Relations between Canada and India are currently going through their worst phase. Only last year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had blamed Union Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Indian Intelligence Agency Secretary Samant Goyal for the murder of Khalistan Tiger Force terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18, 2023. Now the situation is that India has recalled its diplomat from Canada and expelled the Canadian diplomat. This political tussle between the two countries is only on the basis of some intelligence inputs. Trudeau himself has admitted that there are only inputs in this matter and no concrete evidence.
As far as the Five Eyes alliance is concerned, the US and Britain have supported Canada but Australia and New Zealand have demanded concrete evidence against India to support the Canadian allegations.
The United States itself is involved as a party to this case. Because it has convicted two Indian citizens, including a former intelligence officer, for conspiring to murder Khalistani Gurupatwant Singh Pannu, a lawyer of SFJ banned by India in June 2023. Pannu holds dual citizenship of Canada and the US. He had recently claimed about Canadian PM Trudeau that he was giving him information about the activities being done by the Indian government against Khalistani activities. Pannu had filed a petition in the District Court of New York this year against National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and RAW Chief Samant Goyal.
The Canadian PM started speaking on open forums by declaring the Modi government guilty only on the basis of intelligence information, whereas the law of Canada or anywhere demands proof, not doubt, to prove someone guilty. Canada did all this in such a hurry that it did not even try to find concrete evidence. Now the biggest question arises that why is Canada targeting Amit Shah, Ajit Doval and Samant Goyal?
The answer to this question lies in the fact that all three of them are intense nationalists and believe wholeheartedly that India should have a separate identity in the world. All three of them are people who do not have any kind of colonial hangover or suffer from any kind of inferiority complex about being Indian. All three of them are inspired by their work towards India. They are neither anti-American nor pro-Russian, they are only pro-India.
Amit Shah believes that India's time has come
Amit Shah has been with PM Modi since the beginning. Shah, a fierce nationalist, believes that India's time has come, hence whenever it comes to protecting India, he does not want to leave any stone unturned. Shah has not visited any country after the Modi government came to power in 2014. He has no desire in future also. If you ask him, he will say that he has no votes to ask for abroad.
He does not meet any foreign diplomat. The last time he met the US Ambassador was as BJP President. When the American ambassador wanted to discuss human rights, he also told him about the genocide against Native Americans.
Shah, who has a deep understanding of the Indian historical and cultural past, has no enmity with Americans, to say nothing of Canadians and the British. He believes that India's enemies should be dealt with sternly but only under due legal process.
Doval is expert in doing his work in the intelligence department.
Indian NSA Ajit Doval is a patient listener and clear in his answers, just like Shah. That's a great planning car. With first-hand experience of terrorism promoted by Pakistan and the West in Jammu and Kashmir as well as in Punjab, Doval is fully committed to India and believes in pre-empting any threat to India, even if the threat is Be it in Pakistan, China, America or Canada. But that doesn't mean he runs a hitman squad. Doval, who is meticulous with paperwork, painstakingly prepares a case against India's adversaries and then uses the law to defeat the enemy.
Like Shah and Doval, Goyal is also a true patriot. It was Samant Goyal who clearly told CIA chief William Burns, who visited India in March 2023, that Pannu is an asset of the American intelligence agency, which is why it protects her. Apart from this he raised the issue of anti-India activities of Nijjar and Khalistanis with his Canadian counterpart as RAW chief. During his four years as intelligence chief, he has not visited either the US or Canada.
Even the attempt to murder Pannun is based on the indictment of alleged freelance agents working on behalf of India and the case is still to be proven in court. Then what is this game of western countries against India?
Western countries are wary of India's rise as an economic and military power.
The biggest picture emerging in the case of Nijjar and Pannu is that the Western countries are wary of India's economic and military rise. Like China, he also does not want India to grow more than a regional power. Trudeau is merely an agent provocateur in all this. After the removal of Article 370 and weakening of Pakistan, western countries and other opponents of India do not want to let the Khalistani pressure go away from the Modi government.
The hand of foreign intelligence agencies sitting in big embassies in New Delhi can be seen in many matters of India. Khalistan is anyway suitable for US and Canada because they vote for Democrats in US, Liberals in Canada and Labor in UK, and also fund them extensively electorally.
Western countries have been continuously avoiding talking about India in view of its economic rise. But because of this case he has got the opportunity to speak about India. This plan of the western countries became even more clear when even a close ally like Japan used its UN envoy to take a dig at Indian democracy and its media talked about Modi's failed foreign policy in the neighborhood. .
With India's growth rate at seven per cent annually, it is expected to become the third largest world economy by the end of 2027 as it will surpass Japan next year as Nippon is growing at only one per cent annually. Instead of allowing its leadership and intelligence agencies to be targeted by the West and China, India needs to further sharpen its capabilities against adversaries. The fact is that the Indian intelligence needs to improve its capabilities.
