People in India still remember the armed Sikh rebellion that lasted for ten years, especially during the 1980s. Thousands of people lost their lives during that time.
When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed that Delhi was involved in the death of a Sikh leader from Canada, a lot of Indians got upset.
Mr Trudeau said that Canadian intelligence is investigating “believable claims that might connect” the Indian government to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a well-known advocate for an independent Sikh homeland and was shot and killed on June 18th in British Columbia.
India said that the claim was ridiculous and they do not agree with it.
As Delhi and Ottawa are engaged in a very serious disagreement, experts, writers, and officials from India have been expressing their opinions on social media.
In easy words: Canada, Justin Trudeau, and Hardeep Singh Nijjar are the most talked about topics on X.
One person said that Delhi responded strongly to Canada, while another person said that the government showed Trudeau who is in charge.
Some well-known Indian news websites are reporting that India strongly responded to Canada, making fierce statements in return.
India’s main opposition party, Congress, usually doesn’t agree with the government. However, they have now stated their support and believe that we should not make any concessions when it comes to fighting terrorism in our country.
Especially when terrorism puts India’s independence, unity, and strength at risk. Party spokesperson Jairam Ramesh wrote on X that we should always prioritize the best interests and concerns of our country.
A well-known Sikh separatist leader, Mr. Nijjar, was killed in his car by two masked gunmen in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, a city near Vancouver.
In the past, Delhi called him a terrorist who led a group that wanted separation, but they say they are not responsible for his murder.
Many people in India also agreed with Delhi’s official position, with experts saying that Mr. Trudeau’s accusations could make relations with Canada even worse.
Canada and India are not enemies, they are friends. According to Bhrama Chellaney, Trudeau’s connection with Sikh extremists in Canada has put a lot of pressure on the relationship between India and Canada.
Some people said that Mr. Trudeau was trying to get votes from Sikhs by doing things they didn’t respect. Canada has a large number of Sikhs who live there, even though they are originally from Punjab, a state in India.
Smita Prakash, a reporter from the Asian News International (ANI) news agency, said that Mr. Trudeau had already infected the investigation and legal process with his biased views since he accused India of being responsible for Mr. Nijjar’s death, using his position of power and authority to do so.
“She wrote on X that he is asking for help from India, but also accusing Indian authorities of the murder. ”
The relationship between Canada and India has become more difficult in the past few months. Trudeau and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met at the G20 summit in Delhi last week, but their meeting did not go well. It was described as “frosty” and as a result, trade talks between the two countries have been canceled.
MrTrudeau was made fun of because there was a problem with his airplane and he had to stay in Delhi for two more days. Local TV stations and news websites covered stories about the Canadian Prime Minister’s trip, which was described as a failure.