Vikrant Shekhawat : Oct 16, 2024, 07:40 PM
India-Canada Relations: Tensions between India and Canada have once again escalated, especially after the baseless allegations leveled by Canada in the case of the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Last year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had made serious allegations in this case, which strained relations between the two countries. Now Canada has created a new controversy by calling Indian diplomats suspicious, in response to which India has ordered 6 Canadian diplomats to leave India and has decided to recall its diplomats.Experts believe that this aggression of the Trudeau government of Canada is in view of the elections to be held next year, where Trudeau is demonstrating a tough stand against India to woo his vote bank. This tension is also affecting international relations, as Trudeau is resorting to the Five Eyes group to strengthen his position.Pressure on India with the help of Five Eyes?Canada is trying to put pressure on India through the Five Eyes group, which includes the US, Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This group shares intelligence among themselves and is considered to be the most powerful intelligence mechanism in the world. Trudeau has claimed to have shared substantial evidence with this group in the Nijjar murder case.However, India has good relations with other countries in this group—the US, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. There has been no negative impact on the relations between India and these countries, despite the tension with Canada.US stance against IndiaThe US, a member of the Five Eyes, has appealed to India for cooperation in this matter. US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that they want India to help investigate these allegations. However, the US has also acknowledged that India is taking seriously the attempt to assassinate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu. This indicates that relations with India are very important for the US, especially in the wake of China's aggression in the Indo-Pacific region. Therefore, it seems unlikely for the US to support any sanctions against India.Stance of Britain and other countriesBritain has also shown its involvement in this matter. Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau spoke to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, but the British Prime Minister's Office did not directly mention India in its statement. Apart from this, Australia and New Zealand have also not made any strong statement in this matter. India's relations with these countries have been good, and they have taken a neutral stance rather than standing with Canada.Possible impact on India-Canada tradeIf Canada imposes sanctions against India, it will have a major impact on bilateral trade and investment. There was a trade of $ 9.36 billion between India and Canada in 2023, and a turnover of $ 3.11 billion between January and April 2024. Apart from this, the Canadian Pension Fund has an investment of Rs 4575 billion in India. In such a situation, if Canada imposes trade sanctions, then its loss will be directly on Canadian companies and investments.However, despite the political tension, so far there has been no major impact on the trade relations between the two countries. But if this tension turns into a trade war, Canada could suffer serious economic losses.