Liberty vs. Security: India, US, and Canada Grapple with Divergent Approaches Amid Allegations of State-Backed Violence

Apparent divergence of approach to the puzzling interface between liberty and violence has cropped-up again between India, United States and Canada. The latest trigger has come from a report in The Washington Post naming an Indian official involved in the plot to murder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. The US government has expressed concerns while Government of India (GoI) responds in its own way. At the same time, anti-India and pro-Khalistani utterances and activities in Canada have once again deeply upset GoI. Since India and the US are strategically coming closer and India and Canada would want to do so, the question is how to avoid disagreements on balancing individual liberty with peoples’ security.   

In reference to the Post’s report, the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on 29 April to the journalists that one Vikram Yadav from Indian intelligence agency RAW contacted the Indian businessman Nikhil Gupta to get Pannun killed by a hired assassin. Gupta is currently in the custody of Czech Republic waiting deportation to USA. Yadav had the approval of Samant Goel, the Chief of RAW. Pannun is having dual citizenship of USA and Canada, one of the main leaders of Khalistani movement, and legal advisor and spokesperson for Sikhs for Justice, a Khalistani organisation based in Canada. India has declared Pannun as a terrorist.

Jean-Pierre said in the same press conference that, “India is an important strategic partner of United States, and we are pursuing an ambitious agenda to expand our cooperation in several areas”. At the same time, she added, “We expect accountability from Govt of India on that. We are going to raise our concerns directly with Indian government.” The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said in his response, “a high-level committee is looking into information shared by American side with us because it equally impacts our national security”. The Foreign Minister had endorsed this in his reply to Parliament on 7 December last year that a high-powered committee is looking into the material shared by United States.

What is of curious importance is that the alleged plot to kill Pannun in US coincided with the 18 June 2023 killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey in Canada’s British Columbia province. Intriguingly, that operation was also linked to Yadav according to western officials. This raised the western concern (Canada and US) about the escalating campaign of aggression against overseas Indians allegedly involved in anti-Indian activities, by Indian intelligence operations. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed in the Canadian Parliament on 18 September 2023 that there was ‘potential involvement of Indian agencies in the killing of Nijjar’.

Trudeau added that Canadian security agencies – Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Canadian Security Intelligence Agency – had the evidence of India’s involvement. He also reported that a fellow-member of Five-Eyes Alliance had shared similar information. Five-Eyes Alliance is an intelligence group comprising five Anglo sphere countries, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom. Govt of India at the time had rejected the allegations as absurd and motivated. India had accused Ottawa of harbouring Sikh separatists.  

Jagmeet Singh, the President of the New Democratic Party, the third biggest party in Canada which props up the Trudeau government, came out in support of Trudeau’s allegations of Indian officials’ involvement, “today we learned of allegations that agents of Indian government murdered Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian killed on Canadian soil. To all Canadians, this is my vow. I will leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of justice including holding Narendra Modi accountable”.

Once again Govt of India was alarmed and agitated over raising of pro-Khalistani slogans at a public event at Toronto, attended by Justin Trudeau. This was the Khalsa Day organised by Sikhs in Canada on 28 April. As soon as Trudeau approached the podium, Khalistan Zindabad slogans were raised. Trudeau was reportedly seen smiling at the chants of the slogan. Banners were also displayed which said ‘Modi wanted’. The Sikhs for Justice portrayed huge banners identifying Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh and Jaishankar as killers of Nijjar. This organisation is a pro-Khalistani group which called for revenge against killing of Nijjar and had initiated violence against Indian diplomats.

Trudeau’s acquiescence in such pro-Khalistani slogans is ‘understandable’ as his government is surviving on the support of the New Democratic Party headed by Jagmeet Singh. This is a party whose support base consists of Khalistan-supporting Sikhs. Evidently, immigrants hankering nostalgically for their cultural roots, seek to recreate those in their adopted countries. If they fail to do so, they support the separatist and revivalist organisations in the countries of their origin. This is the case with large number of Sikhs in Canada. Having achieved material prosperity and lost their cultural identity, they tend to become reactionary in their approach.

Last year, in the British Labour Party conference, I happened to run into a Sikh guest delegate from Canada who was a Member of Parliament from the New Democratic Party. In our conversation, he said that Nijjar was an innocent ordinary Sikh eking his livelihood from priestly activities in Gurudwaras. I was shocked to learn that a terrorist was perceived by Canadian Sikhs as a simple and ordinary person.

The Govt of India summoned the Deputy High Commissioner of Canada in New Delhi and strongly protested the patronage given to anti-India elements in Canada. The MEA said, “It illustrated once again the space given in Canada to separatism, extremism and violence. It encourages a climate of violence and criminality in Canada which will prove detrimental to its own citizens”. Trudeau’s complicity in pro-Khalistani activities may go well with his vote-bank politics and alliance government. But it is certainly not advisable, nor acceptable in bilateral relations. How would Canada, for that matter United States react, if Govt of India were to encourage forces in India that attempt to create divisions and violence in their countries.

Clearly, USA and Canada are missing the link between freedom at home and acts of terrorism abroad. Whether Indian agencies were involved in murder of wanted criminals in other countries, is a matter of investigation. What is however baffling is the duplicity maintained by Canada as well as United States. Trudeau should not miss the link between politics at home and foreign policy. A kind of politics that conduces Trudeau, should not be causing violence in other countries. Likewise, United States and its close allies like Israel can take out their enemies in other countries; Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad has done it in several countries, and the stark example of USA doing so is killing Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan.

Quite a few human rights experts argue that, given the justice system in USA, Osama should have been captured and tried. This is not the debate we will engage in, but the fact to underline is Osama Bin Laden was responsible for Twin Tower terrorist attack killing innocent people. USA militarily moved to Afghanistan and chased Osama into Pakistan. If any other country were to do a similar act of chasing and killing terrorists, why should USA object?

(This article is authored by D.K Giri)