Looking into Justin Trudeau’s big claims of Bhartiya intervention in Sikh extremist’s assasination

BHARAT AND CANADA are witnessing an all-time low in terms of bilateral relationship after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blamed the Bharatiya Govt for the assassination of  Sikh Separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and expelled one of the top Bhartiya Diplomat in Canada on Monday. The Bhartiya Government outrightly rejected the allegations calling them “absurd” and expelled top Canadian Diplomat in Bharat in retaliation.

As of the latest, India has suspended all visa services citing operational issues.  Bharatiye Foreign Ministry issued a travel advisory for Bharatiye citizens and students residing in Canada in the line of action. The ministry also released a statement warning the citizens to refrain from travelling to such regions following threats to Bharatiya diplomats and the community in Canada.

Now, here’s the big question.. was it a political compulsion owing to which Trudeau took such drastic measures, or was it a naive reaction to his abrupt and almost dwindling presence in the G20 summit?

Experts in geo-politics speculate that Trudeau and Prime Minister Modi’s exchange on the lines of G-20 could be one of the reasons, where Modi had specifically highlighted the matter of Sikh separatist elements getting space in Canada. In addition, Trudeau’s absence from meetings despite him being present in Delhi was quite conspicuous. The haphazardness of his visit to Bharat was fueled with the delay of his departure due to the snag in his plane. The Canadian press also confirmed that Trudeau was not present in the G20 gala dinner. Back home, the Canadian Prime Minister is facing direct flak and a seeming pressure to step down, which he brushed off with the obligatory, ‘there’s much work to do. As in a recent poll conducted by Abacus Data in the country, the support for the Conservative opposition grew,’.

Meanwhile, Certain Canadian media reports were eager to suggest that PM Modi had “scolded” the Canadian Prime Minister for his tacit support to the anti-Bharat violent elements. The Toronto Sun, Canada’s leading newspaper published a report on September 10, stating that Trudeau found few friends at the G20 summit. Meanwhile, another media reported that Trudeau had embarrassed Canada in front of Bharat for a second time after becoming the centre of attention for very wrong reasons. It could be presumed that Justin Trudeau’s latest announcement was a clear tactic to divert attention  in the wake of public humiliation he had to face during his time in Bharat. However, it just shows his naivete and incompetence, how he dealt with the challenges.

Shedding light on Canada’s flagrant attitude, earlier in June this year External affairs minister S Jaishankar had condemned the tableau depicting the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. “…We are at a loss to understand other than the requirements of vote bank politics why anybody would do this… I think there is a larger underlying issue about the space which is given to separatists, to extremists, to people who advocate violence,” he had said.

Let us try to understand the direct link between Justin Trudeau’s hastened decision to create a rift and his debatable commitments to various stakeholders who are keeping his political career alive. Justin Trudeau has been able to retain his prime ministership owing to the support of the New Democratic Party leader, Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal. And thus, he is under obligation to keep his political allies happy.

Trudeau’s loyalties lie with the ones he was able to form the coalition with in the 2019 Canadian federal election. To attain a majority, Justin Trudeau had to join hands with the New Democratic party to form a government. The  NDP leader Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal. An entity who was denied a Bhartiya visa on the grounds of having an anti-Bharat stance. The one man who had been under the radar of the Bharatiya Intelligence agencies for not only sheltering pro Khalistan sympathisers in Canada but also for leading an outright anti-Bharat movement in the Americas.

Jagmeet Singh, a staunch supporter of Khalistani terrorism, in 2016, had participated in a pro-Khalistani seminar, endorsing political violence as a path to attain a separate Sikh nation in Bharat.  Besides many such events which prove his support for Khalistan, the Sikh separatist was also seen participating at a Khalistan rally in San Francisco which had featured a giant poster of  Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale, the prominent Sikh terrorist, who led the armed movement against Bharat and occupied the Golden Temple in 1982, leading to the operation Blue star.

Pakistan’s ISI used this as an opportunity and began sending some key separatist leaders to Canada who were previously stationed in Pakistan to connect with the Sikh population, which had already been in a significant amount in the country.

