From Kulbhushan Jadhav to Vikash Yadav

The writer is a freelance columnist

India-Canada diplomatic row, which started last year over the killing of Canadian citizen and Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijar, a critic of Indian anti-minority policies especially against Sikhs, has once again started making the headlines. 

In the latest episode, the Canadian government expelled five Indian diplomats after declaring them as persons of interest in the killing of Nijjar. The Canadian PM publicly announced having irrefutable evidence of Indian state officials' involvement in the murder of their citizen. 

In a similar attempt of transnational killing in November 2023, the United States Justice Department also charged Indian citizens residing in the Czech Republic for plotting assassination attempts on US soil. 

The US Attorney's Office released a report against India wherein the Assistant Director in Charge of FBI’s New York Field Office announced the filing of murder and money laundering charges against Indian Government employee, Vikash Yadav, in connection with his role in directing a foiled plot to assassinate a US citizen in the New York City. 

Canada is home to around 770,000 Sikhs, who make up around 2% of the country's population, while more than a dozen are members of the country's Parliament. The Canadian government has taken a firm stand on this issue, calling the Indian government to look into all those allegations as it is in the interest of both countries to get to the bottom of this.

According to the Canadian envoy, the Indian government has been provided irrefutable evidence of ties between agents of the government of India and the murder of a Canadian citizen.

However, the Indian government has turned down the Canadian government's request for cooperation in the investigation of the case. It claims that it reserves the right to act further and accuse the Canadian government of supporting extremism and separatism.

The most worrisome aspect is India exporting terrorism beyond its border. The playbook is the same, the tactics India has long been using against Pakistan like Kulbhushan Jadhav, have now been exposed on Canadian and American soil. If at that time instead of sweeping things under the rug, India had been held accountable then today's situation would have been entirely different. 

Narendra Modi's Hindutva-driven politics has not only made India unsafe for minorities but also put peace of the region at stake. 

Additionally, the World community’s silence on Indian Human Rights violations in IIOJK, minorities’ persecution in India and state-sponsored terrorism at the International level has extended silent support to India to pay no heed to any international law or human rights. 

This approach will have far-reaching effects on the security of the region if the world community fails to hold India accountable. Indian acts of transnational repression, targeting religious minorities abroad, not to mention RAW’s anti-Khalistan murder plots in Canada and the US, is a real test of the world community, especially the US.
 
It's high time to rein in Indian state actors' brutal acts of terrorism. Besides, this is also an eye-opener for Indian strategic partners to hold it accountable as this time it's a matter of their sovereignty. World community's criminal silence on Indian atrocities against Kashmiris and other minorities encouraged India to have no regard for any international law and respect the sovereignty of other states.