Tensions escalate between Canada and India over killing of outspoken Sikh leader

AMNA NAWAZ:

India and Canada are caught up in a tense diplomatic showdown over the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a naturalized Canadian citizen originally from the northern Indian state of Punjab, was an advocate for an independent Sikh homeland. He was killed by masked men outside a Sikh temple in the city of Surrey southeast of Vancouver in June. He'd been designated a terrorist by Indian authorities.

This week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canadian authorities have — quote — "credible information" linking the killing to India's government. Both countries have now expelled top diplomats.

To better understand the context and what this means for India's relations with Canada and the U.S., we turn to journalist and Bloomberg columnist Bobby Ghosh.

Bobby, good to see you. Thanks for joining us.

BOBBY GHOSH, Bloomberg Opinion:

Any time.

AMNA NAWAZ:

So, before we dig into the details, just big picture.

For Justin Trudeau to publicly accuse India of having a hand in killing a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil, how big a deal is that?

BOBBY GHOSH:

It's a very big deal.

And from all the reporting we are seeing on this from my Bloomberg colleagues and elsewhere, it looks like this was the last resort for the Canadian prime minister. Since June, since the attack took place, since the murder of this Sikh man took place, the Canadian authorities have been trying to get some traction with their Indian counterparts.

Trudeau himself raised the issue both with the U.S. government and the government of Britain to try and intervene with the Indians. Then Trudeau went to Delhi for the G20 summit a couple of weeks ago, directly raised this matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When he got no response from any of these or he got pushback from all of these measures, he then decided to go public with the accusation. And that suggests to me that he had come to the end of his tether. He had decided that there was no point in trying to do this quietly, in a diplomatic way. He felt that it was necessary to bring it out in the open.

AMNA NAWAZ:

So, what do we need to understand about this Sikh independence and separatist movement? It's called the Khalistan movement. We know it's had a violent history in India.

We know Indira Gandhi was assassinated by followers of this movement. We know it also triggered widespread violence in India at one stage. But where is that movement today? And what did this man who was killed, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, what role did he play?

BOBBY GHOSH:

Well, I grew up in India in the 1980s, when the Khalistan movement was very much at its zenith.

And it has since then faded quite a lot. A small proportion of Sikhs in India and around the world want to see a separate, independent Sikh homeland in where the current Indian state of Punjab is. And in the '80s, this had become a very, very violent uprising, which the government of India then put down over several years. As you point out, this led to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

But, in more recent years, that movement has faded away. It takes place much more in the margins, mostly in the margins of the Sikh diaspora outside of India. Within the country, the succession of Indian governments, including the Modi government, now have got a lid on the movement.

But in places like Canada, in Britain, where there are large Sikh populations, a small proportion of that population still clings on to the idea of an independent state. And Nijjar was one of those people. It would appear that he was a leader of a faction that still held on to the idea of a Sikh homeland within India.

AMNA NAWAZ:

Bobby, what do you make of the way that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government responded to these allegations?

BOBBY GHOSH:

Well, they have been quite outspoken. They have described it as absurd. They have retaliated for Canada, expelled an Indian diplomat whom they said was part of the Indian intelligence service.

India has done the same. We have seen countries do that. But India is taking a very firm, we won't step back, kind of position. So this is now out in the court of public opinion. Both sides have had their say, and for the rest of the world, and indeed for the populations of both countries, to make up their minds, we're going to need to see some evidence.

And the next step would have to be for Justin Trudeau and his government to show the world what information they have.

AMNA NAWAZ:

We have only got about a minute left, but this does put the U.S. in a very awkward position.

You have a closest ally, our neighbor to the north, Canada, on one side and a country they have been trying to court and deepen the relationship with to help counter China and Russia. Do you see the Biden administration taking a side in this?

BOBBY GHOSH:

Well, it's been trying very hard not to take a side on this.

It has done India a tremendous favor by asking and successfully making Trudeau lie low on this until after the G20 summit. So Modi's big coming-out party was not clouded by this. So, Biden has already done Modi a big favor by that.

Now it's his turn to show Canada some love and to respond to Trudeau's concerns. Biden is in a really, really, really awkward position. But, substantially, this is to his — this is of his own making. By embracing Modi, he has essentially embraced the full package, everything that comes with Modi.

And if it turns out that this was something that the Indian government ordered — it's a big if — then Biden is going to have to reckon with that.

AMNA NAWAZ:

That is journalist and Bloomberg columnist Bobby Ghosh joining us tonight.

Bobby, thank you. Always good to see you.

BOBBY GHOSH:

Any time.