Tensions between India and Canada are rapidly intensifying, with both governments escalating their accusations and responding with retaliatory diplomatic actions.
On Monday, a simmering dispute between the two countries over India’s alleged involvement in the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist and Canadian citizen, once again boiled over. The Canadian government announced that six Indian diplomats, including High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma, were “persons of interest” for their suspected role in Nijjar’s death.
Nijjar, leader of the Khalistan Tiger Force—a group designated as a terrorist organization in India—was wanted by Indian authorities for his involvement in organizing and funding numerous terrorist attacks. He was fatally shot outside a Sikh temple in a Vancouver suburb in June 2023 by masked assailants.
India swiftly condemned Canada’s latest allegations, calling them “preposterous” and attributing them to the Trudeau government’s “vote bank politics.” In response to Canada’s expulsion of six Indian diplomats, India ordered six Canadian diplomats to leave by the end of the week.
Adding to the tension, The Washington Post published an explosive report citing Canadian officials, which implicated India’s Home Minister Amit Shah in authorizing intelligence operations and attacks on Sikh separatists in Canada. According to the report, communications between the expelled Indian diplomats included references to a “senior official in India,” identified as Shah, and India’s external intelligence agency, RAW.
Canadian officials reportedly shared these allegations with India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval during a meeting in Singapore on October 12. While Doval admitted to intelligence activities like surveillance, he denied any involvement in threats or violence. Neither India’s Ministry of External Affairs nor the Ministry of Home Affairs, headed by Shah, have responded to the report.
An Indian intelligence official dismissed the allegations as politically motivated, driven by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s domestic agenda. A Canadian High Commission official in New Delhi, however, emphasized that Canada had provided India with evidence at the Singapore meeting, suggesting Indian involvement in Nijjar’s killing and other violent incidents on Canadian soil.
This conflict dates back to September 2023, when Trudeau first accused Indian agents of being linked to Nijjar’s murder. At that time, Indian analysts pointed out that Trudeau had only “credible allegations,” not solid evidence. Now, Canada appears more confident in its accusations, with Trudeau stating that his government has “clear and compelling evidence” of Indian agents engaging in activities that threaten public safety, including murder and coercion.
Previously, the allegations targeted unnamed Indian agents, but now, top Indian officials, including Shah, are being directly implicated. Shah, often seen as the second-most powerful figure in the Modi government, is now at the center of these accusations.
The latest round of diplomatic expulsions is just one episode in the growing strain on India-Canada relations. After Trudeau’s initial allegations, India demanded that Canada significantly reduce its diplomatic presence, resulting in the withdrawal of over 40 Canadian diplomats.
Historically, tensions between the two countries have deep roots. In 1974, Canada harshly criticized India’s first nuclear test, which used plutonium derived from a Canadian-supplied reactor. However, the most significant strain has come from Canada’s stance on Sikh separatists, including some wanted in India for terrorism. Although Canada’s support for these groups waned after the 1985 Air India bombing, it never completely ended.
Ajai Sahni, director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi, described Canada as having “the worst record” in acting against individuals accused of terrorism in India, as well as in enforcing its own laws on Canadian soil. Many Canadian politicians, including members of Trudeau’s Liberal Party and its coalition partner, the New Democratic Party, have been seen at events glorifying Khalistani terrorists and calling for violence against India.
While Canada’s longstanding tolerance of Sikh separatist activity has long strained relations with India, the recent allegations of India targeting separatists on Canadian soil have plunged relations into a downward spiral.
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