Although there have been tense arguments in the past, none have escalated to this degree of direct conflict.
Canada was incensed when India surprised the world in 1974 by detonating a nuclear bomb, accusing India of stealing plutonium from a Canadian reactor—a gift meant only for peaceful purposes.
The two countries’ relations significantly cooled, and Canada stopped funding India’s atomic energy initiative.
whomHowever, as the dispute grew over the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh leader from Canada who India had designated a terrorist, neither country expelled its top diplomats as it did on Monday.
The tit-for-tat expulsions came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canadian authorities were looking into claims that Indian operatives were directly involved in the June 2023 murder.
The Canadian police also accused Indian agents of taking part in “homicides, extortion, and violent acts” against pro-Khalistan supporters who advocate for the establishment of a separate Sikh nation in India. The accusations were dismissed as “preposterous” by Delhi.
The greatest Sikh diaspora outside of the Indian state of Punjab is found in Canada, where there are about 770,000 Sikhs. Due to Sikh separatism, which stems from a bloody uprising that occurred in India in the 1980s and early 1990s, tensions between the two countries remain high. Delhi has harshly criticized Canada for not doing more to stop the pro-Khalistan agitation inside its borders. India is aware of local Khalistani groups, according to Canada.
