(There are currently more than 300,000 Indian students studying in Canada, its largest contingent of overseas students. Indian nationals living in Canada have also been advised to register with the consulate.)
'A blanket suspension of new visas by India for a Western country is unheard of and marks the lowest point of India-Canada relations' -- experts.
India is in a position to hit Canada where it hurts the most.
The Govt on Thursday suspended visa facilities in Canada. This comes after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pointed fingers at the Indian government over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Both countries, in a tit-for-tat move, expelled diplomats and issued advisories for their citizens.
"You may have observed the security threats that our High Commissioner and Consulates in Canada are facing, which as you know, have disrupted their normal operations. Therefore, our High Commission and Consulates are temporarily unable to provide visa applications. We will continue to review this situation on a regular basis, and the assessment will be going on.
But for now, the security situation in Canada which is due to inaction of Canadian government…there is disruption in visa processing and that’s why we have temporarily suspended it," MEA spokesman Arindam Bagchi told reporters here.
"Canadian citizens in third countries will not, will also be subject to the same temporary visa suspensions because at some point this comes through our High Commission. Our Consulates need to be involved in that process. So that's not going to happen."
Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Pannun released a threat video on Sept 20 asking Indo-Canadian Hindus to “go back to India”.
The Khalistani threats along with the diplomatic standoff are causing anxiety and restlessness among the members of the Indian community in Canada, their parents back in India and those waiting to be in Canada for the next academic session. The MEA spokesman also said. "Look, if there is any country, you are talking about reputational issues and reputational damage. If there is any country that needs to look at this, I think it is Canada and its growing reputation as a safe haven for terrorists, for extremists, and for organized crime."
"And I think that's a country that needs to worry about its international reputation".
“We have been receiving numerous calls from parents in India who are worried about the well-being and safety of their children studying in Canada. While reassuring them that things will eventually settle down, we know a lot depends upon the political leadership of both countries to diffuse any fears and tensions,” a Canada-based immigration expert told IndiaToday.In.
One Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant said the diplomatic showdown between Canada and India was causing “endless anxiety” among people waiting to secure their visas for Canada for temporary and permanent residence (PR).
A Brampton-based student said all discussions in the Indian student community these days were centred around the Khalistani threats and Trudeau’s stand on the issue. The youngster from Ludhiana who is on a work permit in Canada and awaiting his PR, said it was the first time he was made to think “if there was really some threat”.
But the person, who didn’t want to be named because of the fear of Khalistani elements, exuded confidence in India’s growing stature and recent rescue operations.
“Showing the Tricolour, India not only evacuated its students but also those of other countries from Ukraine war zone. India baithi hai, unpe bharosa hai (We have tremendous faith in the Indian government),” he said.
Answering questions, MEA spokesman Bagchi said, "I'm not sure what you mean by "trigger," and from which perspective you are viewing it. From our perspective, it's very simple. We are saying that those who are extremists, terrorists, or involved in organized crime in Canada, we want action to be taken against them. The Canadian government is not taking action, and as I mentioned earlier, we have not received any specific information regarding their allegations."
"So, after that, all the actions we had to take are related to the fact that action is not being taken against terrorism ....Look, I think some of these countries have made public that they took up the issue with us and I think I also said that we are in conversations with many of our partners. I don't want to say which of the countries because let them mentioned it. I don't want to get into which countries have been saying what. But as I said, we have ongoing conversations with our friends and partners.
"I've highlighted our position very clearly and this is what we have shared with them. It's the same thing I'm telling you that we've been telling them."
Some pointers
*** The diplomatic row was kicked off after Canadian PM Trudeau said that Ottawa had credible allegations linking Indian government agents to the murder of a terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June, prompting an angry reaction from New Delhi.
Nijjar, 45, was a "Canadian citizen".
Canada is forced for a cautious approach as the United States and other major players globally see India of 2023 as a strong ounterweight to the growing influence of China.
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Canadian officials have so far declined to say why they believe India could be linked to Nijjar’s murder.
The two countries, whose relations have been fraying in recent years over the issue of Sikh separatists, have since announced tit-for-tat expulsions of senior diplomats and issued tit-for-tat travel advisories.
Bagchi said India was “willing to look at any specific information, we have conveyed this to the Canadian side, made it clear to them…but so far, we have not received any such specific information”.
Canada has discussed the issue with key allies such as the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance, which includes the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, with Washington, London and Canberra expressing concern.
Asked if any of these countries, with whom India also enjoys close ties, had raised the issue with New Delhi, Bagchi said: “We have been discussing with them, we have conveyed our position how we see these developments.”
“There is no question that India is a country of growing importance and a country that we need to continue to work with … and we’re not looking to provoke or cause problems,” Trudeau said in a press conference in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
“But we are unequivocal around the importance of the rule of law and unequivocal about the importance of protecting Canadians.” “That’s why we call upon the government of India to work with us to establish processes to discover and to uncover the truth of the matter.”
The Indian foreign ministry said Canada had not shared any specific information about the murder. Nijjar supported a Sikh homeland in the form of an independent Khalistani state and was designated by India as a “terrorist” in July 2020.
“As a country with a strong and independent justice system, we allow those justice processes to unfold themselves with the utmost integrity,” Trudeau replied when asked when Canada would release the evidence it had.
The announcement came hours after Canada’s high commission in India said it would temporarily “adjust” staff presence in the country after some diplomats received threats on social media platforms.
But Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said Ottawa had been asked to reduce numbers at its diplomatic missions in India to bring parity between the missions of the two countries.
India has not provided any evidence or given details of the nature of such security threats, and Canada’s public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc said in response on Wednesday that Canada was a safe country.
“You are aware of the security threats being faced by our high commission and consulates in Canada. This has disrupted their normal functioning,” Bagchi told reporters at a weekly briefing on Thursday.
“Accordingly our high commission and consulates are temporarily unable to process visa applications,” he said, adding that the security situation would be reviewed regularly.
Canada is the fourth largest source of foreign tourists with 350,000 visitors in 2019, a number which fell following the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Indian government data.
Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside the northern Indian state of Punjab, with about 770,000 people reporting Sikhism as their religion in the 2021 census.
A bloody Sikh insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s in Punjab killed tens of thousands of people before it was suppressed. The separatists wanted the creation of an independent Sikh state called Khalistan.
Although there is hardly any support for the insurgency left in India, small groups of Sikhs in Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States support the separatist demand and occasionally stage protests outside Indian embassies.
New Delhi, which remains wary of any revival of the insurgency, has long been unhappy over Sikh separatist activity in Canada.
Some Indian analysts say Ottawa does not curb Sikh protesters as they are a politically influential group.
The spat is also threatening trade ties, with talks on a proposed trade deal frozen last week.
***
Canada is India’s 17th largest foreign investor, while Canadian portfolio investors have invested billions of dollars in Indian financial markets.
Since 2018, India has been the largest source country for international students in Canada, with their numbers rising 47 per cent in 2022 to nearly 320,000.
Industry estimates show the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Canada and India could boost two-way trade by as much as $6.5 billion.
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