Mending fences, fraying nerves: The India-Canada reset!

Raju Korti
It is almost surreal to see India and Canada restoring diplomatic ties after months of glacial hostility. The timing, on the sidelines of PM Narendra Modi’s G7 outreach, couldn’t be more telling. But even as high-level decorum resumes, I remain sceptical: has anything really changed, or are we simply glossing over deeper fractures that stem from Canada’s own political indulgences?

As someone who has tracked the Khalistan conundrum for years –in fact ever since it started -- it is impossible to ignore how Justin Trudeau’s government used the movement’s fringe but vocal elements as a vote-bank play. With a sizeable Sikh diaspora -- particularly in electoral battlegrounds like British Columbia and Ontario -- Trudeau didn’t just tolerate the Khalistan narrative; he coddled it. Public processions glorifying separatists, Gurdwaras becoming hubs of anti-India rhetoric, and open defiance of Indian sovereignty were allowed under the guise of “free speech.” Diplomatically, it was a slow-burning provocation. Politically, it was expedient.

But it would be patently wrong to attribute this phenomenon to Trudeau’s time. Canada has for decades provided safe harbour to pro-Khalistan elements. The Air India bombing in 1985 -- the worst act of aviation terrorism before 9/11 -- was plotted on Canadian soil. Despite overwhelming evidence, the justice process dragged on, with suspects slipping through legal loopholes. India’s repeated calls for extradition were met with stonewalling, often couched in concerns about "political persecution." Ottawa’s passive tolerance turned into what many in New Delhi saw as willful blindness.

The situation spiralled during Trudeau’s second term. The killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Khalistani activist, created an unprecedented diplomatic storm. Trudeau’s open accusation of Indian involvement -- without publicly presented evidence -- upended all channels of trust. India retaliated in kind. Diplomatic expulsions followed. Trade negotiations froze. Air bubbles deflated. A bilateral cold war was underway.

Now comes the unexpected détente. Canada’s CSIS, in a new threat report, has officially acknowledged that Khalistani extremists “continue to use Canada as a base for promotion, fundraising, or planning violence in India.” For New Delhi, this is no revelation. It is a long-standing policy concern. But for Ottawa to articulate it in black and white suggests a shift, however reluctant, towards India’s position. It is also likely an acknowledgment that global geopolitics, where India’s strategic heft is rising, can no longer be ignored for parochial politics.

Yet I don’t see this as a transformative reset. The deeper issue remains Canada’s domestic compulsions. Trudeau still needs support from Sikh constituencies. While the CSIS report marks bureaucratic realism, it is unclear whether political will follows. Will Canada crack down on the very networks it once tiptoed around? Will its legal system cooperate on extraditions? Will there be consequences for inciting violence against Indian diplomats?

India, on its part, cannot afford to let its guard down. The Khalistan movement devastated Punjab for over a decade -- costing thousands of lives, destabilizing India’s most prosperous state, and culminating in the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It is no dormant relic -- it has simply gone global. The diaspora-fuelled propaganda, often unchallenged in the West, poses a strategic and ideological threat to India’s unity.

The Modi government will likely tread pragmatically. Trade will resume, dialogues will continue, but trust will be rationed. Canada may have taken a step toward clarity, but unless it walks the talk, relations will remain strained, camouflaged under diplomatic smiles.

As a journalist, I have seen far too many resets turn into reruns. For this chapter to be different, Canada must do more than acknowledge extremism. It must act decisively against it. Only then can the bilateral ties grow beyond optics and reach substance.