By Ailya Khan
Staff Writer
Canadian and Indian diplomatic relations seem to be hanging by a thread, as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally announces that the Canadian government is investigating ties between the Indian government and the devastating June killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh community leader.
Nirajj, 45, was fatally shot by two masked gunmen outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, a city around 30 km east of Vancouver, according to BBC. He was an influential leader in the Canadian-Sikh community, known for his advocacy for the Khalistan movement - the creation of an independent Sikh nation, which would include parts of India’s Punjab states.
Nirajj's public support and determination for the creation of Khalistan was not received favorably by the Indian government. India had previously labeled him as a terrorist, along with accusations of hateful speeches and “seditionary and insurrectionary imputations,” according to Al Jazeera.
The movement for Khalistan has quickly been growing stronger, with large numbers of supporters in foreign countries with significant Sikh populations, including Canada and the U.K.
Canada is estimated to have 1.4 to 1.8 million citizens of Indian origin, and includes one of the largest populations of Indian-Sikhs outside Punjab, according to BBC. Consequently, his murder elicited outrage and distress in the local community, and has now led the Canadian government to formulate allegations of India’s hand in this event, setting the stage for crumbling future relations between the two nations.
Based on intelligence gathered by the Canadian government and supported by intelligence provided by American spy agencies, Trudeau concluded and declared on Sept. 11 that “agents of the government of India'' were responsible for the assassination of the pronounced Sikh leader, according to The New York Times.
Trudeau reportedly raised this issue of India's involvement with Nirajj's killing during a face to face meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit Meeting. Modi was adamant on completely denying the Canadian accusations and described them as "absurd and politically motivated.” Modi even went so far as to condemn Canada for harboring “Khalistani terrorists” and being inactive to threats to India’s security, as reported by The New York Times.
In the events following this case, Canada has expelled an Indian Diplomat, Pavan Kumar Rai. India then reciprocally responded to this by expelling a senior Canadian diplomat. Canada has also recently taken initiative to suspend negotiations for a free trade agreement with India, withholding specific details on reasoning, according to BBC. India has further widened this diplomatic rift by suspending visas for Canadians.
Tensions between the two nations are no doubt boiling in the aftermath of the killing of Nirajj. Trudeau, along with American Secretary of State Antony Blinken have urged India to be cooperative as the investigation of the assassination continues, according to The New York Times.
“Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Trudeau said to lawmakers, thus affirming Canada’s determination to seek justice and hinder any foreign threat to its people.
