In yet another damp squib and shoddy attempt to peddle fake propaganda, Canadian media house The Globe and Mail recently published an Opinion piece by Journalist Doug Saunders that is riddled with lies, fake news, and a brazen attempt at white-washing Khalistani terrorism. Distorting PM Narendra Modi’s assertations that India will fight terrorism in India and in other countries if needed, Saunders claimed that Modi was threatening to kill foreigners in their home countries including Canadian citizens in Canada.
In the Opinion piece titled (archived): Narendra Modi’s threat to kill foreigners ‘in their homes’ can’t simply be ignored, the Canadian scribe goes on to make unhinged political rants based on sheer lies. Pertinent to note that Saunders has based his falsehoods and smear campaign on the misquoted speech of PM Modi where he had reaffirmed stern action against Pakistan-based terrorism.
Posting a link to the article, Saunders wrote on X, “In recent weeks, Narendra Modi has been pledging, in campaign speeches, to kill Canadians and other foreigners “in their homes”.”
In recent weeks, Narendra Modi has been pledging, in campaign speeches, to kill Canadians and other foreigners “in their homes.” On Monday, two events made it clear he’s pledging to double down on the most serious form of foreign interference to hit Canada, I write https://t.co/aNa1m3AeCf
— Doug Saunders (@DougSaunders) May 3, 2024
He claimed that PM Modi has adopted a violent new campaign message during the ongoing elections, claiming that “Mr. Modi has taken credible accusations from Western officials that his government has sent agents abroad to kill Canadians and other foreigners – the most overt form of foreign interference – and turned them into taunts.”
He claimed that by saying “India no longer sends dossiers, it kills enemies in their homes,” PM Modi issued threats to Muslim and Sikh foreigners.
Busting the bogus lie which is the foundation of the propaganda piece
Foremost, the central premise of the article that PM Modi made statements declaring India’s intent to kill “foreigners” in their homes, is a blatant lie. While referring to the menace of terrorism, the majority of which is Pakistan state-sponsored acts against India, PM Modi had repeatedly asserted, for years, that New India strikes terrorists inside their own territory, Ghar me ghuske marenge.
Additionally, for years, PM Modi has highlighted the policy measures of his government including the Surgical and Air Strikes in the backdrop of terror incidents carried out by Pakistani nationals or Pakistan-backed terrorists in the Uri and Pulwama regions. Notably, these were counter-terrorism operations and India had shared relevant information about the same to concerned allies and players on the matter. Every major military power, including Canada, conducts such operations against terrorists in foreign countries. Additionally, there had been no reports of civilian casualties in these strikes as it was specifically targeted against terrorists, not ‘foreign citizens’ let alone targeting them for their religious beliefs.
In the recent incident which has spooked the Western media including the author of the hit piece, PM Modi had referred to foreign media reports that accused India of eliminating terrorists deep inside Pakistan allegedly through its spy network run by Intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). While several Independent observers have pointed out grave inaccuracies in these unsubstantiated articles cum conspiracy theories, it is pertinent to note that the purported slain individuals were dreaded terrorists who had links with or directly involved in orchestrating, funding, and carrying out terror acts in India.
Furthermore, Western media reports seem to operate in a vacuum as they omit PM Modi’s direct dig at Pakistan in such rallies including references like a nation that can’t afford flour (atta), a crumbling economy, and cross-border killings of Indian soldiers while vowing to respond to every terror threat that looms large on the country.
The reality behind the misquoted speech and genesis of the ‘Ghar me Ghuske marenge’ remark
Doug Saunders starts the article by adjudging that PM Modi has “adopted a violent new campaign message” forgetting that affirming state policy of counter-terrorism is not a criminal act or a violent message.
Based on a falsely attributed speech to PM Modi, the article states, “In recent speeches, Mr. Modi has taken credible accusations from Western officials that his government has sent agents abroad to kill Canadians and other foreigners – the most overt form of foreign interference – and turned them into taunts.”
Citing a report from The Washington Post, it falsely attributes PM Modi as saying, “Today, even India’s enemies know: This is Modi, this is the New India. This New India comes into your home to kill you” during his rally on 5th April.
Incidentally, in reply to a journalist query on these “Ghar me ghus ke marenge” remarks, the White House had noted that it was limited to bilateral issues between India and Pakistan. It had further sermonised that India and Pakistan should avoid any escalation and find a resolution through dialogue. Further, the catchphrase became popular in India after PM Modi vowed to avenge Indian soldiers Killed in Action in the dastardly Pulwama terror attack in 2019 asserting that the terrorists would be hunted down and coined this phrase which has been popular ever since.
Peddles anti-Muslim and anti-Sikh propaganda
The article cites another speech by the Indian Prime Minister and goes on to brazenly include lies along the lines of anti-Muslim and anti-Sikh tropes against the Modi government and the BJP.
Citing a report by NDTV, the article rants, “That threat, aimed at Muslim and Sikh foreigners his party considers enemies, was repeated on Tuesday, as reported by India’s NDTV: With regard to foreigners ‘who look at our borders with malicious intent,’ he bragged at an event, ‘India no longer sends [documents], it kills enemies in their homes.’ Out of ignorance of Indian political parlance or nefarious agenda, apart from painting BJP as haters of Muslim and Sikh ‘foreigners’, it has interchanged terrorists and anti-India elements with the word foreigner.
Once again, the Canadian journalist overlooks India’s direct reference to Pakistan, as India has sent numerous dossiers to Pakistan regarding the 26/11 and other terrorist attacks. Instead, the journalist bases the argument solely on a stand-alone line, disconnected from the broader context, and works in a vacuum. Further, the India-Pakistan dossier and the menace of Pakistan-state-sponsored terror and India’s response on exactly similar lines predate Justin Trudeau’s unsubstantiated allegations or diplomatic row between India and Canada.