Sikhs, constituting 2.1 per cent of the total Canadian population initially settled in the Pacific Coast province of British Columbia, but since the 1950s, they have distributed themselves across the country and have played a significant role in the making of Canada. Both Bharat and Canada have democratically elected governments, with diverse cultures across regions. It has been put up by various forums that the relationship between the two countries did not deteriorate over the past week but it is due to the various developments which occurred through years of negligible to no concrete actions against the Khalistan issue, which Canada cannot see yet but is a threat to both the countries.

Meanwhile, Bilateral trade between Bharat and Canada which saw significant growth in recent years, reaching $8.16 billion in 2022-23, will likely get affected due to the ongoing tussle. In just Q1 FY 2023-24, Bharat’s exports to Canada were worth about $911 million, while imports from Canada were worth $990 million.

It is pertinent to note that talks for a comprehensive free trade agreement have also been paused between New Delhi and Ottawa in the wake of anti-Bharat activities in Canada.

The present scenario is not shocking, uncanny at most. Despite repeated extradition requests by Bharat of multiple Sikh extremists, to Canada, the latter has had a meek and rather lacklustre approach. Bharat had signed the extradition treaty with Canada on 6th Feb 1987, leading to little to no progress whatsoever.  The country became a haven for Sikh terror groups in the 1980s.

And, terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar whose assassination is being presumed to be linked to Bharatiya authorities was a Canadian and an activist,… two designations, both on flimsy ground. Nijjar had openly stated his support for a separate state for Sikhs, and on occasion carried out several terror activities, including operationalising, networking, training, and financing KTF module members.

The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement which aims to break from Bharat and form a separate state. Started in the 1980s and was funded majorly by Pakistan. Ironically, Pakistan has erased the majority of the Sikh population from its country but is using the sikh population in Bharat as a domestic wedge to undermine Bharat’s sovereignty.

One of the most gruesome examples of Sikh extremism was the Kanishka Bombings. Nearly 40 years have passed since the brutal Kanishka bombing which killed all the 329 passengers on board the Air India Flight 182, one of the deadliest air disasters among 9/11. Investigation revealed that the bombing was carried out by Sikh separatist terror group Babbar Khalsa. To this date, Canada has failed to take any concrete action against the main accused of the bombings.  Only one terrorist was ever convicted, Inderjit Singh Reyat, and that too decades later. Another two Malik and Bagri were later acquitted. Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was shot dead in Surrey earlier this year, was acquitted by a Canadian court in 2005 of his charges in the bombing.

It is pertinent to note that gradually Canada is declining to the likes of our very friendly neighbour Pakistan. The only difference is that Pakistan is harbouring Islamic extremists, while Canada is becoming the hub of Sikh separatists. The latest conundrum is the testimony to Canada and Bharat’s imminent fallout.

The Bharatiye government while thrashing Trudeau’s “absurd” claims has demanded sheer evidence of the nation’s involvement in terrorist Nijjar’s killing from the Canadian government as mere accusations will not be sufficient.

The Indian officials have also claimed that Ottawa ignored New Delhi’s repeated requests to extradite terrorists. At least 9 separatist organisations supporting terror groups have their bases in Canada. The ministry had also called out Canada for the 13 terrorists who have been roaming freely in Canada.   The Indian officials accused Canadian authorities of taking no action against those involved in heinous crimes, including the killing of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala.

The whole matter already seems to be slipping out of Trudeau’s hands… In layman’s terms, he is now drowning in his mess. His country has openly expressed their disregard for him, calling him out on his incompetence to take note of the real issues of Canada’s internal security. Remember the time when security was threatened? And he had accused the Trudeau govt of turning a blind eye to the Chinese harassment of his family. Trudeau had to be PUSHED, PRESSURED to take action.

To summarise, Trudeau is associated with Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal, a   designated Khalistani, who has openly propagated violence against Hindus, a person not allowed on the Bhartiya territory for his anti-Bharat activities.  And his half-cooked theories and blind-sightedness to the impending doom.. his actions might bring to him and his country, due to his blunt support to Khalistan, a movement engaged in organisational crimes. His inability to conquer truth and see that rallying to murder people is not freedom of speech. His actions are but industrial gaslighting at most.