NEW DELHI/LONDON: India summoned the Canadian envoy in New Delhi to register its protest after Indian media reported that posters issued for rallies there and in Britain by a Sikh group’s supporters also targeted Indian diplomats, a foreign ministry spokesperson said.

“The matter has been strongly taken up with Canadian authorities, both in New Delhi and in Ottawa,” Arindam Bagchi said.

“Posters inciting violence against diplomats and our diplomatic premises are unacceptable, and we condemn them in the strongest terms.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was quoted by media as saying that India was “wrong” to suggest he was soft on the protesters. He said that there is freedom of expression, “but we will always make sure that we are pushing back against violence and extremism in all its forms”.

A poster circulating on Twitter urges ‘Khalistan’ supporters to attend a rally in London on July 8

Bagchi said that the “issue is not about freedom of expression. But its misuse for advocating violence, for propagating separatism and for legitimising terrorism”.

Bagchi also said New Dehli had also taken up with Washington vandalism at the Indian consulate in San Francisco earlier this week, which was condemned by the United States. He said India got a prompt response at “very senior levels”.

UK assures security

British foreign minister James Cleverly warned against any attacks on the Indian High Commission in London, following media reports about a poster promoting a rally for supporters of a separate state for the Sikh community.

“Any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable,” Cleverly said on Twitter on Thursday.

“We have made clear to @VDoraiswami (High Commissioner of India to Britain Vikram Doraiswami) and the Government of India that the safety of staff at the High Commission is paramount.”

Indian media reported earlier on Thursday that the poster had been circulating on Twitter to promote a rally on July 8 for “Khalistan,” a name created by supporters of an independent Sikh state which does not exist.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Britain to take action after a violent incident during protests by Sikh separatists outside its embassy in London in March.

Earlier this week, the United States condemned vandalism at the Indian consulate in San Francisco after Indian news agency ANI reported that Sikh separatists had tried to set fire to the offices.

Freedom of expression cannot be used for “legitimising violence”, India said on Thursday in response to media reports citing comments by Canada’s prime minister on Ottawa’s handling of supporters of a separate state for the Sikh community.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2023