To buttress his canards, the article cites two incidents that transpired this week. The article then paints India’s action to summon and reprimand the Canadian Deputy High Commissioner over the incident of Pro-Khalistan slogans being raised in the presence of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and opposition leader Pierre Poilievre in bad light.
While admitting that Pro-Khalistan slogans were raised during the said incident for which India took the diplomatic step, the article claims that the action was taken because some in the crowd shouted ‘anti-Modi slogans’. Defending the Pro-Khalistan slogans, the article states, “Others, as some often do at this event, chanted slogans supporting the implausible idea of turning the Punjab region into a separate Sikh nation of Khalistan.”
The journalist claimed that India was in the wrong to point out that Pro-Khalistan sloganeering in the presence of the Canadian Prime Minister amounted to an endorsement of radical Khalistani terrorism.
According to the author, India’s diplomatic move came at the time when The Washington Post was going to publish a so-called expose and the name of a senior Indian spy who allegedly carried out or attempted to assassinate Khalistani terrorists on US and Canadian soil while calling them “Prominent Sikhs”.
Once again interchanging terrorists with ‘foreigners’ and falsely claiming that they are being targeted for their religious beliefs, the article cited the Washington Post to state, “The report described a campaign of ‘defensive offence’ aimed at assassinating and persecuting foreign non-Hindus who are at odds with Mr. Modi’s policies. At least five other Canadians, it claimed, were assassination targets.”
Whitewashes Khalistani terrorism
The opinion piece suggests that the diplomatic strain in India-Canada ties traces back to Trudeau’s tumultuous visit to India in 2018. However, it proceeds to blame India, alleging that the strained ties occurred because Canada did not overlook or tolerate what India would have preferred—New Delhi’s extrajudicial acts.
The Canadian journalist then goes on to brazen it out saying, ‘The problem is that there are no “Khalistani terrorists”.’
While it acknowledges the Khalistani terrorism that rocked India in the 1980s, it claims that it has vanished in thin air, is non-existent in India and it is just a romantic tendency in Western Canada.
In his opinion piece, Saunders goes on to white-wash the ongoing acts of Khalistani radicalism and terrorism in India and abroad, stating, “Yes, Sikh nationalism was a fearsome terrorist movement in the 1980s, responsible for the Air India bombing, which remains Canada’s deadliest terrorist incident, and for the 1984 assassination of Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi. But after the 80s, Sikh terrorism vanished as quickly and completely as Quebec-separatist terrorism did after 1970. Today’s Khalistani activists are a romantic tendency in Western Canada, and non-existent in India. It is not wise for Canadian prime ministers to be associating with ethnic separatists of any variety, but these ones are considered by experts to be no more harmful than Bloc Québécois MPs.”
A Non-Exhaustive List of Recent Attacks: Evidence that Khalistani Terrorism remains a serious threat to India and can’t be taken lightly let alone consider it as non-existent or non-harmful
While the author, citing ‘experts’, claims that Khalistani terrorists are ‘non-harmful’, it overlooks Gurpatwant Singh Pannun’s repeated threats against Hindus, threats against PM Modi, including bombing airlines, disrupting the World Cup with attacks, targeting Indian diplomats outside India, and the involvement of Khalistani terrorist Amritpal Singh in attacks, as well as the RPG attack on Punjab Police’s Intelligence Headquarters in Mohali, India among other attacks.
Apart from defending and whitewashing Khalistani terrorists, Saunders rants that these allegedly targeted terrorists were killed or faced attempted assassination attempts because of their religion which can’t be further from the truth.
It states, “He (PM Modi) does not target them for condemnation, and perhaps for assassination, because they are actually terrorists, but because they are Sikh.”
It is pertinent to note that while the article accuses India of killing Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar because of his religious belief, and Justin Trudeau alleged the Indian government’s hands in the alleged assassination, it was recently revealed that Canadian police have arrested three persons for the murder who are members of an alleged hit squad linked to Khalistani terrorism.
As per a report by the Canadian media house CBC, the names of the persons arrested are Kamalpreet Singh, Karanpreet Singh, and Karan Brar, incidentally all of them hail from the Sikh community busting the lies that the Khalistani terrorist was killed because of his religious belief.
Furthermore, the report also mentioned that the three arrested accused are members of a group that is associated with the gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Notably, as per the NIA, Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar, and several other gangsters have close links with the proscribed Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and several other pro-Khalistani terrorist outfits. The recent findings give strength to the reports that claimed that the Nijjar murder case was a result of gang violence rather than India’s so-called extrajudicial step.
Claiming that the numbers of BJP is slumping but it will retain its government, Saunders alleges that PM Modi has amped up his attacks on Muslims. Again Western Media forgets to mention that for several years, PM Modi has been advocating for the upliftment of the Pasmanda community which is considered to represent nearly 3/4th of the Muslim community and had lacked behind in terms of development because of sheer appeasement politics and tokenism in the name of vote bank. Additionally, several Indian Muslims have shredded the falsehoods of anti-Muslim tropes against the Indian government.
The article cites Hartosh Singh Bal as an expert to claim that Khalistani terrorism is non-existent in India.
The articles conclude by ranting that the alleged extrajudicial killings are an assault on the virtues and fundamental values of Canada and that Canada should adopt the US policy against India.
It concludes, “Mr. Modi is not attacking a threat harboured within Canada, as he claims; he is attacking Canada’s fundamental values of freedom of speech, pluralism, and physical security. The United States has realized this – which is why Canadians know about it – and is taking legal action. No Canadian leader, of any party, should tolerate or dismiss Mr. Modi’s violent threats.”
