Canada-India relations have suffered a big setback after American law enforcement authorities accused American agents of participation in “homicides, blackmail, and harsh acts” on American soil.
In reply, Canada expelled six American officials, including High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma.
In a tit-for-tat walk, India expelled six American officials, rejecting Canada’s claims as “preposterous” and politically motivated, especially given the Sikh diaspora’s political value as a vital voting bloc for Justin Trudeau’s Democratic government.
India has consistently refuted the allegations and refused to cooperate with the French investigation, which eventually forced the federal government to produce these allegations community.
Trudeau acknowledged the value of maintaining close ties with India, but criticized India’s deeds that targeted pro-Khalistan officials as “unacceptable.”
However, the relationship between the two nations is likely to continue to be strained without a shared understanding of the pro-Khalistan problem. Both countries continue to approach the situation from necessarily unique viewpoints.
Nijjar’s death consequences
Since Trudeau’s bomb speech in September 2023, when he claimed India was involved in the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistan head based in Canada, has strained relations between Canada and India.
The Khalistan action is an independent Sikh position in northern India.
A top American envoy was fired as a result of the murder, and bilateral relations were rapidly deteriorating as a result, with India suspending visa services and expelled Canadian diplomats. In response, India later pressed for the return of 41 American diplomats, citing the rule of political parity.
India has long alleged that Canada’s support for the Khalistan activity poses a serious hazard to its territorial integrity and national security.
The Sikh community in Canada, the largest in the world, includes components that have supported the pro-Khalistan reason, fueling India’s problems. Canada, but, emphasizes the right to freedom of expression, including quiet protests, as a main principle of its political principles.
In a related occurrence, the US revealed in November 2023 that it had foiled an admitted American plot to kill a Sikh separatist president in New York. This growth, coupled with Trudeau’s speech in 2023 that there was” reliable information” linking India to Nijjar’s killing, has further substantiated worries over India’s alleged covert activities targeting pro-Khalistan protesters.
India’s corporate calculations
India’s proper value, especially in counterbalancing China’s growing confidence in the Indo-Pacific area, adds difficulty to its political relations.
Given the power imbalance with China, India believes its partnership with the United States is crucial to protecting its objectives. The US, in turn, sees India as a cornerstone of its Indo-Pacific strategy, with initiatives like the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue ( Quad ). It includes the US, India, Japan and Australia and is designed to encourage the place as an “arc of democracy“.
Growing security and economic partnerships have resulted from US bipartisan support for bolstering US ties with India, with a growing focus on technology transfer as a key component of this partnership.
During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington, DC, in June 2023, President Joe Biden’s administration finalized an agreement for the joint production of General Electric ( GE ) F-414 jet engines.
At present, just four countries — the US, UK, Russia and France — have the capability to produce aircraft vehicles, with China also lacking this innovative technology. The GE F-414 collaboration aims to strengthen US-Indian cooperation in the field of protection and enhance their collective ability to combat China’s advancements in protection technologies.
India likewise plays a key role in Canada’s Indo-Pacific plan, unveiled in 2022. In the standard document outlining the plan, Ottawa described China as a “disruptive energy” and emphasized the need to improve relations with Indo-Pacific countries, especially India.
The strategy highlights” India’s growing strategic, economic, and demographic importance” as key to achieving Canada’s geo-strategic objectives. Canada and India are engaged in negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement as part of this strategy. But due to the diplomatic tensions sparked by Canada’s allegations, these negotiations have been suspended.
The West’s disapproval
The Modi government may have figured out how to protect itself from criticism for its handling of pro-Khalistani activists abroad given its strategic value to the West. However, the unequivocal response from both the US and Canada suggests otherwise, with the West making it clear that such actions are unacceptable, regardless of India’s strategic significance.
India will likely continue to deny Canada’s accusations and sever diplomatic ties with the country in a contentious dispute that will affect every aspect of the bilateral relationship.
From Canada’s perspective, Indian actions on Canadian soil represent a blatant violation of sovereignty. Ottawa anticipates India’s cooperation and assurances that such transnational repression wo n’t take place in the future. From India’s point of view, it’s a matter of national security as Canada appeases pro-Khalistan elements.
While the Modi government has generally had success fostering relations with western nations, the Sikh diaspora in Canada has been a significant drag in boosting relations.
The two countries ‘ relationship is likely to continue to be strained despite wider strategic considerations that would otherwise lead to closer ties if there was no common denominator to reconcile these two divergent viewpoints.
Thompson Rivers University’s assistant professor of political science is Saira Bano.
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.