India expelled a senior Canadian diplomat on Tuesday and accused Canada of interfering in its internal affairs, ramping up a confrontation between the two countries over accusations that the Indian government may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh activist.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau later said that Canada wasn害羞草研究所檛 looking to escalate tensions, but asked India to take the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar seriously after India called accusations that the Indian government may have been involved absurd.
害羞草研究所淚ndia and the government of India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness,害羞草研究所� Trudeau said. 害羞草研究所淲e are doing that. We are not looking to provoke or escalate. We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them and we want to work with the government of India to lay everything clear and to ensure there are proper processes.害羞草研究所�
Trudeau said Monday that his government was investigating allegations that India was connected to the assassination of Niijar.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 a sigh of relief for the family and the Sikh community here because from day one we kind of had this idea and knowledge that if anything would happen to him the Indian government would be involved,害羞草研究所� said Niijar害羞草研究所檚 son, Baraj Singh Nijjar.
害羞草研究所淚t was just a matter of time for when the truth would come out. It害羞草研究所檚 finally coming to the public eyes that the Indian government is involved in this. It害羞草研究所檚 a really serious foreign interference case.害羞草研究所�
Niijar, 45, was gunned down in British Columbia in June, and Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat. India rejected the allegations as 害羞草研究所渁bsurd.害羞草研究所�
The dueling expulsions escalate tensions between Canada and India. Trudeau had frosty encounters with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Group of 20 meeting in New Delhi, and a few days later Canada canceled a trade mission to India that was planned for the fall.
The movement to establish an independent Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan, has been a target of the Indian government since the 1980s, when a Sikh insurgency emerged that lasted more than a decade. It was suppressed by a crackdown in which thousands of people were killed, including prominent Sikh leaders.
Nijjar was wanted by Indian authorities, who had accused him of ties to terrorism for years and offered a cash reward for information leading to his arrest. Nijjar denied any ties to terrorism, and was working with an organization known as Sikhs For Justice to organize an unofficial Sikh diaspora referendum on independence from India at the time of his killing.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a lawyer and spokesperson for Sikhs For Justice, has said Nijjar was warned by Canadian intelligence officials about being targeted for assassination by 害羞草研究所渕ercenaries害羞草研究所� before he was gunned down.
Trudeau told Parliament on Monday that Canadian security agencies were investigating 害羞草研究所渃redible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen.害羞草研究所�
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害羞草研究所淎ny involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,害羞草研究所� he said.
India害羞草研究所檚 foreign ministry dismissed the allegation as 害羞草研究所渁bsurd and motivated,害羞草研究所� and accused Canada of harboring 害羞草研究所渢errorists and extremists.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淪uch unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India害羞草研究所檚 sovereignty and territorial integrity,害羞草研究所� it wrote in a statement issued earlier Tuesday.
India has long demanded that Canada take action against the Sikh independence movement, which is banned in India but has support in countries like Canada and the U.K. with sizable Sikh diaspora populations. Canada has a Sikh population of more than 770,000, about 2% of its total population.
In March, Modi害羞草研究所檚 government summoned the Canadian high commissioner in New Delhi, the top diplomat in the country, to complain about Sikh independence protests in Canada. In 2020, India害羞草研究所檚 foreign ministry also summoned the top diplomat over comments made by Trudeau about an agricultural protest movement associated with the state of Punjab, where many Sikhs live.
Critics accuse Modi害羞草研究所檚 Hindu nationalist government of seeking to suppress dissenters and activists using sedition laws and other legal weapons. Some critics of his administration, including intellectuals, activists, filmmakers, students and journalists have been arrested, creating what Modi害羞草研究所檚 opponents say is a culture of intimidation.
Critics accuse Modi害羞草研究所檚 Hindu nationalist government of seeking to suppress dissidents and activists using sedition laws and other legal weapons. Some critics of his administration, including intellectuals, activists, filmmakers, students and journalists have been arrested, creating what Modi害羞草研究所檚 opponents say is a culture of intimidation.
