In September 2023, Bharat demonstrated its diplomatic acumen through massive success in organising the G20 Summit, and bringing out a communique against all odds by making warring sides come together to sign on the dotted lines. It did not perhaps go down well with many of the entrenched players of the world, especially the Global North, who have been experiencing discomfort at the prospect of India taking unprecedented initiatives to bring African Union, and all its constituent 55 countries into the fold of G20, emerging as voice of the Global South, or compelling EU, and the US, to agree with Russia on the communique, even when Russia-Ukraine war was at its peak.
Rubbishing Canada’s Claims
In geopolitics, much like in politics, timing is critical. One could thus witness a pattern of how Justin Trudeau led Government of Canada raked up the issue of killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar just in the aftermath of the success of India’s G20 Summit. Trudeau had alleged that Indian agents killed Nijjar, a charge that was vehemently refuted by the Government of India. India, back then, made it very clear that it did not receive any evidence or inputs on Canada’s claims. Trudeau then came up with a new phrase called ‘Credible Allegations’ which he claimed that he had shared with India, a term that is as vague as Trudeau’s conviction on the matter has been.
Harbouring Anti-Bharat Elements
To put things in perspective, for long Canada has been known for harbouring all kinds of radical extremists, secessionists and members of organised crime syndicates, many of whom have been on the ‘Most Wanted’ list in India. Many such elements not only got a safe haven in Canada but were also allowed with impunity, by Canada, to carry on with their nefarious activities, and running of organised crime activities in India from the safe shores of Canada.
Pak’s Hand in Training Nijjar
Nijjar, for example, was no ordinary person of Indian origin who had settled in Canada peacefully. He was designated as a terrorist in India, was considered a mastermind behind incidents of bombing, assassinations and funding of terror activities in India, especially Punjab. Besides, he was a key member behind ‘operationalising, networking, training and financing of Khalistan Tiger Force’, a designated terror organisation. Not just that, Nijjar had gone to Pakistan for training, and as per reports, ISI of Pakistan played a key role in coordinating between Nijjar and other Khalistani groups. He was not the ubiquitous neighbourhood plumber that Canada was projecting him to be.
The manner in which Trudeau has been desperate to rattle the diplomatic cart with Bharat, it is highly unlikely that it was all for a mere few votes of the Canadian Sikh population. Perhaps it is also unlikely that he was acting in unison
In fact, as per an investigation by Canada based newspaper, The Global and Mail, Nijjar was deemed to be a security threat for Canada as well, so much so that he was put on the no-fly list and even his bank accounts were frozen. Canada’s law enforcement agencies had questioned him as well for illegal weapons training that was being imparted by him to Canadian Sikhs.
Is Trudeau Acting Alone or a Front?
The question that begs an answer is this. Why would the Canadian Government and even the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance, consisting of the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which have been endorsing Canada on this issue, would go to such length to defend Nijjar, in spite of knowing his antecedents? Was he a Deep State asset? Why would the Canadian Parliament observe a moment of silence for Nijjar on his first death anniversary, an honour which is exclusively meant for people of ‘significant national importance’, even while knowing about Nijjar’s questionable past? What is the compulsion of Canada? In 2022, as per reports there were 882 victims of homicides in Canada, while the number stood at 778 for the year 2023. Did the Government of Canada give equal focus to each of these incidents as it gave in the Nijjar case?
Trudeau’s Conspiracy
Canada’s kid glove treatment of Khalistani separatist elements dates back to the 1980s. It is not something new. While many believe that Trudeau’s pampering of Khalistani separatist elements is due to ensuing elections in Canada, wherein Trudeau is desperate for the votes of the Canadian Sikh population, the issue at hand seems to be much more profound than this. The manner in which Trudeau has been desperate to rattle the diplomatic cart with India, it is highly unlikely that it was all for a mere few votes of the Canadian Sikh population. Perhaps it is also unlikely that he was acting in unison, and was perhaps part of a larger cabal working in tandem to create problems for the Modi Government.
However, for all the allegations put in by Trudeau, he eventually fell in his own trap while admitting that his administration indeed did not have any evidence of India’s involvement in the killing of Nijjar.
Sikhs Are Highly Respected in Bharat
It must be remembered that Sikhs are highly respected and honoured as a community in India. Sikh Gurus are highly revered not just by the Sikh population but also by Hindus of India. However, it is pretty clear that attempts have been made to project the Modi Government as ‘anti-Sikh’. In reality, Modi Government has been extremely pro-Sikh and several initiatives have been taken by him to address issues of the Sikh community in India, including the Citizenship Amendment Act, to ensure that all those persecuted Sikhs who came to India from Pakistan and Afghanistan up till 2014, were granted citizenship of India, or development of Kartarpur Corridor, one of the holiest shrines of Sikhs.
While Canada-based Khalistani elements were allowed a free hand to indulge into all kinds of nefarious activities in India, protests by Government of India, against the same was projected as akin to Indian Government being against the Sikh community. People of Sikh community and Khalistani separatists are not the same. Most among the Sikh community, be it in India or abroad have always been consistently against the separatist agenda of the Khalistani elements. And Khalistani separatists did not spare patriotic Sikhs either. There were several instances of patriotic Sikhs being targeted by Khalistani terrorists, including the killing of Shaurya Chakra winner Balwinder Singh Sandhu in Punjab in 2020.
