Justin Trudeau, if Khalistanis seek a homeland in Canada, will you allow it? May be you should

In the annals of history, two decades henceforth, Justin Trudeau's diplomatic blunder with India shall serve as a cautionary tale, a veritable masterclass on how to shatter international relations with the subtlety of a wrecking ball.

Trudeau, a symbol of ineptitude woven with the threads of practically inherited yet misguided leadership, has steered Canada into treacherous waters, casting it alongside the likes of Pakistan.

Like a ship adrift without a moral compass, Canada, under his stewardship, has not only welcomed terrorists and extremists onto its soil but handed them the reins to shape its foreign policy, a dangerous dance with darkness that shall not bode well for Canada’s future.

The Khalistan movement

At the core of the ongoing India-Canada tensions lies the Khalistan movement. It aims to carve out a separate homeland for Sikhs in the northern Indian state of Punjab. Like most of the geopolitical crises haunting the world today, this one too traces its history back to British colonial rule. The British sought to drive a wedge between Hindus and Sikhs, by recruiting Sikh soldiers in large numbers and then deploying them against Hindu rebellions.

On Indian soil, the Khalistan movement peaked in the 1980s-90s, an era marked by an intensely violent campaign, which included bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, and massacres of civilians. About 35,000 people lost their lives by conservative estimates. Khalistani militants increasingly engaged in robbery, extortion, rape, indiscriminate killings and even terror activity.

In June of 1985, terrorists related to the Khalistan movement planted a bomb in Air India Flight 182, the “Emperor Kanishka”. The flight took off from Canada’s Toronto and had more than 300 people on board, including 268 Canadian citizens. All of them died. It's the largest terrorist attack on Canadians.

Yet, the subsequent investigation by Canada dragged on for over 15 years and it was only in 2000 that the Canadian police arrested two Sikh terrorists based in Canada. Another suspect who was subsequently arrested was released on bail after just a day.

Who is Trudeau fighting for?

Today, there is no such thing called Khalistan movement in India. Trudeau is fooling no one by shielding the Khalistani terrorists behind the veil of the right to free speech. The calls to wage a war against the Indian state find no buyers in the Indian Sikh community. 

Interestingly, it’s only the Canadian citizens or the Khalistani terrorist and activists living in Canada for years now, who harbour such ideology.

With Trudeau firing on all cylinders to help his Khalistani friends realise their ambition, he should rather entertain the idea of creating a ‘Sikh homeland’ in Canada itself. The Indian state and Indians will wholeheartedly support Trudeau’s revival of the Khalistan movement if it remains confined to those people who actually demand it.

Canada’s British Columbia has anyway transformed into a ‘mini Punjab’ now, with its Sikhs accounting for about 6 per cent of the total population. As of the 2021 Census, more than half of Canada's Sikhs can be found in one of four cities: Brampton (163,260), Surrey (154,415), Calgary (49,465), and Edmonton (41,385).

If Trudeau really believes all of these Canadian citizens are hardcore Khalistanis - which they surely are not- why not declare all of these cities as Khalistan and let his friends live a peaceful life?

Rule of law? Really?

It is a bit rich coming from Trudeau’s Canada when it speaks of the rule of law and adherence to democratic values. It is striking that Canada's involvement can be found in significant sectarian and violent conflicts worldwide, including the Sri Lanka civil war, the Ukraine conflict, Sikh separatism, and the assassination of Bangladesh's Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Canada hosts the primary assassin of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman even today.

Each of these instances has resulted in the devastating loss of life and extensive destruction, raising questions about Canada's stance on its proclaimed principles.

WATCH: Dossier: Nijjar was associated with banned terrorist organisations

Earlier, US also tried to shore up its NATO and Five Eyes ally against India, and said Washington is giving India no "special exemption" in the matter. Didn’t they kill al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden by violating Pakistan’s sovereignty? Didn’t they take out the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani while he was travelling to Iraq in 2020?

Do US or Canada even have the moral high ground to lecture India here, even as they fail to establish the very allegations they make?

Canada waiting for its own 9/11?

The 9/11 terror attacks ushered in a new era in American foreign policy. It was only after these attacks that tackling terrorism became a top focus of US foreign policy and Washington launched its infamous ‘war on terror.’ Before 9/11, US perceived terrorism as someone else's problem, confined to other continents. That foreign policy blunder cost America thousands of lives.

Also read: Explained | India’s dossier details Nijjar’s history of travel, terror and thuggery

Today, Canada is also repeating the same mistake. Its non-serious attitude will end up turning Canada into Pakistan of the West, a hub and safe haven for terrorism.

While India may not have any problem with Trudeau driving his nation into an abyss, it will surely act the moment his actions start impacting its national security and territorial integrity.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)