WASHINGTON: The Canadian government has alleged that Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah, a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was behind the plots to target Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.

The allegation follows Canada’s expulsion this month of six Indian diplomats it has linked to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil. The Indian government has dismissed Canada’s prior accusations as baseless, denying any involvement.

The Washington Post first reported that Canadian officials alleged Shah was behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.

Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison said to a parliamentary panel on Tuesday that he told the US-based newspaper that Shah was behind the plots. “The journalist called me and asked if it (Shah) was that person. I confirmed it was that person,” Morrison told the committee, without providing details.

The row centres on the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistan campaigner

The High Commission of India in Ottawa and the Indian foreign ministry had no immediate comment.

India has called Sikh separatists “terrorists” and threats to its security. Sikh separatists demand an independent homeland known as Khalistan to be carved out of India. An insurgency in India during the 1980s and 1990s killed tens of thousands.

That period included the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that left thousands dead following the assassination of then-prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards after she ordered security forces to storm the holiest Sikh temple to flush out Sikh separatists.

Canada in mid-October expelled Indian diplomats, linking them to the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. India also ordered the expulsion of Canadian diplomats.

A Canadian trade official said on Sept 1 last year that Canada paused talks on a proposed trade treaty with India, an unexpected move that came about three months after both countries said they planned to seal an initial pact in 2023.

Nijjar was a Canadian citizen campaigning for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland named ‘Khalistan’, carved out of India.

The Canadian case is not the only instance of India’s alleged targeting of Sikh separatists on foreign soil.

Washington has charged a former Indian intelligence officer, Vikash Yadav, for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen and Indian critic in New York City.

The FBI warned against such a retaliation aimed at a US resident. India has said little publicly since announcing in November 2023 it would formally investigate the US allegations.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2024