American Double Standard
Since September 2023, the US has been consistently backing Canada and has been asking India to cooperate in the investigation. Why suddenly the US was also interested in the Nijjar issue, is a million-dollar question. However, the stand taken by the countries of Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance, especially the UK and the US on the issue of Khalistani separatist elements, stinks of a larger ploy. In the UK, the Indian Embassy was attacked by a mob of Khalistani supporters in March 2023 while the Indian Consulate in San Francisco was set on fire in July 2023. Not just that. US citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, designated as a terrorist by India, has been consistently giving out threats against Indian citizens, Hindus of Canada, and have even threatened to cause harm to Air India aircrafts. He has even given out threatening statements against the Indian Parliament and Indian High Commissioner in Canada. In other words, his threats to harm India are now a routine affair. Yet the US administration maintains a stoic silence on these matters. Therefore, is there much of a difference between Canada and the US on their approach with regard to paying heed to the concerns of India surrounding secessionist and violent extremist groups based in North America, who are posing serious threats to territorial integrity, sovereignty, and security of India? Also, has the US forgotten its own Extraordinary Rendition Programme and what all it did with those terrorists who harmed American citizens or the US interests?
Western Hypocrisy on Terrorism Stands Exposed
On one hand, the US and its allies want the rest of the world to side with the West in an unambiguous manner, to wage war on any kind of terrorism that threatens their sovereignty and security. However, when it comes to Global South countries like India, and their concerns of territorial integrity, it seems the yardsticks alter completely. The stand of the Western countries become ambiguous, and many of those designated as ‘terrorists’ by India, are termed as ‘activists’ in those countries, and are allowed to continue with all kinds of anti-India activities in the name of ‘free speech’ and ‘liberty’. When it comes to security of diplomatic cadres, the Global North countries want everyone to take security of their diplomats based abroad very seriously. However, the question is whether the same courtesy is extended to the diplomats of India or other countries of the Global South. The manner in which Khalistani separatists attacked the Indian embassy in San Francisco, one wonders how the US would have reacted had any of their consulates been set on fire in any of the Global South countries?
Was there a Larger Plan for Regime Change in India?
Trudeau’s ploy to term Indian High Commissioner in Canada as a ‘Person of Interest’ in an ongoing investigation in Canada breaches all the norms of global diplomatic protocols. Imagine if PM Modi led NDA had lost the elections in Haryana. Imagine what would have happened with these statements then. One wonders if there was a larger plot that just got neutralised because of the election results in Haryana. It has been observed how Khalistani elements had infiltrated even during the anti-farm law protests earlier, and how efforts were made to lay siege on the Red Fort, and create an anarchy kind of situation in Delhi.
There are strong allegations of attempts of foreign interference in the recently concluded Lok Sabha Elections. India did witness many efforts in the last few years that were aimed at triggering fake public anger against the Modi Government
In the run up to the Lok Sabha Elections this year, attempts were made to organise massive processions towards Delhi from Punjab. The objective was to do Dharna in Delhi on the pretext of many such demands which are basically not in the Central domain but come in the domain of the respective States since agriculture is a State subject. Also, the demands were raised after the Model Code of Conduct was put in place, which meant that no major policy decisions could be taken by the Government of India, due to ensuing elections for Lok Sabha. Knowing that the Model Code of Conduct was already in place, why were some so-called farmer leaders willing to lay siege to Delhi again? What was the real plot behind it? Haryana Government had then stopped them from reaching Delhi through Haryana. What would have happened if BJP had lost the elections in Haryana this time? Was Trudeau’s statements timed to reignite a new wave of protests in India? Were regime change agents plotting to do a redux of what happened in Bangladesh? Was the timing of Trudeau’s statement linked to something big that just did not happen due to Haryana election results going in favor of BJP?
There are strong allegations of attempts of foreign interference in the recently concluded Lok Sabha Elections. India did witness many efforts in the last few years that were aimed at triggering fake public anger against the Modi Government, and eventually creating an anarchy type of civil unrest situation across the country, starting from Delhi perhaps. But all of that failed. A well-known farm leader who contested in the Haryana elections recently, and who had spearheaded the anti-farm law protests, even went on to the extent of admitting how they worked to create an ‘environment’ against BJP and in favor of a major opposition party in India.
What is the Problem of Global North with India?
A lot of what is being done against India currently has to do with India’s economic rise and its refusal to toe to the Western diktats on every issue. Therefore, as India marches towards the $5 trillion economy mark, becomes more assertive in global affairs, emerges as a more profound Voice of Global South, India would continue to face many such challenges, aimed at triggering internal unrests, often funded and nurtured from outside. It is pretty clear that there is a section in the Global North, which wants India to be externally secure but remain internally in chaos, so that India remains perpetually in the firefighting mode, and fails to take the quantum leap to the next realm of development.
The Message from India: Loud and Clear
By drastically cutting off India’s diplomatic relation with Canada, it is pretty clear that India is sending out a message to many, including the US and others that India is fed up with these double standards, hypocrisy, and engineered troubles emanating from the West. India is making it clear that while India needs the West, the West needs India too, and therefore, these dirty games of attempts of regime change, or nurturing secessionist elements that the West does in the name of ‘Activism’ and ‘Free Speech’ would not be taken lightly by India anymore.
That era is gone when India could be deemed as a Third World Country, and can be browbeaten to submission by the West, anytime they wished for. Today’s India is different. It not only resists but also preemptively strikes back if pushed to the corner. India has often made it clear that the West must come out of the illusion that the West knows best what is good for the rest. Yet, old habits die hard. The West must mend its ways. Sooner the better.
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