Editorial: Onus on Ottawa

Canada must go the extra mile to allay the fears of the Indian diaspora and crack down on Khalistani activists

The reason for the continued stand-off between India and Canada is the latter’s failure to share evidence in support of its sensational charge linking New Delhi with the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June this year. After setting the bilateral relations on an unprecedented collision course, the onus is now on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to share the evidence. Though Canada’s allies such as the United States and the UK have repeatedly asked India to cooperate in the Nijjar probe, they have been reluctant to press Ottawa to substantiate its allegations. India must be involved in a free, fair and transparent investigation so that unsavoury speculation can be avoided. Creating a smokescreen will only worsen bilateral ties. Also, Canada must ensure that there is no compromise on the security of Indian diplomats. The Canadian authorities could have shared the information and their concerns with their Indian counterparts through established channels and closed-door conversations instead of taking the public route and throwing the bilateral relations in disarray. It must be pointed out that India had made as many as 26 requests to Ottawa over the past five or six years to extradite people engaged in anti-India activities from Canadian soil. It is time Canada introspects its own approach towards terrorism: Over decades, it has provided safe sanctuary to anti-India elements openly calling for secession, taking out rallies glorifying the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, calling for Balkanisation of India, putting up posters threatening to kill Indian diplomats and asking Hindus to leave Canada.

Mending frayed diplomatic relations between the two countries will be a long process because Canada adopted a maximalist position by making an absurd allegation in public. The responsibility for rebuilding the relationship lies solely with the Trudeau administration. It must go the extra mile to allay the fears of the Indian diaspora and crack down on Khalistani activists. Given the strong bond between the people of the two countries and a robust trade and business relationship, there is a need to end the present diplomatic standoff and restore confidence. Canada must first address the core issue of reining in Khalistan supporters. For India, the real issue remains Ottawa’s consistent failure to act upon specific evidence about criminal activities being carried out by Canada-based organisations and individuals. It is laudable that amid the standoff, New Delhi has signalled its intent to de-escalate tensions by easing visa curbs on Canadians. While there is room for diplomacy to address the India-Canada row, the issues of sovereignty and sensitivity cannot be a one-way street. Canada has the largest Sikh population outside Punjab, with 7.70 lakh people reporting Sikhism as their religion in the 2021 census. India is by far Canada’s largest source of foreign students, accounting for 40% of study permit holders, a vital source for Canada’s fast-growing education business.