India has urged its nationals in Canada to exercise “caution” as ties deteriorate after each nation expelled one of the other’s diplomats in an escalating row over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader.
Tension has grown since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday Canada was investigating “credible allegations” about the potential involvement of Indian government agents in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June.
“In view of growing anti-India activities and politically condoned hate crimes and criminal violence in Canada, all Indian nationals there, and those contemplating travel, are urged to exercise utmost caution,” India’s foreign ministry said, without providing evidence or details of specific incidents.
Just hours after India’s travel advisory, Canada’s public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters that Canada is a safe country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has categorically rejected Canada’s suspicions that Indian agents had links to the murder.
“Given the deteriorating security environment in Canada, Indian students in particular are advised to exercise extreme caution and remain vigilant,” the ministry added in a statement.
Canada has for months maintained a security advisory for India, urging citizens to “exercise a high degree of caution” in their travel to the South Asian country.
However, Canada issued a health advisory update for India on Monday related to COVID-19, measles and the Zika virus.
The Canadian government said that update was part of a “pre-scheduled and routine maintenance in the section on travel health information”.
Since 2018, India has been the largest source nation for international students in Canada.
That figure rose 47 per cent last year to nearly 320,000, making up about 40 per cent of total overseas students, according to the Canadian Bureau of International Education.
What is the Khalistan movement and how is it linked to Australia?
On Wednesday, a private entertainment company, BookMyShow, announced the cancellation of an India tour by Canadian singer Shubhneet Singh.
Canadian officials have so far declined to say why they believe India could be linked to Nijjar’s murder.
India’s main opposition Congress party endorsed the government’s rejection of Canada’s accusations, urging a stand against threats to Indian sovereignty.
“Trudeau’s defence of declared terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar is absolutely shameful and shows how much the present Canadian regime is in bed with Khalistani sympathisers,” Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a senior Congress politician said on social media.
‘Anti-terrorism crackdown’ by India
Although there is hardly any support for the insurgency left in India, small groups of Sikhs in Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States support the separatist demand and occasionally stage protests outside Indian embassies.
New Delhi, which remains wary of any revival of the insurgency, has long been unhappy over Sikh separatist activity in Canada and urged Ottawa to act against anti-Indian elements.
Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside the Indian state of Punjab, with about 770,000 people reporting Sikhism as their religion in the 2021 census.
Some Indian analysts say Ottawa does not curb Sikh protesters as they are a politically influential group.
India’s counter-terrorism agency, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), said on Wednesday it was intensifying a “crackdown on Khalistani terrorists operating in India”.
