India stops new visas for Canadians, asks Ottawa to downsize missions as spat worsens

Canada and India have been at odds ever since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made accusations linking New Delhi to the death of a Sikh separatist on Tuesday. On Thursday, India halted new visas for Canadians and asked Ottawa to cut its diplomatic presence, dramatically increasing the tension between the two countries.

India’s foreign ministry said the country was eager to investigate the allegations, but Canada had not provided any evidence.
The deterioration of relations between India and Canada reached a new low when India announced a blanket ban on new visas for Western countries.

A few Canadian diplomats have received death threats on social media, prompting the Canadian high commission in India to announce that it would temporarily “adjust” personnel presence in the country. India has promised to offer “all security and all support” to foreign diplomats, even though the mission does not detail the nature of the threats they faced.

Arindam Bagchi, India’s foreign ministry spokesman, said the country has stopped issuing new visas to Canadians because of “security threats” to its consular workers.

In response to India’s vague description of the security risks it faces, Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc asserted that his country was not in danger.

He told reporters at a weekly briefing on Thursday that the security situation would be assessed constantly and that, in the meantime, “our high commission and consulates are temporarily unable to process visa applications.”

As reported by the Indian government, the number of Canadian tourists dropped to 350,000 in 2019 after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Threat to Good Name
Trudeau claimed on Monday that the Canadian government was looking into “credible allegations” linking Indian government operatives to the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June, which sparked the worst tensions in the relationship’s history.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has denied involvement in the suspected murder.

Canadian authorities have not commented on their suspicion that India is involved in Nijjar’s death.

After years of deteriorating relations over the Sikh separatist problem, both nations have announced the expulsion of top ambassadors and issued travel recommendations against one other.

Bagchi stated, “We have made it clear to the Canadian side that we are willing to look at any specific information, but so far, we have not received any such specific information.”

Canada has expressed its concerns to its closest friends, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, through the Five Eyes information-sharing agreement.

Bagchi added, “We have been discussing with them, we have conveyed our position how we see these developments.” When asked if any of these nations, with which India also has close connections, had brought up the issue with New Delhi, Bagchi replied, “We have been discussing with them.”

When asked about the threat to New Delhi’s international status, Bagchi said Canada, not India, should be concerned about the damage to its reputation caused by the row.

Canada’s “growing reputation as a safe haven for terrorists, extremists, and for organized crime” is a problem, he added, noting that India has unsuccessfully sought action against over 20 persons from Canada.

No information on terrorist attacks committed in Canada by Sikh separatists against Indian interests has been made public by India.

danger to trade relations
About 770,000 people in Canada identified as Sikh in the 2021 census, making it the country with the highest Sikh population outside of the northern Indian province of Punjab.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Punjab was home to a brutal Sikh insurgency that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people until it was finally put down. The separatists’ eventual goal was establishing Khalistan as an independent Sikh nation.

There may be few sympathizers left in India for the insurgency. Still, pockets of Sikhs abroad in countries like Australia, Britain, Canada, and the United States continue to rally in favor of the separatist cause.

New Delhi has long been dissatisfied with Canadian Sikh separatist activity, and it remains fearful of the resumption of the conflict.

A potential trade pact has been on hold since last week due to the dispute.

Canadian portfolio investors have invested billions of dollars in India’s financial markets, ranking Canada as India’s seventeenth-largest foreign investor.

Canada’s greatest source of overseas students is India as of 2018, with a projected 47% increase to nearly 320,000 by 2022.

Experts predict a $6.5 billion increase in annual trade volume due to the CEPA between Canada and India.