When a deep state strikes in a foreign land…

Speaking in the House of Common on September 18, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “Over the past number of weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian national.”

In the aftermath of the recent G-20 summit in New Delhi, a war of words between the Indian and Canadian governments over the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh Canadian national, reached its peak when Ottawa expelled top Indian diplomat, who happened to be the RAW chief; and New Delhi responded by expelling a Canadian official.

Justifying his country’s actions, Prime Minister Trudeau made it clear that “Canada is a rule-of-law country. The protection of our citizens and defense of our sovereignty are fundamental. Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty.” Prior to that, trade talks, which were to be held between Canada and India, were postponed indefinitely and New Delhi stopped issuing visas to Canadian nationals in what reflects deepening of the ongoing tension in their ties.

Thus, from any standpoint, India can be categorised as a deep state whose core affairs are managed by its intelligence agencies and military establishment in close coordination with the ultra-ring wing Hindu nationalist BJP. That deep state in the garb of Hindu nationalism has penetrated into Indian academia, media, bureaucracy, military, judiciary and civil society. That state is not only involved in crushing political dissidents and secessionist movements in Khalistan, Jammu & Kashmir and in its north-eastern states but also has a reputation of targeting Indian origin diaspora particularly Sikhs for their avowed support for Khalistan movement. India has a history of intervention in neighbouring states — as evident from Prime Minister Narendra Modi admitting with pride during a visit to Dhaka that India was instrumental in the break-up of Pakistan in 1971.

The Modi regime thought that by seeking a regional power status and aspiring to become a world power, it can get away with its fascist acts by removing those Indian origin nationals from the scene in foreign countries who it sees as a major threat to its national security. For decades, the Sikh community in Canada and elsewhere is aggressively involved in promoting their cause for Khalistan state and for that matter referendum was also held in countries where the Sikh diaspora lives in large number. Hardeep Singh was declared a terrorist by India for allegedly working to augment the Sikh separatist movement. But, even if he was involved with Khalistan movement in some way, was it fair for India to physically eliminate him? When the Canadian PM was enquired why it took his government so long to reveal the involvement of India in the assassination of Hardeep Singh, he said it took three months for investigators to reach ‘credible allegations’ proving the involvement of New Delhi in that act.

From Trudeau’s body language during his meeting with Modi during the recent G-20 summit, it was evident that all was not well between the two sides because not only was the Canadian PM given a cold shoulder in Delhi by the hosts, but it was also observed that the Indian state was not happy with the manner in which Trudeau has allowed Sikh activism for an independent state of Khalistan.

Growing schism between India and Canada on the issue of Hardeep Singh’s killing needs to be analysed from three angles, as follows.

First, there was a serious miscalculation by the Modi regime when taking confrontation with Canada to a new level. Intelligence agencies of Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the US are closely coordinating with their investigation about ‘credible allegations’ of India’s involvement in the assassination of Hardeep Singh. Trudeau, during a recent interaction with reporters, made it clear that “the government of India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are doing that; we are not looking to provoke or escalate.” While supporting Canadian efforts to investigate Hardeep Singh’s killing, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said: “We believe a fully transparent comprehensive investigation is the right approach so that we can all know exactly what happened, and of course we encourage India to cooperate with that.” Hardeep Singh is not the only Sikh nationalist to have been killed outside India: four more Sikh activists, who were in the forefront of Khalistan movement, were assassinated by the Indian intelligence agency RAW.

Second, ugly nature of the Indian-Canadian relations will jeopardise perceived Indian success which it claims to have achieved from G-20 summit. It is also possible that India, which has an observers status, may not be invited to the coming G-7 summit. It would mean a major failure in Indian foreign policy which may have a negative impact on Modi election campaign coming up in May 2024. Already opposition parties, which have united under INDIA alliance, have rejected claims made by the Modi regime about smooth sailing of G-20 summit. Ironically, there is a nexus between BJP and Congress on criticising the Canadian government for launching false allegations against India over Hardeep Singh’s killing but the world knows that since 1984, hundreds and thousands of Sikhs have lost their lives in riots following the assassination of the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. By trying to crush Khalistan movement, the freedom struggle in Kashmir, separatist groups in its north eastern states as well as religious minorities, the Indian state reflecting fascist tendencies cannot entirely eliminate the forces of freedom. The case of ongoing schism between Canada and India proves how vulnerable New Delhi is while dealing with its internal fault-lines.

Third, the Sikh road to Khalistan is fraught with numerous challenges but when the Sikh kingdom of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh encompassing entire Punjab, Kashmir and parts of present day Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was established in early 19^th century till the time it was dismantled by the British, the Sikh community wants to regain its independence in the form of Khalistan state. For how long will India resist the Sikh movement for an independent state is yet to be seen. Should Pakistan too not be mindful of Sikh demand for a unified Punjab under their rule?

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2023.

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