India-Canada diplomatic row reignites: What to know and what comes next

EXPLAINER

Canada accuses Indian authorities agents of being progressive successful ‘serious transgression activity’, a assertion India rejects.

A long-simmering diplomatic dispute betwixt India and Canada has reignited, with the 2 countries announcing the expulsion of diplomats amid accusations that Indian authorities agents were progressive successful activities that endanger the information of Canadians.

The latest enactment began connected Monday erstwhile India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it had received “diplomatic communication” from Canada indicating that Indian diplomats were being considered “persons of interest” successful narration to an probe successful the North American country.

Relations betwixt New Delhi and Ottawa deed caller lows past twelvemonth aft the Canadian authorities said it was investigating a link betwixt Indian authorities agents and the sidesplitting of a Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, connected Canada’s westbound coast.

New Delhi has denied immoderate engagement successful Nijjar’s killing, reiterating connected Monday that it “strongly” rejected the “preposterous imputations” from Canada and would beryllium withdrawing its diplomats and different officials from the country.

But hours later, the Canadian government said national police had uncovered grounds that Indian agents were progressive successful activities that endanger nationalist information successful Canada and it said it was expelling six Indian diplomats.

Here’s what we cognize astir the deepening diplomatic row, what Canada and India person said astir the matter, and what could hap next:

What has Canada said?

• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said connected Monday that the national Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) uncovered “clear and compelling evidence” that Indian authorities agents person engaged, and proceed to engage, successful activities that endanger nationalist safety.
• “This includes clandestine information-gathering techniques, coercive behaviour targeting South Asian Canadians, and engagement successful implicit a twelve threatening and convulsive acts, including murder,” Trudeau said during a quality conference.
• Earlier successful the day, the RCMP said it had recovered grounds of the engagement of Indian authorities agents “in superior transgression enactment successful Canada”, including links “to homicides and convulsive acts” and interference successful antiauthoritarian processes, among different things.
• “This grounds was presented straight to Government of India officials, urging their practice successful stemming the unit and requesting our instrumentality enforcement agencies enactment unneurotic to code these issues,” the RCMP said successful a statement.
• Canada’s overseas affairs department, Global Affairs Canada, past announced that six Indian diplomats and consular officials were being expelled from the state “in narration to a targeted run against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the Government of India”.
• India’s precocious commissioner to Canada was among those directed to leave.
• In a statement, Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly straight tied the Indian officials to Nijjar’s case: “The determination to expel these individuals was made with large information and lone aft the RCMP gathered ample, wide and factual grounds which identified six individuals arsenic persons of involvement successful the Nijjar case,” she said.

Trudeau speaks to reporters successful Ottawa, Canada, connected October 14 [Blair Gable/Reuters]

What has India said?

• India’s Ministry of External Affairs vehemently rejected Canada’s allegations, saying successful a statement connected Monday that “on the pretext of an investigation, determination is simply a deliberate strategy of smearing India for governmental gains”.
• The ministry besides said that the Canadian authorities “has not shared a shred of evidence” with the Indian government, “despite galore requests from our side”.
• Later, the ministry said it had summoned Canada’s complaint d’affaires successful India to pass him that “the baseless targeting of the Indian High Commissioner and different diplomats and officials successful Canada was wholly unacceptable”.
• “We person nary religion successful the existent Canadian Government’s committedness to guarantee their security. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to retreat the High Commissioner and different targeted diplomats and officials,” it said, adding that New Delhi “reserves the close to instrumentality further steps” successful response.
• Then – successful a tit-for-tat determination – the ministry announced that it was expelling six Canadian diplomats from India, including the acting precocious commissioner, and was giving them until the extremity of the time connected October 19 to permission India.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with his Canadian counterpart Trudeau earlier the G20 Leaders’ Summit successful New Delhi successful 2023 [Evan Vucci/Pool via AFP]

How did India-Canada ties scope this point?

• Tensions betwixt the 2 countries skyrocketed successful September 2023 aft Trudeau announced that Canadian authorities were investigating “credible allegations of a imaginable link” betwixt Indian authorities agents and Nijjar’s killing.
• Nijjar was fatally changeable connected June 18, 2023, extracurricular a Sikh temple wherever helium served arsenic president, successful Surrey, British Columbia. He had been a starring advocator successful what is known arsenic the Khalistan movement, a Sikh run for a sovereign authorities successful India’s Punjab region.
• While mostly dormant wrong India itself, Sikh separatism is mostly viewed arsenic a menace by the Indian government, which has urged Western nations to ace down connected Khalistan question leaders successful the diaspora.
• India vehemently denied the allegations that it was progressive successful Nijjar’s killing, calling them “absurd”. It besides accused Nijjar of being progressive successful “terrorism” – a assertion rejected by his supporters.
• After Canada’s accusations were archetypal made public, the 2 countries withdrew their respective diplomats and India besides enactment a frost connected diplomatic services for Canadians.
• The tensions boiled implicit again successful May 2024 erstwhile Canadian constabulary said they had arrested 3 men – each Indian nationals – accused of being progressive successful Nijjar’s killing. The RCMP said astatine the clip that it was besides “investigating if determination are immoderate ties to the authorities of India”.
• A 4th man, besides an Indian national, was arrested and charged successful Nijjar’s sidesplitting aboriginal that month.
• New Delhi rejected the developments successful Canada, with Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar saying the state had a “political compulsion” to blasted India.

What comes next?

• It remains to beryllium seen if India, arsenic its overseas ministry said connected Monday, would instrumentality “further steps” successful effect to Canada’s accusations – and if it does, what those steps could entail.
• Stephanie Carvin, a governmental expert and prof astatine Carleton University successful the Canadian superior of Ottawa, said the latest accusations by Canada were “very serious” and risked further hampering relations with India. That “puts Canada successful a hard position”, she said.
• “We’re successful a clip wherever we spot countries astir the satellite – the European Union, the United States, Australia … trying to make their relations with India. This benignant of puts america offside each of the different allies that we have,” she told Al Jazeera.
• Practically, Carvin besides noted that Canada is location to a sizeable South Asian colonisation and a ample fig of Indian students survey successful the state arsenic well. “These Indian [nationals], they bash request consular services, they request diplomatic practice successful this country,” she said.
• Sikh Canadians told Al Jazeera implicit the past twelvemonth that their assemblage – which numbers astir 770,000 radical crossed Canada and makes up the largest Sikh diaspora extracurricular India – had concerns astir Indian authorities interference.
• The World Sikh Organization of Canada, a nonprofit that advocates for the community, said it welcomed the Canadian government’s announcement connected Monday and demanded “the afloat prosecution of each individuals involved” successful Nijjar’s killing, including Indian diplomats.
• “The Government of India’s ongoing overseas interference activities successful Canada and its past of targeting Sikhs successful this state is lone present becoming known to the wide nationalist but has been the lived acquisition of Sikhs for the past 4 decades,” the radical said.