India in the dock

India’s offshore jingoistic activities are now in the dock. The media reports from Canada that the police have charged, after their arrest, three Indians with the murder of Sikh separatist leader have thickened the plot. Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in the province of British Columbia in June 2023, and a finger was pointed at New Delhi for its alleged hand in it. The case has assumed momentous limelight as it was pronounced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the floor of the house. Since then Indian intelligence agencies are the prime suspect, which has led to deterioration in their bilateral ties too.

The susceptibility, however, does not come to an end in Canada itself, and India was found to be on the foul side in the United States too. A statement from the State Department made it clear that a probe is underway to sift out Indian sleuths’ involvement in two attempts of assassinations on dissident Indians, and that is tantamount to a violation of interstate diplomatic protocols. So was the narrative Down Under, as Canberra alleged that there was an attempt by New Delhi to steal its defence secrets and coerce Indian expatriates. Last but not least is the taking out of Indian citizens on Pakistani soil. All these put together in a charge-sheet establishes that India is out with a fishy mentality, and cares little for state-centric protocols.

Authorities in Canada must come out in public to call a spade a spade. This is altogether essential to not only keep afloat the texture of trust and compatibility of a migrant state like Canada, but also to nail down revengeful activities on foreign territories by India. Perhaps, this is why Pakistan — a victim of India’s transgression — has once again brought to the United Nations the need for reprimanding Delhi and making it liable for its extraterritorial misadventures. The egotism at work in the form of a comment from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that “New India comes into your home and kills you…” is a confession in itself.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2024.

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