Territorial integrity is red line, says Indian envoy to Canada, red-flags Sikh separatist campaigns

Citing 'national security threats from Canadian citizens', high commissioner Sanjay Verma blamed India-Canada issues on a 'lack of understanding of India's concerns'.

File photo of India's High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Verma | X

New Delhi: “National security threats” from Canadian citizens and foreigners posing a risk to the territorial integrity of India is a “red line” for New Delhi, Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Verma said Tuesday.

This was his first public remark since Canadian police arrested three Indian nationals last week for the June 2023 murder of Canadian Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.

“My concern is national security threats emanating from the land of Canada. These threats are largely emanating from the Canadian citizens… We are ready to sit down on the table any day, and we are doing that,” Verma said at an event hosted by the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations.

Nijjar’s death sparked a diplomatic row between Canada and India last year. After the arrests in the case, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that New Delhi is waiting for details of the suspects, believed to be from a “gang background”. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, however, said that Ottawa stands by the allegations that Indian agents had a role in Nijjar’s killing.

Verma said the issues between India and Canada stem from a “lack of understanding of India’s concerns”. As strategic partners, the two countries need to respect the “cultural diversity” of one other, he said.

“There have been unfortunate crimes… [involving] those who are Canadian citizens… to us, technically, they are foreigners… Foreigners having an evil eye on the territorial integrity of India — that is a big red line for us,” the Indian high commissioner said.

“Indians will decide what will happen to India, the fate of India, not the foreigners. If those people who are Indians living abroad want to decide the fate of India, they better go back and participate in the election process,” he added.

Verma’s comments came hours after India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) condemned Canada for providing a safe space to “criminal and secessionist elements” within its borders.

The MEA was responding to a float in a Sikh procession in Toronto Monday depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a prisoner. India has described the float as a “glorification of violence”.

‘Channels are trying to find solutions’

Last June, a tableau in a Brampton Sikh parade, marking the 39th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, depicted the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Jaishankar, at the time, had accused Canadian authorities of giving space to “radical” elements.

Apart from the Nijjar case, US officials are probing the potential role of Indian agents in a foiled assassination plot against another Sikh separatist leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Recent media reports alleged that former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Samant Goel and other top agents in India’s spy agency played a key role in the failed plot.

Both Nijjar and Pannun are designated terrorists by India.

Ties between Canada and India have deteriorated since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last year alleged that Indian agents played a role in Nijjar’s assassination. While repeatedly denying the claims, India also cancelled diplomatic immunity for 41 Canadian diplomats last year, citing the need for “mutual parity” in diplomatic presence.

Meanwhile, a public inquiry in Canada probing alleged foreign interference in the country’s elections said in an interim report last week that Indian officials have sought to influence Canadian communities and politics. The report said the pressure from India came to “align” Canada’s position with New Delhi’s interests on issues such as Sikh separatism. It further claimed that the “targets” of Indian foreign interference are often members of Indo-Canadian communities.

The Indian envoy, however, said Ottawa and New Delhi are trying to resolve their issues.

“There is a lot of noise beyond what is being done. There’s a lot of discussion at the government level on both sides… through the diplomatic channels. These channels are trying to find solutions and resolutions to the issues of concern on both sides,” he said.

(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)