INDO-CANADIAN ties gone sour

As Henry Kissinger said, there is no idealism in foreign policy, only self-interest. At least that seems to be the motto of the developed world, as US and Canada’s actions show in the current Indo-Canadian spat over the killing of terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar

We have been reading about the worsening diplomatic ties between India and Canada. In spite of the world being divided into camps due to the Russia-Ukraine war, a unanimous resolution could be passed and the G20 summit turned out a super success. When India was being praised the world over for being the friend of the world and the voice of the Global-South, Canada decided to push the wrong button. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressing the Canadian Parliament alleged that a Canadian citizen (Hardeep Singh Nijjar) was killed by Indian agents on Canada’s soil. Immediately thereafter a senior Indian envoy in Canada was asked to deport. India responded by asking a Canadian envoy in India to leave the country within five days. India also took note of the assassination threats by Canada based Khalistani terrorists of our diplomats to that country and our visa services there were suspended until further orders.

"The Trudeau government is supported by the National Democratic Party(NDP) of Jagmeet Singh. The government will collapse if NDP withdraws support as the Liberal Party of Trudeau is in a minority. NDP is a supporter of Khalistanis and hence Trudeau, for his own political survival, supports Khalistanis"

Double-faced?

The Canadian Prime Minister did not stop there and kept on repeating his words and even involved USA to share electronic evidence with them about communications amongst Indian envoys in Canada in this respect. The USA did not deny what Trudeau said, Canada being its geographically closest neighbour. America’s ambiguous stand is contrary to its claim that India is its greatest friend. America’s stand seems to be double-faced. No evidence produced, no witness noted. The allegation is based on illegal snooping of the Indian High Commission office in Canada. This incident makes us rethink about international relationships and foreign policies of countries.

One of the greatest American diplomats, Henry Kissinger once said, “America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests.” He also elaborated about the issue of foreign policy by saying, “A country that demands moral perfection in its foreign policy will achieve neither perfection nor security.” Foreign policy is nothing but domestic policy to suit the country with a different hat on. Good government at home gives rise to good foreign policy, said a wise person.

Biased watchdog

It is disturbing that there are different yardsticks for foreign policies followed by powerful countries like America and for other countries. This has happened due to the weak global body, United Nations, with the US declaring itself the global watchdog, as is evident from its conduct. It is all the more disappointing as the self-proclaimed watchdog is never unbiased. It chooses policies for itself when it attacks and almost finishes Iraq, based on its wrong belief or erroneous intelligence that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction. Even the President of Iraq was killed. It also attacks Libya and wreaks havoc on this country on the belief that this country supplies terrorists. Afghanistan is attacked for harbouring terrorists who harmed it on 9/11. Osama bin Laden is killed in a third country, Pakistan. The world remains a mute spectator.

In the Russia-Ukraine war, the US, along with its allies put sanctions against Russia and the war is still continuing because of regular supplies of war equipment to Ukraine. A large number of innocent civilians are being killed and Ukraine is behaving like an asset of the US and does not stop the war. Similarly, in the case of China, it lectures other countries, but follows expansionist policies and hurts its neighbours. It finished a peaceful Tibet and annexed it. Now China has come on our border and keeps on creating problems for us. Our 43,000 sq.km of area in Ladakh is with China which it annexed in the 1962 war. All this is happening because the world keeps silent, as China is the second most powerful country after the US.

The behaviour of the US in the context of India-Canada diplomatic flare-up is understandable. India is needed by the US in its plan against China and also because India is a big market. The US also needs Canada, as the maximum imports of energy by US comes from Canada and also because Canada is a neighbour of the US. The US is in a fix and hence so far its stand is ambiguous. The US is tied with both and hence weighing its interests. There is no idealism in foreign policy, as a terrorist working against India settled in Canada has been killed, and the US is not able to speak against Canada when the latter had failed to deport him to India. There is no credible evidence against India for the killing of the terrorist. Yet Canada is speaking against India on mere suspicion or on the so called snooping intelligence, and the US is not clearly speaking against Canada. It is a known fact that Canada has become a haven for Khalistani terrorists and these terrorists indulge in violence against Indian interests. The right foreign policy for the US or such developed countries would have been to speak against terrorism, or even against Canada for becoming a safe haven for terrorists. But there is silence on this. The terrorists are instead called activists.

"In the Russia-Ukraine war, the US, along with its allies put sanctions against Russia and the war is still continuing because of regular supplies of war equipment to Ukraine. A large number of innocent civilians are being killed and Ukraine is behaving like an asset of the US and does not stop the war"

Those in the developed world do not acknowledge a terrorist until they themselves get harmed. They chase a terrorist anywhere in the world and kill him if they are harmed, like in the case of Osama bin Laden. Henry Kissinger rightly said that there is no idealism in foreign policy, only self-interest.

Canada, as is evident from the current episode, is following a foreign policy to support its political needs. The Trudeau government is supported by the National Democratic Party(NDP) of Jagmeet Singh. The government will collapse if NDP withdraws support as the Liberal Party of Trudeau is in a minority. NDP is a supporter of Khalistanis and hence Trudeau, for his own political survival, supports Khalistanis. Noted terrorists of the Khalistani movement have found it easier to settle down in Canada and even become Canadian citizens despite India providing credible evidence against them

Like father, like son

Justin Trudeau’s father who was also Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, was also a Khalistani sympathiser. In 1985, when he was the Prime Minister, Khalistani terrorists bombed the Air India Kanishka flight in which more than 350 innocent people were killed. The main conspirator of this terrorist act was on the demand list of India, but Pierre Trudeau did not accept India’s request. The present Canadian government has not provided any evidence to India that the declared terrorist Nijjar was killed by an Indian agent. Justin Trudeau is speaking of some intelligence but does not share it with India.

The foreign policy of Canada is not in the interest of the people of Canada. Talks that were in progress for Foreign Trade Agreement with India that would have given a big market to Canada have now been suspended. Canada does not appear to be following the maxim that a wrong domestic policy may not only defeat the country, but a wrong foreign policy can kill the country.

One earth, one family

Our foreign policy is about ‘One earth one family and one future’ which we followed in the G-20 summit in Delhi. We protect our country and at the same time we help the world. The supply of Covid vaccines by us to needy countries has been one such example. As our Foreign Minister said, global rules can be followed only if they are applied equally. Rules created by some powerful countries will be challenged if they themselves do not follow them. Maligning India, the largest democracy by Canada for the wrong reasons will not work, and a country like the U.S. should set their records straight.