India-Canada diplomatic row: Is Khalistan or Sikh diaspora the real issue?

Referring to the India-Canada diplomatic row, Canadian security expert, Joe Adam George said that the Khalistan movement doesn't pose a direct threat to the West, because of which the Western nations have been dismissive of India's concerns regarding Khalistani extremism.

He also pointed out a fundamental problem that the Canadian government assumed all Sikhs as Khalistanis and all Khalistanis as Sikhs.

George said, "The Khalistan movement does not pose a direct threat to the West, at least not often. So, hence which is why you see Western countries try and downplay or ignore India's pleas, no matter how legitimate India's concerns may be."

"Canada, I believe, is conflating separatist militancy with legitimate religion. They assume that all Sikhs are Khalistanis and all Khalistanis are Sikhs and that's where the problem lies fundamentally," he added.

The diplomatic row between India and Canada underwent a fresh escalation when Canada labelled India's High Commissioner and other diplomats as "persons of interest" in the investigation of Nijjar's death. Following this, India decided to call back its High Commissioner and five other diplomats from Canada.

India has repeatedly accused Canada of not taking action against extremist and separatist elements in the country for "vote bank politics". The Ministry of External Affairs also said that 26 Indian requests for extradition are pending for over a decade.

The Canadian security expert also spoke about a UK government-commissioned Bloom Review report, which exposed the exploitation of government ignorance by Khalistani activists in the UK.

"There was a UK government-commissioned Bloom review report which was published last year that found Khalistani activists in the UK exploiting government ignorance, threatening and intimidating Sikhs, brainwashing and recruiting youth and raising funds from Sikh temples to promote their movement," George said.

"The review concluded by cautioning the British government that they need to be careful about the subversive, aggressive and sectarian actions of many of these pro-Khalistan activists and make sure that the wider Sikh communities are protected from them and they should not be tolerated. When it comes to applying it, the Trudeau government refuses to look into it for partisan gain. So that's where fundamentally the problem lies with Canada today," the security expert added.

On being asked about India's concerns regarding the Khalistanis extremists being given safe haven in Canada, George highlighted that most Canadians don't even know about the Kanishka bombing incident, because of which the government also doesn't take the issue seriously.

"We had the Air India bombing back in 1985, which till date remains Canada's worst-ever terror attack. There was a poll done last year which found that 9 out of 10 Canadians are not aware of or have little knowledge about the Air India bombing. So that itself tells you, why the Canadian government does not look into the Khalisani issue seriously," he said.

A bomb explosion on Air India Flight 182 "Kanishka" from Canada off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985, killing 329 passengers and crew. This included over 280 Canadian citizens, including 29 entire families and 86 children under the age of 12.

Being asked about the difference between the US and Canadian allegations against India, George stressed that the United States in the current situation has been "professional and tactful" as they recognise India as a strategic partner to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region.

"The Biden administration, the way in which they've gone about with the entire scenario has been very professional. They recognise that India is a very strategic partner for them in the Indo-Pacific region, especially to counter China. So they have been very tactful in how they have manage the situation, which is very different from how the Trudeau government has," George said.

He added, "Last September, in Parliament, Prime Minister Trudeau accused India of it. And this naming and shaming tactic of Prime Minister Trudeau as obviously not help matters. And that's what's really irked New Delhi. If Prime Minister Trudeau had chosen to go through back channels and try and sort out this issue just like the Americans did, things would have been a lot different." Earlier, the United States asked India to "cooperate" with Ottawa's investigation into the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

"We have made clear that the Canadian allegations are extremely serious and they need to be taken seriously and we wanted to see the Government of India cooperate with Canada and its investigation. But, India has chosen an alternate path," US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

However, Miller reassured that the US-India bilateral relationship remain strong, citing multiple areas of collaboration.

"India continues to be an incredibly strong partner of the United States. We've worked with them on a number of matters including our shared vision for a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific, and when we have concerns, we have the kind of relationship where we can take those concerns to them and have very frank, candid conversations about those concerns, and that's what we've been doing," he said.

On the question of whether trade will be affected or sanctions will be imposed, George said that it would be "foolish" for both the nations to do something that they would regret in the future.

"I think both parties are going to maintain a wait-and-watch approach...I think it would be foolish on the side of either party to try and do something that they would eventually regret," George said.

He added, "Indian diaspora in Canada is very significant so you obviously do not want to upset that and then Canada of course benefits from significant revenue from international students coming from India, it is in Canada's best interest not to do anything foolish either. I know there's been talk about sanctions from Canada's side, but I would imagine that would be quite a stretch at this point in time." The ties between India and Canada soured after Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he has "credible allegations" of India's hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

India has denied all the allegations, calling them "absurd" and "motivated" and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country.

Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India's National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot and killed outside a gurdwara in Surrey last year in June.