India-Canada relations have hit the bottom it seems. In mid-October this year, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of making a “fundamental error” by supporting criminal activities in Canada. India reacted furiously. In this article, I’ll try to explain the Indian perspective.
At press conference in Ottowa in mid-October 2024, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau stated the following:
The Indian government made a fundamental error in thinking that they could engage in supporting criminal activities against Canadians, here on Canadian soil, be it murder or extortion. This is absolutely unacceptable.
While saying that Canada wishes to work with India, he added:
…when we started to understand through intelligence agencies that India was possibly if not probably, behind (Hardeep Singh) Nijjar’s killing, the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil last summer, our first choice to the government of India to say, we know this has happened, work with us to fix this.
This statement combined with the statement of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) claiming to have information on certain criminal activity carried out by agents of the Indian government.
India’s Response: Expulsion of Canadian Diplomats
Rejecting these allegations, India expelled six Canadian diplomats including Canadian High Commissioner. The Indian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement saying:
This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains… The Trudeau Government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada.
Historical Context: The Roots of the Khalistan Movement
While this story may seem to have started in 2024, it finds its roots in late ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, when India had recently joined the community of nation-states and with time the demand for a separate land for Sikhs was taking shape. Sikhism is a religion founded in the Indian subcontinent during the fifteenth century by Guru Nanak Dev. The word Sikh means ‘disciple’. The teachings of the Gurus written in the form of a Holy book are placed in Sikh temples. Sikh men wear turban and carry a beard. They are also supposed to carry Kripan (one type of dagger), and wear a bangle like item in their wrists. Sikhs mostly live in the Indian state of Punjab, however, they are present in almost everywhere in the country. There are many explanations around the spread of Sikhism world-wide, including the tales of Guru Nanak Dev’s travels, and migration to developed countries to seek better opportunities.
At the time of Independence, India had more than 500 princely states, the unification of them within the Indian union was a giant task, The then administration managed to integrate them with persuasion, or due conditions of that time. The demarcation of provinces within India was not satisfactory to all segment of the populations. There were demands for creating language based states. The Punjabi-Suba movement is one such example, where members of Punjabi community (primarily Sikhs) demanded for the creation of autonomous Punjabi Suba or Punjabi speaking state, in the post-independence state of East Punjab in India. This created states of Punjab, Haryana, and a centrally-administered Union Territory of Chandigarh. Parts of the state went to neighboring state of Himachal Pradesh as well. The Punjabi Suba movement was led by a political party Akali Dal, and this movement was about creation of an autonomous state of Punjab within Indian Union. Later, these demands got converted into a separate land for Sikhs, i.e. Khalistan.
Later, the events became violent due to the fact that a section of the Punjabi community opted to get their demands met at any cost. The union government was ruled by the Indian National Congress, which wanted to increase its base in Punjab. The mixture of these demands along with party politics, created this movement into a violent one. Members of others communities were targeted. Even those Sikhs who opposed the movement were punished, some murdered too.
Violence and Escalation: Operation Bluestar and the Sikh Diaspora
During Indira Gandhi’s regime(1966-77, 1980-84), some miscalculations related to handling law and orderon the part of the government resulted in “Operation Bluestar” – the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar Punjab, a holy site of Sikhism on June 1-10, 1984. Shortly thereafter followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, and anti-Sikh riots. These events lead toa wave of migration of Sikhs to other countries, with Canada as one of the favorite choices.
Renewed Calls for Khalistan and the Killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Over time, the demands for the establishment of Khalistan within India declined. However, with increased access to resources and a wider network a small section of Sikhs living abroad started to continue their demands. At times, it resulted in violent acts. Hardeep Singh Nijjar (1977-10-11 – 2023-06-18) was among such individuals who supported Khalistan. Nijjar was living in Canada from where he propagated the idea of Khalistan. He was killed outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, Vancouver. The Canadian police arrested three individuals in May 2024 in an ongoing investigation into Nijjar’s killing.
Tensions have been high between both countries since then.
Dr. Swasti Rao earned her PhD in Advanced International Politics from Tsukuba University in Japan. She is a geopolitical expert and commentator specializing in European security and Indo-Pacific relations.
