The mega G20 summit in India has been in the news for a lot of right reasons, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s camaraderie with world leaders such as US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron, among others. However, amid the grand success of the multilateral event, the friction between India and Canada has also come to the fore.
Vivek Katju, a retired Indian diplomat who served as ambassador in Afghanistan and Myanmar, revealed a startling detail while discussing the underlying causes of the simmering tensions. He unveiled that Canada not only rejects the visas of Indian security personnel who were posted in Jammu and Kashmir but also asks for the location of their service in their visa applications.
He stated, “Canada regularly denies visas to members of our security forces who have served in Jammu and Kashmir. Canada has also denied visas to members of our services, about which we do not talk about and I don’t wish to talk about, including very senior people who have served in these services. Canada while asking for visa applications demands that these security personnel should inform the Canadians of the places where they have served. That is very often confidential.”
Vivek Katju made the revelations on India Today TV during a debate hosted by Shiv Aroor.
He further conveyed, “Now, I do not know if the government of India has ever objected to it or if it has taken it up. It goes back to the time when I was secretary in the ministry (Ministry of External Affairs) and in charge of the management of relations with Canada. I remember then, and I think it is important for your viewers to know, that they had done so with a member of the Border Security Force (BSF) and I had called the Canadian high commissioner in and said this is unacceptable.”
He mentioned that it has been thirteen years since the incident. “I personally feel that the time has come when the government of India should send out an advisory to all security personnel including retired personnel that they will not respond to such information being sought by the Canadians with regard to visa applications and that we should have a candid chat with them because this is completely unacceptable.”
Journalist Gaurav C Sawant elaborated on the issue and disclosed, “They actually ask for every detail. There’s a separate column in the visa for retired officers whether you are with CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force), BSF, Indian Army, Navy or Air Force.”
He added, “If you have served in Jammu and Kashmir you are supposed to mention the year that you served in Jammu and Kashmir, the area you have served in Jammu and Kashmir and the duty, whether you were a brigade commander or a division commander in Kulgam, in Wussan, in Kangan. All of that you are supposed to mention and India has objected to it.” However, he wasn’t aware if things continued to remain the same or not.
I had no idea about this 😖 Listen to what Ambassador @VivekKatju says about one of major friction points in India-Canada relations: pic.twitter.com/D122pvqPq9
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) September 10, 2023
The frigid India-Canada ties
Notably, India and Canada’s relations have taken a hit since the latter has provided a safe haven to pro-Khalistan terrorists and separatist elements. Hindu temples are regularly desecrated and vandalised. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not taken any substantial action against Khalistan supporters in spite of their perilous anti-India activities due to his vote-bank politics.
Recently, Khalistanis vandalised the Shree Mata Bhameshwari Durga Devi Society in Surrey British Columbia. An anti-India graffiti with the slogan “Punjab is not India” was sprayed on the walls of the Hindu temple. Notably, this is the second instance wherein the Khalistanis targeted a Hindu temple in Canada’s Surrey, British Columbia.
They had placed posters which advocated for a referendum pertaining to “the assassination of Hardeep Nijjar” and investigating India’s role in his death at the entrance of the temple in a bid to terrorise the Hindu community. Hindu temples have been regularly under attack by the Sikh separatists in the country.
They have referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a terrorist, stomped on the Indian tricolour with shoes and even brutally thrashed a member of the Indian who was trying to save the national flag during protest rallies against India which alleged that the Indian agencies were behind the killing of Khalistani terrorists and ‘Sikhs For Justice’ leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Khalistanis even threatened the Indian High Commissioner in Canada and incited violence against the consul general of India and the consul general of India in Vancouver. They went as far as to take out a “Kill India” to avenge the death of the Sikh extremist who was eliminated on 18 June.
The Sikh fundamentalists celebrated the assassination of India’s former Prime Minister late Mrs. India Gandhi and displayed a tableau in a Brampton parade in June that showed her wearing a blood-stained white saree with her hands up as turban-clad men pointed guns at her. A poster behind the scene read, “Revenge.”
Justin Trudeau has defended himself and claimed that Canada has always taken ‘serious action’ against terrorism and refuted criticism that his government has been lax on pro-Khalistan activists within the country. However, India has repeatedly slammed Canada for its inaction on the aforementioned occurrences and voiced that room must not be provided to extremist and terrorist elements in the name of freedom of expression.
The Canadian Prime Minister announced that the protestors in Canada did not have the right to block the economy when truckers demonstrated against the ‘undemocratic’ COVID-19 policies of his administration last year including mandatory vaccination for truckers entering Canada through the US-Canada border.
Notably, he tried to intervene in the internal decision-making process of the Indian government in what appeared like an attempt to appease the Khalistani elements in Canada. He and his Ministers expressed ‘concern’ over the protests over farm laws in 2020 which were later rolled back by the centre.
He endorsed the demonstrations and claimed, “Canada will always be ready to defend the right to peaceful protest. We believe in the importance of dialogue and that’s why we reached out to multiple means directly to Indian authorities to highlight our concerns.”
The dubious conduct of the Canadian government has led to the cold ties between the two countries and a breakthrough can only happen if Canada takes the valid grievances of the Indian government seriously and takes appropriate action.
