Canada Expels Top Indian Diplomat, Accuses India of Targeting Sikh Activists
Though Canada and India are on opposite sides of the globe, tensions between the two countries are heating up.
Canada expelled India’s top diplomat and five other persons of interest, with India quickly retaliating in kind. These high profile expulsions are related to the 2023 assassination of prominent Sikh cleric, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in the city of Surrey, British Columbia. Canadian authorities claim to have "ample, clear and concrete evidence" that linked the persons of interest to the incident.
Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, had strong words regarding the incident, calling it an "unacceptable violation of Canada’s sovereignty and of international law".
Why Target Sikhs?
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a high profile member of the Khalistan movement. This movement–which now sees the most momentum in Canada–calls for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India in what is now the Punjab region (where much of India's Sikh population lives). The Indian Government regards the Khalistan movement as a significant security threat.
Canada's Sikh Population
Canada is home to one of the largest Indian diaspora populations in the world, which includes close to 800,000 Sikh Canadians. The largest population of Sikh Canadians live in suburban communities outside the major cities of Vancouver and Toronto.
With an election approaching, India's point of view on recent tensions is that Trudeau's actions are politically motivated – a bid to bolster support for his Liberal Party in communities with large Sikh populations.