Editorial: Pandering to extremist forces

Justin Trudeau administration is blatantly playing to the Sikh diaspora’s extremist fringe, treating them as vote banks

As the diplomatic rift between India and Canada widens, the key question that needs to be asked is why Ottawa has been harbouring pro-Khalistan extremist elements on its soil and why it has failed to rein them in despite New Delhi providing irrefutable evidence about their activities? Even a cursory look at the policies of the Justin Trudeau administration reveals that it is blatantly playing to the Sikh diaspora’s extremist fringe, treating them as vote banks. By alleging a potential link between Indian government agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan terror accused Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver on June 18, Trudeau has taken the appeasement policy to a new height. It must be pointed out that Nijjar was active in the Khalistan Tiger Force, an organisation proscribed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for aiming to “revive terrorism in Punjab”. The current dispensation in Canada has repeatedly ignored India’s concerns about the rise of anti-India extremist groups in Canada. Earlier this year, pro-Khalistan groups put out posters threatening Indian diplomats and a float celebrating the assassination of Indira Gandhi as part of a public event. The 2018 ‘Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada’ listed Sikh extremism and violence as a matter of concern but under pressure from Sikh leaders and ministers, a revised report was published in 2019. Now, when his popularity appears to be ebbing, Trudeau seems to be painting India as a foe to reverse that trend. Jumping to conclusions without a trial exposes Trudeau’s attempts to pander to radical groups threatening India’s territorial sovereignty.

Significantly, Canada has not shared any details of the evidence of the killing of the Sikh activist. Going a step further, it took an unprecedented provocative action of expelling a top Indian diplomat. And in a tit-for-tat move, India ousted a senior Canadian diplomat in Delhi. The two countries have locked horns on a range of issues — from the 2020-21 protests in India over farm laws toe pro-Khalistan groups carrying out their activity with impunity in Canada. There is an alarming trend of separatist groups stoking tensions by carrying out random strikes in Canada to garner attention. Realising that there is no political space left for the separatist ideology in Punjab in the wake of total erosion of public support, these fissiparous elements are now trying to stay relevant by organising attacks on foreign soil, targeting Indian interests. After exorcising the ghosts of the past, India cannot afford a throwback to the traumatic 1980s, a blood-soaked era of terrorism that left a deep scar on Punjab and negated the gains of a prosperous State. The latest diplomatic row is bound to have an impact on bilateral relations. Finding a resolution to the current row through talks between the National Security Advisors would be in the interest of both countries.

---