“US not playing politics with Khalistanis”: Foreign affairs expert on India-Canada row

Amid the strained relationship between India and Canada, C. Raja Mohan, foreign affairs expert and the founding director of Carnegie India, spoke about the complexities of international politics and diaspora influence, particularly in Canada.

The remarks by Raja Mohan came during a podcast of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute titled ‘The Global Exchange: Navigating India-Canada Relations amid a major Diplomatic Break.’

He said, “The US and Canada are different. The Biden administration or the Democratic party is not playing politics with the Khalistanis. The US has retail politics, we have retail politics, Canada has retail politics. But I think the weight of the Sikh population and within them, the dominance among them by a small group of extremists and the electoral power has made the retail politics in Canada far more significant, especially under PM Trudeau, given their party’s position and the need for the support…”

Mohan further said that Australia, the United States, and Britain have faced similar issues, but Canada’s long history with Indian immigrants, particularly from Punjab, has integrated them into domestic politics, making it an extreme case.

He said, “More and more Indians are going to go abroad, most of them will go to the anglo-saxon world. As the size of this population grows, they draw into local politics… Canada is an extreme case because there has been a long presence of Indians there, especially the Punjabi population and their integration in the domestic politics. There is going to be friction, when our domestic politics intersects with your domestic politics.”

Mohan further suggested that Canadians could learn from Australia’s approach to managing these issues privately. “Australia had some issues, the US had some issues, Britain had some issues but nowhere there has become a political football in a way that Canada has made it. That is why, I would say to Canadians that look at the way how Australians manage the issues. When issues arose, how they were dealt with it in private… I think in Canada, it became central to the politics which I think is a problem…”

Notably, there has been rising diplomatic tensions between Canada and India.
Canada has alleged India’s role behind the killing of India-designated Khalistani terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a charge New Delhi has strongly denied, terming it “absurd” and “motivated.” Recently, tensions have risen in light of attacks on a Hindu Sabha Temple in Brampton, a suburb of Toronto, allegedly by supporters of a separate state of Khalistan.