Under Modi害羞草研究所檚 rule, religious minorities, particularly Muslims, have faced increasing attacks by Hindu nationalists, and assaults on the press and free speech have grown, with his administration using internet shutdowns to quell protests.
Trudeau told Parliament that he brought up Nijjar害羞草研究所檚 slaying with Modi at the G20 meeting in New Delhi last week. He said he told Modi that any Indian government involvement would be unacceptable and that he asked for cooperation in the investigation.
At the G20 meeting, Modi expressed 害羞草研究所渟trong concerns害羞草研究所� over Canada害羞草研究所檚 handling of the Sikh independence movement during a meeting with Trudeau at the G20, India害羞草研究所檚 statement said.
The statement called on Canada to work with India on what New Delhi said is a threat to the Canadian Indian diaspora, and described the Sikh movement as 害羞草研究所減romoting secessionism and inciting violence害羞草研究所� against Indian diplomats.
Earlier this year, Sikh protesters pulled down the Indian flag at the country害羞草研究所檚 high commission in London and smashed the building害羞草研究所檚 window after India arrested a popular Sikh preacher. Protesters also smashed windows at the Indian Consulate In San Francisco and skirmished with embassy workers.
While in New Delhi for the G20, Trudeau skipped a dinner hosted by the Indian president, and local media reports said that he was snubbed by Modi when he got a quick 害羞草研究所減ull aside害羞草研究所� meeting instead of a bilateral meeting.
To make things worse, Trudeau was stuck in India for 36 hours after the summit ended because his flight was grounded because of a mechanical snag.
害羞草研究所淭rudeau害羞草研究所檚 turbulent India trip refuses to end,害羞草研究所� read the headline on the India Today website last week.
It害羞草研究所檚 unclear when exactly Trudeau brought up Nijjar害羞草研究所檚 case with Modi during the G20.
Some analysts in India questioned whether Canada had proof of Indian links to the killing, and whether Trudeau was trying to drum up support among the Sikh diaspora.
害羞草研究所淪uch a charge against India by a G7 nation is unprecedented. The Canadian government has deliberately made a spectacle of it to please its domestic constituency amongst the Sikh diaspora,害羞草研究所� said K.C. Singh, a former diplomat and strategic affairs expert. He added that Canada didn害羞草研究所檛 present hard evidence and that Trudeau害羞草研究所檚 statement 害羞草研究所渦nnecessarily upped the ante.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淚ndia should害羞草研究所檝e seen it coming. Trudeau needed to be engaged, not snubbed during his India visit. Now it has reached a point of difficult return,害羞草研究所� Singh, the former diplomat, also remarked on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The British government said Tuesday that there are no plans to reinvestigate the death of a U.K-based Sikh activist in the wake of Canada害羞草研究所檚 claim India might have been behind the slaying of Nijjer.
Avtar Singh Khanda, who had played a prominent role in protests for an independent Sikh homeland, died in June in the central England city of Birmingham after falling ill. Supporters alleged be might have been poisoned, but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak害羞草研究所檚 spokesman, Max Blain, said that police found no suspicious circumstances.
The Trudeau government害羞草研究所檚 allegations are awkward for the U.K., which is a close ally of Canada in the 害羞草研究所淔ive Eyes害羞草研究所� intelligence-sharing alliance, but is also seeking a free trade deal with India.
害羞草研究所淭hese are serious allegations. It is right that the Canadian authorities should be looking into them,害羞草研究所� Blain said, adding that it would be inappropriate to comment further while the investigation is underway.
In 1984, Indian forces stormed the Golden Temple in the state害羞草研究所檚 Amritsar city to flush out Sikh separatists, who had taken refuge there. The controversial operation killed around 400, according to official figures, although Sikh groups estimate the toll to be higher.
The prime minister who ordered the raid, Indira Gandhi, was killed afterwards by two of her bodyguards, who were Sikh. Her death triggered a series of anti-Sikh riots, in which Hindu mobs went from house to house across northern India, pulling Sikhs from their homes, hacking many to death and burning others alive.
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Rob Gillies reported from Toronto. Aamer Madhani in New York, Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi, and Jill Lawless in London, contributed to this report.
