Why Khalistani extremism thrives in Trudeau’s Canada

The tit-for-tat expulsions of Indian and Canadian diplomats following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s accusation of India’s involvement in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a known Khalistani terrorist, has exposed the velvet glove treatment Ottawa gives Khalistani extremists operating on Canadian soil.Trudeau’s government has refused not only to clamp down on subversive activities by Khalistani terror groups in Canada, it has stitched an alliance of convenience with Jagmeet Singh’s New Democratic Party. Singh backs a referendum on Khalistan and has attended pro-Khalistan rallies across Canada. Trudeau relies on Singh’s 24 parliamentary seats to survive as prime minister.Watch: India rejects Trudeau's statement on Nijjar medium nocaption103773655Sikhs in Canada number just 770,000 or 2% of the country’s population. Only a small fraction back Khalistani separatism. But it is this violent fringe that Trudeau cosies up to.Is political survival the only reason for Trudeau’s inaction against Sikh extremism in Canada? Freedom of expression, which Trudeau cites in his defence, isn’t freedom to incite violence. The terrorist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) is proscribed in India. In Canada it functions freely, organising rallies and publicly threatening to assassinate Indian diplomats in Canada.SFJ backed the 2021 farmers’ agitation. It instigated violence that led to a near-riot and fatalities. Trudeau says little about SFJ. Several members of his cabinet, which is packed with Sikhs and other politicians of Indian origin, bend over backwards to appease Sikh extremists, including the SFJ.Where’s the evidence?Trudeau accuses Indian intelligence of “organising” the assassination of Nijjar, a known Khalistani terrorist, near a gurdwara in Canada.What evidence has been offered to show the involvement of Indian intelligence in Nijjar’s assassination? The evidence is at best slender. medium103803671The Anglo-Saxon media, however, has jumped to Trudeau’s defence. Britain’s The Guardian wrote on September 19: “Justin Trudeau has said there is ‘credible evidence’ that India is responsible for the alleged assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Canadian Sikh leader. The Canadian prime minister told the House of Commons of Canada on Monday that, in recent weeks, national security authorities had been probing allegations that New Delhi was behind a state-sponsored assassination.”The Economist hinted darkly that the US, Britain and Australia would get involved in the controversy. However, apart from issuing statements in Washington, DC, and Canberra, expressing concern over the situation, neither country has sought to intervene. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the issue will not affect India-UK relations despite Canada’s attempt to draw Britain in. medium103803682Western countries have long practised double standards. The US carries out assassinations routinely of terrorists like Osama bin Laden. It has also targeted for assassination, though unsuccessfully, foreign leaders like Cuba’s Fidel Castro, Chile’s Salvadore Allende and President Sukarno of Indonesia.Canada’s head of state is still the British monarch, currently King Charles III. Canada’s origin lies in British colonist-loyalists in the newly independent US fleeing north to Canada.The US defeated the British in the war of independence from 1776 to 1783. British colonists loyal to the “mother country” established Canada as a British dominion, usurped indigenous native land and pushed them into isolated Reservations.It is not a history white Canadians are proud of.Watch: All you need to know about Hardeep Nijjar medium nocaption103788391Justin Trudeau himself is a political dynast. Son of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, he has French lineage. The colonial French fought the colonial British for control of Canada. The French won the province of Quebec, which remains determinedly French-speaking even today.Pierre Trudeau wanted to secede from Canada and make Quebec a sovereign country. After an unsuccessful referendum in 1995, Quebec dropped its independence claim. Given this background, it is not entirely surprising that dynast Justin Trudeau has a soft corner for Khalistani separatists.Meanwhile in PunjabIn Punjab, Pakistan has tried for decades to foment Khalistani extremism in the sensitive border state. It took Punjab police 78 days to arrest pro-Khalistani preacher Amritpal Singh, revealing how the Aam Aadmi Party government of chief minister Bhagwant Mann has failed to control Sikh extremism in the state. Pakistan continues to drop weapons and drugs in Punjab.The Khalistani separatist movement, however, has little traction in Punjab. Most Khalistani extremists have moved to greener pastures in Canada and Britain where they receive kid-gloves treatment. That enhances the host countries’ democratic credentials. In Canada’s case, it keeps the Trudeau government in power.India has, meanwhile, paused talks with Canada on a free trade agreement. A Canadian trade delegation due to visit India shortly has been told to cancel the trip.India does not tolerate secessionist activity on its soil by separatists of other countries — even with hostile nations like China. Since 1959, when he arrived in India from Tibet, the Dalai Lama has been prohibited from political activity that could be seen as secessionist.Other countries, especially those in the Anglosphere like Canada, are not as sensitive. For them, India must now discard the velvet glove that cloaks its iron fist.