The Indian government reportedly instructed Canada on Tuesday to withdraw 41 members of its diplomatic corps from Indian soil, a sign that relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of murdering Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The Financial Times quoted sources who said New Delhi threatened to revoke diplomatic immunity for any of the 41 diplomats who remain in India after October 10.
“We are in contact with the government of India. We take Canadian diplomats’ safety very seriously and we will continue to engage privately because we think diplomatic conversations are best when they remain private,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told reporters on Tuesday.
Canada’s diplomatic staff in India is much larger than the reverse, so evicting a few dozen Canadians would bring them into “parity,” according to India’s only public statements on the matter. One of the reasons Canada has such a large diplomatic entourage in India is because so many Indians live in Canada, especially Sikhs.
One of those Sikhs was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, who presided over a temple in Surrey, British Columbia, after emigrating to Canada. Nijjar was a leader in the Khalistani Movement, an organization seeking to establish an independent Sikh nation on land currently held by India.
Nijjar was gunned down outside his temple by unknown assailants on June 18. On September 18, while addressing the Canadian parliament, Trudeau accused the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of orchestrating Nijjar’s death.
India furiously denied the accusation, then lashed out at Canada for not taking its security concerns about the Khalistanis seriously. India and Canada each expelled a diplomat the day after Trudeau leveled his accusation. India then announced an indefinite halt to visas for Canadians.
Supporters from the United Hindu Front hold placards to protest against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in New Delhi, India, on September 24, 2023. (Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
According to the Financial Times, Canada made several attempts to secure India’s cooperation with the Nijjar murder investigation before Trudeau made his accusations public, but all were rebuffed. Instead, Indian officials reportedly urged Canada to drop the investigation.
One source said Trudeau’s hand was forced by Canada’s Globe and Mail, which was about to publish its own investigative report on Nijjar’s murder. With little room to maneuver, the Trudeau administration decided to stand for Canadian sovereignty, even though it meant picking a fight with India that Ottawa did not want.
“There is a sense in Canada that bad things happen elsewhere, but this murder has really punched into the public consciousness. It is not something Canada or Canadians are going to brush aside or forget,” observed University of Ottawa foreign policy expert Roland Paris.
Demonstrators burn a placard depicting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a Sikh rally outside the Consulate General of India in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on September 25, 2023. (COLE BURSTON/AFP via Getty Images)
Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said last week that India is willing to hear Canada’s accusations but only if “specific” and “relevant” evidence is presented. This demand is said to be awkward for Canada because compliance would jeopardize the ongoing investigation of Nijjar’s murder and potentially reveal intelligence sources.