Bathinda/Faridkot: Sandeep Jhajawar’s phone has been ringing off the hook for two days now. Indo-Canadian relations have hit an all-time low over the murder of a Sikh separatist, and students looking to go to that country for higher education are worried about its fallout on their future.
But Jhajawar, managing director of Bathinda-based immigration firm Boston International, is confident the students have nothing to worry about.
“Canada is immigration-friendly, and Punjab’s students actually boost their economy by going there,” Jhajawar told ThePrint. “There’s little chance that they’ll cancel visas or revoke admission to universities.”
Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed by unidentified assailants in Canada’s Surrey on 18 June — making him yet another Khalistani separatist to either be murdered or poisoned abroad.
The incident set off a diplomatic row between the two countries. In Canada’s Parliament earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said that Canadian security agencies have been “actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link” between Indian government agents and Nijjar’s killing. A day later, Canada expelled an Indian diplomat — a move that India mirrored hours later.
On Thursday, India suspended visas for Canadians — a move that has led to fear and worry in the minds of young Punjabis, who expect Ottawa to retaliate similarly.
Canada is a preferred destination for many students from Punjab. Data reportedly shows that over 40 percent of the international student population currently migrating to Canada is from India, with a significant portion from Punjab.
But like Jhajawar, other immigration firms too believe that it’s unlikely that student visas will be affected.
“Their (Canada’s) entire economy is dependent on immigration. Student visas won’t get affected. But I can’t comment on travel visas,” Amandeep Kaur, head of operations at Touch Dreams IELTS said. The company has had to issue video messages to calm students down.
But students don’t share this confidence. Jagpreet Singh, a youth who has already paid tuition fees at a Canadian university, fears that the visa process will get affected and that he’ll lose money.
“The governments should have sat together, alone, and sorted this issue out,” Jaspreet told ThePrint.
His agent has assured him it wouldn’t happen, but Jaspreet remains unconvinced. “I don’t know what the future holds,” he told ThePrint.
Meanwhile, students are miffed with the government’s aggressive posturing on the issue. “They can’t give us employment here and have completely spoiled their relationship with a country that welcomes us with open arms. The government has put our future in jeopardy,” a female student from Faridkot’s Bargari told ThePrint.
Also Read: Canada has crossed line by outing R&AW officer over Nijjar, breached unwritten espionage rule
‘Discrimination against Sikhs’
In Fardikot’s Bargari village, a bunch of Sikh men discuss Nijjar’s killing. Behind them is a poster of Sikh separatist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. The killing, this group believes, “simply shouldn’t have happened”.
The Indian government is acting against anyone who talks in favour of Sikhs, they claim.
“This is a Hindutva government. As long as anyone talks about a Hindu Rashtra, things are fine. But if Sikhs want their rights and raise their voice, we become terrorists,” Iqbal Singh, who has just returned from Canada where he lived for eight years, told ThePrint.
According to him, such diplomacy also causes friction between Hindus and Sikhs living in Canada. “Hindus and Sikhs are brothers, but when such situations escalate, a sentiment of enmity between Hindus and Sikhs starts in Canada,” Iqbal said.
The group then goes on to discuss the murder of Punjab singer Sidhu Moose Wala, who was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district in May last year.
It also speaks admiringly of radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who was arrested in April. “Anyone who talks for the welfare of Sikhs is killed off,” one man told ThePrint.
The villagers here are supporters of Simranjit Singh Mann, a Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) Member of Parliament from Sangrur who is a known proponent of a separate Sikh state of Khalistan.
But according to Jhajawar, quoted earlier, most of Punjab doesn’t share these separatist sentiments. “Most Punjabis want to live in peace. All we have right now is rice and wheat, and that too poisonous. The demand for a separate state is ill-informed.”
Still, there are some who question the India government’s handling of the situation.
According to Bathinda-based immigration agent Jaspreet Singh, the Canadian government has done more for the welfare of Sikhs than its Indian counterpart. India, he says, forgot about the welfare of the community while taking an aggressive stance on the issue.
“Did they stop to think for a moment about the Sikh diaspora living in Canada? So many people are stuck there,” he said.
But there’s another thing that upsets Jaspreet — the cancelled tour of Canada-based Punjabi singer Shubhneet Singh aka Shubh. Shubh’s ‘Still Rolling’ India tour has been cancelled over an old social media post in which he had purportedly shown support to a Sikh separatist group.
Work had kept Jaspreet away from buying tickets to the concert, but that is no consolation. “Over one post, the entire country jumped on this Sikh singer. It was plain wrong. His concert would’ve only been positive for our economy,” Jaspreet laments.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
Also Read: ‘Ready to cooperate if Canada presents evidence’ — India reaches out to US, UK, Australia