The bombing of an Indian airline by pro-Khalistan separatist terrorists in 1985 was never properly fully resolved and dealt with by the Canadian domestic security police, the RCMP. One would have thought over so many decades important lessons would have been learned from this horrendous attack. But only one individual was eventually charged many years later for manslaughter over that terrible, horrendous event. In fact, on this the CBC, the Canadian national broadcaster wrote in July 2022, “The subsequent investigation and prosecution lasted nearly 20 years…” Altogether, The Indian government and the citizens it represents, especially impacted by this terrorism cannot be all that happy or trusting of the authorities and the way the Canadian investigations went along with the snail-like judicial system and the final verdict. For some Indians such was a harbinger of more bad tidings to come.
Indeed, new violent oriented and threatening activities to Indians and the Indian government officials have emerged in recent times by dangerous elements of the Khalistan separatist movement in Canada, America’s neighbor. The headlines reign out supporting how serious this issue is again, one from Wion news; “How Canada has become headquarters for Khalistani terrorists.” For New Delhi, given Canada’s history might it be fair for it to believe that Ottawa, many times again might not have enough of a commitment or ability to deal properly with those who are a threat to India’s integrity and willing to promote and use violence to achieve their destructive aims.
From that perspective is it no surprise that pro-Khalistan separatists have also felt free in Canada to be behind drawing up images with “glee” to the assassination of a former Indian prime minister, in fact parading a mocked-up image of her in public being brutally assassinated. Of course, that was of Indira Gandhi who was also head of the Congress Party, a party in strong opposition to the current BJP led government by Narendra Modi. Nevertheless, this recent incident and others related have been strongly and rightfully protested by the Indian government and by foreign minister S. Jaishankar of the BJP party, as well. In a sense, these attacks and other threats against India and even Indians on Canadian soil can be seen as an attack on “all” Indians and even ethnic Indians, worldwide for the most part.
In addition, India has made it clear to Ottawa it needs to better understand the need for the protection of its diplomats in Canada who, it appears, are being threatened in a variety of ways by various Khalistan activists. Further, very worrying on the diplomatic front, Voice of America reported, “India has rejected allegations by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the Indian government has links to the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader as ‘absurd and motivated’ and expelled a Canadian diplomat amid spiraling tensions between the two countries.”
Could one not conclude, however, that decades of inertia and/or ineffectiveness by Ottawa letting Khalistan extremists running freely around provides “poison” into Indo-Canada relations, too often. It has been a relationship, though that has been overall positive excluding these unnecessary upsurges by a fringe in a sense holding better relations between the two countries as hostage. Indeed, the great friendship between the two large Commonwealth nations should not be allowed to tear, a stop of which is greatly needed and can be solved primarily by the Canadians getting a better grip on this issue.
So why has there been such a perennial problem that Ottawa has been apparently ineffective or so disinterested in more firmly dealing with the atrocious violence and hate coming out of pro-Khalistan separatist movement. I would say partly because of Canadian multiculturalism gone wild. That the government so caught up in minority politics is too frightened to take on such groups spouting violence – or out for fear of being labelled racist in the extreme woke politics pushed by certain leftists, in particular. Some of these may have too much influence both outside or inside the Justin Trudeau government. This problem of too soft touch towards such a group was explained more diplomatically, I believe by what was stated according to the Indian Express: “Canada’s response to the Khalistani issue appeared to be constrained by its “vote bank compulsion” and India will have to respond if the activities impinge on its national security and integrity, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.”
To be more explicit, Justin Trudeau’s “fragile” minority government may be rather worried about offending a major politically active segment of the Canadian community whose votes it has been competing for from the socialist NDP opposition party led by Jakmeey Singh. “Singh had attended pro-Khalistan separatist rallies and had not condemned the terrorist separatists who brought down the Canadian plane with a planted bomb. (CBC) This related to 2018 but Singh has been more recently contrite about his past defense of the pro Khalistani separatist movement leader charged for the airline bombing.
The Canadian government led by Justin Trudeau would be better off not seeing itself too much as primarily a guardian and supporter of an assemblage of minority group segments needing to be overly active in disputes of aggression abroad connected to their ancestral origins. Rather the best politics for Canadians is enlightened self-interest but not indifference to those abroad suffering and abused – the real cases.
I have nothing personally against Mr. Trudeau who comes from a family with enviable work record on the Canadian Charter of Rights by his late father and his government. Yet, when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, took a strong hand against Quebec separatists in the 1970s, especially those who involved themselves in outwardly supporting and/or being involved in violence, he did not hesitate to come down strong. As a Canadian who saw the devasting impact of such terrorism, I can say that Trudeau showed firm hand to deal with these dangerous elements, of which his actions were appreciated by most Canadians.
Yet despite such tensions, New Delhi seems to want better relations which hit rock bottom at times especially on the issue surrounding Khalistan. And I believe fundamentally Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is an Indophile who does not want a legacy of appearing opposite, to legitimate concerns of the wide Indian community against violence, with or without voter bank considerations.
Peter Dash, a Canadian writes extensively on geopolitics.