankenstein monsters they helped create and patronise. Civil society in the West seems to be awakening from the long amnesia that had kept it cloistered from the politics of India being played on its soil. Reports prepared by Colin Bloom and William Shawcross, submitted to the British Parliament, testify to the risks these feral and vicious Pro-Khalistan extremist groups pose to the wider civil society. West’s hypocrisy: Dilemma of ‘good terrorists’ vs ‘bad terrorists’ This diplomatic row brings to light the deeply entrenched hypocrisy of the West when it comes to labelling and dealing with terrorism. The world witnesses a troubling dichotomy: Some terrorists are condemned while others are subtly supported or at least tolerated. In the context of India, it is evident that certain elements harboured in the West enjoy a degree of immunity. While the West champions the cause of human rights and democracy, it seems to turn a blind eye when it comes to terrorists furthering their agenda against specific nations. There’s a dangerous tendency to categorise terrorists as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ based on geopolitical interests or narratives. The international community needs to introspect and adopt a consistent, unwavering stance against terrorism, irrespective of the group or ideology. Terrorism should never be justified or overlooked for short-term gains or political considerations. This diplomatic episode highlights the urgent need for a unified global approach to combat terrorism effectively, without double standards or selective condemnation. Only through such collective efforts can we hope to create a safer and more just world. The author is co-founder of Indic Society and was at the forefront of protests against Khalistani violence in London. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. 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