Canada has escalated its diplomatic dispute with India, alleging that Indian Home Minister Amit Shah orchestrated plots targeting Sikh separatists within Canadian borders—a claim that India has dismissed as baseless.
This allegation follows Canada’s recent expulsion of Indian diplomats, linking them to the 2023 assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.
In response, India expelled Canadian diplomats. The tensions have extended to the U.S., where former Indian intelligence officer Vikash Yadav was charged in a foiled plot to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen. The FBI subsequently warned against targeting U.S. residents in retaliation.
These accusations are straining India’s relations with Canada and the U.S., even as India is viewed by the West as a critical counterbalance to China.
On Tuesday, Canadian officials alleged that Amit Shah, a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was involved in attempts to intimidate Sikh separatists in Canada.
The Washington Post first reported this claim, with Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison confirming to a parliamentary panel that he had informed the U.S.-based publication of Shah’s involvement.
During the discussion, Morrison stated, “The journalist asked if it was that person (Shah), and I confirmed,” though he provided no further evidence.
Both India’s High Commission in Ottawa and its foreign ministry declined to comment.
India regards Sikh separatists as “terrorists” and threats to national security, as they demand an independent homeland, Khalistan, within India’s borders.
This separatist movement triggered a violent insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s, including the 1984 anti-Sikh riots following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards after she ordered a military operation against separatists in a Sikh temple.