The relation between India and Canada is hitting an all-time low. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s charge of India’s involvement in the murder of pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar has badly damaged India’s reputation at the global level. The onus is now on Trudeau to share the evidence regarding his extraordinary allegation of India’s involvement in the murder Nijjar. By choosing to make such an irresponsible charge against a friendly country on the floor of Parliament, without any trial or investigation, he has thrown a valued relationship into jeopardy. It is time Canada introspected 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.
It is in everybody’s knowledge that there are warring factions within the extremist pro-Khalistan groups operating on Canadian soil and they are often engaged in mutual violent attacks. The killing of Nijjar, an active supporter of the Khalistan Tiger Force, in Vancouver in June could have been one such possibility. 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. 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 mutual confidence. The responsibility for rebuilding the relationship lies solely with the Trudeau administration. Also, Ottawa must go the extra mile to allay the fears of the Indian diaspora and crack down on troublemakers, be it Khalistani activists or gangsters.