Carney had been statesmanlike in not taking up the case of the Hardeep Singh Nijjar killing that has been a big bone of contention between the two nations
The big positive Prime Minister Narendra Modi came away with for India after attending the G-7 summit in Kananaskis was the resetting of ties in his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mike Carney. The agreement, however, needs to be worked on further if the change in ties since the rancour of the time Justin Trudeau was heading the Conservative Party and the country as Prime Minister is to be made permanent.
A Canadian Security and Intelligence Service report has been candid in admitting that what India has been saying all along is right and that has to do with the Khalistan sympathising elements resident in Canada not only been promoting the cause of a separate Sikh state in India but also actively funding violence in the country. This is a huge declaration that validates India’s legitimate concerns over the activities of Khalistani extremists operating from Canadian soil.
Carney had been statesmanlike in not taking up the case of the Hardeep Singh Nijjar killing that has been a big bone of contention between the two nations and which Justin Trudeau converted into a lifeline for his own political ends. He merely stated that the case was ongoing unlike Trudeau who had made the explosive charge openly on the floor of Parliament.
At this point, India may have to work closely with the Carney regime on the probe and judicial process into the Nijjar killing. Canadian intelligence sources keep repeating about seeing an Indian hand behind the assassination, but irrefutable proof of any involvement has been found wanting in the legal process that is ongoing in Canada.
Even so, it is up to the Indian external affairs ministry to reach out to Canada and clear its name and absolve the Government of India of ordering or funding any targeted killing on foreign soil. For the sake of taking the resetting of ties to an old normal forward from the meeting of the Prime Ministers, India must be more forthcoming in discussing the issue with the Canadian government.
Accused of an attempt to kill a dual Canadian-American citizen in New York, the Indian government showed intent by setting up a probe committee and sharing its findings with the US rather than just harping on a denial. Of course, things had changed politically with Joe Biden’s Democrats, who made a song and dance about it, losing the presidential poll to Donald Trump and his Republicans. The docket on that case may have been thrown away altogether now.
We would like to believe that India would, despite all the anti-India propaganda that goes on around the world, not put out contracts on characters who may even be obnoxiously propagandist. There is no country that does not play espionage games, but all these extraterritorial killings were the monopoly of certain First World countries and naming them is not going to get anyone anywhere.
The point is there are many ways a nation can take on opposing forces but not by deceitful targeted killings. India must be open about this instead of always playing the injured innocent when allegations surface. Every nation is duty bound to observe a rules-based global order, a duty that devolves upon both Canada and India in this vexatious matter of a diaspora calling for a ‘new’ homeland in India while living abroad.