Indian Experts’ Views on Escalating Tensions
I spoke with Dr. Swasti Rao, a defense and strategic analyst from India on this issue. Indian Experts, including Dr. Rao, argue that there are two main reasons for this tensed atmosphere:
Firstly, the Canadian government needs the support from the Sikh community (along with other Indian-Canadians), so it was important to blame India quickly, before evidence could materialize. Canadian authorities, it seems, also did not have talks with the Indian officials formally or informally (still unclear), before they decided to start a press conference.
Another set of argument is that since the issue of Khalistan has been very sensitive in nature, India would have preferred to have been consulted by the Canadian government. And, that this issue blew out of proportion, taking the bilateral relations between the two countries to a new low.
For Canada, a Western state with an emphasis on individual choices and expressions, the killing of someone on its soil due to his beliefs became questionable, it seems. Also, Trudeau’s declining popularity as well as his dependence on the Sikh community (including on the small section of those asking for Khalistan) seems to have forced him to blame India without any solid evidence.
Trudeau’s Political Reliance on the Sikh Community
The dependence of Justin Trudeau on certain Khalistan-supporters stems from the setup of the Canadian political system. Canada has a parliamentary system in which the prime minister needs to have fewer than 50% of the members of the House of Commons vote against him in a vote of no-confidence. Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party (the government) only has 153 of 338 seats, so he needs the implicit support of other smaller parties. The leftist New Democratic Party (NDP) with 25 seats has had an agreement with Trudeau since 2022. In September 2024, the NDP announced that it would withdraw from the agreement. However, once votes of no confidence were launched against Trudeau, the NDP sided with Trudeau.
The NDP’s platform is focusing on issues like climate change, the need for economic equality, community building, racism, homophobia and other issues that also other western Leftist parties focus on.
What makes the NDP stand out is its leader, Jagmeet Singh, a Canada-born Sikh to a family originating from Punjab, India. Singh has appeared at a number of pro-Khalistan events and has called for the bombing of 1984 to be declared a genocide. This view has been adopted by the NDP, which in November 2024 called for Canada to declare the events in India in 1984 a genocide.
India’s Perspective and Diplomatic Strategy
Dr. Rao has recently completed her tenure at the Manohar Parikkar Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis (MP-IDSA). Her works has been published in various Indian and global outlets. She is a regular panelist for various media shows covering international relations and security studies. Here is what she said:
For decades, both liberal and conservative parties in Canada have coddled Khalistani supporters. In Trudeau’s case, his dependence on certain political factions is clear. His recent move to accuse India publicly in Parliament without concrete evidence is troubling and appears to have been driven by other factors as well. Trudeau’s popularity has been waning, with his recent election marred by allegations of Chinese interference, which has drawn criticism from opposition parties. Stirring up controversy with India may have been an attempt to deflect from these accusations.
Furthermore, India has effectively placed the onus on Canada, having resubmitted extradition requests for 26 extremists and criminals wanted in India, which Canada has so far ignored. India has fairly asked what steps the Canadian government is taking to prevent Khalistani elements from organizing anti-India activities within Canada. Unfortunately, Trudeau’s government has shown little cooperation on this front.
It’s clear that today, Canadians themselves hold a low opinion of Trudeau, as reflected in his declining approval ratings. Canada is also facing a severe housing and infrastructure crisis—a structural problem that has grown over time. Looking forward, India should focus on strengthening strategic, economic, and diaspora-level ties in a post-Trudeau era, especially as even Trudeau’s own MPs have called on him to step down.
India-Canada relations are likely to improve if the incoming government can genuinely fulfill its commitments. India’s willingness to collaborate has never wavered, and bilateral trade is approaching $9 billion USD. Canadian pension funds are increasingly investing in India, diversifying away from China, and more than 3 million people of Indian origin reside in Canada. The two countries also share a strategic vision in the Indo-Pacific region. In short, there is ample ground for cooperation between India and Canada once Trudeau is no longer in office.
Conclusion: The Need for Evidence and Diplomatic Consultation
The Canadian and other explanations may be different, but from the Indian perspective two things seem clear- the issue has blown out of proportion, and Canada should have firstly consulted in the Indian Government before making a public accusation like this. The second one requires delving deeper into intelligence gathering and actual evidences, which as an author I don’t have access to.