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Khalistan casts shadow over Trudeau visit
Context:
- The Khalistan issue, which kept India-Canada ties on ice through three decades from 1980, has re-emerged.
“Khalsa day” parade:
- The seeds for the current tensions have been sown since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power in 2015.
- A major breaking point came when Mr. Trudeau attended a “Khalsa day” parade organised by one of the more radical gurudwaras in Toronto.
- At the time, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) made it clear that India’s protest had been taken up with the Canadian government.
- Among other disturbing issues was the felicitation at the parade of a politician responsible for a resolution in the Ontario assembly that accused India of “genocide” during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, a vote that India had also protested strongly.
- Issues over the growth of Sikh extremist groups, especially those seeking a “referendum 2020” for the worldwide Sikh diaspora to vote on an “Independent Khalistan”, have been raised several times in the past few years.
- Another sore point on the current visit has been Mr. Trudeau’s insistence on including Ministers in his cabinet accused of sympathising with the Khalistan movement.
